My route proposal is about a class 2 Railroad with a twist, that railroad is the Montana Rail Link running between Jones junction to Spokane, Idaho, the line runs over some 955 miles of EX Northern Pacific/ Burlington Northern. The MRL acts as a bridge line for the BNSF as it's shorter distance for trains coming from Wyoming/Nebraska/North & South Dakotas and other destinations. Trains that run on this line are as follows – Spokane bound stack trains, Grain trains, Soy Bean trains, Coal trains, Manifests, Oil trains and Grain container trains.
The Montana Rail Link locomotives are EMD fleet and are often rebuilds.
EMD F45
GP9
SD40XRs
SD45s - currently on lease on the BNSF
SD45XRs
SD45-2s
SD70Aces first batch - which were toasted in the mullan tunnel on helper duties but I believe they were rengined when the mullan tunnel was shortened and now washed after each run.
SD70ACe-H new heavy weight units.
Photograph copyright Scott Angstadt and reproduced courtesy of RRPictureArchives.NET
Starting at Jones Junction where coal trains coming from the PRB (Powder river Basin) loop around on a horseshoe from the passing through Jones Junction heading on BNSF Forsyth sub. Trains coming from the Forsyth sub run straight through Jones Jct. Trains coming from the south on the big Horn Sub Join at Huntley. This is the first Sub division runs 35.5 miles from Jones Jct to Spurling.
Once trains run through Jones Jct:
Huntley
East Billings
Billings
Spurling
The 2nd sub runs from Billings to Laurel where MRL has a yard where its own trains the LM & ML (Laurel – Missoula and counterpart the Missoula –Laurel) MRL system manifests.
At Laurel Yard trains are made up for
Great Falls Montana
Kansas City
Casper Wyoming
Forsyth Montana
Spokane ID
Pasco WA
The yard handles over 33,000 cars per year.
The 2ND sub runs from Spurling through:
Mossman
Laurel
Park City
Columbus
Reed point
Greycliff
Big timber
Mission
Livingston
So far the grade has been gentle following the yellow stone river for the most part of the journey crossing over the river a few times. At Livingston is the last time where the rail road crosses the Yellowstone River. Livingston is a yard and helper station at the bottom of Bozeman pass.
Trains tackle 28 miles of Bozeman pass. On the west side is 13 miles of 1.8% grade up through Bozeman tunnel and then 15 miles of 1.8% decent to Bozeman.
From Livingston
Bozeman
Belgrade
Manhattan
Logan – where a branch line takes off to Spire Rock
Trident
Clarkston
Toston
Townsend
Winston – the beginning of Winston hill 13 miles of 1% grade before descending into Helena and the bottom of Helena is the Montana city spur track.
Helena is the helper base for 2 helper sets of 4 MRL SD70Ace (Newer models are heavy weights) and are on most trains. Most runs up Mullan pass are success full but some trains do struggle. Here is an example train I made to explain the process for those who don’t know.
“CREX 1411 arrives in Helena with BNSF 6211 & 742 upfront with 128 cars with a BNSF 8211 on the rear. MRL 4311 with 3 other stable mates pull out the yard to Helena junction. CREX 1411 has just had a crew change and heads to the Helena junction pulls beside the helpers where the conductor of the helpers climbs off as the coal trains passes he counts 80 cars the trains stops and makes the cut and the train pulls ahead to give the helper head room to couple up to 48 car + dpu and couple up to the rest of the train and the train begins the climb and into NOTCH 8 to begin the 2.2% grade.
20 greuling miles of 2.2% and at Austin upto Skyline is horseshoe curves making the trains climb even harder at the skyline trestle where the train bank hard in to the curve pulling as 34,800 horse pull and push the big train. The train crawls throught the Mullan tunnel and struggles over blossburg and descend a 1.4% grade , the mid train dpus keeping push once out the tunnel by that point the headend is in dynamics by the time in head end is in dog creek and mid train below Blossburg and the rear DPU races out of mullan tunnel in dynamics as the train races towards elliston where Mid train helpers will be removed"
At Helena the line to Great falls branches off. After trains leave Helena yard they meet a helper set (Either Helper set 1 or 2) and are cut into the train and the trains start up the 2.2% grade from Helena JCT trains climb through.
Tobin
Austin - shorse shoe curves back & forth to keep the grade at 2.2%.
Skyline - skyline trestle is a bridge on a curve
Mullan Tunnel - got shortened by 900 feet.
Blossburg - Summit & siding
Dog Creek Canyon
Elliston
Avon
Garrison - where the EX NP line joins.
Phospate
Gold creek
Drummond
Bearmouth
Clinton
Bonner
Missoula.
Missoula is a yard, crew change point and the 1000 mile check point for a lot of trains mainly coal trains and is the terminating point for the ML or the starting point for LM. MRL'S big hook crane is based at Missoula yard too.
After a crew change trains start along the 4th sub but the 10th sub joins at Paradise and leaves at De Smet. the 4th sub is also the orignal waterlevel route.
DeSmet
Schilling
Frenchtown
Superior
ST Regis
Paradise - this where the 10th sub starts.
10TH Sub - Evero Hill
Perma
Dixon
Ravailli
Arlee
De Smet.
Back to the 4th sub continuing from Paradise.
Plains
woodlin
Thompson Fall - where the gas local terminates and starts.
Trout creek
Noxon
Clark fork
and Kootani
before finishing at Sandpoint where the Kootaney river sub joins at Sandpoint where MRL have joint trackage with BNSF into Spokane and have a yard there too.
MRL have so many branch lines a follows
5th sub to Spire rock and industry at Harrison, Alder.
7th sub - Waterloo industry
9th sub - from Missoula runs up to Darby with industry all the way up
11th sub at Dixon.
This line is a fantasic opportunity because it offers the player many subdivisions from running locals like the 804 from Helena to Spire Rock or up and down the many little subs or running heavy soy bean, grain or crude oil trains or using 4 of MRLs SD70ACe-Hs in the middle of a heavy coal train.
BNSF trains that run on this line:
Detour stack trains
Grain container stack trains often 6,500 feet but in length but very heavy.
110 car Grain trains 2x1
110 car Soy bean train 2x1
Manifest trains
GATX coke trains
120 - 133 car coal trains
or 95 car PGEX car coal trains
centraillia coal trains with RD-4 hoppers due to no rotary dumping facility
and 90-100 car crude oil trains
MRL trains
Gas local thompson falls - Missoula
ML-LM- Missoula - Laurel - Laurel - Missoula Manifests
This route proposal could offer new units such as SD45XRs SD40XRs ,SD40s SD45, SD70ACe & -H and CREX ES44ACs.
I hope you enjoy the route offering fast running up to 60 MPH between the heavy grades and trains crawl scream wheelslip at 8 - 15 MPH across Bozeman & Mullan passes.