Montana Trip - 3

Hi, Steve and I started our day in Thompson Fall, MT. It would be a long and active day so this is a long post.

Montana Rail Link (MRL) was alive with BNSF trains that morning. We spotted an eastbound in the siding which meant something was going to happen, probably a meet.  Sure enough, before we could find a good position a westbound showed up.

Once the westbound cleared the eastbound continued its journey (above and below).

We went to explore a bit and noticed the westbound was now waiting so we went back to the gantry signals to shoot another eastbound (above and two below).

We then moved to the east end of town where, having positioned its loads at the unloading racks,  the Day Gas Local was getting on its train of empties to take back to Missoula (above and two below).

The two crossovers were used to run around the spacer box car.

After getting his air the engineer pulled out on the main, the conductor relined the switched to normal, the engineer backed up to pick up the conductor and

the train left town.

About four miles to the east the local pulled into the siding at Eddy, MT for a meet (above and two below).

Then it was off to the races. We photographed the train at Weeksville (above and two below) and

The Pines (above and below). We just beat him to Plains but I did not have time to set up for the shot. I would get a chance later in the trip to get it.

At Paradise the Gas Local took the line over Evaro Hill which is normal practice. In some places the shots are across the Flathead River, such as here at Knowles.

Eventually the train and the road share the same side of the river. These photos were taken west of Perma, MT and

near McDonald, MT.

We did not find anything that interested us enough to stop and shoot until we got to the bottom of Evaro Hill. The photographs above and below were taken at Nagos, Montana.

Desmet is where the short route over Evaro Hill and the much longer route along the Clark Fork River come back to together.

It was still early so we explored east a bit. At Bonner, MT we encountered an eastbound (above and below) and

a westbound.

We returned to Desmet where we shot this eastbound,

and these two westbounds (above and below).

We got ahead of the westbound coal train just east of Frenchtown, MT.

Our final shots of the day were of the Night Gas Local heading west at Desmet

and Nagos.

Then it was time to meet up with friend James House, an MRL dispatcher, and his two children for dinner.

Thanks for looking.