After popping out of the east portal of Bozeman Tunnel, this eastbound BNSF manifest is on the main at West Muir. Bozeman Tunnel has sidings on either side of it, within a few thousand feet of the tunnel portal.
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The water tower in the background should give away the location of this photo. This eastbound BNSF manifest is cruising through the town of Belgrade, population just over 7,600. Although not visible in this picture, MRL is working on extending the siding of Belgrade to the east to accommodate longer trains and avoid blocking grade crossings.
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Between Toston and Logan, MRL's mainline runs through Lombard Canyon. Didn't get a chance to see the canyon on this trip due to time and the haziness caused by forest fires. It takes a train around an hour to make its way through the canyon. This BNSF manifest just made it through and is now pulling east from Logan, headed toward Manhattan.
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A great looking signal bridge still stands at the west end of Townsend on the MRL's 2nd Subdivision. Not entirely sure how much longer it will last as MRL is definitely working on putting some money into replacing older signals. An eastbound BNSF manifest passes underneath the signal bridge on a clear signal.
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A westbound loaded grain train is very slowly pulling in to the siding at Winston. The train has nearly made it up and over Winston Hill, the last major climb before reaching Helena. The train is taking the siding because there is an eastbound BNSF manifest sitting on the main.
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About 13 miles east of Helena, this eastbound BNSF manifest is starting to a slow a little. It is working on climbing the western slope of Winston Hill. While the west slope definitely has a grade, the grade isn't too bad...the east slope, on the other hand, is far steeper.
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After a brief stop in Helena, a fresh MRL crew is now on board to take this high priority BNSF manifest east toward Laurel. The train departed Pasco, WA the day before and is headed toward Kansas City.
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This eastbound BNSF manifest is just about over the top of Mullan Pass. It is approaching the east switch of the siding at Blossburg, which is located near the mouth of the west portal of Mullan Tunnel. This particularly manifest is considered high priority by BNSF, and won't be waiting around anywhere for very long.
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The summer of 2015 has been a bad one for forest fires in Montana. Over 40 of them are burning in the state and the smoke is bad! All of the haze you see here is the result of smoke. These SD70ACes are headed back east toward Helena, where the haze is, unfortunately, no better.
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A quartet of ten year old SD70ACes head east at Austin on their wait back to Helena. The units just helped a unit grain train to climb the steep grades on the east slope of Mullan Pass. After cutting off at the summit, the units return to Helena to wait for the next westbound in need of assistance.
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A quartet of SD70ACes cross over the Austin Creek Trestle, just east of Mullan Pass. The units serve as manned helpers to assist in the climb up and over Mullan Pass. The units just helped a unit grain train over the pass and are now returning light to Helena to await their next helper assignment.
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Waiting for a new crew to be called to take it west, Montana Rail Link's "LM" (Laurel to Missoula) manifest sits in the yard at Helena. All of the haze in the shot is the result of smoke being generated by over 40 forest fires in the state!
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The capital of Montana! The depot in Helena, original constructed by and used by Northern Pacific, still stands and looks great. Helena is a crew change point for the Montana Rail Link, so the depot is used quite a bit by the railroad.
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The head end of this coal load has knocked down a clear signal at the east switch of Manhattan. The train is moving toward Logan and, beyond that, Lombard Canyon. Due to more than 40 forest fires burning in Montana, it is starting to get a touch hazy from drifting smoke!
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This being my first trip (ever) to Montana, I was a little surprised by the amount of farm land! But there was a lot of it. One such farm resides along MRL's 2nd Subdivision just east of Manhattan. And, on this Friday evening, it is watering time! A BNSF coal load passes quickly by, moving at about 45 MPH, on its journey west.
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