Road Trip To The West; Driving East On U.S. Route 2; Part VIII; This Post For You Railfans

Amtrak’s #8 eastbound Empire Builder barrels along at about 90 mph (145 kph) on the prairie
of eastern Montana.  The tracks were once part of the mainline of the now defunct Great 
Northern Railway.  Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) now owns and operates many freight
trains daily along this line.

This post is a continuation of my 2024 road trip out to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks primarily to photograph grizzly bears and other large mammals.  However, along the way out and back, I planned my adventure to be able to stop at various places and photograph.  You can find Part I here, Part II here, Part III here, Part IV here, Part V here, Part VI here, Part VII here and a post about what gear I took and why here.

I know I have many readers who have an affinity for all things involved with railroading.  This post is primarily for you but others should find it interesting as well.

U.S. Route 2 loosely parallels the old Great Northern Railway mainline across all of eastern Montana and almost all of the way across North Dakota before turning southeast.  The line is now owned by the BNSF Railroad.  Amtrak runs its daily eastbound and westbound Empire Builder passenger trains on this line as well.  

As we drove east, I knew Amtrak's Empire Builder trains were somewhere nearby at that time of day so I checked the Amtrak app, which allows you to track trains live, and saw the eastbound Empire Builder was not too far behind us.  We found a suitable place to stop, specifically looking for some sort of foreground interest.  We waited for about 10 minutes and then could hear the horn blowing at distant crossings.  As it passed, I made several exposures, I thought the one posted at the top of today's blog was the best.

Several miles west of Havre, Montana a Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) intermodal
Train plows eastward past grain elevators on a beautiful summer day.  Same tracks as above.

After the Empire Builder passed, we proceeded east to find this BNSF intermodal train sitting in a siding waiting for Amtrak to pass before it proceeded eastward.  Knowing it was now behind us and coming, we found another suitable composition, this time an old grain elevator, and waited for the train to catch up to us.  Again, I made several exposures and like this one the best.

We then drove east to Havre, Montana where we decided we would spend some time looking around town.  It was in Havre that I knew the Great Northern steam locomotive #2584 was on display.  I also knew that Havre was an Amtrak stop.

While in Havre, we visited the Amtrak station as well as another local establishment for a bit of refreshments and some light appetizer-type food.  I found Havre (pop. 9600) to be a quite attractive town.  It seemed quite busy and vibrant.

The former Great Northern Railway locomotive # 2584 sits in static display outside the combination
Amtrak station and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad offices.  You can read more about the
locomotive it and how it came to be on display at Wikipedia, here.

The #2584 is a "Northern" type locomotive with a wheel configuration of 4 pilot wheels, 8 driving
wheels and 4 trailing wheels.  Unfortunately, there was work being done around the locomotive
and I was unable to photograph it from the tracks side, which would have allowed me to photograph
the engine in its entirety.

There was some construction going on around the station’s platform and they had the steam locomotive cordoned off so a photo from the tracks side was not possible, unfortunately.

The exterior of the former Great Northern Railway station in Havre, Montana.  It now

serves both the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad as well as Amtrak.  The

statue in the foreground is that of James J. Hill, founder and builder of the Great Northern.

The interior of the Amtrak station.  Two trains per day service this station.  Both the eastbound, 
Seattle/Portland to Chicago train as well as the westbound train.  The train splits (or is joined)
in Spokane, Washington so it can serve both Seattle and Portland.

After our hour and a half rest stop in Havre, we again proceeded east on Route 2 to see what other interesting things we could find.  In my next post, I’ll highlight a small white clapboard church and the adjacent and most un usual cemetery that I’ve ever visited.  The cemetery seemed to be inhabited mostly by Native American deceased.  But it is very unusual! 

Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.  

Thanks for looking. Enjoy! 

Dennis A. Mook  

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