The ''Expo '74'' was a

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self pr ...

operated by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

between Spokane and

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. It operated in the summer months of 1974 in coordination with its namesake, Expo '74. With the addition of the ''Expo '74'' to the '' Empire Builder'' and '' North Coast Hiawatha'', Amtrak provided thrice-daily service between Seattle and Spokane, the highest level seen since Amtrak's formation and unmatched since.

History

In 1973, Amtrak operated two trains between Seattle and Spokane: the daily ''Empire Builder'' and the thrice-weekly ''North Coast Hiawatha''. Both were long-distance trains which originated in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Each took different routes west from Spokane, though both routes had belonged to the merged

Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a Mergers and acquisitions, merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996. Its historical lineage begins in the e ...

since 1970. The ''Empire Builder'' used the ex-

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. It was approved by Congress in 1864 and given nearly of land grants, whic ...

via Pasco, Washington, while beginning in 1973 the ''North Coast Hiawatha'' used the ex- Great Northern Railway via Stevens Pass. Neither train provided convenient timings between the two cities, and the westbound trains were likely to be late because of accumulated delays. In late 1973, Amtrak studied increasing service to Spokane in preparation for Expo '74, an environmentally-themed

world's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

scheduled to be held in Spokane the following summer and expected to draw millions of visitors. Amtrak considered two options: restoring direct service between Spokane and

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, which had not existed since Amtrak's creation in 1971, and supplemental service between Seattle and Spokane. This planning took place during a period of rising ridership spurred by the

1973 oil crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had supp ...

. Ultimately, Amtrak chose to augment its existing services, adding another train to the Great Northern route. Spokane-Portland service would come in 1981 when Amtrak restored the ''Empire Builders Portland section. Amtrak began operation of the new train on May 19, 1974. The overall travel time was 8.5 hours, though Amtrak protested to the Burlington Northern that 7.5 hours was possible. Privately, Amtrak engineers thought the trip could be done in six hours. The ''North Coast Hiawatha'' began daily operation at the same time, raising the service level between Spokane and Seattle to three daily round-trips, with a viable daylight schedule in both directions: On its inauguration the train carried six cars, including a dome coach and a

dining car A dining car (American English) or a restaurant car (British English), also a diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant. It is distinct from other railroad food service cars that ...

. Ridership did not meet expectations and the size of the train fell to three cars. Total ridership came to 16,675, or 70 passengers per trip. The train lost $203,000 and Amtrak did not retain it when it issued its fall schedule. The train made its last run on September 14, 1974. The next day the ''North Coast Hiawatha'' resumed its thrice-weekly operation, dropping the corridor back to ten trains per week. That August, the three trains had posted the best on-time performance in the country, with 97% of all trains arriving at their destinations within 20 minutes of their scheduled arrival time.

References

External links

1974 timetable
{{Former Amtrak routes Former Amtrak routes Railway services introduced in 1974 Railway services discontinued in 1974