The Empire Builder cruises through the Traill County seat of Hillsboro, a Great Northern Railway community half-way between Grand Forks and Fargo named honoring the Empire Builder himself, James J. Hill. The large plume billowing from the American Crystal Sugar facility creates an optical illusion as if three of Amtrak's finest were expelling such a large white smoke quantity.
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.
