Railfan Trip Reports > Montana: 7/29-8/1

SAT July 29
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Slept in a bit again, waking after the haze had burned off the horizon after 0800hrs. Head down to Helena Yard & find a loaded grain train waiting to head west. Can't seem to find the pair of light blue GP35 that were here for the 840 local last year, but they do have a pair of SD45 & GP9 111. All of the colorful SD45/45-2 once assigned to Helena for helper service have been replaced with pairs & trios of SD70ACe.

Grain train power is called upon for helper service as well today. They head up to Helena Junction to cut into Laurel-Pasco (LAUPAS). I head up & over the mountain to Blossburg/Mullan Tunnel, where I see a couple of photographers I had bumped into in Denver chasing UP 844 a week ago, along with swarms of insects like I have never seen. It's a bit warm today, not much of a breeze, so the flies & other assorted winged critters truly live up to their "pest" reputation. The colorful magpies & chickadees flitting about don't seem particularly fond of insect control, the various hawks & eagles aren't looking for appetizers, either, so I just have to assume this is what cattle & horses get to endure all the time.

Pasco-North Town (PASNTW) with a BNSF H2 GE/NREX ex-CSXT-CR SD50/FURX ex-BN SD40-2/BNSF ex-BN SD60M is the first train to the tunnel. They will head over to Austin for LAUPAS, which shows up about an hour later with a BNSF H2 GE/EMD Oakway combo & the helpers mid-train. Missoula-Laurel (ML) meets LAUPAS at Blossburg with MRL 327/4304 & no helpers, every bit of notch 8 up to the tunnel. ML will meet a loaded coal train at Austin, it shows up at Mullan Tunnel with a trio of EMD Oakways (9086/9020/9032) & an ex-ATSF SD75 (8220). This was the same consist I saw with empties on July 25, today with mid-train helpers 4300/4309/4306 & rear helpers 4302/4313/4311. The head end power produced enough smoke to black out the sky, by the time the rear helpers emerged from the tunnel, with the winds blowing southwest, I could barely see in front of me. Held my breath for a spell, too. Both sets will be cut off in Elliston. The BNSF helper set has been waiting at Blossburg & heads back to Helena after the coal train.

I kick back under the trees for about 45 minutes, when a Boeing extra headed west appears in the tunnel. BNSF 4904 leading three future airplanes. The signal was lit for an approach at the east end of Blossburg when they came out of the bore, but dropped to red about a carlength in front of them. Dispatcher allows them to proceed, reminding them of the two helper sets they will meet in the siding. Both sets of helpers are on their way back to Helena when dispatcher hails the second set, Helper X, to come back to Elliston to assist an ailing Pasco-Kansas City Kansas (PASKCK). I head down to Elliston to see what's up, they show up with EMDX 9057/BNSF 6863/BNSF 8028 (BN paint)/NREX 8690 (CR paint/CSX #). Helper set attaches to their head end, letting MRL 4300 lead east.

Heading back up to Mullan Tunnel, I can hear Laurel-Spokane (LAUSPO) coming out of Helena. Train is ID'ed as FURX 8094 west, so I am hoping the SD45-2B that it was paired up with on Friday is still in tow. Will also be a chance to see BN Cascade emerging from the tunnel with spot-on sunlight. Imagine my surprise when MRL 4302 blasts out, followed by 4313/4311/FURX 8094/NREX 7511. Of any train I see at Mullan Tunnel, this one makes the most noteworthy "holy smoke" appearance. It shot out with enough exhaust to have had mid & rear helpers, but all the smoke was coming from the head end. I need to upload the video, the background is black by the time the locomotives exit the bore. The head-end helpers will cut off in Elliston, passing PASKCK in the siding at Blossburg.

After the helpers off LAUSPO head back east, it'll be almost two hours before anything else shows up. An eastbound grain empty takes the siding at 1840hrs with three BNSF H2 GE's & a train of the newer covered hoppers. They are waiting on the loaded grain train I saw earlier this morning, but it has stalled out on Austin Creek Trestle on the east side of the tunnel. It has a pair of mid-train & a pair of rear helpers. This delay allowed me to get the full scope of the curved trestle looking down from the Blossburg side of Mullan Pass. Had to patiently wait on a herd of free-range cattle on the top of the pass to clear the road before I could get there. It's well after 2030hrs before the loaded grain train actually makes that meet.

