By DUSTIN NILES

Layout & Design Editor

“A few generations ago, this route was pure wilderness, roamed by Native Americans and buffalo. Following early traders and gold miners came the merchants, timber men, farmers and – dramatically – railroaders.”

So says the pamphlet “Empire Builder Route Guide” that was handed out by Amtrak.

Normally, I spend my days studying communications and being the layout & design editor for The Equinox. But this semester, I’m studying abroad at the Vancouver Campus and will be updating The Equinox with stories and photographs from my travels. First off, how did I get here?

As soon as I knew I’d be spending a semester in Vancouver, I knew how I’d be getting out here: train.

 

Sure, Vancouver is just a quick, jet-lag inducing, TSA pat-down away from New Jersey if you catch a flight. But I’ve never been west of Texas, and never west of Kentucky on the ground, and don’t anticipate taking lots of cross-country trips in my life. So, I figured if I was going to cross the country, I was going to see it. And see it I did.

The simplest route from New York to Vancouver by train consists of three parts: The Lake Shore Limited, from New York to Chicago; The Empire Builder, from Chicago to Seattle; and the Amtrak Cascades, from Seattle to Vancouver.

The provided photos are a documentation of that journey.