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Like all Amtrak long-distance trains, smoking is prohibited. Many smoke breaks are scheduled, however. Some are 5-minute pauses at a platform, but the train stops longer at Minneapolis/St.Paul, Minot, Havre, Whitefish, and Spokane. Longer breaks are typically 20 minutes, so finding food or drink off the Empire Builder is difficult, apart from vending machines within the depots at these locations. Snacks and beverages are available aboard throughout the day from the Cafe on the bottom level of the sightseer Lounge car. Sit-down meals are available in the dining car during meal times, except when traveling between Spokane and Portland. This is due to the current arrangement to split and combine cars in Spokane: the Portland section of passenger cars is given the lounge car, whereas the Seattle section is given the dining car.

The original Empire Builder was inaugurated by the Great Northern on June 11, 1929, and displaced the Oriental Limited as the railroad's premier train. The new train was named in honor of railroad tycoon James J. Hill, who reorganized several failing railroads into the Great Northern Railway and extended the line to the Pacific Northwest in the late 19th century. The service was altered to carry additional passengers during World War II. After the war, new streamlined, diesel-powered trains were placed into service. This postwar service began on February 23, 1947. The train was fully re-equipped again in 1951.[citation needed]

In fiscal year 2007, the Empire Builder carried over a half million passengers, maintaining its status as the most popular long-distance train in Amtrak's national system. In fiscal 2008, ridership grew by 9.8% to 554,266, although that year was marked by especially high fuel prices, and the number of passengers declined by 7% to 515,444 in 2009. It generated over $54 million in revenue that year, trailing only the Acela Express, Northeast Regional, and Auto Train. In 2007 and 2008, it ranked third. About 65% of the cost of operating the train is covered by fare revenue, a rate among Amtrak's long-distance trains second only to the specialized East Coast Auto Train.[7]

Amtrak's Empire Builder served Troy, Montana until February 15, 1973. On October 1, 1979 Amtrak moved the Empire Builder to operate over the North Coast Hiawatha's old route between Minneapolis and Fargo, North Dakota. With this alignment change, the Empire Builder dropped Willmar, Minnesota, Morris, Minnesota and Breckenridge, Minnesota, while adding St. Cloud, Minnesota, Staples, Minnesota and Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Another alignment change came on October 25, 1981, when the Seattle section moved from the old Milwaukee Road to the Burlington Northern Railroad's Stevens Pass route (including the Cascade Tunnel). This change eliminated service to Yakima, Washington, Ellensburg, Washington and Auburn, Washington.[12]

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