Early Morning Gold
Location: Choteau -- somewhere with big skies and big spaces. This is Choteau, MT on a clean and clear summer morning in 2007. Rain had passed through the night before and the built-up dirt and haze that accompanies summer had washed away. Only unlimited ceiling and light blue remains on this start to a perfect summer day. This corner of Montana was home to a number of railroads, and this little town hosted the Milwaukee and Great Northern lines that came up from Great Falls. Grain poured from this little town, and others like it along these far flung branch lines, and filled Milwaukee's decrepit ribside boxcars right up to the end. In the quiet morning, there are a few holdovers that are worth mentioning and thinking about. Here in Choteau, one relic is the old grain truck. This C60 can trace its design back to 1973 when the models were refreshed as part of GM's truck redesigns. They would be produced in similar style through th...