The Milwaukee Road had introduced full-length "Super Domes" on its Olympian Hiawatha as early as 1953, and in 1954 the Northern Pacific's North Coast Limited was re-equipped with Vista-Dome coaches and sleepers. Great Northern rose to the competitive challenge with its "Great Domes", introduced in the summer and fall of 1955.

View Great Northern's advertisement aimed at the California traffic (PDF, 546K)

From the pages of the Official Guide, July 1956

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy RR heraldGreat Northern heraldSpokane, Portland & Seattle Ry. herald

The Empire Builder

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy
Great Northern Railway
Spokane, Portland, and Seattle
June 10, 1956

31 Train Number 32
Daily Miles (Chicago, Burlington & Quincy) Services Daily
2 00P Dp 0 Chicago, IL (Union Station) (CT) C R Ar 2 00P
R 2 36P 38 Aurora, IL C R X D 1 18P
4 13P Ar 145 Savanna, IL C R X Dp 11 38A
4 15P Dp Ar 11 36A
4 56P 184 East Dubuque, IL C X 10 52A
F 5 40P 239 Prairie du Chien, WI C R X
6 23P 297 La Crosse, WI C R X 9 21A
6 57P 326 Winona Junction, WI (Winona via bus) X F 8 47A
8 40P Ar 427 St. Paul, MN C R Dp 7 15A
(Great Northern)
9 10P Dp 427 St. Paul, MN C R Ar 7 00A
9 35P Ar 438 Minneapolis, MN C R Dp 6 30A
9 40P Dp Ar 6 25A
11 12P 529 Willmar, MN C 4 40A
12 55A 642 Breckenridge, MN C 2 42A
1 45A Ar 689 Fargo, ND C Dp 1 30A
1 50A Dp Ar 1 25A
3 49A 813 New Rockford, ND C 11 18P
5 26A Ar 922 Minot, ND C Dp 9 27P
5 35A Dp Ar 9 17P
7 55A Ar 1042 Williston, ND (CT) C R Dp 7 05P
7 05A Dp Williston, ND (MT) Ar 5 55P
F 9 45A 1198 Glasgow, MT C F 3 00P
12 25P Ar 1351 Havre, MT C Dp 12 15P
12 35P Dp Ar 12 05P
F 1 40P 1413 Chester, MT C F11 03A
2 30P 1456 Shelby, MT C 10 15A
F 3 03P 1480 Cut Bank, MT F 9 45A
6 10P Ar 1607 Whitefish, MT (Kalispell via bus) C R Dp 6 40A
6 15P Dp Ar 6 35A
9 05P Ar 1741 Troy, MT (MT) C Dp 3 40A
8 05P Dp Troy, MT (PT) Ar 2 40A
11 25P Ar 1880 Spokane, WA C R Dp 11 15P
Portland Section
1 Continuing train number (Spokane, Portland & Seattle) 2
11 59P Dp 1880.0 Spokane, WA (GN Station) C R Ar 10 25P
2 45A Ar 2028.2 Pasco, WA C R Dp 7 25P
2 55A Dp Ar 7 10P
5 03A 2153.4 Wishram, WA C 5 05P
F 5 36A 2183.6 Bingen-White Salmon, WA C F 4 32P
F 5 59A 2205.2 Stevenson, WA C F 4 11P
6 50A 2249.5 Vancouver, WA C 3 23P
7 15A Ar 2259.5 Portland, OR (Union Sta.) (PT) C R Dp 3 00P
31 Seattle Section (Great Northern) 32
11 55P Dp 1880 Spokane, WA C R Ar 10 45P
2 14A 2003 Ephrata, WA C 8 22P
3 20A Ar 2055 Wenatchee, WA C Dp 7 23P
3 35A Dp Ar 7 20P
Cascade Tunnel - 7.79 miles in length
6 55A 2178 Everett, WA C 4 18P
7 50A Ar 2210 Seattle, WA (King St. Station) (PT) C R Dp 3 30P
460 Connecting Train Number (Great Northern) 457
8 20A Dp 0 Seattle, WA (King St. Station) (PT) Ar 1 00P
D 8 41A 16 Kent, WA
D 8 47A 21 Auburn, WA
D 8 59A 32 Puyallup, WA
9 12A Ar 40 Tacoma, WA (PT) Dp 12 05P
358 Connecting Train Number (Great Northern) 359
8 05A Dp 0 Seattle, WA (King St. Station) (PT) Ar 4 35P
9 00A 33 Everett, WA 3 38P
10 35A 96 Bellingham, WA 2 06P
11 59A Ar 154 Vancouver, BC (PT) Dp 12 40P

Train 31 (Chicago-Seattle): 26 stops, 43:50, 50.4 MPHTrain 31-1 (Chicago-Portland): 27 stops, 43:15, 52.2 MPH


Train 32 (Seattle-Chicago): 25 stops, 44:30, 49.7 MPHTrain 2-32 (Portland-Chicago): 26 stops, 45:00, 50.2 MPH

(Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Notes)


Note: No train baggageman. Checked baggage carried only for through movement between Chicago and St. Paul-Minneapolis and not to or from intermediate points.

EQUIPMENT.

WESTBOUND
EMPIRE BUILDER. No. 31.

Great Dome Buffet Lounge Car—Chicago to Seattle.

