Hidden in the Trees
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 Department, the proposa