I’ve always wanted to ride the rails across America. So far I’ve traveled on Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor from Boston to Washington DC and the Downeaster from Boston to Brunswick, ME. What next for me train-travel-wise? Amtrak’s Empire Builder is at the top of my bucket list. If I were able to do it I would totally get a private roomette. Then I would set up the room for my Train Aficionado workspace for doing daily blog entries journaling about my trip. Plus I could listen to the communications along the way on my scanner. It would be amazing to break the trip up with a stay at the Izaak Walton Inn located in Essex, MT. This Inn is a flag stop on the Empire Builders route. This would be a great opportunity to do some railfanning at the Inn and see Glacier National Park.
Nowadays it is rare to see a new railroad line being built. Some of the current railroad lines that criss-cross the USA are dating back 150 years. This was back in a time when it was less machine and more human labor. The building was very costly and changeling for the people that lead the way to build these railroad lines. One of the well-known railroad tycoons was Thomas C Durant. The film industry often creates a fictionalized version of Durant like the popular AMC series “Hell on Wheels”. This series was based on the building of the first transcontinental railroad across the USA. While the story around the main characters was fictionalized the writer showed the overall struggles and challenges of building a railroad in the 1800s.
A while back I came across a post advertising The Empire Builder – James J Hill and the Great Northern Railways documentary on Facebook. Having such an interest in riding on these rails I need to learn the history of them. Shortly after the release, I placed my order to watch this 4-hour documentary series. After watching the series I’ve learned so much about Great Northern Railway and James J Hill. The documentary shows throughout Hill’s life he was a very innovative and successful businessman. Hill as a railroader built the shortest and straightest route compared to the other transcontinental railroads. History and rail buffs will love learning about the story of James J Hill.
When I placed my order for the DVD, Stephen, one of the directors of the documentary actually reached out to confirm my order. I immediately took the opportunity to ask if he and his co-director would like to come on the Train Aficionado show. A few days later we all met via zoom and had a great conversation about what it was like to film this documentary. The interview will air Wednesday, November 16, 2022, at 8 PM EST/ 5 PM PT on the Train Aficionado YouTube. Trust me, you don’t want to miss it!
This documentary is available on GreatNorthernFilmworks.com.
