I've always thought this was interesting- NP and successors never had a station name, or reference to Alberton. Boxcab E50
Ken Yes, I am finding out about the variances in the depots, as I am currently building Lester, Wa for a friend of mines N scale layout. I am using the NPRHA 2 story NP depot kit as a starting point and will have to make several modifications to it to make it correct.
Ken started a new thread in the NP section. I will post photos as work is in process, as I have not yet started the project.
West of Alberton is a small overpass near Spring Gulch, MT: And a little west of this one is a massive steel trestle (DD-144) at Cyr. Many fantastic photos have been taken from here. The famous angle is from the interstatebridge over the Clark Fork, which I realized after I passed it.
Truth in advertising. That's all I gotta say about that, Ken! There's little between Cyr and St Regis, so we'll move along to St Regis, and visit another impressive span. Another massive bridge (DD-170) over the Clark Fork is at St Regis, and while MRL removed a section of it, the structure is mostly intact: One can see the MRL mainline directly below: A small shack or platform seems to have been placed at the west abutment of the trestle, likely for a train order office. Ken? A signal foundation at the west end of the trestle as well:
West of St Regis, is some really rugged territory. The interstate, the Clark Fork and the Milwukee all shared the same cramped valley. Drexel lies just a few miles west of St Regis, and hosted substation 12. The SS is gone, only a foundation exists (the same fate befell Tarkio SS 11, several miles west of Alberton). The only way to it is to drive the ROW west from a forest road access exit from the interstate, or drive in from the Henderson exit from the west. With rain falling, and driving a family sedan, I opted not to see Drexel. The Drexel interstate exit offers fishing access, and is much closer to the substation site, if you have waders, a boat, and/or like to swim in icy mountain streams! The forest road access east of Drexel offers these views, looking east and then west, respectively: Directly west of this access point is a small wood trestle: Somewhere between Drexel & Henderson, is this view of the ROW, and some poles:
Loads of trees, and steep mountain slopes from here on out. Take the Henderson exit from I-90 east, and we see this twin 60' trestle (DD-182) standing in the torrent of mountain runoff: In case you didn't know, do NOT mention the Milwaukee in Haugan. You will receive a rude awakening when gritted teeth and cold eyes cast their icy stares. The Milw is not well-loved in Haugan, after the pullout nearly destroyed the town. A huge tourist trap awaits in Haugan, the only reason for the town's continued existence. In between Henderson and Haugan, are 3-4 more steel trestles. I missed a few, but it's all the more reason to visit again. Here's one, a mile or so east of Haugan: Haugan has lots of stuff still around--stay tuned for more soon!
Yea, that tourist trap, what a gawdawful structure full of worthless imported crap and cheezy junk. I wonder if those icy eyed folks know whom their town was named after. :tb-wink: Didn't the MRL take that bridge span down because of the accident at the Lombard bridge? (contractors laying cable knocked the span off it mounts, killing one person) I also heard they used it somewhere else on the MRL?
The Silver Dollar Bar... Bleh. In fact, Haugan is quite like hundreds, if not thousands of communities in North America. Deliberately devastated by financial opportunity.... Wasn't part of the bridge at St. Regis taken for re-use elsewhere? Boxcab E50
According to Mr. McCarter's Guidebook, the St Regis span was indeed removed by MRL for use elsewhere. My copy is on loan to the guy who made the trip with me, but I think it was Lombard. The silver dollars are neat looking, but the whole place is cheap (expensive, however), imported touristy junk. Heck, a 20-oz pop costs 3 bucks.
Hemi , this book you mention by McCarter, what is the complete name? I heard of this book in other forums.
Note that the book is not 100% accurate. There were a couple of errors. And things have changed since it was published. However, I am very happy to have my copy on the home library shelf. Boxcab E50
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Guide-Milwaukee-Montana-Steve-McCarter/dp/0917298276/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213071244&sr=8-1"]Amazon.com: Guide to the Milwaukee Road in Montana: Steve McCarter: Books[/ame] There are some changes, such as at Haugan, some of the stuff listed does not exist anymore, or was removed. Still, it is a great reference for ghost chasers like me.
The bridge at Lombard was taken out by a fiber-optic outfit that was on a work train and the backhoe on one of the flatcars hit the Milwaukee bridge and knocked it down!!
Some backhoe that must have been to knock a bridge right off its footings! I'll bet that backhoe operator needed a change of underwear after that one...
Electrical Stations or Sub-Stations Hemi: On these Milwaukee power stations...one of them had a propane tank outside, so I presume it was occupied. I also presume that none of them are electrical facilities any more? How did they generate power or did they. Were they just transformers that boosted power or were they along creeks so that actually generated power? Thanks. Sorry I am so far behind on this thread.
Flash- These substations simply converted AC to DC. They took 100kv AC, from outside sources, and switched it to 3000 volts DC. Later upped to 3400 vdc. The RR used power (AC, and DC), via substations for the trains, signals, some structures, etc. Boxcab E50
