Amtrak's Empire Builder Day 2 Part 1 Sandpoint to East Glacier Park

On Day 2 (11 September 2011) we travel eastbound on the Empire Builder through Montana. After leaving Whitefish there are several tunnels as the track runs alongside the Flathead River. At Essex the famous Izaak Walton Inn was built by the Great Northern Railway to house its Essex-based crews (photographs of the interior are included as well as line-side video of track work and of the eastbound and westbound Empire Builders). The climb up the west side of Marias Pass is spectacular. Nine snowsheds protect the track and several bridges are crossed including the well known Goat Lick Trestle. From the Continental Divide (extra photographs with historical information are included) the train descends through Bison where again we see the Empire Builders from several different vantage points. The train then arrives at East Glacier Park.