Westbound Z Train glides downgrade.

Helpers depart Essex for their next assignment.

An empty grain train has its lights on dim prior to meeting helpers at East Java during the last rays on sunlight.

A pair of SD40-2 helpers give a shove to a very heavy Pasco-Galesburg. Another pair of -2s are cut-in mid-train.

Looking more like the 1980s than 2008, Cascade Green 6816 is part of a two-unit head-end helper assisting an eastbound up Marias Pass.

It's often tough to get good pix while on a family vacation, but the Izaak Walton Inn perhaps offers an exception. Here between Red Bus tours and lake boat rides I found time for a morning trip o... (more)

The Business end of BNSF 972504, a Maintenance of Way Snow Spreader, at the Isaac Walton Inn located in Essex Montana. October 10th, 2005. Steve Crise Photo © scrise.com

Westward on the 1.8% descending grade into East Java during BNSF's annual Mountain Grade Audit.

Most people come to this location to watch goats licking the salt off the exposed rock. Some of us have more impressive activities to regard!

This was from a trip in '99. I rented a 4X4 but ended up "settling" for a convertable Mustang w/out chains. Virtual white out conditions, icy roads, and worse, no trains - thank goodness sake fo... (more)

Two of the three helper sets assigned to Essex rest in the afternoon sun. Those gray boxes on the front are the Helper Link which allows the helpers to cut off on the fly without having to stop t... (more)