Tonight I will camp out on the Pass, but head back into Helena for some grub & to do some laundry, taking the scenic route along the mainline, where I find Sperry Rail Services #145 in the Team Track at Austin. As luck would have it, the Depot Laundromat directly across the street from MRL's Helena Yard & their classy depot is open for business tonight. The floodgates have seemingly opened, in the span of two hours there are six mainline trains. Of interest is BNSF 5000 leading BNSF ex-BN Whiteface 6377 on a westbound while MRL 111 works the yard. The most amazing thing about the Pass at night is the sky so full of stars I thought something was wrong with my eyes or glasses. I have never seen so many lights in the sky in my life, just one of those moments in life when you can't help but gasp "wow" outloud.

SUN July 30
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Several trains passed in the night, but I was not disturbed at all. MRL 4305 guided a stack train west just before light began to show on the horizon, it will be cut out in Elliston. Dispatcher says ML will pick it up. No word as to when, tho'. First train I photograph arrived just after 0700, another newer BNSF grain train with three H2 GE. They wander down to Austin to meet Laurel-Missoula (LM) with MRL 4301/331 on the head end & 4303/4307 on the rear. They will cut off in Elliston, giving me time to get ahead of them to the overpass on Little Blackfoot River east of Garrison, one of two places where the line faces north/south, allowing for proper light on a westbound this early in the morning. On the way down, dispatcher tells LM they will have at least two to meet at Avon, the next siding west of Elliston. I get the first, which I think was PASKCK, at MP 40.7 (historical marker site) with BNSF 8052 (BN paint)/BNSF 8062 (BN paint)/NREX 7378 (primer). Head west just a couple miles for the next one, running on approach blocks, which is a grain empty powered by FURX ex-BN SD40-2 7261/NREX ex-CP-NS hihood SD40-2(B) 5481 (CP Dual Flags paint). 5481 has a newer set of Leslie chimes on the hood and, yes, there is an older trainset of BN covered hoppers. Can't pass up the chance to chase them back towards Avon, still have plenty of time to set up by the overpass on Little Blackfoot River where LM shows up at 0940hrs. Right behind them is another Boeing extra with BNSF 8057 headed west. They get around LM at Garrison, where LM has a set-out. Takes them only a handful of minutes to do their work & continue west. ML has not gotten out of Missoula, they are waiting on this power.

I wait at Phosphate for the next eastbound, capturing not only the Phosphate marker sign, but the old branch line trestle across Clark Fork River. This is an eastbound autorack-intermodal combo with BNSF snoot-nosed SD40-2 6338/BNSF 800 (ATSF paint). Follow them back up to Little Blackfoot River then get ahead of them to reach Blossburg. On the way up to the tunnel, I can hear a loaded coal train coming down, meet them just south of Blossburg with BNSF 4460/EMDX 9009/EMDX 9014/EMDX 9080 with MRL 4307/4303 mid-train, the rear helpers cut off at the west end of Blossburg siding. Not too worried about having missed this one at the tunnel, but had the EMD's been leading....

Once at the tunnel, it's a short wait for Laurel-Spokane (LAUSPO) with BNSF 6390/6870 on the head end & MRL 4309/4306 on the rear. After they clear, the trio of helpers off the rear of the coal train heads east. Wind down to Austin Creek Trestle for BNSF 6338 East & the LAUSPO helpers working their way to Helena. Back at Blossburg, about an hour later, comes an eastbound mixed with BNSF 6720/FURX 7930 (BN paint)/FURX 7274 (BN paint). Almost two hours pass before the next train, a loaded grain train with BNSF 7760/5208/5335/MRL 382 on the head end, MRL 4302/4313/4311 in the middle & MRL 4307/4303 on the rear. The rear helper crew is short on time, they will taxi back from Elliston & both sets of power will be combined back to Helena. They ask about the 4305, but dispatcher says ML will get it.

