Empire Builder
The "Western Star" was inaugurated on June 3, 1951, replacing the "Oriental Limited" as the secondary train along the Great Northern's transcontinental route. The Great Northern's primary train was the famed "Empire Builder", which made the run in 45 hours. The "Western Star" required a more leisurely 58 hours, making more intermediate stops and serving branches the "Empire Builder" bypassed, such as Grand Forks, North Dakota and Great Falls, Montana. The "Star" used equipment from the "Empire Builder", which had been completely reequipped.