by Dan Lewis, MMR/photos by the author
As a native of Montana, my interest in The Milwaukee Road’s Northern Montana Line came naturally. I decided to stick relatively close to prototype, so many of the structures are scratchbuilt from period photos. I determined that 1953-54 would be optimum, since it was the last period that steam and diesel locomotives ran side-by-side.
Before starting the layout, my wife and I took a trip to Montana (we now live in the Detroit area) to scout out the various pieces that remained, and best of all, we were able to contact and interview a number of the old retired railroaders who actually ran this branch in the early 1950s. These interviews, plus material from library archives and the Milwaukee Road Historical Association, formed my basic benchmarks for modeling. Yes, there are a few anachronisms and a few areas where I’ve fudged, either out of necessity or idiosyncrasy, so some things are freelanced. Overall, however, I’ve stuck reasonably close to the prototype as it was described to me by Red Hanley (engineer), Bob Spring (engineer), Leonard O’Dell (conductor), Lyle Moore (conductor), and Ed Mielke (roundhouse foreman); all of whom were major figures in the 1950s on the Northern Montana.
ABOVE: It’s early, but our Mike leans into the curve on the Big Jim Track as he pulls out of Harlowton toward the Northern Montana Line. All the stock cars have been bedded, so they are ready for setting out at the various stock corrals and ranches in the Judith Basin and beyond.
Timetable and Train Order (TT&TO) was the name of the game in the early 1950s on the Northern Montana Line. While it was “dark territory” (no signals), it did feature train order signals at the stations. Interestingly enough, the station at Lewistown was the headquarters for the Rocky Mountain Division, the only such division headquarters not located on the MILW main line.
For my operating sessions, we use a timetable that is reasonably close to Timetable No. 11, August 15, 1953, an original which was signed and given to me by Leonard O’Dell, MILW conductor on this line. As might be expected, I have taken some liberties. For instance, I have collapsed trains 163/164 and 195/196 so that they both run all the way from Harlowton to Great Falls and back. I model parts of three major towns, Harlowton, Lewistown, and Great Falls, but only suggestions of some of the smaller communities.
ABOVE: A Great Northern freight crosses over Extra 626 West near Judith Gap. The seven-span deck girder bridge still exists as part of the modern BNSF system, but the MILW trackage beneath it has long since disappeared. The bridge was scratchbuilt by the author.
Besides a dispatcher, we have yardmasters at the three major towns. The road crews usually are two-man teams, conductor and engineer, and because we have no station agents, the road crews “OS” (record movements “on sheet”) with the Dispatcher and sign the Train Registers. A full operating crew will consist of 10 operators, three yardmasters, three two-man road crews, and the Dispatcher. A typical operating session runs about three hours using a 4:1 fast clock. Follow along as we travel with the crew of Extra 626 West.
Extra 626 West
Stock day coming! The announcement of an autumn stock day in late September on the Northern Montana Line called for some important preparations. Milwaukee Road’s Northern Montana Line was a 265-mile route running northwesterly beginning at Harlowton on the east-west trunkline and running through Lewistown, Great Falls, and all the way to Agawam with a bevy of small towns in between. Since livestock was one of the most important commodities on this branch in the early 1950s, the call for a stock day meant that local ranchers were ready to ship their beef to the huge feed lots back East. In turn, this meant rounding up the cattle for shipping, since much if not most of the grazing land in central Montana was open range.
ABOVE: Spring Creek Trestle was constructed in 1912 with a gauntlet track to serve both the GN and MILW trains. The early timetables specified that engineers must have in their possession a baton or staff before crossing, to be deposited in a box at the other end for the next oncoming train to pick up. Eventually, this system was replaced, and by the 1950s, trains had to stop and sign a register, similar to what they did at stations.
Live loads entail special conditions. The 28-Hour Law, originating in the late 1800s, restricted stock from being kept aboard a stock car longer than 28 hours, after which the beasts must be unloaded, fed, watered, and rested for five hours before reloading. For a stock day to be successful, all the livestock must be ready to load near the time for departure to minimize the hours they would be in the stock car. Empty stock cars had to be bedded with hay, sand, sawdust, light gravel, tanbark, shavings, or cinders 2½” to 3” deep before loading. Prior to a stock day, a special train would drop off empty (but bedded) stock cars at stock pens and corrals along the line. On the announced stock day, dedicated trains would pick up all the loaded livestock, which might involve cattle from several ranches or even several towns from around the region.
Our train Extra 626 West will have a consist of empty stock cars to drop off along the line in preparation for the upcoming stock day. As an extra, we will be the lowest train on the totem pole, outclassed by all the scheduled trains on the line. Had we been a train with loaded stock cars, we might expect train orders giving us priority as a fast freight due to the 28-Hour Law, but alas, empty stock cars are at the bottom of the pecking order. So for our run we will pay close attention to the timetable, making sure we don’t disrupt the scheduled traffic…