Sleeping Cars—Chicago to Seattle—Lounge, Compartments, Double Bedrooms, Roomettes, Duplex Roomettes, Sections (314-315-316-317). Chicago to Portland—Drawing-room, Compartments, Double Bedrooms, Roomettes, Duplex Roomettes, Sections (311-312).

Full Length Dome Lounge Car—Chicago to Seattle-Portland.

Dining Car—For all meals.

The Ranch (Coffee shop and lounge facilities for all passengers).

Day-Nite Coach (Reclining Seats)...Chicago-Seattle (100).

Great Dome Coaches—Chicago-Seattle (101-102). Chicago-Portland (103). (Coach seats reserved—no charge.) (Dome seats not reserved.)


EASTBOUND
EMPIRE BUILDER. No. 32.

Great Dome Buffet Lounge Car—Seattle to Chicago.

Sleeping Cars—Seattle to Chicago—Lounge, Compartments, Double Bedrooms, Roomettes, Duplex Roomettes, Sections (324-325-326-327). Portland to Chicago—Drawing-room, Compartments, Double Bedrooms, Roomettes, Duplex Roomettes, Sections (321-322).

Full Length Dome Lounge Car—Seattle-Portland to Chicago.

Dining Car—For all meals.

The Ranch (Coffee shop and lounge facilities for all passengers).

Day-Nite Coach (Reclining Seats)...Seattle-Chicago (200).

Great Dome Coaches—Seattle-Chicago (201-202). Portland-Chicago (203). (Coach seats reserved—no charge.) (Dome seats not reserved.)


    Tickets issued account Clergy, Charity, Employe [sic], Blind and Attendant, D.V.S., V.A.H., Banana Messenger, Caretaker, Drover, Livestock Contract, Circus or Show Tickets not honored on Empire Builder.

NOTE: Pullman space on the Empire Builder for intermediate travel (except between Chicago and Twin Cities) between any two stations east of Havre or between any two stations west of Havre may not be reserved until 24 hours prior to train departure time westbound from Chicago or eastbound from Seattle.

(Great Northern Notes)


THE EMPIRE BUILDER
CHICAGO, ST. PAUL, MINNEAPOLIS, SPOKANE, SEATTLE AND
PORTLAND with Direct Connections to and from TACOMA,
BRITISH COLUMBIA AND CALIFORNIA

NO EXTRA FARE. ALL ACCOMMODATIONS RESERVED.

MODERN STREAMLINED EQUIPMENT

Type of Car Car No. Between Accommodations
West East
Coach. 100 200 Chicago-Seattle 60 Reclining Seats.
Great Dome Reclining Seat Coaches (Reserved at no extra charge—Seats in Dome section not reserved.) 101-102 201-202 Chicago-Seattle 46 Seats—Leg Rests.
103 203 Chicago-Portland 46 Seats—Leg Rests.
.... .... Spokane-Portland
(S.P. & S.)
60 Seat—not reserved.
Ranch-Lounge (Meals-beverage). .... .... Chicago-Seattle Lounge for Coach and Pullman passengers
Diner. (Dinner reservations.) .... .... Chicago-Seattle-Portland    
Sleepers. 311-2 321-2 Chicago-Portland Sections, Duplex Roomettes, Roomettes, Bedrooms, Compartments, Drawing-rooms.
314-5-6-7 324-5-6-7 Chicago-Seattle
33     From Spokane to Seattle 16 Duplex Roomettes, 4 Bedrooms.
10 20 Spokane-Portland
(S.P. & S.)
6 Roomettes, 3 Bedrooms, Buffet-Lounge
Great Dome Luxurious Full Length Dome Lounge with colorful beverage lounge in lower section. .... .... Chicago-Seattle    

Note—Pullman space on the "Empire Builder" for intermediate travel between any two stations west of Havre or between any two stations east of Havre may not be reserved until 24 hours prior to train departure time eastbound from Seattle-Portland or westbound from Chicago.

Tickets—All one-way and round-trip tickets will be honored except as follows: Tickets endorsed Clergy, Charity, Employee, D.V.S., V.A.H., Blind and Attendant, Blind and Guide Dogs, will not be honored. Circus, Show, Banana Messenger, Drover's or Caretaker's tickets and Live Stock Contracts will not be honored.


(Spokane, Portland & Seattle Notes)


EQUIPMENT
All regularly assigned cars are completely Air-Conditioned.


S. P. and S. No. 1-2, G. N. No. 31-32—Streamlined Empire Builder—
Between Portland and Chicago via S. P. and S-G. N.-C. B. & Q. No extra fare. Standard sleeping cars between Portland and Chicago offering sections, duplex roomettes, roomettes, double bedrooms, compartments and drawing-room accommodations. (Cars 321 and 322 eastbound, 311 and 312 westbound.) "Great Dome" coach, 46 reserved seats with leg rests, reserved in advance, no extra cost. (203 eastbound, 103 westbound.) Between Spokane and Chicago: full length "Great Dome" lounge; also ranch-lounge (meals, beverages). Between Portland and Spokane sleeper-club-lounge, 6 roomettes, 3 double bedrooms, 25 lounge seats. (Car 20 eastbound, 10 westbound) may be occupied at Spokane 9:30 p.m.; de luxe chair car, 60 reclining seats not reserved; dining car service.