Today's train of thought takes us to the the frigid, windswept plains of Big Sky Country. Here, rebuilt GP39M #2932 is seen leading a trio of older 4-axle units on a Great Falls, MT-based local as it trundles past a pair of venerable gain elevators trackside on Hobson, MT- just west of Lewistown, MT. The #2932 started out life as a Cotton Belt/St. Louis Southwestern GP35 before Burlington Northern purchsed it and scores of similar units secondhand before embarking on a massive rebuild and overhaul program with Morrison-Knudsen and VMV starting in 1990.
The former Great Northern line through this central Montana burgh of about 200 continues north to Great Falls and the junction with the former Northern Pacific Twin Cities-Seattle mainline at Shelby, MT.
The local had finished up its switching in Lewiston, MT and had about 80 miles to go before returning to Great Falls when railpictures.net photographer David Blaze photographed the train in Hobson on December 26, 2008.
Interestingly, the town of Hobson was used for the filming of the opening scenes in the 1974 Clint Eastwood heist film Thunderbolt & Lightfoot.
No comments:
Post a Comment