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My 2026 Kalispell Trip
It was a combination railfan trip, and to attend the launch of a brand new
book, "A Glacier Gallery". This
"tales of hidden history" is available on Amazon at:
https://www.amazon.com/Glacier-Gallery-Tales-Hidden-History/dp/1560379189/
I also toured one of the
book's author's fabulous new homestead near Kalispell. I had perfect, blue
sky weather almost the entire trip, so (to quote Amtrak's Julie)
"Let's Get Started".
Wednesday, September 16.
Post Falls to Libby
I am up at 0600 and out the door by 0700. Breakfast consisted of a quick bite at
the Rathdrum, Idaho Mickey D's. At 0730, I began following the former
Northern Pacific
(now BNSF) tracks north
(railroad east).
North Pole, ID.
At the Brunner Road crossing, BNSF 7285 West has a hot Z train doing 60mph. Four
units (7285/7368/7465/6622) 3 - GE ES44DC and a GE ES44C4 lead the way towards
the fuel racks at Hauser. All these various GE locomotives are considered part
of the Evolution
Series.
If it doesn't have trailers, it's not a Z train. Bringing up the markers is DPU
BNSF 7478, yet another GE ES44DC.
Valley Vista Ranch, ID.
BNSF 8555 (an EMD SD70ACe)
and BNSF 4197 (a GE C44-9W)
lead an empty grain train eastward past
"that famous red barn"
along US Highway 95. Aces are so cool.
Holy mother of pearl. It's a Northern Pacific Railway heritage hopper car (BNSF
478793) and on home rails yet; Pushing on the rear is DPU BNSF 8085, a GE
ES44C4. Either this unit or one of those hoppers had an extremely flat wheel.
BAM! BAM! BAM! BAM! as it passed my location. Train was doing about 40mph and
slowing.
Bottle Bay Road, ID.
I didn't get to my usual spot in time. All I managed was a lousy shot of this
westbound
manifest through the trees.
Curses! Foiled Again!
Poulin Drive, ID.
That's more like it. After about a 45 minute wait, the BNSF 8555 East caught up
to me (it had stopped at Reasor Crossovers just north of Lake Cocolala).
Probably to meet that WB Manifesto. Listening to the detectors, all trains were
using Main One.
Hey, that's Twin Peaks! Both above and below; There's that NP Heritage hopper
car again.
The DPU/rear hoppers didn't seem to be banging away as severely this time. Mebbe
a high-rail truck happened by and performed emergency surgery?; A parting look
at this grainer. You can see the NP hopper car's position towards the rear of
the train.
BNSF had ballast regulators and tampers on the single track between Colburn and
Elmira, so I continued north.
Naples, ID.
Oh, I love this spot. All images taken from the old US 2/95 highway bridge.
We're in Great Northern territory
now.
A green signal through the girders indicates a westbound is approaching; Ye Olde
Great Northern depot is slowly disappearing behind the ever-encroaching
shrubbery.
I heard two different diesel horns. Sure enough, a short
Union Pacific wayfreight led by UP 1530 (an EMD GP40M-2, nee
Chesapeake & Ohio 3783) trundles
by with a short wood train (probably from the
Moyie Springs Mill).
Now for the main attraction, BNSF 6057/6305/7100 three GEs
(ES44AC/ES44AC/ES44C4) are in charge of a unit train of North Dakota crude bound
for the refinery at Anacortes, WA. I really like the interplay of the shadows,
girders and depot with BNSF 6057 West.
The work order south of here must have cleared because he's got a green signal
at least as far as Elmira.
The cans! The cans!; Pushing on the rear is BNSF 7306 (a GE ES44DC).
Bonners Ferry, ID.
I get downtown to check the signals. All dark.
Moyie Springs, ID.
For the first time, I visited this spot (a lumber mill). Unfortunately, there's
no train action --- which was probably all on that UP local I saw back at
Naples. No pictures. I press on with all possible dispatch.
Crossing into Montana, I'm now on Mountain Time. And going 70mph on the two
lane, whoa...
West Yakt, MT.
It takes a bit of effort to get here. This is the first siding in the Kootenai
River Canyon between Troy, MT. and Bonners Ferry, ID. AND my first time here.
After crossing the Kootenai on US 2, I doubled back west on "S. Side Road"
(gravel/dirt/pine needles) 5.5 miles to West Yakt.
Well, howdy. It's my old friend BNSF 8555 East taking siding for another
westbound Z train.
The usual suspects are bringing up the rear as this grainer ambles into the
pass. You can barely see it, but the westward signal on the main track is now
faintly glimmering green (too much ambient daylight, even with the hooded
display).
Train Hype! BNSF 8190/6730/7669 (three GEs -- ES44C4/ES44C4/ES44DC) sail along
as I document its passage.
