Aboard the EMPIRE BUILDER,
from Chicago to Seattle
After crossing the US by train from Coast to Coast last September, I went this winter on a journey aboard the Empire Builder, between Chicago and Seattle, right below the Canadian Border.
52 hours, 40 stops, 2200 miles through Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the wide plains of North Dakota and Montana, Idaho, and finally Washington state. The long hours, the tracks, the movement, the sound, the romanticism of the train ride gives a particular intimacy with the American landscape, allowing oneself to be in motion, yet without moving.
This ongoing photo project explores the idea of "slow travel" and the theme of frontier as a limit between spaces, time and people, and as a quest for new territories. An incredible journey, a real leap in time, a fantastic human experience and such an interesting way to get to know this country.
Life on a train
Who takes the train in the US? Why? And where to? The dining car is the train social life's heart. For each meal, passengers are assigned a random seat by the dining car attendant and get to share a booth with other passengers. Countless faces, stories, and amazing -sometimes weird- people.
You can click here to take a look at my previous cross-country by train from San Francisco to New York.
