Lost Rail

Previously, dear reader, I shared an image of Substation 9 from across the Clark Fork River, taken from the side of today's I-90.  Today, access is difficult and by permission only.  One must travel the old right of way in from the west by using the same roadbed that was the foundation for all of those electrics that came this way many decades ago.   But when I-90 was only the Sunset Highway there was a different path to walk to this remote outpost.  Seen above, the way to get there (apart from the rails themselves) was the small suspension bridge whose remnants are seen above.  This was a common way to connect the world with some of these remote substations found across the river.  It allowed a path to the living quarters of those who tended these substations and lived here during the times of Lines West.    When these photos were taken, now nearly 20 years ago, the graffiti on the old substation was far less than it is today.  Nonetheless, ...

 MP1613.1, Ravenna, MT.  Substation 9  I once met the man who owned the old Substation at Ravenna.  In one of those strange twists of history, so I'm told, it was supposed to be torn down and sold for scrap as the bricks had value.  But the original sale didn't work, the scrapper never came and it remains standing near the howling roar of I90 to this day. I90 is just one part of  the U.S. system that moves upwards of 90% of freight by truck and highway.  But tucked in amongst the tall pines like a mirage, Ravenna looks out blankly towards that interstate and shouts quietly back about a different time. The year was 1972 and General Electric had put together a unique proposal: completion of the electrified railway portion of the Milwaukee Road.  In a formal proposal, offered by GE itself ("Proposal for the Completion of the Electrified Railway Operation of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad Company") via the Locomotive Products De...