Looking Back and Looking Ahead


The foundations laid for those who lived and worked here are very visible in this last look at Loweth. The land is full of greens and foliage as this part of Western Montana comes out of spring and fades into a long, hot summer.  

Westbound trains would leave the summit of this first of five mountain crossings, heading downgrade towards the small town of Ringling some 8 miles ahead.  From the crest of Loweth, the path to the west looks directly at the Rockies and the arduous climbs that lie ahead.  Also ahead, the headwaters of the Missouri River, a rejoining of the Northern Pacific, and Butte on the far side of the pass.  


Directly ahead, a lone signal stands in the gap where the transcon passed.  Dark today, but a high green to ages past. 

Comments

Jim Davis said…
I have been reading your blog now for some time and I must say that your pictures and commentary are wonderful and make me pretty nostalgic to say the least. My dad was a Milwaukee executive in Seattle, his last job was Western Director, Real Estate and Industrial Development. He knew the truth about what really happened to Lines West and did all he could to fight off the inevitable to no avail. He retired in 1980. He was a storehouse of info about the Milwaukee and loved the railroad and his job. Don't think he ever got over what happened, he was pretty angry about the whole thing.
4/04/2014 04:57:00 PM
LinesWest said…
Jim - thank you for that story and contribution to the page here. Best as always,
-Leland
4/09/2014 02:56:00 PM
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