Day 8, Sunday, June 5, 2016
Forsyth, Mont.– Minot, N. Dak.

Photos by Dave Ingles

We pulled from our Forsyth yard parking spot at 6:53 MDT and were by the E. Forsyth control point at 7:01. As we pulled out, I photographed the depot, the Roxy Theater (still in business, was open the evening before), and took a shot of the entire courthouse, I think duplicating a slide I shot when we drove thru here in 2009.

We again hugged the Yellowstone River for awhile, and with the sun in front of us, I enjoyed Caritas' lounge and rear platform again.

At Rosebud, first siding east of Forsyth, MP 111, we overtook 5986 East, a grain train, looked like, at 7:20.

Just west of Miles City, we crossed the Tongue River again, MP 79, at 8:02.

Just east of Miles City (whose depot I missed shooting, tho i got a slide in 2009), at MP 78.3, I photographed the connection from the former NP to the extant former Milwaukee Road track in Miles City, where in 2009 a freight-car outfit had an operation at the old MILW shop. At the right above the sheep is the MILW right of way, bare ground until Terry, at MP 40.

We passed the 9176 West at Tusler, MP 70, at 8:16, with two engines fore and aft.

Two minutes beyond Tusler, the old Milwaukee Road bridge across  the Yellowstone was nearby to the north, worthy of two photos.

No mountains around here, but this photo back along the Yellowstone sure illustrates a "big sky country" in the relatively flat eastern part of Montana.

My notes don't indicate if this is the 6,950-foot Shirley siding or the 9,000-foot Blatchford siding (MPs 59 and 49), respectively, but the scene is indicative of BNSF's lengthening passing sidings throughout its "northern tier" where necessary.

At 8:42 we crossed the Powder River again, at MP 47 and not far from its mouth into the Yellowstone. That's "Old Highway 10" on the left. Not long thereafter, another old Milwaukee Road bridge over the Yellowstone was within telephoto range to our north. The railroad thru this area was abandoned 30-some years ago.

Terry is a 10,081-foot passing siding, a town with an NP caboose displayed by the relocated NP depot, and the beginning of the connection to the live MILW track to the east, which BN bought in the 1980s. Explorers III in 1989 ("Montana Explorers") covered it from Terry to Appleton, Minn.; east of that town it's the Twin Cities & Western. The state of South Dakota first bought the line, and some others, when MILW quit its Pacific Extension, and BN operated them by lease and then purchased most of them. Terry passing siding held the 8560 West, a merchandiser with 3 units up front and a Herzog MofW outfit on the rear. A yard track held concrete ties, probably for the lengthening of a passing siding; the signals in that photo include the actual connection of the former MILW track to the NP (BN) main line..

Not far east of the BN "Terry" station sign, note the Milepost 1079 on the north track, which is continuing the MILW mileage from Chicago, even tho it's old NP right of way here. We passed thru town at 8:52 and 3 minutes and 3 miles later, at ex-NP MP 36, went under BNSF's Hettinger Sub, the old MILW main line.

In Yellowstone siding, MP 31, we passed a westbound coal empty whose rear DPU, 9063, I photographed thru Caritas' rear door window.

Time for a few people shots as we approached Glendive, where we'd leave the old NP main line for some new (to everyone including Clark Johnson) mileage, an old NP branch to the northeast that connected with a Great Northern branch just south of Sidney. Those familiar with the board game "Rail Baron" will know well this connection. In the first shot, Phil Moser, Clark Johnson, and Phil Bush (from left) are in forward lounge chairs.

At one dining table are, from left, Tom DeJoseph, BNSF's Neil Payton (wearing the official Explorers T-shirt and showing the top half of the route map on the back) of Denver, Al Butler of Boston, and Richard Maund, one of two Great Britain mileage collectors on board. Tom and Al are in their "regular seats."

Chatting across the aisle are Brad Phillips of the Bay Area at left, Rick Moser of Naperville, Ill., in center; Robert Lawrence, a Louisville, Ky., man who moved to New York City some years back, is at right.

