Yep, MRL nor the contractor would take responsibility, unfortunately 1 person was killed and another seriously injured. You gotta wonder how that could have happened. There weregrumblings that it needed to be replaced, apparently the local ranchers and the power used the bridge to "access very remote areas". But anyway , sorry for the hijack. Anymore pics coming?
Loads more coming from Haugan to Taft, but I don't have much time during the day to post like I used to. The desk job is gone, I'm back to being what I like--a wrench-turner!
FYI Another note on the the Big Blackfoot spur, nice mention of it in Sundays July 6 "Missoulian" newspaper regarding Ovando (Section E page E6 mentions the rr) "The Phanton Railroad. On a May morning in 1911, the C,M,SP&P first Olympian train passed thru Missoula, plams were already underway to shorten the mainline by 150 miles by building a cutoff east up the Big Blackfoot to Ovando, over to Great Falls to join the NMD. Rail was laid to the west end of the Ovando valley, and with the onset of WW1, the capitol and finacing dried up, and so did construction, never to be started again. (per Michael Sol) Nice color picture of the ROW on the back page E12.
Go figure, I don't get the Missoulian... I'd like to see this! I know the last time I drover down MT-200 from Missoula, I followed what I thought looked like a ROW, for at least 40-50 miles.Maybe it was actually graded towards Great Falls?
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/07/06/territory/ter06.txt Scroll down to "The Phantom Railroad". They didn't include the ROW pic in the online article.
<<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?>> MRL took the span out of the St. Regis bridge to use in the siding extension at Lombard over Sixteen Mile Creek. The Lombard accident that knocked out the MILW span over the MRL's main line had nothing to do with the span removed from St. Regis. Brent
Tarkio Substation #12 used to be here: Drummond's depot is now on Ft Missoula, with a nice logging display (sawmill, slash burner, log bunk cars, Shay loco, sliding crane on flatcar). The depot is now home to Missoula Model RR Club:
I'm assuming back in the early days of the Pacific Extension, there was a depot (no matter how small) at each town on line? I have more pics, some of Tunnel 18, and another Cyr (DD-144)bridge shot. I finally saw the piers in the river from the old (DD-142)Cyr bridge... Also of note, no substations west of Loweth #2 to Gold Creek #8 are listed in McCarter's Guidebook. Anyone know how to find them? I'm assuming they are either in ruins or demolished long ago. Either way, I'd like to find them.
Well, not quite. When Lines West was built, there were sidings almost every 5 miles. And many of these places did have a telegraph office. Either a small Class D, or larger. Places such as Zane, Calder, Falcon, Roland, Bryson, Clinton, Garrison, Sixteen, Lombard, Two Dot, etc, all had depots. Before they used the NP depot, the Milw had their own at St. Regis. Then there was either a tower or staff signal setup at the Garrison tunnel, Kyle, Huson, and more. Gone. Note: Some locations are on fenced, private property. And there have been trespassing issues. Boxcab E50
I understand the trespassing issue--but I have a telephoto lens, and I know how to use it... That tiny platform at the west end of St Regis' MILW trestle--was there a tiny shack there? Or down the stairs?
At one time, there was a Class D depot. I don't have my data, to pull up which type. The smallest was 12' by 28' long. As I recall the info, it did not sit there. That was the area where train orders were hooped up. But the operator climbed stairs fom the NP depot below. Boxcab E50
Back to Haugan! Here's a shack that is falling down. No idea what it was, maybe a section gang shack of some sort. The snowplow building foundation is still here, but the shed proper is gone: The Haugan oil tank foundation: Signal foundation:
Another signal foundation: The depot was cut in half, and moved west of the original depot site: Some sort of shed built from a boxcar, in somebody's back yard:
West from Haugan, is Saltese. DD-190 is Silver Creek Trestle: From here, the last Montana item of interest is Taft. It was a construction town for the St Paul Pass Tunnel #20. When the tunnel was finished, so was Taft. All that remains is a sign that leads to a road to East Portal. If I had my truck, I would have kept going to East Portal!
