2 Hours
Since its founding in October 1987, the Montana Rail Link has plied
the rails laid down by the Northern Pacific in the Big Sky country of
Montana. It has served as a bridge line for the Burlington Northern and
later BNSF between Jones Junction, Montana and Sandpoint, Idaho. In
addition to handling main line freight, MRL has provided rail service to
many local customers along its 900 plus miles of track utilizing
several branch lines.
In January 2022, news of the MRL reaching an agreement with BNSF to
end its lease brought many railfans out to Montana to see their beloved
regional railroad one last time, not knowing exactly when the end would
come. We made several trips in 2022 and early 2023 to capture some of
the hot spots at various times of the year and are proud to present this
four-part series showcasing Montana Rail Link in quite likely its last
years of operation.
Part 1 begins in Missoula and follows MRL’s Gas Local over the 4th
and 10th Subdivisions to Pipeline. Then we turn east over the former
Northern Pacific’s racetrack to Garrison. Highlights include MRL’s
system-wide manifest trains the LM (Laurel-Missoula) and ML, the Bonner
Local, both Day and Night Gas trains and a few of the BNSF run-through
trains including coal, grain, and crude oil.
This series was created to preserve the memory of this amazing regional railroad. Farewell MRL!