LM made good time to Missoula evidently, here comes counterpart ML to Elliston right behind the five-unit helper set just shy of 1700hrs. Having talked about ML picking up 4305 all day with everyone else, it comes as a surprise that no one has told ML about the pick up. They have already knocked down the signal at West Elliston before dispatcher tells them, apologizing for the oversight. Missoula turned the power, 4301 is again leading with 331 trailing, adding 4305 for an SD70ACe/SD45/SD70ACe set.

Thinking I have enough time to get over to Austin Creek Trestle while they get back on their train at Elliston was a mistake, they manage to get permission by the signal at East Elliston & reassemble their train & get up to Blossburg in the same amount of time it took for me to drive from Elliston to Blossburg. Only the slow order into Skyline allowed me any time to get to the shot. Would have had even more time had those cattle been more cooperative :-) I follow ML down to Helena Junction where I hear Laurel-Pasco (LAUPAS) gettting helpers added to the rear of their train. Had I known Pasco-North Town (PASNTW) was right behind ML, I would have stayed at Austin Creek Trestle, they come screaming down into Helena about 15 minutes behind ML with BNSF 7843/TFM 1620 & either a BNSF or FURX SD40-2 in BN paint. Get the LAUPAS in the classic shot climbing out of Helena at Tobin with BNSF 919/6765 on the point, MRL 4302/4313/4311 pushing. Not much else on the horizon, so I watch MRL 111 work the yard until the light is gone.

MON July 31
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MofW will curtail a lot of mainline activity today, but I cannot think of a better place to be on my birthday. Chatter on the scanner just after sunrise indicates there will not be much, apart from a loaded coal train before noon....BUT the Laurel-Missoula (LM) has been stopped at Avon since a broken rail was discovered at MP 40.2, near the historical marker I shot at yesterday. It's by no small miracle that I get to see this LM, since I am way over in Helena & have quite a ways to go to intercept. I am pleasantly surprised to find MRL SD70ACe 4304 & SD45 327 have been joined by SD19 651 today! It is online & running & looks like what I imagined an SD19 would be. Whoa, both of their SD19 out on the main in one trip, not bad. After much discussion, LM tiptoes over the broken rail at 2MPH & their joint track warrant with MofW doesn't get them much above 20MPH from there, allowing me to get them at both north-south tangents along Little Blackfoot River. They have a drop in Garrison where I can get uncoupled shots of 651. BNSF GP38-2 (BN paint) is sitting in the yard, as well. From there, LM seems to have a clear shot into Missoula. Thought I heard mention of an eastbound at Bearmouth this morning, but it didn't materialize.

Heading back up towards Blossburg, I pass the Sperry Rail 145 headed west over the broken rail. That was just a bit after high noon. The coal train has got all of its helpers cut in at Helena & is climbing up towards Austin....where it will sit for almost two hours waiting for MofW to clear up at Skyline. Just shy of 1500hrs, when the light is hitting the tunnel portal at its best, the loaded coal train blasts out with BNSF 9766/8228/8255/MRL 351 on the point, MRL 4302/4313/4311 in the middle & MRL 4307/4303 on the rear. There is a strong wind blowing to the northeast today, so the thick black smoke gets blown back over the hill above the portal instead of over the sun, this train would have to take the #2 "Holy Smoke" award of the visit. They glide down into Elliston to cut out both sets of helpers.

Still no eastbounds near by, so I head back to Helena in time to see the 840 local returning from Logan with MRL SD45's 346/321. Loaded grain train is coming, too, but I have enough time for lunch at The Staggering Ox, which has just about the best sandwiches on the planet if you ask me (Missoula voted them as #1). Can't pass up their "Montana Rail Link Express", which you get to create from a long list of items. Their wesbite says it all: "This is our tribute to the infamous 5:00 A.M. wake up call that rocked Helena, blew out all of our windows, froze nearly 200 of our plants and shut us down for two weeks."

