Western Railroad Discussion > Homestake Pass

I haven't been on I-90/94 for over ten years, so I got to thinking
what is the status of Homestake. The last time I was over the summit
was about 2005. I know service had stopped years before, but I was
wondering if whoever owns it has inspected it. For that matter who does
own it? Has there been any speeders trips across it? I always thought
this route was inferior to Pipestone and felt it would've been a better
route for the NCH when Amtrak ran it.

Larry Dodgion
Wilsonville, OR



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/11/14 15:41 by truxtrax.

Very vandalized, lots of washouts. All signals are shot up. Bnsf owns the line to a bridge on the east side of the hill, ala Tennessee pass

Who would want the line? For some chance that the UP wanted the line, I would try for a swap with the Tennessee Pass line.:)

> what is the status of Homestake.

BNSF still owns the Homestake line from Garrison through Silver Bow and Butte and over the pass to just west of the Spire Rock ballast pit at the east foot of Homestake Pass. From that point eastward is MRL. The line is technically embargoed - out of service but not abandoned. They actively discourage any unauthorized use of the line.The line has been offered to MRL should they need it in the event of the Mullan Tunnel coming in. There is no economic incentive for MRL to take BNSF up on that deal, as the line would include trackage rights from about where service stops (Fickler Oil on Continental Drive appears to be the last BNSF customer) through to Garrison. However - that trackage right would not allow any interchange or switching along the line.

UP doesn't want the line because it doesn't go anywhere and it doesn't actually connect to the UP. It doesn't matter because until it's officially abandoned, no one else can petition to take it over. There's just no value in the line unless it would be as a substitute route for a closed Mullan Pass.

> I always thought this route was inferior to Pipestone and felt it would've been a better
> route for the NCH when Amtrak ran it.

No Amtrak trains used Pipestone Pass regularly. That Milwaukee line saw it's last passenger traffic in the early '60s, well before the era of Amtrak and was never part of the Amtrak system. When the Milwaukee went out, the Milwaukee main line was broken up and sold where possible. The Milwaukee's demise happened before the rails-to-trails and rail banking laws were passed. (Although that may have been the impetus to push them through before another rail corridor was lost.)

steeplecab

It's in the budget right behind the rebuilding of Snoqualmie Pass.

I drove Interstate 90 through that location twice last fall. When you see some of the roadbed now, you wonder how a train ever made it through there. Some of it is almost scary to look at. Montana is a fascinating state and the area around Butte especially so. West of Butte you can still see lots of Milwaukee Road catenary poles still standing, waiting for new wires to be hung and new rail to be laid. All fans should visit the area.