Seattle to Malta: Did you hear that right?

Cruising? Flying? Driving? No, we were riding!

Aha! Got you there! The Malta referred to is not the country in Europe but one of several cities in the US. This particular Malta is close to the border between the US state of Montana and the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan where our son lives.

After cruising from Yokohama  to Seattle  via Alaska on a repositioning cruise across the Pacific Ocean (passing through numerous time zones and gaining a day) and spending a few notable weeks with close friends somewhat close to the port city, we are to head for Saskatoon, Saskachewan. 

Options

We have several modes of travel to choose from: 

•Drive an hour to Seatac, take a flight to Vancouver, Canada, and transfer to a domestic flight

•Drive three hours to Vancouver Airport and take a domestic flight to the destination

•Drive 40 mins to Seattle King Street station and take Amtrak's Empire Builder (a trans- Continental train) to Malta (Montana, USA) from where a five hour drive north would take us to Saskatoon.

Preference

The train journey, which would take us about 24 hrs, appeals to us for various reasons:

▪︎Unlike airports, there is no need to arrive at the station long before the train arrives:

▪︎There is no cumbersome security check.

▪︎One check-in bag is allowed for each passenger (that is all we had)

▪︎We could ask for assistance while boarding, and disembarking.

▪︎We could take a walk through the train -- no cramped legs. 

▪︎There's only one time zone to cross over a day and therefore no jet lag.

▪︎Passengers are generally very sociable.

▪︎Most importantly, the train would chugg and weave through the scenic Glacier Park in the Rockies. 

We have flown over the Rockies and driven through them on the Canadian side several times but have never really seen it from the US side. Besides, years ago, we did the Amtrak CoastStarlight Express and Amtrak Sunset Limited, both overnighters, one in a roomette, and the other, in the coach. They were both remarkable in many ways. (More about those in another post.)   

Pre-boarding: No time to fret

We are to arrive at least 45 mins before departure if we are to check in baggage. Thanks to GPS we know that we are likely to encounter delays due to traffic jams close to Seattle. Our friends are savvy about this and have planned an alternative route, albeit longer in distance, but with less probability of congestion. In spite of it we have some moments of doubt. Happily we arrive well in time. It takes a few minutes to get our bearings in the beautuful station. We roll our bags to the check-in counter, the path to it blocked by several huge pieces of luggage. The officer at the counter tells us to just push them out of the way. He takes one  look at our ticket and staidly utters, "I can't. " We look up in disbelief. Is it because we are just coach passengers, not top tier?

Uh-uh. An explanation comes forth: Malta is an unmanned station and the train stops there for only one minute. It is not equipped to handle luggage. What next? The train floor is so high above the platform level, in most stations, that passengers have to step on a stool to board. I have a weak wrist due to an injury just before the cruise. DrInk has just got back to normal walking pace after his fracture. How to we carry our bags up into the coach? How do we unload the heavy items within a minute? 

What he told us next helped nix the problem.There's a corner section in the waiting room marked out for passengers who need assistance. There is already someone sitting there. We join her. A few more people come. The portly person, donning a red t-shirt, who is going to assist us strides in and sits among us jocosely introducing himself and expertly outlining how he would facilitate our boarding. We are in good hands.

The process: In a twinkle

We're at the gate closest to the train. Passengers who do not need help are a few gates further off. The train pulls in about 15 mins before departure. It is made up of a couple of Superliner rail cars that have two levels. In addition to coach seats, there are also sleeper cars where you can choose from a roomette, bedroom, bedroom suite, family bedroom or accessible bedroom. We have chosen coach seats at the lower level for various reasons, especially the proximity of restrooms. 

Our assitant has parked a golf cart at the gate nearest to us. First he takes the elderly people who have booked roomettes. Priority for more expensive tickets. Then he comes for the rest -- 3 of us for coach class. He effortlessly hoists our luggage on to the cart, and we board armed with our cabin bags filled with food for the journey and important items that we cannot afford to lose. Within 5 mins our luggage has been stowed in the dedicated rack close to our seats and we board. He does it all so efficiently and quickly that we are comfortably on board before the announcement for the rest of the passengers is heard. Most stream to the upper level.

The conductor checked our tickets against the manifest as we boarded but no seats were assigned. The coach attendant affirmed we could choose any seat at all of the twelve available except the two in front  meant for the disabled. We chose seats on the left, since we were travelling eastward, so we could get good views of Glacier Park the next morning.  The restrooms are just two automatic doors, a few feet apart (flanking the pathway for the boarding ) away. Our seats are comfortably broad recliners with leg and arm rests. Almost immediately 5 more passengers board our coach. Most passengers had booked the 

Going the wrong way, but don't panic yet

It has taken only about 15 mins to board all the passengers. The train pulls out of the station  exactly at 4:55 pm as scheduled. We chose our seats for the side that would give us good views of the Rockies, believing that we were facing forward,  but we were actually facing the back! Consolation: the other passengers in our coach are all in the same boat. Besides, the windows on the right are so dusty that the views wouldn't have been great. The attendant has come by and placed a little strip of paper above our seat with an abbreviation of our destination.

