By Jack Wendleton
Let me give you some information about Amtrak and howone can get to Glacier National Park by rail. Pat and I will definitely come to the RMOWP conference via Amtrak from Chicago. Maybe other members might want to travel to the conference by this mode of transportation. For us in Missouri the cost of train with sleeper and meals included will be less than the gas to drive. The train is the Empire Builder (Pat and I have taken it twice to South Washington. It’s a great train and food).
There are three Amtrak stops for Glacier: East Glacier Park, Essex (at the southern border of the park) and West Glacier, where the Amtrak station is right across the street from the Belton Chalet, the conference headquarters.
Below is the schedule:
WEST BOUND: Leave Chicago at 2:15 pm, arriving
at Glacier National Park the next evening, at East Glacier Park at 6:45 pm, Essex at 7:41 pm, and West Glacier at 8:23 pm.
EAST BOUND: Leave Seattle at 4:40 pm or Portland at 4:45 pm. The two trains join up at Spokane, and arrive at West Glacier at 8:16 am the next morning, Essex at 8:55 am, and East Glacier at 9:54 am.
The longer ahead you make reservations can greatly vary the train fare. For further details, see www.amtrak.com.