Circle, MT was an after thought branchline built by the NP to forestall the GN from moving it's mainline south through Circle to Jordan and on to Lewistown. The GN was fighting swampy stuff up on the hi-line every year and surveyed an alternate route here. The NP was against this encroachment and hurriedly built a branch from Glendive to Circle and Brockway in 1909, effectively blocking the GN from such a plan. The track hasn't been used since 1997 or so, but is still thereand plans on the rumor mill are to open it back up.....rumor-mills are crazy places though! So, anyway, heres the depot and a wide vision caboose in BN paint. These are at the county museum there.
I do wish museums would set their cabooses off to one side. They seem to put them in front of the depot all too often. Then taking a picture of either depot or caboose becomes nearly impossible. I wish they'd find a wad of train orders inside and sell me at least one copied at Circle! So what is the rumor mill saying? My guess would be either coal or oil field, if ever a wheel rolled again there.
Both, actually. They are wanting to put an oil loading onramp there to cut down on highway abuse. Then, if that materializes, the coal field west of there will get a start, unless the EPA kills coal use in this country. Idiots. Of course the CO-OP will then have the impetus to put up a super elevator finally. The tracks are mostly all still there. A fella on section rents from me and says that the RR plans to do more upgrades on the branch this summer. How far is the question. There are at least a dozen wooden trestles on that branch, four are 40+ feet high!
It is in use for about 5 or 6 miles from the bridge. The Pipe yard, oil tank farm, Thatcher chemical and Fisher gravel are on it. Cars occassionally get stored for a few miles past past the gravel pit.
Didn't NP battle a patch of swampy stuff (as you put it) in North Dakota, on its mainline? I recall reading about it, maybe east of Bismarck? They had deep sags and rebuilt the main many times to keep up with the soupy ground that kept giving way.
Found it; it was Minnesota, west of Brainerd. http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/60/v60i01p004-017.pdf
