And looking at the size of the rail, that may be true! The ugly thing is, the stockyard has a "mud" pile just across the parallel access road along the tracks! I am sure that the wet ground and overflow from the pile may have helped to 'weather' the ties!
There is a few sidings and spurs in the Pasco area that has 1908 sticks of tracks still in use, and a few around the Kent and Auburn area here that have some from 1953 too!
While traipsing about during my weekly busy-ness, I got stuck at the west Towne street crossing. This light power had just cut off it's oil cans and was moving up to drop the DPU on the siding ahead. Don't see enough of these KCS units around here.
And a 'captured' UP! These very rarely show up in Glendive! And this was a short cur of cars being worked by this train. Later in the day I went under the tracks here again, and this set was further west and the train was back together, with the cars you see in the fore track to the right side. They must have just cut some out and set them out.
Got this pair yesterday, it just seemed poetic, And on 8 April we got some spring snow! Which promptly melted away. So, on 13 April we got another heavy one! Which is also nearly gone today.
Please note- Spring for 2018, in Montana has been cancelled. Please go directly to July. And then to November.
And here's the video of that last train in snow, Then, two days later, a mixed freight entering from the east end. And look! No snow! Yup, spring is here. This train is going down into 3 track, so slow through the switches. There are a LOT of different cars in this train!
Took a quick lunch break sitting at this pullout by the west end of the yard. And, happily, got interrupted by this mixed manifest pulling in. There was even an un-graffitti-ed boxcar! Wow!! After it parked, I went to the east end and took this long view of the yard, with the mixed on 1 track. A pipe train, sans power is on 4. Lots of ag-tanks on6 and some stored 70MAC's on 7. This can be a busy place!
And still attached to it's power unit! The sop/roundhouse is to the left just off picture. That rotary is on the west end of a storage track. The marvels of telephoto deception!
This mixed freight left town on 3 April 18 eastbound. It has a bunch of boxcars, tanks, and some reefers. This is the train that had those Southern cars in it. Am not sure what the MOW crew is waiting on, and couldn't stay to watch.
More lost horses! This one sat here most of the day, And then ended up in this consist heading east out of Glendive. The power has just crested the hill and will begin a mile or so of downhill rolling, crossing that bridge over Glendive creek, before starting the ascent up Beaver Hill for about 20 miles. These empty flats have been delivering pipeline pipe somewhere around here.
And now back to our regularly scheduled pumpkin patch! We had threatening skies yesterday evening, which made for some very interesting lighting. Here we look north east at an empty waiting for a crew. The local will come by in a second and take the east leg of the wye and head over the Yellowstone, The local has a load of drill pipe and chem tanks, in a video later, Passing the barn, And over the Yellowstone we go, now heading north.