Unlike the semi-shabby Amtrak trains of less illustrious routes, the Empire Builder had 11 gleaming Superliner cars attached to two engines. It had four two-level sleeper cars, four coach passenger ...

Have you ever fantasized about riding in a train and having a meal in the diner car, just like they do in old movies like “Murder on the Orient Express,” “White Christmas” and “Strangers on a Train”?

One of Amtrak’s most popular cross-country trains is The Empire Builder, which has taken passengers from Chicago to the Twin Cities and across the northern tier of states to Seattle and Portland since ...