Today's Train of Thought- Dr Livingston, I Presume? Jan 4th, 2013

Today's train of thought takes us to Big Sky country and features some oldies but goodies as well.

Sometimes known as 'The Main Street of Southern Montana', the regional railway Montana Rail Link boasts a fairly eclectic mix of motive power to this day. Started in the late 1980s, the Montana Rail Link started operations with the lease of nearly 900 miles of former Northern Pacific mainline between Sand Point, ID and Billings, MT from Burlington Northern. While the MRL handles forestry products, grain and gas, a good deal of the MRL's traffic base is simply overhead from BNSF between the midwest and ports and markets in the Pacific Northwest.

Here, railpictures.net contributor Mike Mautner caught a fairly odd and colorful assortment of motive power on Bozeman Pass to the west of Livingston, MT in early October 2005. Closest to the photographer is Montana Rail Link SD45-2 #306, followed by a high hood former Guilford (nee Norfolk & Western) SD45 still sporting charcoal grey and orange, followed by a MRL SD45, a rebuilt former Southern Pacific SD45R still in scarlet and grey and a MRL F45. This motley lashup is actually heading away from the photographer, shoving hard on the rear of BNSF symbol freight HKCKPAS [Kansas City, MO to Pasco, WA- also known as 'The Boeing train' since it often carries 737 fuselages between Boeing facilities in Wichita, KS and Renton, WA- NANESB!]. Waiting in the siding for the BNSF freight and MRL helpers to clear are a pair of MRL GP35s with local freight #841, bound for Livingston.

2005 marked the year that Montana Rail Link broke with tradition and purchased 16 brand-new SD70ACE's from EMD [most regional and shortline railroads typically take advantage of a fairly robust market in secondhand motive power- NANESB!]. The new EMDs would've been on the property for only a few weeks before the above picture was taken. Although a number of older SD40s and SD45s soldier on in service on today's MRL, the #306 was scrapped in 2011 while the #680 was cut up in 2008.

Today's Train of Thought- It's a Gas Gas Gas, Aug 24, 2011

Today's train of thought shows us what can be best described as a pipeline on wheels out in Big Sky Country.

Once upon a time, Conoco Philip's [NYSE: COP] Yellowstone pipeline carried gasoline all the way from Billings, MT to Spokanne, WA. However, after a 3000 barrel spill in 1993 on the Flathead Indian Reservation, the tribal council there revoked the pipeline easement. This left a 56-mile gap through the reservation and there was no talk of relocating that portion

Into the breech stepped Montana Rail Link, offering to have the gas offloaded from the pipeline in Missoula into tank cars for a 129-mile trek into Thompson Falls, MT where it is placed back into the western end of the Yellowstone pipeline to complete its westward journey to Spokane. At Thompson Falls, the locomotives, empty tank cars and spacer car on each end are turned around for the return trip. The outbound train is usually referred to as 'The Gas Local' while the returning cars are sometimes referred to as 'Gas Cans'.

Railpictures.net contributor Amy Miller caught an outbound Gas Local in August 2010 with SD45-2 #332 leading SD70ACE #4308 at Arlee, MT. The two locomotives represent two dramatically different epochs in EMD's manufacturing- the #332 started out life as an SDP45 for the Erie Lackawana nearly 40 years ago before the E-L became a part of Conrail. At some point in its career, #332 got into a wreck and her rear hood was rebuilt before being pressed into service as a leaser with Motive Power International and sold to the Montana Rail Link [Occasionally even older locomotives will hitch a ride with the Gas Local, as MRL's GP9s shuttle between their Paradise, MT assignment and Missoula- NANESB!].

By contrast, the #4308 was built new for the MRL in 2005 by EMD and has been in service since then in a variety of duties ever since.

Today's Train of Thought- Foliage Along the Main Street of Montana; Nov 26, 2010

Proving that the northeast doesn't have the monopoly on fall colors, today's Train of Thought comes to us from Big Sky Country as the aspens in the Rockies begin to turn to gold courtesy of railpictures.net contributor mtgteam2.

Here, a duo of new Montana Rail Link's new SD70ace's lead westbound manifest freight LM (Laurel, MT to Missoula) through Nimrod, MT with a few miles remaining before reaching its destination of Missoula. The SD70ace's were purchased new in 2005 and have begun gradually replacing the older SD40s and SD45s that were purchased secondhand, some of them dating as far back as the 1987 formation of the MRL.

Today's Train of Thought

One of the first questions for some of the visitors to the newly-formed Not Another New England Sports Blog! was 'Where are the trains?'

Ah yes- those who know me well enough know that I hardly miss an opportunity to bring up railroads and locomotives in everyday conversation; of course, that's when I'm not gratuitously bringing up the Sox, Pats B's or C's in daily conversation.

So I bring you today's Train of Thought- an SD45 helper set for Montana Rail Link heading down Bozeman Pass.

-Today's image comes courtesey of Stefan Loeb and railpictures.net