Thunder at Iron Ridge
A westbound BNSF coal train thunders through Iron Ridge cut between Austin and Weed, Montana, climbing Mullan Pass on the afternoon of July 6, 2022. The train is n... (more)

A thunderstorm has just passed, but wet rail left behind slows a westbound BNSF oil train as it climbs the 2.2 percent grade of Mullan Pass at Iron Ridge between Austin and Weed, Montana, on the a... (more)

Working up the 2.2 percent grade of Mullan Pass, a set of four Montana Rail Link EMD SD70ACes being used as a manned helper, leans into an oil train passing through Iron Ridge cut between Austin a... (more)

An eastbound Montana Rail Link helper set of the usual four EMD SD70ACes, drops downgrade out of Weed, Montana, and through Iron Ridge cut on MRL’s main line over Mullan Pass on June 29, 2022. T... (more)

After the passage of a thunderstorm, it’s still raining as a westbound BNSF unit oil train climbs the 2.2 percent grade up Mullan Pass between Austin and Weed, Montana, on the afternoon of July ... (more)

A westbound BNSF manifest freight passes through the large, colorful cut through Iron Ridge between Austin and Weed on Montana Rail Link’s climb over Mullan Pass west of Helena, Montana, on July... (more)

Two BNSF trains meet of Mullan Pass west of Helena, Montana, on July 4, 2021. With am extended Austin siding now just over four mile long, both trains stay on the move through Iron Ridge cut betwe... (more)

As a BNSF manifest freight drops down the 2.2 percent grade out of Weed, Montana and though the large cut through Iron Ridge, a westbound BNSF Q train climbs up out of Austin in the background on ... (more)

On the afternoon of June 29, 2022, a westbound BNSF manifest freight works upgrade through Iron Ridge cut between Austin and Weed on Montana Rail Link’s challenging Mullan Pas route west of Hele... (more)

An eastbound BNSF grain empty drops downgrade out of Weed, Montana, and through expansive Iron Ridge cut on Montana Rail Link’s Mullan Pass on the morning of June 29, 2022. The cut bypasses the ... (more)

A westbound BNSF coal train climbs through colorful Iron Ridge cut on the large horseshoe curve between Austin and Weed while ascending Montana Rail Link’s Mullan Pass west of Helena, Montana, o... (more)

Action on Mullan Pass
A BNSF manifest freight drops down the 2.2 percent grade out of Weed, Montana, and approaches the large cut through Iron Ridge on July 4, 2021. In the background, ... (more)

Montana Rail Link’s manifest freight from Laurel to Missoula, enter the huge cut that bypasses Iron Ridge Tunnel between Austin and Weed, Montana, while climbing Mullan Pass on July 5, 2021. Tra... (more)

Today, the route through large cut at Iron Ridge is double-track with the extension of Austin Siding westward to the location of Weed by Montana Rail Link. On June 30, 2021, an eastbound BNSF coal... (more)

Burlington Northern train 196 approaches the deep cut that was once a tunnel through Iron Ridge between Weed and Austin, Montana, as it descends the steep 2.2 percent grade of Mullan Pass on July ... (more)