Worked on the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific starting in early May east of Avery, Idaho. Wild country. No housing, so stayed in a Forest Service CG. Sleeping bags on tables, cooking in a fire pit and bathing in a cold mountain stream. The Milwaukee decided to put us (track crew) in a converted box car-dormatory up Loop Creek. No thanks! Got recent pics of trackage east of East Portal and will post when back in the area. If you know the East Portal area nothing there anymore. Not even foundations. It is now a popular bike path with 47,000 plus bikers last year. You can drive from East Portal to short of the trestle at Saltese. It is all being prepared for a bike route from East Portal to St Regis, Montana but it ends there with a span gone on the Milwaukee bridge over the Clarks Fork River. Usually walk the tracks on the BNSF near St Regis snooping around. Was on the Nashville and Eastern today walking track and wow . . . ratty ties, many hollow in the middle, split apart as compared to the BNSF which has replaced some mainline sections with cement ties and good ties everywhere else. No tie nails. BNSF tipped 3-4 767 airplane bodies going to Boeing 2 years back that can be seen on youtube. Quite a drop to the river. Regards to all
Hello everybody! N Scaler and 3D printer/modeler here! I'm from Queens, NYC originally but live in the Finger Lakes, New York region now. N Scale & DCC for over 20 years now. I grew up a few blocks from the Hell Gate Bridge, and I rather like modeling grimy waterfronts and brick canyons! Owner of Low Bridge Studios where I do 3D printing/modeling when I can! Great to be here and hope to participate in all the fun here!
Welcome aboard, nevadavandal and LtJim. Nevada, when did you work on the Milwaukee? LtJim, where are you now located in the Finger Lakes region? Interested as a former NYer.
Fitz Worked on the Milwaukee late Spring 1972. The long east yard in Avery curved to the left with the river and five . . . boarding houses/train crew quarters were available and a common bath tub for showering. Those boarding houses were built 1908??? because 1 was used for a morgue during the 1910 forest fire. Boarding houses are still there as are a few Milwaukee outbuildings on the south side of the river near the RV park. Regards
Just an FYI- Although it had BNSF power, this was actually a Montana Rail Link train, with MRL crew. Moving BNSF across the MRL system, west of Alberton. Part of the contract MRL has with BNSF. There were four fuselages. As I recall the photos, (mine from a MRL official involved), none reached the actual water. Only idler flats got wet in the Clark Fork. Cause was supposedly track, due to a sun kink.
