Recent content by Dan Olsen

I was also going to give that reference to Two-Ocean Creek in NW Wyoming south of Yellowstone Park. It actually starts as a single creek and then splits in to Atlantic and Pacific creeks which finally end up in their respective oceans. So, theoretically, a fish could swim up Pacific Creek to...

Good catch on that and a good memory That "pond" actually has a railroad backstory. Currently, the pond/lake is named Homestake Lake (the Continental Divide pass a couple hundred yards west of there is called Homestake Pass). It has a USFS Campground and picnic area and hosts a kids summer...

Just a future pitch for upcoming restored routes. I think folks will really enjoy the North Coast Hiawatha when it is restored through the historic route across the southern tier of Montana. A lot of the "scenic" marketing photos from "back in the day" for passenger rail were taken along that...

I guess, though, that when you've experienced a total solar eclipse being on the centerline (100%), it is really an experience you'll never forget. I've so far attended 2 annular and 2 total eclipses in my lifetime. Far and away, the 2017 total eclipse, where we were very close to the...

John - In my community, we haven't had passenger rail service since October 6, 1979 when Amtrak pulled out. I live in a community of 35,000 which had daily passenger rail service starting September 3, 1890 (actually had southbound service starting Dec 21, 1881 . . . but that's another...

Matthew - First of all, thanks for starting this thread. Your reference to Butte . . . I take that personally! (In a good way) Yes, the issue of FAR is a problem. As a lifelong Butte resident, I'm working as a part of the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority to restore the North Coast Hiawatha...

You are correct, the Gardiner station is long gone. The rail bed is now a Rails-To-Trails path for part of the way and I understand that they're adding more sections of trail. The section at Gardiner is a nice ride (once they get the initial approach repaired from 2022 flood damage) along the...

The trick to viewing the "slideshow" is to click on the "slideshow" button in the upper right corner (which "flies" to the first station) and then use the "table of contents" button arrows in the lower left corner that shows up to move to the next (or previous) "slide". It should "fly" from...

Absolutely! That is part of our planning process for the route is to create connections to our recreational assets like Yellowstone. There are several access points for folks. We visit regularly and the Livingston-Gardiner-North Entrance is our favorite. Bozeman's kind of a toss-up between...

Mr. Hamilton - I believe that we've corresponded before about this project. I'm the chair of BSPRA's Planning and Resource Development Committee (P&RD) which has been tasked to create an initial Station Inventory report for FRA. I've used (and attributed to AANW) the reports that you have on...

Thanks for joining our mailing list. We'll keep you posted.

It is actually 22 miles. The rails are still in place, but haven't been maintained since 1979. It has been considered in the past by Montana Rail Link (MRL). With the changeover of the MRL leased properties back to BNSF on 01 Jan 2024 after 43 years, the dynamic will also probably change. It...

I volunteer with the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA) from Butte, MT. We're the group that is working to restore passenger rail services along the historic North Coast Hiawatha NCH) route from Chicago to Seattle via the southern tiers of North Dakota and Montana. My grandparents and...

This is my first post on this forum. I'm currently working with the Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA) to restore the former North Coast Hiawatha NCH route from Chicago to Seattle. Our primary focus on the route across the southern tiers of North Dakota and Montana from Fargo to...