We'll be doubling our length

An announcement tells us we have a cafe in the upper deck and the train will double its length overnight when we make a short stop in Spokane late at night. Phew! Just in time for the great views. Two coaches from the Portland line would join us. Those coaches would include an observation car and a lounge.

A word of caution: get off at your risk

Most of the stops on the route are 3 mins or less. No one is allowed to get off unless it's the destination. Every few hours a 10 to 15 min stop is scheduled. It is appropriately called the fresh air break. A quick smoke perhaps. But never wander too far off or you'll miss the train. The 30 min breaks at some stations are called crew-change stops. ( We had the same attendant throughout but the conductor did change). 

A climb from sea level to 80m

The first section of the ride is coastal, taking us along Puget sound, with views of  Seattle's port and the Space Needle, towards Everett (known for Boeing's aircraft assembly plant) and along different rivers, sometimes crossing them and at other times looping around the hills defining the rivers. Blueberry fields give way to cherry trees and forests.

As we are heading towards Leavenworth (a beautiful Bavarian village in the Cascades) a forest ranger comes on board. Even though her announcements were hazy , probably because of the sound system, it helped that she pointed out some features and gave a little history of the railroad. 

Seemingly all of a sudden, we are plunged into darkness. We have entered the US's longest railway tunnel at 12.5 km. The train worms up through the Cascade Mountains. 

Ah, missed it!

As we exit we are following the Kooteney River, offering us views of rapids and falls on both sides and practically underneath us. Needless to say, travelling at an average speed of 80 kph, and sitting on the lower level, the views disappear by the time we get the direction right! We could have ended up with  cricks in the neck.

All great stories have to come to a hush 

We are travelling in summer and we have sunlight till about 10 pm. We would be reaching Spokane only after midnight and we have to forward an hour since we'd be crossing a time zone. We have already dined on sandwiches and so we turn in for the night. The attendant comes around at 9:30 pm to remind passengers that fellow passengers would value silence. The men sitting before us, had met at the lounge at King's station but were talking away as though they had known each other forever. One had been a railroad man and the other a dairy farmer. Their stories were very interesting. They were also conversing with the couple across the aisle who had been reluctant farmers, made a fortune, quit and live in three different countries where they own homes. But out of respect for others they hushed up.

Overnight 

While we are trying to catch twenty winks we roll into Spokane which is a hub of activity. Morning ablutions are not too bad, with a choice of 6 toilets, a separate area for grooming, and one for the disabled all in the same section. Most people who use washrooms leave them clean and dry for the next occupant. 

At 8am it is announced that the observation car had been shunted to our train overnight. We breakfast on sandwiches and water from the water dispensers on board and quickly make our way to the observation deck on the upper level in the next car.

Just in time

We manage to snag two outward facing seats on the right (facing north) this time. The observation car has panoramic windows and a transparent dome providing clear views all around. Now we are feasting on stupendous views of glaciers, carved valleys,alpine meadows ,snowcapped peaks, plunging waterfalls of Glacier Park. The route is dotted with historical lodges. To our disappointment we do not see a single wild animal.

A retired nurse joins us and tells us how she is now caring for her frail father lessening the burden on her nanogeranian mother. She clearly enjoys the scenery. After she leaves her husband joins us and share stories about being a tree - doctor, now hoping to become along distance truck driver. There are some train enthusuasts who share trivia about the route. At least one person is sitting with her lap top tracing our journey.  

We are now already in the Prairies with the purple profile of mountains afar. Time for a quick lunch. We are in the last stretch. We get back to our seats and watch the fields and towns go by. We are on the stretch where in September 2021, the train suffered a terrible accident when 7 out of 10 cars derailed.

Crossings, delays, yet punctual.

In some stops our train was late due to various train crossings. But the locomotive can go at 112 km per hour and so we able to arrive at Malta on the dot. We realise that we are not the only people getting off. There are two mothers with their children who are at the end of a day trip. The train has to line up right so that the stool can be place on level ground. The train moves back and forth until the alignment is perfect before we step off. DrInk and I have rolled our bags to the entry way keeping in mind that the train will only stop momentarily. The others do not have suitcases. The attendant graciously unloads ours and almost immeditaely the train chugs off! Phew!

Our son greets us and immediately our cares vanish.

Note: 

1.If you take the Empire Builder from Chicago westward to Seattle you will be in perpetual sunset over a few states because the time zones progressively move backward. 

And so the route is also called ' going to the sun road'.

2. The border to Canada is about an hour's drive from Malta. The checkpoint, we discovered too late, was closed on Saturdays and Sundays -- rather strange. We wonder if we'll be able to enter Canada but take the risk anyway. To our relief, it is only the US checkpoint that is closed, not the Canadian.