Heading back to Spokane at a good clip dusting up the snow, Union Pacific's Pleasant Valley Local is cruising near Freeman with mostly grain loads in tow. Although this portion of trackage is designated as Branchline status in the UP timetable it was equipped with ABS signals. To reach Spokane from the east the Milwaukee Road split from their Pacific Coast Extension at Plummer, Idaho on their own Branchline to Manito. At Manito, MILW gained access to UP rails and had trackage rights from Manito to Spokane where the MILW gained their own terminal trackage. Thus, while this line was a Branchline in designation it saw a fair amount of traffic in it's heyday with the MILW passenger train, UP Locals and MILW local to provide an outlet for its Spokane area business. At the time of this photo the MILW had been gone for over 4 years but the block signals remain as a reminder of a once thriving railroad. And in the modern era of Branchline retrenchment by Class One Railroads this line is still active today under UP ownership and is the connection to the outside world for the St. Maries River Railroad.
