A Laurel to Missoula freight train making its way up and out of Helena as they begin their ascent of Mullan Pass.

It’s a rainy day at Montana Rail Link’s Helena Roundhouse, as MRL Machinist Kevin Leonard takes a call as he reflects on what these new EMD locomotives will mean to his job after changing the ... (more)

Shortly after sunrise, BNSF C-SCRMRBC0-45F has mid-train helpers cut in and they have begun their climb out of Helena towards Mullan Pass. Notable buildings of the Helena skyline can be seen in th... (more)

MRL's 840 local's power heads to the house in Helena.

Rainy weather has moved east at the end of the day on October 8, 2005, and the sun makes a brief appearance before dropping behind the mountains west of Helena, Montana, while Montana Rail Link EM... (more)

The late afternoon sun makes a brief appearance on an otherwise rainy day at Helena, Montana, on October 8, 2005. Two Montana Rail Link machinists at the “roundhouse” talk briefly while mainta... (more)

A WB oil train begins its trip up Mullan Pass as it departs Helena with a Santa Fe warbonnet unit assisting second out.

With helpers up front, the "LM" arrives in Helena, where they will work the yard & head into Missoula.

Helpers on the head end will stay with the train into Missoula today.

A Montana Rail Link helper set arrives at Helena Yard on July 1, 2020. Quite a few blue MRL locomotives are present—three helper sets, the Helena local power and MRL’s Laurel to Missoula freig... (more)

LM crawls into Helena Yard with coal empties waiting to head east. This train had to be set out in Townsend with power issues, so a helper set ran down to bring it in.

LM is picking up some cars and helpers at the junction, requiring them to pull clear of the signals. The extra power up front will be sent all the way to Missoula to assist in helper service for ... (more)

Helpers and local power include the famous SD45 #355, facing east, which is used on the 840 local.

Spirit AeroSystems loads arrive in Helena for a crew change. This is always a bit of a head turner out on the wide open range.

A well-powered "LM" is sinking its teeth into the grade heading up to Mullan Pass. While there were initially only two Aces on the train, a helper set was added not only to assist in dr... (more)