F40s were the dominant power on long-distance Amtrak trains through the 1980s and early 1990s. The Empire Builder embodies the look of the era well back in 1993 as it passes through the University Ave interlocking plant on BN. Up ahead just over the border into St. Paul the eastbound builder will be making its morning stop at Midway depot.
This train, which runs between Chicago and Seattle and Portland, takes its name from James J. Hill, who founded the Great Northern Railroad and extended it from Minnesota to the Pacific Coast.