Enduring Gifts

It was May 23, 1961 when the final Olympian Hiawatha, train 15, departed the station at Missoula, MT. Located at MP 1641 and several miles beyond Ravenna, the Milwaukee carefully follows the Clark Fork River through the city as it winds through different compound curves in and out of town.  These images were taken in the mid-2000s, captured on Kodachrome and a trusty Pentax LX.

The final #15 can be seen here, courtesy of the Montana Historical Portal and Montana State Library. There were no electric locomotives that day and seemingly no Skytop Lounge at the rear.  The Superdome endures to the final run, however, and acknowledges the status of these passenger trains as a symbol, even to the end. 

Looking East from the station, the path of old overhead wires is obvious

The Clark Fork under Big Sky blue 

And the end for the Olympian Hi was earlier than many. Other western railroads maintained their top passenger train until the dawn of Amtrak and often hosted a version of that same train as Amtrak got underway. Today we still have the Empire Builder, and even occasional talk of bringing a train back to the former Northern Pacific mainline, perhaps as a reborn North Coast Limited or Mainstreeter.  That particular route hosted passenger service until 1979 when it was cancelled along with multiple other long‑distance trains in a round of service cuts.  Ironically, it was named the North Coast Hiawatha, though its western mileage could only view the Milwaukee main from the windows.
 
The 1956 operating schedule shows a #15 stop at 7:20 p.m. for Missoula. Despite the curvature of the mainline along the Clark Fork, the train would average over 50 miles per hour between Missoula and its next stop west, Superior. Today's traffic along I‑90 makes a significantly faster pace, but even with modern lane‑following technology and advanced cruise controls, it would be difficult to say it’s better. It’s just faster.

While the Hiawatha long ago left town, and the railroad itself about 20 years later, what remains is one of the lasting gifts to the city and the people who live there. Still standing majestically along the shore of the Clark Fork is the Milwaukee Station, now home to the Boone and Crockett Club National Headquarters.  The path of the railroad itself isn’t hard to discern, and a lone tri‑color signal still marks the location where the Resourceful Railroad continued its push west.  

These massive stations that dot cities across the country are enduring symbols that have outlasted the ones who built them and even many generations that have followed. Their original intent to be a grand entrance to the city they serve has been replaced by interstate exit ramps and fueling stops, or perhaps nondescript baggage claims surrounded by linoleum flooring. Yet they stand as a gift from a different time long ago. 


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