Back to the tour! Nine Mile Tunnel #17 is next. While the road-level view stinks, we hiked up the hill to get a better look. Here's the west portal: Interior is lined with concrete at both ends, timer-lined for a short distance, then bare rock: And the east portal: The ROW is overgrown heavily on both sides, but I neglected to get a shot of it. Oh well, next time! Next up is a sleepy little town called Alberton... Loads and loads of railroad related stuff to be seen here. But, will wait till tomorrow to continue the tour! I know, drool......
There was a bit of rock that had flaked off in the unlined portion, but for zero maintenance the last 40-50 years, the tunnel was in pretty good shape.
Alberton was named for the company's first president, as I recall; Albert Earling. The depot is the town's community center, among several other things. The attractive structure still is well cared for: Close to the depot is a caboose and ancient passenger car. They are the town's railroad museum! The yellow and orange car is from the Montana Centennial Train, and is plastered with brands from the state's various ranches. There's so much stuff in this car, that I was nearly drooling, and forgot to take pics!
That car in the lower picture reminds me of, and Boxcab may know what I'm talking about, the railroad car that sat in Hungry Horse MT, right off of Hwy 2 thru the middle of town. Last time I went thru there it was gone. If I recall, it was a museum and later a MRR store? Did it have all MILW things or was there a mix of GN? Anyone remember that car in Hungry Horse? Its great to see that the folks in Alberton really appreciate what they have, that station is beautiful. I'll be in Polson for 2 weeks the end of June, maybe I can chase some ghosts too. :thumbs_up: Thank you Hemi, for the time, effort and $ you spend to get these pics, and sharing them with us.
Hey Hemi, I just turned my Milw. Rd. Historical Association calander to June and they have a picture of Little Joe # E78 going over the bridge you have pictured on the last page. In the picture there is a girder plate conecting the concrete ends.
E78 is the coolest 'Joe! Those stainless grilles are instantly recognizable anywhere. Soudan is a neat location, seen a few nice shots there in the Alberton museum. It's a good thing Overland didn't do E78 in N scale last time......
I'm drawing a blank right now. But I have always tended to drive on through HH without looking or stopping. There was a restaurant with old passenger equipment, between Kalispell, and Whitefish. That burned down years ago. Boxcab E50
In between the caboose and passenger car, is a neat signal. I wonder what its milepost corresponds to? Almost directly behind the museum on wheels is the foundation for the oil fuel tank that was built when the railroad built thru the town in 1908: Just west of the tank, is the turntable pit, being slowly filled-in by the locals: Adjacent the TT pit, are some shacks:
Also in town are some other non-railroad structures, but seem worth including. Here's the "Sidetrack Cafe": And an antique dealer--this place looks like a freight house or something: Up next, we tour the bay window/ribside caboose interior!
The caboose at the museum has some neat stuff in it--including some nackground on the caboose itself, and an in-service shot of it on Pipestone Pass at Janney, MT: This sign is self-explanatory; Haugan is many miles west of Alberton, near the foot of the heavy grade to St Paul Pass: Even wonder what the toilet facilities in a caboose look like? Instructions to work the toilet:
That is the old Northern Pacific depot from Frenchtown. It was moved to Alberton a few years back. Before the move, it was starting to look rather sad! So I'm glad it was saved. I wonder if they have a web site? Boxcab E50
Man!! Look at those fins on that black caddy!! Elvis must be in the area railfaning!!:teeth: That old signal next to it is definetely an old MILW one.
KM, That signal was mostly the reason for the photo, but it all combined to make a neat shot. For those of you who don't know, MRL runs right thru town, on the opposite side of the river. The MRL (ex-NP) main parallels the MILW from Garrison to St Regis, MT.
