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Reports from the Milwaukee Road

by Lonnie King

June 2007

 

July 2007 -- Part Two

July 2007

Part One

Harlowton, MT Lombard, MT Dominion Creek, MT
Oka Siding, MT Deer Lodge, MT Roland, ID
Judith Gap , MT Gold Creek, MT Kelly Creek, ID
Straw, MT Ravenna, MT St. Joe River Canyon, ID
Lewistown, MT Missoula, MT Rock Creek, ID
Spring Creek Trestle , MT Primrose, MT Hoyt Flat, ID
Judith River, MT Frenchtown, MT Slate Creek, ID
Spring Creek Junction, MT Alberton, MT Pocono Siding, ID
Two Dot, MT Cyr, MT Goat Rock, ID
Martinsdale , MT Superior, MT Herrick, ID
Lennep, MT St. Regis, MT Calder, ID
Loweth, MT Saltese, MT Gibson Draw, ID
Ringling, MT Wallace,  ID Ferrell, ID
Sixteen, MT Trail of the Hiawatha St. Maries, ID
Sixteen Mile Canyon , MT East Portal, MT  
Maudlow, MT Avery, ID  

Date

Location

  
7/1 Harlowton, MT Top
7/1 Oka Siding, MT
At Oka Siding, we look south
And then north
Top
7/1 Judith Gap, MT
Along the old RoW.
See the “Gap” between the Big Snowy Mountains to the east (right) and the Little Belt Mountains to the west (left).
Top
7/1 Straw, MT
We drive through Straw to get a closer look at the “facilities” there:
 
Top
7/1 Lewistown, MT Top
7/1 Spring Creek Trestle, MT
So we departed NW to try to find out if the Spring Creek Trestle (NM-1014) was still in existence. At MP = 897.3; 10:31 we were rewarded:
Approaching the Spring Creek Trestle we were able to see and turn up the dirt road that took us to the west end of the trestle:
Top
7/1 Judith River, MT
We drove on past now intent on finding the tall steel trestle over the Judith River, NM-1016. By continuing to follow SR-426 west until we located the road shown on our DeLorme Atlas map (Gies Road by the road sign) and turning north on Gies Rd we suddenly came to this magnificent trestle!
At MP = 903.9
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7/1 Spring Creek Junction, MT
Immediately before the trestle there is the Spring Creek Junction switch. Note all of the Trailer Train flats beyond the switch. Coming in to Lewistown, what would have been the BNSF “mainline” from the SW had been “loaded” with these same cars and there had been many, many more parked on the RoW between the Spring Creek Trestle and the steel bridge.
 I theorized that the Spring Creek Trestle itself had been found unsafe and too expensive to replace so the Lewistown town fathers had requested that the rails be taken up in their town. Leaving the west end of the old wooden trestle, I took one last shot.
Top
7/2 Two Dot, MT Top
7/2 Martinsdale, MT
This truly is Big Sky country. We pulled into Martinsdale proper at 07:39.

 [MP = 1014.2]

The depot building and train order signal were behind a barbed wire fence! I couldn’t resist taking a photo looking down main street the first building on the left is the old Milwaukee Women’s Club house now used as a community center.
Top
7/2 Lennep, MT Top
7/2 Loweth, MT
A few miles and several more signals (on a RoW that was usually hundreds of yards north of the highway) we arrive at the Loweth substation.
In photo you can see the RoW passing from right to left and curving away in the distance toward the upper left of the photo; note the livestock.
To the right of the old substation and to the right of the tree in photo are what appear to be the foundations of the old bungalows for the station operators.
Top
7/2 Ringling, MT Top
7/2 Sixteen, MT Top
7/2 Sixteen Mile Canyon, MT
We left town (Ringling) directly south on the dirt road going directly south hoping we would eventually end up in Maudlow. After an hour of driving on a sometimes not so great dirt road but with some driving through some of the most spectacular geologic forms I’ve ever seen (and stupid me did not photograph!) we arrived back in the main Sixteen Mile Canyon.
MP = 1108.1; 13:47
Top
7/2 Maudlow, MT Top
7/2 Lombard, MT Top
7/4 Deer Lodge, MT Top
7/4 Gold Creek, MT Top
7/4 Ravenna, MT
We drove between the Beavertail exit and the Bearmouth exit to get photos of the Ravenna substation.
And the east portal of the Nimrod tunnel.
And eventually the Nimrod bridge (?) with an absent western span.
Top
7/5 Missoula, MT Top
7/5 Primrose, MT
Driving west from Missoula on SR-263, Mullen Road, we arrive at the old Primrose substation [MP = 1530.2; 11:25] whose current owners appear to have been bothered by rail fans in the past judging from the No Trespassing signs everywhere.

