Montana Rail Link's Helena local works Ash Grove cement in beautiful late afternoon light on a cold first day of March. This will be the last March that sees MRL as an independant railroad.

Main line severed, but these got through
Nine minutes after sunset at 9:27 p.m. on July 8, 2023, a trio of Boeing 737 fuselages mounted on flat cars and pulled by a lone Montana Rail Li... (more)

On June 24, 2023, Montana Rail Link’s bridge spanning the Yellowstone River near Reed Point collapsed as the railroad’s Laurel to Missoula freight crossed it, sending ten cars into the drink a... (more)

WIND An eastbound train of autos storms across the Midvale Creek Trestle . The large screen on the north side of the bridge is to shield the trains from very high winds that can wreak havo... (more)

One of the ubiquitous SD40-2s of BN heritage leads a westbound intermodal outfit along the river grade near Kootenai Falls, MT. Fuji Astia.

On a beautiful Montana morning, MRL 392 confronts the rising sun as it cants to the sharp curve at the west end of the old Austin siding. The power set includes an ex-SP and MRL SD45 and a pair of... (more)

Dwarfed by the surrounding terrain, Montana Rail Link's Helena Local heads east as it descends Winston Hill outside of Winston, Montana behind a GP9 and SD45. The train is bound for Townsend at th... (more)

Seen high above Evaro Hill, at the crest, rests one of the more iconic trestles along the MRL… seen here supporting the evening Gas train with a healthy cut for Thompson Falls.

With a lengthy train for Missoula, MRLs morning Gas train skates along the Clark Fork river in some beautiful summer sunlight.

On a sunny morning high above the valley, MRLs famed Day Gas train rumbles over the Evaro high bridge with 22 cars for Missoula.

A pair of Montana Rail Link SD40-2XR's lead a short LAUBOZ freight as they emerge from the tunnel at the summit of Bozeman Pass in West End, Montana and catch the last sliver of evening sunlight.... (more)

Out of a Montana afternoon comes the 1094 West leading Oakway SD60s and BN C30-7s as they urge a coal train into the grade toward Marias Pass. A pair of Essex helpers are on the rear. Fuji Astia.

An eastbound manifest drops down from Marias Pass at Bison, Montana. It was a day where it was raining and haling with bright sunshine and high wind warnings all at the same time. I was wearing ... (more)

MRL 4402 leads the ML up Bozeman Pass on the evening of June 20th. Usually helper sets on Bozeman are on the back of trains, so to see one on point was a nice surprise.

An MRL helper set pushes a westbound mixed freight up Bozeman Pass in the late evening. The train has just begun the climb to the tunnel out of Livingston, Montana.