The grain train recrews at the depot then zips down to Helena Jct to add helpers. They come by Tobin at 1730hrs with BNSF 4833/CSXT 7844/BNSF 5041/MRL 306 on the point, MRL 4307/4303 in the middle & MRL 4300/4309 on the rear. Passing Tobin, the rear helper set has a unit quit loading & the little bit of momentum they had built up is quickly lost as the train drags to a crawl. Problem worked itself out & they managed to get over the mountain. Laurel-Spokane (LAUSPO) shows up at Helena a half-hour later with BNSF 4068/MRL 356, at Helena Jct the MRL 4302/4313/4311 will cut in mid-train. Local job comes in from East Helena behind that with MRL 111 belching smoke as they approach the yard. They die at 1830hrs & slide into the depot with seconds to spare. A helper crew returning from the grain train will take over & switch the garbage industry. All is quiet on the western front, so I spend the rest of the day watching them.

TUE Aug 1
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Wake up & realize I only have four days left. With a variety of spots to the east left untouched so far, it's high time I move along. Today will turn out to be very eventful & rewarding. Plan is to follow the 840 local down to Logan, then head towards Bozeman Pass & Livingston. At sunrise, the power for 840 is being worked on, so it'll be a late start for them. I can also hear dispatcher telling LM they can handle the switches at Elliston to cut out their helpers & the day's lineup is read to MofW. Pasco-Kansas City Kansas (PASKCK) is about to leave Missoula, something tells me to ditch my plans eastward in order to get the dandy overpass shot rounding a curve & passing a barn at Gold Creek, but I stick to my plans. Time is of the essence.

First sight of the day is a pair of wayward bucks wandering thru the locomotive pit area in Helena Yard. They are looking for a way around the fence unsuccessfully. They become separated while one wanders down to the highway crossing by the depot & sprints into the residential area. The other shows up a couple feet from my car about 10 minutes later. It's less skittish & takes a leisurely stroll in the middle of the street.

Laurel-Pasco (LAUPAS) arrives westward with BNSF 4659/4014 & are discussing with Helena Yard where to dock as several eastbounds have the mainline tied up. Pasco-North Town (PASNTW) arrives with BNSF 6377 (BN whiteface paint)/NREX 5979 (primer ex-CP snoot nose)/NS 6782. They recrew pretty quickly & an empty coal train follows them down with BNSF 9748/4320/EMDX 9009/BNSF 9210 (BN whiteface paint). That's the third coal train I've seen the first two locos on this trip. A set of helpers is coming down behind them.

As the coal train pulls to the east end of the yard for recrew, 840 is braketesting & getting ready to head east. They pull out ahead of the empty coal train at a quarter to nine with MRL 321/346. SD45's in local service, who'd have thought? First stop will be the Limestone quarry at Townsend, but not before some opposition. At Winston (another FL throwback), PASNTW is inching into the siding & discussing a westbound grain train with problems. It rained earlier & the rails are quite slick, dragging the heavy train to a crawl, even with three of BNSF's "best" GE's up front pulling. Dispatcher contemplates having PASNTW cut the power off their train & run to the siding in Townsend to either pull or push the grainer west. It doesn't come to that, but the grain train has one heck of a time crawling up to Winston from Townsend. All & all, it took about 45 minutes for that to happen.

Once the grain train passes Winston with BNSF 4006/7685/7697, it manages to get some speed under its wheels. PASNTW continues east & tells dispatcher they will need helpers at Bozeman 'cos "this power won't cut it". 840 has taken the siding behind them & slides out on an approach. They get up to the quarry & work it for about 20 minutes before taking the siding at Townsend to work a couple more industries. Departing there just after 1130hrs, I capture them in one of the most picturesque spots of the entire trip a few paces east (or south according to the DeLorme), a field full of colorful blooming flowers dotted with a variety of birds, a herd of cattle & the Limestone Hills in the background. This shot deserves to be on a postcard, if it's not already. Just brilliant.

The tracks will leave the highway at Toston, so I won't see the train again until it arrives at Logan & leaves the 2nd Sub for the 5th Sub. Logan is a very interesting spot & loaded with photo ops, primarily on the 5th Sub as it skirts the Gallatin River heading away from the 2nd Sub with a bridge over the Gallatin in the background. There is a water tower by the mainline at the west end of the siding/yard. It's half past one when 840 shows up, looks like they stopped elsewhere along the way. Discussion with dispatcher lets me know they have a lot of switching to do in the yard before heading down the 5th Sub & will not make it back to Helena tonight. They predict Sappington as their outlaw point.

