ABOARD THE EMPIRE BUILDER — The Empire Builder snakes through Montana's Rockies, past evergreen forests and mountaintops that glisten with snow even in the warm months. It's a glorious morning in my transcontinental railway journey.

Amtrak's intercity express had departed Portland, Ore., at 4:45 p.m. the previous day bound for Chicago. My destination was Penn Station in New York City, four calendar days and 3,216 miles distant.

Traveling before a holiday, I wanted a no-stress alternative to jammed airports and packed jetliners. I also wanted to travel in comfort, so for $1,792.90 one way, I booked a deluxe bedroom compartment in blue decor, with a lavatory and shower. My meals and dinner wine were included.

I hadn't made a sleeper-car journey since the 1960s, when airliners and interstate highways came to dominate long-distance travel. My friends were intrigued by the idea of a train trip across the Rockies and Great Plains, through lands traversed by Lewis and Clark 200 years ago.

At Portland's Union Station with its imposing clock tower, excitement was in the air as travelers climbed aboard the silver passenger cars on a gray afternoon.

My compartment window at the end of the train was a fine vantage as we headed east through the Columbia River Gorge, past tall timber carpeting the foothills of the Cascade Range.

Dinner was a shrimp salad delivered by a sleeping car attendant. We reached Spokane, Wash., around midnight, and linked up with the twin train from Seattle to form a "consist" of 11 cars and three diesel locomotives carrying about 300 passengers eastward.

The fold-out bed in my 6 1/2- by 7 1/2-foot compartment had only one wool blanket, so I spread my overcoat for extra warmth and fell asleep to the soothing monotone of motion. I woke at dawn in the snowy Rockies. Breakfast beckoned.

I've ridden European express trains featuring fine cuisine. The Empire Builder's dining car had similar amenities: enticing meals, white tablecloths and attentive service.

Breakfast was a western omelet and the best oatmeal I've ever tasted. The most expensive dinner item was an 8-ounce steak for $21, appropriate for ranch country we were crossing.

Dustin Baker, 38, the dining car steward, told me he trained in Los Angeles restaurants before joining Amtrak. He works a six-day week on the rails, then has five days off with his family in Portland.

To reach the diner I had to walk through six cars, and handholds were needed when the train swayed at 79 mph top speed. A passenger offered me a steadying arm on one trek.

The club car had plush seats and panoramic views of our all-day crossing of Montana, past landmarks like Whitefish, Glacier National Park, Marias Pass, elevation 5,280 feet, and Cut Bank. In 1806, Lewis and Clark passed near where Fort Peck Dam now spans the Missouri River on the Great Plains.