Fade Away



With the Rockies as backdrop, Butte begins its fade from view as the transcon heads west.  The tower of the station is framed by the lone railroad structure that still marks the way out of town.   Another perspective below shows the tracks of the Butte Anaconda and Pacific still marking the path.   


In the dry heat of a 2003 summer day, when this set of photos was taken, the fade of America's last transcon doesn't seem all that irreparable.  Surely it wouldn't be hard to get some steel relaid?  Two decades on, 20 more years of fade, and the cruelty of life is setting in with increasing finality: once we've lost something, it's not coming back.


When the Milwaukee started its grand enterprise west, it was the Chicago Milwaukee St. Paul and Pacific.  Following one of its several bankruptcies, it emerged as the Milwaukee Road.  The tilted rectangle was always the symbol, but the graphics and lettering would change through the years.  Hidden in plain view, and fading on its own accord, the lilting signature of the CMSP still adorns an old Milwaukee mainline girder bridge nearby.  I-90 is never far away in these lands, the roar of steelbelts and trucks snaps the wanderer back to the reality that it has been 100 years since the CMSP hung that sign and 40 since its successor retrenched itself somewhere back east of these lands.  

To our west lies a run out through Silver Bow, and then across dry expanse with the Northern Pacific and I-90 in full view as we push through Morel.  Race Track and Deer Lodge await.

Comments

Fred M. Cain said…
Leland,

I still believe that the Milwaukee's Pacific Coast Extension could/should be rebuilt. But who would come forward to do that?

You are correct that the longer time goes by the more difficult that becomes but it could still very well be a lot cheaper than blasting out a whole new line from scratch. Tunnels would need to be repaired and clearances increased and viaducts would need to be replaced but the grading is largely intact.

But who would do it? If private enterprise were to do it, they would have to recapture their huge investment through freight rates. That would make the rebuilt line uncompetitive with existing lines.

The government could probably do it. Perhaps as some kind of a side kick to a jobs program or "Green New Deal".

It could still happen but time is running out for it to happen in our lifetimes.

The line should never have been taken out in the first place. Saving the line in 1980 would have been relatively uncomplicated if only the political will had been there.

Regards,
Fred M. Cain,
Topeka, IN
7/02/2021 12:22:00 PM
Unknown said…
Well said Fred, there is in actuality a lot of old ROW left in place. Far less expensive than building it all from scratch .. but the question of 'who' would do it is the other obstacle. I think everyone is excited about self-driving electric cars right now, so who would pour money into a railroad?

Best,
Leland
7/06/2021 08:25:00 AM
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