Z trains always seem to carry LOTS of
J.B. Hunt and
Amazon containers. Pushing
on the rear are two more GE locomotives: 7755 and 6547, an ES44DC and ES44C4
respectively.
Troy, MT.
A surprise as I was passing through town.
Illinois Central Gulf caboose 199002
is being lovingly-restored by Josh and Heather McDougall. When I visited, Josh
was painting the roof treadway ICG Orange. They have stencils ready to add
authentic reporting marks for the finishing touch.
Heather was kind enough to show me around the place, inside and out. An annex is
attached to one side of the caboose and when finished it will be a nice little
B&B type getaway.
Visit their Facebook Page for more details. Thank you Josh and
Heather for the tour!
Of course, no visit to Troy is complete without a stop at the former Great
Northern caboose X-88, especially in good light like today. Talking to Heather,
it turns out Josh painted this caboose too! The guy's an artist, I tell you.
Libby, MT.
The ex-GN station in town is still used by
Amtrak's Empire Builder and was built
in a rustic, Glacier Park style typical of many depots along the main line. A
quick late lunch/early dinner at Subway, then I was off to...
Flathead Tunnel, MT.
I was losing my light by the time I got there, but the gate was open and no one
was around.
Notice how they spray painted the "etched" Flathead Tunnel 1970 white
for better visibility. Sadly, all signals dark and scanner silent. No trains.
This is the one overpass (for train pictures) on the road to Flathead Tunnel.
Looking west and looking east. Location is just a few miles west of the portal.
Don't be shootin' at our critters! I actually saw two bears lumping across the
road, but this is the only one I was able to digitize, albeit fuzzily.
I overnighted at the Sandman Hotel in Libby. Tomorrow, I punch to Kalispell for
a yummy breakfast at Chick-fil-a!
Oh, boy...OH, BOY!
Thursday, September 17, 2026
Libby to Kalispell
Libby, MT.
Sigh. Another early start. Awake at 0500 and on the road by 0600. The plan was
to punch for Kalispell and eat breakfast there. I gassed up at the Conoco and
was out of town in a trice.
The sun had not yet risen above the mountaintops when I set out. Driving was
made more difficult by the thick FOG almost the entire way. Going anywhere near
the 65mph NIGHT speed limit, was chancy at best. Finally approaching K-town, the
fog had lifted into a beautiful, sunny day. Google Maps corrected my course for
traffic a few times, until I finally rolled up in triumph.
Kalispell, MT.
GAH! It's closed! The frikken restaurant is being renovated and is covered with
plastic! Construction workers had taken over the entire parking lot. WTF? They only
built this place a few years ago.
https://www.facebook.com/ChickfilAKalispell/videos/chick-fil-a-of-kalispell-mt-is-proud-to-announce-that-on-august-27th-at-2pm-we-w/3194083474114307/
They're PROUD to announce they denied me their chicken? What are ya, junkie
dealers or something? Get me hooked on your sandwiches, then shut me out? You want
$100? I'll give ya $100!
Shaking my head in disbelief, I had a good laugh over that episode as I drove
sadly away. In fact, it kept me
snickering all day. I settled for the McDonald's in Whitefish instead.
Whitefish, MT.
I had a whole list of "little things" I wanted to check out this morning. First,
a visit to the two-story depot and various GN accouterments nearby.
Street side and track side views of the station.
The Bruck!
GN 181, an EMD NW-3 road switcher.
Statuary includes this gent teaching his son the finer points of baseball...and
then of course, Rocky, The Great Northern Goat.
Next on the agenda was a drive out towards Whitefish Lake. Reaching the BNSF
crossing, I was blocked by an incoming S train (overseas containers).
Serendipity. Somewhere in my little brain, I shifted to the third item -- drive
out Second Avenue to the east end of Whitefish Yard. I figured the S would be
doing a crew change at the depot -- giving me time to set up.
Grab shot as I was looking for a place to park. BNSF 3181/2689 (EMD GP50/EMD
GP39-3) enter the yard with a short way freight.
I wound up parking in a dog park (BARK! BARK!) and walking over. It turned out
to be a very nice spot with Big Mountain Ski Area visible in the
left background and
bulrushes in the foreground.
It's a QZ (Quiet Zone) here, but the hogger gave me a hearty bah-BONK! anyway. Those ACE's have the best, deepest, throatiest horns on BNSF.
I always fancy S trains because the containers are so colorful. Dong Fang is my
favorite with the turquoise paint scheme seen here.
Just 3 units on the overseas stacker. Up front are BNSF 8467/7057 (EMD
SD70ACe/GE ES44C4) with BNSF 3812 (a GE ET44C4 [Tier 4]) pushing as DPU. I
wonder if that's enough to get him over Marias Pass.
Columbia Falls, MT.
