Funny thing--my wife & son took Amtrak's Empire Builder east to Minot for a week, to visit her folks--and shot MRL 265 at Havre..... Heh.. BNSF 7009 begins to throttle down for the crest of the 2.2% grade, the summit of the Continental Divide clearly marked ont he sign on the north side of the tracks: A little further along, the EB grain train crew gives 7009 a rollyby inspection: Midtrain helpers creating loads of sooty, hot exhaust: The trio of pure SD45's throttles down in kind as they crest the grade:
After the WB cleared the block, the signals showed green, and the BNSF grain empty took off east: The grainer had no DPUs, so we headed back to the car, and the ACe helpers had been cut off the WB, and awaited their signal to occupy the main: And the roll-by as the drifted toward the tunnel, and Helena:
Last shot of the tunnel, and the light helpers now downgrade on the 2.2%: Piling into Rob's car, we head to beans. Wow, that few minutes turned into a a couple hours, and our stomachs thought our throats got cut.... We headed for Avon and points west, pacing this train, after they split it at Blossburg Siding: After lunch, we headed west to Garrison, and other points of interest. The twin Garrison MILW/NP tunnels: Not MRL/NP-related, but Deer Lodge has one of the few EF-4 Little Joe electric motors that still exist:
Does this need a witty caption? Deer Lodge MILW depot is now a church: Back on the road, we catch a heavy grain Double at Elliston stopping to cut out helpers:
Hemi, Saw 393 the next day again in Laurel. Talk about a quick turn around. They must have cut the unit out at Missoula???? grant
Cool! My wife saw 265 (Operation Lifesaver unit) at Havre last Weds., and we saw it at Austin that Saturday before...
Watching the mid-train ACe helpers cut out: After they cut out, we headed back for the summit, and collected my truck, and stopped on the east slope to catch the light ACe helpers. There was a light set of 2 ACez sitting at E Blossburg, awaiting a signal, and a second set following EB from that grainer. Grant & I headed up an old maintenance road, and parked short of a fence, and selected our shots right as a light helper set drifted around Skyline trestle: After the cleared, I hiked firther, since the ACez that just passed were only in a pair, rather than all 4, which I thought might have been a combined set.
I hiked high upon a bluff overlooking Skyline, and awaited the second set of ACez--I didn't have to wait long! This would be a spectacular shot in morning light, methinks... Another from the same rock: In a dead run, I headed back to the cut the tracks run thru, and record the helpers running thru the rocky cut east of the trestle: At that, we piled in our vehicles, and headed back for Helena. Just in time to miss an EB coal empty, likely. We arrived at the depot right as the whistle sounded for the crossings near the depot...
Might be headed back toMullan the 4th July weekend, with my usual Moffat buddy; stay tuned! *fingers crossed*
Great Stuff as Always!!!!!!! I wish I had your energy, you get some of the greatest photograph from your hikes into the mountains like this. :shade: :shade: :shade: :shade:
Thanks, Darren... * grins* I do it while I am young, and energetic. OnceI get old and decrepit, I won't be able to climb sheer precipices like a mountain goat does.. I like it for exercise. Keeps you healthy! While Mullan isn't nearly as big, or rugged as Moffat route, it still presents opportunities for climbing around. Maybe this time I'll cover the old 4% overhead line last used in 1889 or so..
This book is invaluable to reference Mullan: Mullan Pass Its counterpart, Homestake Pass to the south is also covered: Butte Short Line
An impromptu trip to Mullan this afternoon yielded a few videos, and a couple new shots to share... The score for the day: a grain double, led by a fresh BNSF GEVO, at Tobin, MT, on VIDEO! The video isn't Pentrex quality, but it'll do. The 2 pairs of ACez belted out some serious thunder!!
I am having troubles getting the video to upload, so this will have to do.. The hazy, smoky skies made photos difficult at best.... Tobin, MT:
It would have been better had the wildfire smoke and haze hadn't destroyed the clarity of the shots... And if I didn't have to get home to get the lawn mowed! If I had my way, I would have caught it at the Birdseye Rd crossing, and overtaken it to Iron Ridge, and watch it from atop the cut. Maybe if I could catch it again, I would go for Blossburg to catch some real black fog! But, as it stands, all I got is a muddy shot at Tobin.. Here's the same train's tail end helpers shoving hard:
