[5][6] Leavenworth was founded in 1892, shortly after the Great Northern Railway arrived in the area to begin construction of its route across Stevens Pass towards Seattle, which was completed on January 6, 1893.

[8][9] A city program in the 1960s promoted the renovation of buildings to fit a Bavarian Alpine theme that successfully began to draw tourists to Leavenworth.

[15][16] The regional economic development council and the Port of Chelan County began studying the feasibility of year-round train service to Leavenworth in the early 1990s.

[17][18] The two agencies lured an undisclosed company from Utah to run an all-year weekend dinner train service after negotiations with Burlington Northern and Amtrak in 1993, including the construction of a 300-foot (91 m) platform in Leavenworth and a depot to fit the city's Bavarian theme.

[19][20] Negotiations with Burlington Northern were stalled over scheduling issues and existing freight congestion, but civic boosters in Leavenworth returned with alternate proposals the following year.

[24] Amtrak and the port entered into further negotiations with an undisclosed tour operator who would organize potential excursion trains during the holiday season and other festival periods, rather than using the Empire Builder.

[30] Following a second market feasibility study in 2002, the Leavenworth city government began campaigning for a permanent all-year stop on the Empire Builder to be located on North Road.

[36] In the agreement with BNSF, the city government was required to acknowledge that the Empire Builder could move to the Stampede Pass corridor and bypass Leavenworth entirely.

[6] In May 2008, the first phase's estimated cost was revised to $850,000, with the shortfall planned to covered by private donations in a funding campaign launched by the city mayor.

[49] Icicle Station is served by two daily Amtrak trains on the Empire Builder, a transcontinental route connecting to Seattle, Spokane, and Chicago.