Western Railroad Discussion > Michaud Monday

This is the ZBRG2B-08 passing under the cantilever signal at Michaud ID on the Nampa Sub, 11/09/2025.  How does one pronounce Michaud?

Edited to correct train ID

mike woodruff
north platte ne



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/25 14:21 by swaool.

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Very nice!

How does one pronounce Michaud?
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https://www.mainepublic.org/politics/2014-09-02/mike-michaud-its-pronounced-mih-show-or-mih-shoo-not-mee-show:

Actually, that depends on whom you ask."Je m'appelle Michel Michaud (Mih-SHOW')," says the man himself, Mike Michaud.And there you have it, straight from the candidate's mouth. But he says there are two acceptable pronunciations."It's proper pronunciation either way," Michaud says. "The French name is Mih-SHOW. The anglicized version is MIH-shoo.

Greg Stadter
Phoenix, AZ

Thank you Greg for that information.
I'll sleep better knowing that. My family name and its Anglisized version are similarly slurred. But from German to English. And my forefathers were British loyalists who fled from Georgia to Nova Scotia during the Revolutionary War. Returning to Reading and York Pennsylvania later and become upright U.S. citizens, mostly clergy and military leaders. Go figure. 
Gonut, obviously not an Anglisized German name! But just a dumba$$ screen name.
Gonut
 

Nice. Is the old 40 footer on the ground still over to the south and east of the grain tanks?

"How does one pronounce Michaud? "
Pronounced Mi-shod, named for the creek that runs through the area into the American Falls reservoir. 

bluesman Wrote:
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> Nice. Is the old 40 footer on the ground still
> over to the south and east of the grain tanks?

Thanks!  I didn't see anything like that, but then again, I wasn't looking for it.  Here's a Google Street View from July 2025:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/BBnhsRuQqkKwm3v78

mike woodruff
north platte ne

x6924w Wrote:
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> "How does one pronounce Michaud? "
> Pronounced Mi-shod, named for the creek that runs
> through the area into the American Falls
> reservoir. 

Amtrak had a marketing official in its early years, one Albert Michaud. He pronounced his surname the same way, Mi-shod. And I had a classmate in college, of French Canadian descent, who also used that pronunciation for his surname of the same spelling.

As for the creek in that area, I'd bet it's named for a fur trader from the pioneer days. Many of them were of French descent, and there are geographical features named for them scattered all over the West. Many of the oldest and most socially prominent families in my hometown of St. Louis are descended from such men. Those cold, clear Idaho streams that were tributaries of the Snake River were prime beaver trapping areas, and lots of trading with Native Americans went on in various settlements and the big annual rendezvous gatherings that traders and trappers had. One rather famous one took place in 1832 at Pierre's Hole in far eastern Idaho, near present day Driggs, Idaho, on the west side of the Tetons, just inside the Idaho - Wyoming border. A "hole" is a high valley substantially surrounded by mountains, a term used in Wyoming and Idaho, and equivalent to a "park" in Colorado. I've been to that area of Idaho several times during my Denver years, and the west side of the Tetons is absolutely drop-dead gorgeous country.

Really nice image - thanks. I like the use of the signal cantilever and grain elevator - I'm a sucker for both in a photo compostion. Your image reminds me that I need to get back to that country, which I really enjoy. Thanks much.

MC



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/11/25 07:23 by ironmtn.

Nice shot!

When I lived in Eastern Idaho some 45 years ago, the UP railroaders I knew pronounced the location "mi-SHAWD."
I fanned that location several times and recall catching the UP 8444 there once, and the 6900's a few times too.