BNSF Western Montana Trip

[PerryPlatypus]

Your welcome!

[VerMontanan]

I don't think I've seen a collection of photos that better typifies quintessentiallly Montana railroading than these. From coal trains to branchline locals still distributing grain cars to passenger trains to Glacier National Park (100 years young this year), these photos say it all. I especially enjoyed the photos of the trains crossing the Missouri River above Rainbow Dam in Great Falls and huge trestle over the Teton River at Collins. Train frequency is such that photographing these locations is not all that difficult, but such photos are rarely seen. Your effort in posting these photos is greatly appreciated by this Montana native.

[PerryPlatypus]

I don't think I've seen a collection of photos that better typifies quintessentiallly Montana railroading than these. From coal trains to branchline locals still distributing grain cars to passenger trains to Glacier National Park (100 years young this year), these photos say it all. I especially enjoyed the photos of the trains crossing the Missouri River above Rainbow Dam in Great Falls and huge trestle over the Teton River at Collins. Train frequency is such that photographing these locations is not all that difficult, but such photos are rarely seen. Your effort in posting these photos is greatly appreciated by this Montana native.

Thank you very much! Besides Canada, Montana is probably my favorite place to visit. I think the only bad experience I've ever had in Montana was last summmer when there were unusually large numbers of mosquitoes along the Clark Fork River between Thompson Falls and St. Regis. Although that trip still turned out quite well, you can see some of the pictures from that in another thread a few months back "MRL's 4th Subdivision Sandpoint to St. Regis".

This trip out into the area around Great Falls had far more trains than I had expected. I was thinking maybe one manifest in daylight and an occasional grain train, but almost everyday we got the Shelby-Laurel and Laurel-Shelby freights, both a loaded grain and an empty grain, a loaded coal and empty coal, and numerous locals to keep us busy We also had quite a few lucky moments. After shooting the Malt Job heading out of town, we headed over to the other side of town to shoot the grain at the pet cemetery, then went to look around the Air Force base. We happened to finish up there just in time to get back and step out of the car for only a minute or two before the returning local crossed over the Missouri back to the yard, then we went to the other side of the bridge and got an empty coal heading south, which we chased a distance.

The only things that didn't work out on the trip was when no trains came when we were at the bridge at Cut Bank with beautiful evening light, and clouds obscuring several of the pictures we got at the summit and in Bad Rock Canyon. (And the loss of a precious stuffed animal to the plains of Montana when it fell out of the car at some unknown time)