I drove out to the railroad "wye" in Columbia Falls.
There's a Shay in Depot
Park! Built in 1904, this locomotive spent its time working for various logging
companies in the area. In 1964, it was restored and put on display here.
You can still see the concrete foundation of the station, but that's all. The
depot, of course, has been moved next to US 2 and is an antique store.
Columbia Falls is where the original 1892 GN mainline headed south to Kalispell
and then over Haskell Pass towards Libby. Once the GN was routed through
Whitefish and down the Kootenai River (longer route, easier grades), the line
over Haskell Pass was abandoned (1904).
I'm going to follow the old line to Kalispell and see if any GN artifacts are
extant.
La Salle, MT.
MP 1217.1. I doubt there's a town by that name. It's probably just a railroad
location, but that's definitely a GN/BN sign.
There are at least two old GN whistle posts as you get closer to Kalispell. I
have one just like it hanging on my wall.
Kalispell, MT.
The former GN depot is still there (now used by
Kalispell Parks & Recreation) at
15 Depot Park.
Justin Franz wrote an excellent article about the railroad in Kalispell. Highly
recommended reading.
Glacier Rail Park is pretty much what you see above (a five-track grain
facility). This is the end-of-the-line, so to speak, for the old Great Northern in
Kalispell.
Well, it's almost 1pm and time to head over for the grand tour of
Scott and Jan's Chez Tanner.
But first, a libation.
Just for scale, here's a look at the "Great Room" with soaring, vaulted ceiling.
Glacier Park Modern vibe, for sure! Notice that extremely cool spike coat rack
and lamp rescued from the erstwhile
Izaak Walton Inn.
Now. On to the memorabilia/train room/office/inner sanctum.
Displays over and under. Just look at all those goodies.
It's like a museum in there, with many kick and rare pieces. For instance, that
24" enameled GNR logo is in perfect condition and the framed
Joseph Scheuerle
(pronounced "surely") cartoon poster of
Glacier National Park comes from a 1931
"Vacations for All" brochure. I have one myself on display. Scheuerle, you can't
be serious?
The second image gives an overall view of Scott's Man Cave with everything
neatly organized.
It's all in the details. That is a mint GN Ry logo in red, white and blue. These
only came out for a couple years in the mid-1950s. Very rare. Very oochie.
Even rarer still, is the locking door plate with old-style GNR logo. This one is
probably from the old GN-NP office building in St. Paul. Scott had a local
locksmith rebuild it, so it fits the door and locks as well!
Afterwards, the three of us set off for dinner at the
Flathead Lake Brewing
Company (which is, indeed, on the lake with a great view out the window).
Always the collector, Scott was bidding on a GN item (eBay) in between bites. He
won the item, natch!
Afterwards, we said our goodbyes until tomorrow. I headed out to my evening's
lodging at the
Red Lion Inn Kalispell. Builder-hype tomorrow...
Friday, September 18, 2026
Kalispell to East Glacier and back
Kalispell, MT.
Today I'm chasing Amtrak's Empire Builder over
Marias Pass.
It's the usual 0500/0600 morning ritual. Checking Amtraker.com, it turned out
#28 was 90 minutes late out of Portland. Thus east of Spokane, 8/28 was tardy,
and wouldn't arrive in Whitefish until 0830 instead of the scheduled 0711/0726
arrival/departure.
This gave me lots of time to have breakfast in the hotel and buy a couple
sandwiches for my lunch/dinner.
Whitefish, MT.
There is quite a crowd on hand waiting to board including a healthy contingent
of Mennonites/Amish.
Over in the yard are two sets of power. Next to the packaged Weyerhaeuser lumber
is BNSF 5300, a GE C44-9W. That's mainline power. BNSF 2689/3181 (EMD GP50/EMD
GP39-3) are the same local power I saw yesterday at East Whitefish Yard (Second
Avenue).
With half an hour to kill, I was walking the platform and came across this
structure. It looks like a very small version of the Whitefish depot. A small section house
or storage building, perhaps?
I had lined up a perfect shot of where the train would be arriving with
passengers waiting. As the headlight came around the corner, the checked baggage
lady appeared sloooooowly coming down the platform, driving a tractor and carts,
completely blocking my view of the train. Heavy sigh. What ya gonna do?
This was my consolation picture after she finally rolled past. Meh...
Undaunted, I walked further down the platform and got my pictures of both
engines in the morning sun. AMTK 25 is an old, battle-scarred warrior, still
running well past its intended service life. The engineer for the next leg,
prepares to board this GE P42DC for the trip over Marias Pass, and eastward
across the Great Plains.
AMTK 368 is a bit dusty with road grime, but is one of the next generation of
engines to pull Amtrak's long distance trains. Many railfans (and crews) malign
them because of breakdowns and problems with software, but aesthetically, I like
'em. The styling is very sleek and you can't beat
that snazzy Phase VII paint
scheme. ALL new locomotives have teething problems and eventually these will get
sorted out.