While 840 works the yard, a work train on the 5th Sub gets a track warrant from Willow Creek to Three Forks. They converse with 840, who are now anxious to get moving. A westbound manifest passes them on the mainline with BNSF 6709 (ATSF paint)/BNSF 8080 for power. Work train gives up their warrant, then 840 gets it. It takes several repeats to get the wording of the warrant correct, dispatcher tells the crew "This is not the subdivision to make those kinds of mistakes on." 840 finally gets moving down the scenic 5th Sub at 1445hrs. Behind me, between I-90 & the local overpass, a trio of pronghorn antelope are keeping watchful eyes on me. I follow 840 down I-90 to Three Forks where they almost wipe out a bunch of trespassers fishing from the bridge over Madison River which passes right under I-90. They stop to work a local industry, then I move ahead to Willow Creek to find the work train with MRL GP9's 116/133 for power. Another pronghorn leaps out from a wooded area over a fence, scrambling across the highway ahead of me.
By now, I am totally ready to be in Livingston. Don't pass a single train until I get to West End, the siding on the west end of Bozeman Pass by the tunnel. It has BNSF 7734/715 for power. Heading out of the siding east is the coal train led by BNSF 9748 which I saw in Helena this morning. It slipped by Logan while I was down on the 5th Sub. In Livingston, things ain't what they used to be. The long lines of MRL units seem to have been cut down to size & the entire south side of the shops & storage area where you could view them is covered up with tank cars, making afternoon shots of whatever is visible from the residential area on the north side your only bet. Couldn't see if they have any of the ex-SP units around anywhere. The remains of the LRC still has the primer SD18 that was out there on the west end last year, while the ex-ATSF SD45-2B has been moved over to the east end of the property. One handsome set of engines I can see on the west end of the shops is MRL 374/8918 (VMV paint)/369/362/348/14. On the east end I can see 372/8919 (VMV paint)/216 (severe fire damage)/378 along with a bunch of SD9, a few of which still bear IMRL markings. MRL 1715 (WC paint) & F45 391 are also here....along with the most gruesome sight I had hoped to avoid: a metal scrapper is onhand with a front end loader gutting out MRL 345. It was like seeing a murder in progress.

LM is in the yard switching & a loaded grain train getting helpers, so I get back to Muir on the east side of the tunnel to see what happens. Grainer is already by the east end of Muir siding when dispatcher asks if they can wait at Muir for a heavy helperless PASKCK, which would be the train I didn't go to Gold Creek for this morning. Despite getting fantastic shots of 840, it's too bad I didn't go to Gold Creek, PASKCK comes by with TFM 1605/BNSF 875 (ATSF Warbonnet)/MRL 308. That would have been one heck of a shot, even tho' I'm wagering the MRL unit was picked up around Garrison or Elliston. Grain train continues westward after the meet with BNSF 4858/4735/854/MRL 326. I was at the west portal of the tunnel for them & the helpers cut off on the fly at Muir, so I didn't get to see them. I stay put for LM, but know I can still get over to Livingston & back to the tunnel with no worries...just wanted to chill a bit. Can hear dispatcher chatting to a crew down around Sappington, most likely a relief on 841. There is also a flagman at the I-90 overpass on the east side of Bozeman watching over the major construction efforts overhead.

LM blasts out of the Bozeman Tunnel in spectacular light at 1930hrs with MRL 4304/327 for power. Again, the helpers cut off on the fly in Muir & drift back to Livingston. I grab another shot of LM at West End before heading back to Livingston for the night, still with about an hour of sunlight. At West End, from an elevated spot, I can see the Grizzly bears that live in the attraction that is located about half way in the siding. The bears are standing on the highest rocks & it's quite a sight, even at a glance. I decide I have to take a closer look at this tomorrow.

Back in Livingston, I watch the helpers come into the yard & get onto a stack train waiting by the old Northern Pacific Depot museum. Power on that one is BNSF 6937/7818. Call it a night at the quaint Rainbow Motel on the east end of the yard. It doesn't look like much on the outside, but it's VERY cozy & quiet...unless a train is passing. I get an odd look from the owner when I ask her about Laurel, she's puzzled because most people ask about Billings. She also seems sympathetic to find out I'm from Florida. For MANY reasons, I concur.