As the sun dips below the snowcapped mountains, BNSF L-MON8211-15A (MRL Night Gas Local) snakes around the chilly waters of the Clark Fork River.

MRL 4408 leads the Day Gas through Weeksville,MT.

BNSF 4281 flies through Plains, MT with an empty coal train.

An eastbound BNSF coal empty curves along the shoulder of Montana State Highway 200 and river’s edge of the Clark Fork between Weeksville and Plains on May 9, 2010.

Evening light blankets western Montana, as the famed Gas Local cruises west out of Plains with the dynamic duo up front.

The gas local heads works west along the Clark Fork River as it approaches Plains.

MRL's Night Gas crew sets out some ballast loads at Plains.

With MRL power up front, BNSF's Laurel-Pasco manifest heads west alongside the shores of the Clark Fork.

MRL's Day Gas heads east on the 4th Sub.

MRL's "Night Gas" local heads into the siding at Plains to drop off 3 ballast cars.

BNSF's Pasco-Laurel (H PASLAU) freight meets counterpart Laurel-Pasco freight (H LAUPAS) at Plains on MRL's 4th Sub.

The Day Gas heads east along the Clark Fork.

The Night Gas heads into the siding at Plains to drop off 3 loads of ballast.

A three-car Montana Rail Link Paradise local scurries eastbound along the Clark Fork at milepost 5 between Plains and Paradise, Montana, on September 25, 2009.

The chase is on! Chasing MRL's morning Gas Train through Plains, Montana as my friend records the Track Warrant Clearance on his phone.