Big rivers and Wildlife by train
8 trains pass named big rivers and wildlife stretches with a cited source. Ranked by the number of those stretches; the stretch names and the direction and season each is in daylight are on the route pages.
MountainsPacific coastAtlantic coastGulf coastDesert and canyonBig riversPrairieSnowNational parksBig citiesSmall townsWine countryWildlife
45 routes, 520 stations, 44 route pages so far
Ranked by named stretches
| Rank | Route | Named stretches for big rivers and wildlife | Count | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Empire BuilderChicago Union Station to Seattle | Upper Mississippi River, Milk River and the Bear's Paw Mountains, Glacier National Park and Marias Pass, Cascade Tunnel and the Skykomish River | 5 | 46 h 24 m |
| 2 | Lincoln Service Missouri River RunnerKansas City to Chicago Union Station | Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, Missouri River bluffs at Jefferson City, Mississippi River, Eads Bridge, and the Gateway Arch, Illinois and Michigan Canal to the Chicago skyline | 5 | 11 h 20 m |
| 3 | Sunset LimitedNew Orleans Union Passenger Terminal to Los Angeles | Huey P. Long Bridge, Bayou country, Rio Grande and the Florida Mountains, Yuma dunes and the Colorado River | 4 | 45 h 35 m |
| 4 | BorealisChicago Union Station to St. Paul-Minneapolis | Upper Mississippi River, Lake Pepin and Red Wing | 3 | 7 h 31 m |
| 5 | City of New OrleansNew Orleans Union Passenger Terminal to Chicago Union Station | Lake Pontchartrain and the bayou, Mississippi River at Memphis, Cairo and the Shawnee Hills | 3 | 19 h 30 m |
| 6 | Missouri River RunnerSt. Louis to Kansas City | Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area, Missouri River bluffs at Jefferson City | 3 | 5 h 40 m |
| 7 | Lake Shore LimitedChicago Union Station to Boston | Mohawk Valley and the Erie Canal, The Berkshires and the Westfield River | 2 | 22 h 2 m |
| 8 | Lincoln ServiceSt. Louis to Chicago Union Station | Mississippi River, Eads Bridge, and the Gateway Arch, Illinois and Michigan Canal to the Chicago skyline | 2 | 5 h 5 m |
How this ranking works: a route scores one point for each named stretch tagged with each selected interest and cited to an operator route guide or a National Park Service description. Routes without three cited stretches have no page and are not ranked. What counts as a named stretch.