(All photos were taken without trespassing.)
The obligatory west.
And east.
Top
7/5 Frenchtown, MT Top
7/5 Alberton, MT Top
7/5 Cyr, MT
Our next point of interest was the much photographed Cyr bridge complex [MP = 1567; 13:40] where the Clark Fork canyon is quite spectacular
By climbing around on the highway shoulders and up on various boulders I managed to take some reasonable shots from near the west and east ends of the old highway bridge that passes under the railroad bridge
The shot that most approximates those seen in my various books is taken from our moving car (my wife was driving and we were back on I-90!) as we passed over the I-90 overpass
Top
7/5 Superior, MT
The so called Marlin bridge was next at MP = 1598.3; 15:11 and I took shots of both the north and south sides of this.
The “concrete pan” of which the Milwaukee seems to have made great use.
The other side of the Marlin Bridge.
Top
7/5 St. Regis, MT
Having seen the Lombard area we had to closely inspect the St. Regis bridge to see where Montana Rail Link had removed a plate girder section for use at Lombard.
Top
7/5 Saltese, MT
Saltese is MP = 1648.2; 17:01 (Montana time) and we took the “standard shot” of this trestle.
And another shot from the south side. When ever I think of the Saltese trestle I remember what Beth Kennedy had written in an e-mail to me describing the work on acquiring land that included the old right of way for the proposed Trail of the Hiawatha extension: she related that there was some “confusion” as to who currently owned the trestle!!
Top
7/5 Wallace, ID
We arrived in Wallace at 17:28 Wallace time and had dinner at historic Jameson’s where there was a terrific old back bar in the restaurant
The old Northern Pacific depot, which had been moved several hundred yards, AND across the river to make room for the freeway!

In the photograph, the freeway is fairly obvious but what is not is the fact that the river was rechanneled directly under the freeway.
Top
7/6 Trail of the Hiawatha Top
7/7 East Portal, MT Top
7/7 Avery, ID Top
7/7 Dominion Creek, MT Top
7/7 Roland, ID
We returned to East Portal, drove over the top to Roland and then down to the exit of Cliff Creek Road.  We parked there and walked through the Moss Creek Tunnel, 22 to take a photo of the west portal.
On the way up we stopped at the “landing site” of a couple of those boulders from the old Johnson Cut blast.
At the junction with the RoW I was tickled by this sign.
Top
7/7 Kelly Creek, ID
On the way back “down” Loop Creek Canyon we found a little fixer-upper that Stan Johnson talked about in his book on the Milwaukee Road in Idaho.
It is scenically located almost directly under the Kelly Creek Trestle.   
It was apparently the home for the miner who worked here.
It even had a very nice front yard.  
Top
7/7 St. Joe River Canyon, ID Top
7/8 Rock Creek, ID
A bit further west, just west of Rock Creek, I took this photo, facing west.
Facing east
Top
7/8 Hoyt Flat, ID
At Hoyt Flat there was an old steel truss highway bridge crossing the St. Joe to the south bank and I took a shot west bound.
Eastbound from the center of the bridge.
Top
7/8 Slate Creek, ID
About 1/2 mile west of Slate Creek, I found this geology to the west.
Top
7/8 Pocono Siding, ID
We were in the vicinity of the old Pocono siding and I took an obligatory westbound shot.
And an eastbound shot.
Top
7/8 Goat Rock, ID
Just east of Goat Rock I took a single westbound shot of Goat Rock.
Top
7/8 Herrick, ID Top
7/8 Calder, ID Top
7/8 Gibson Draw, ID

We then backtracked up the old RoW to the east to a place labeled Gibson Draw on the map and took this westbound shot.

and an eastbound shot.

Top
7/8 Ferrell, ID

We did find the road Stan describes as leading to old Ferrell and Old St. Joe City but found absolutely nothing of Ferrell remaining - it was all a big wheat field.  We were able to drive the route he describes but there was nothing recognizable from the time of the Milwaukee Road.

 Top
7/8 St. Maries, ID Top
7/9 On Monday, we drove up to Cour d’Alene to do some shopping my wife could not do in St. Maries. En route we spotted various Milwaukee Road now St. Maries Railroad sights to explore as we travel to the Cour d’Alene Casino for the 2007 MilWest annual meeting.

It was a relief not to have to be on the lookout for photo opportunities.

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  Note: Please see the rest of Lonnie's trip in Part Two. ~ TMRT