At West Glendive, MP 1.7, we stopped to change pilots and enter the Sidney Line Sub, at 9:54, and swung north and across the highway crossing at 10:08. Five minutes later, we crossed the Yellowstone River, everyone "tingling" on "new mileage" on this 25-mph branch.

The branch was straight and slow but well-maintained. Sometime back, BNSF leased the entire line, thru Sidney to Snowden where the former GN "High Line" main is joined, to a Watco shortine, Yellowstone Valley, but recently terminated the (I assume) lease, and it's BNSF again, although we saw Watco switchers at several lineside facilities. The north end is burgeoning, we would see, with new natural gas business, with several obviously new yards full of tank cars. As we passed thru Sidney, power for at least 2 BNSF locals was on hand. This photo, taken at 12:30, is somewhere near MP 42, toward the north end of the ex-NP portion.

A new siding, or a lengthened one, at Crane, MP 45, held some tank cars. At MP 49.5 was the former Newton Junction with the GN branch that came down from Snowden and turned west here to dead end some miles out. We saw no obvious evidence of the right of way as we passed. Bridge 48.11, in the 2nd photo, is a mile-plus south of the former GN junction.

We passed over this kink slowly without hesitation around MP 49, just short of the former Newton Jct. New rail appears to be at hand.

This MP15AC, WAMX (Watco) 1599 was by the gate for one of the new yards full of tank cars.

It's oil country, too, of course.

When I drove thru Sidney in May 2004, I found a BNSF local parked in front of the depot and chatted with the crew. I don't recall their workday frequency or point of origin, but it probably was either Sidney or Glendive. The depot is a slightly modified ex-GN structure. Note the SD40-2, caboose, and SD60M all still in Cascade green. Long live the BN! We passed the depot at 1:13 p.m., MP 53.9.

This has always been grain country, too. These elevators are in Fairview, N. Dak., at 2:05. The line swung into North Dakota briefly before angling back into Montana. WAMX GP38-2 3822 was at Dore, N. Dak., MP 69.5, at 2:22.

At 2:27 we re-entered Montana at MP 79.4 and crossed the Missouri River at 2:36 on a moveable bridge that allegedly, like many, was raised only once, as a test when new in 1935 or so. The river view looks west, the bridge view looks back south.

We pulled onto the east wye connection to the ex-GN main at Snowden at 2:46 and stopped at 2:49 to change crews. There was some concern of us waiting an hour or two to follow Amtrak #8, as the Transportation Notice said to do that, but as Clark Johnson says, "TN's are 'advisory'." Wisdom prevailed, though and after pulling up to await the passage of one westbound "Z" (intermodal) train, the 7555 West, at 3:30, we departed at 3:35, returning into North Dakota 3 minutes later. Since we were on the old Great Northern "High Line," I migrated to the upper level of the Great Dome, as it was back on "home rails."

I took few photos from the dome, just enjoying the ambience, as "Cimarron River" owner Tony Marchiando and Bill Crawford are doing in the seat ahead of me. We breezed thru Williston, an "Empire Builder" stop (for GN, BN, and Amtrak) at 4 p.m. sharp, whereupon I changed my watch (and narrative) back to Central Daylight Time. That's O-1 class GN 2-8-2 No. 3059 on display, along with a NP caboose.

Carol Sulanke enjoyed one of Bill Crawford's excellent Bloody Marys. She and husband Thom, of Bloomington, Ind., and both Indiana University empoyees, were along to celebrate Thom's upcoming retirement and 70th birthday. Carol had worked in the dining car on some High Iron Travel trips years ago. Later, at 6:08, we passed BNSF 5165 West as Blaisdell, N. Dak., MP 39.

Coming in to Minot, our overnight destination, we crossed the high Gassman Coulee trestle, MP 4.9, at 6:34. I've shot trains ON "Gassman," but not FROM one. The first view looks south, the second one north.

We pulled into the Minot depot, comfortably ahead of Amtrak #8 since we were not-stop and he was not, at 6:42, to service our train, before pulling east into the city yard to park for the night. Soon after halting at the depot, an eastbound stack train, 4132 East, passed us on the north main, concluding my photography for the day.

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