Believe it or not, this is my very first encounter UP CLOSE with
a Siemens
ALC-42 locomotive. That means details, details, details. PINCH POINT!
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INTERLUDE:
Before #8 departs, I'm in the parking lot fixing to head out to my first photo
spot at the Coram bridge. As I'm loading up my gear, this old codger ambles by
and yells out, "Do you know where Hertz is?" I answer, "They're in the station".
"The Rental Car place?" "Yeah, it's in the station" (I'm pointing at the station
now.) "Is Hertz inside?" "It's in the station", I repeat for the third time.
I've said it before and I'll say it again. Wherever I go, these people find me.
END INTERLUDE:
--------------------------------------------------------
Traffic is heavy as I make my way east. Through Bad Rock Canyon and Hungry
Horse, I'm probably just minutes ahead of the train (I can hear him setting off
detectors, but I can't tell his precise location.) I pull into the old service
road which goes right to the bridge and.....AND.....
Coram, MT.
My old favored spot at Coram bridge is completely fenced off with BNSF "we shoot
railfans" signs galore. It looks like a prison compound. Six foot and twelve
foot high chain link fences everywhere. I think they're using it for materials
storage.
Quickly, I get back on US 2. West Glacier Station (Belton) is still a
construction zone (the new platform isn't finished yet), so no picture possible
there.
Past Belton, the canyon is socked in, with solid fog -- which continues almost
the entire way to Essex. Thus, my first shot will be of the trestle at the Goat
Lick turn-off.
Sheep Creek Trestle, MT.
I quickly park and hotfoot my way over to the overlook. Almost immediately, I am
surrounded by about two dozen Indians (dot) wondering what I'm looking at. Eventually, they stop staring at me
and continue down the trail to the goat lick viewpoint.
I've got my shot lined up and SURPRISE! a two car train (gondolas) comes
drifting downhill. Two big GE's for that toy consist. BNSF 7941/6184
(ES44C4/ES44AC).
I can hear #8 setting off the MP 1170 detector (axle count 4 8) at Essex, so
he's close. As it climbs the mountain, I can BARELY hear it coming -- the
locomotives are not working hard at all. Presto, there he is. I bang off a few
shots and give chase.
Snowslip, MT.
My next shot is "that kick ooch above US 2". The Superliners glisten in the
early morning light, one by one, as they skirt the edge of the mountainside.
West Summit, MT.
#8 rounds the curve near the summit of Marias Pass and poses with the
(appropriately-named) Summit Mountains,
like so many publicity photos from Great
Northern's days of yore.
Rising Wolf, MT.
Just past Bison, is a small, reflecting lake. Perfect for passing passenger
pulchritude.
East Glacier, MT.
Lucky for me, the Builder is still stopping at Glacier Park Station this late in
the season, so I
get ahead of him, go through the US 2 construction zone, and over the Two
Medicine River highway bridge for my picture.
There's the famous "barn shot" as the train begins to head out across the Great Plains. A
glorious finish to my Empire Builder chase! The weather is absolutely perfect
today.
Signals are dark, so I go check out the station. They have finished rebuilding
the platforms and it looks much better now.
And maybe just a few snaps of the
Glacier Park Lodge for good measure.
With no trains nearby, I decide to visit locations I've rarely visited, on the
way back.
Marias Pass, MT.
At the summit of the Continental Divide, there are two monuments to inspect: one
for President Theodore Roosevelt and one for
John F. Stevens.
Here's Teddy's pillar. Yeah, the 18mm wide angle kinda bends it to the right,
don't it? ;p
Unfortunately, some idiots from Flathead County (with a Montana 7 plate) had
decided to use the concrete base of Johnny Stevens as their personal picnic table. Such
desecration! That means anyone taking a picture of the statue has those unwashed
knuckleheads and their
foodstuffs in shot. I'll show them.
Baolu fixed their little red wagon. Using the software on her Google Pixel 8,
she ERASED those filthy buggers AND their detritus from my pictures, HA! (thank
yew hunny!)
Essex, MT.
A rather crappy, back-lit shot of the DPU pushing eastward on the rear of a
manifest. That's BNSF 7219 (a GE ES44DC) doing the honors. This is at the Dickey
Creek Road crossing.
I had always wanted to drive up to the cabooses above Izaak Walton Inn. This
entails a rather roundabout trip down Dickey Creek Road and then Essex Creek
Road. It is rough in spots. Even in 4x4 at 5mph, it's difficult. Potholes and
more potholes. Don't bring the family sedan down here!
Well, this is a pleasant enough place for-to munch my sammiches (note the picnic
table in the first image). The only drawback of this location is the foliage and
timber is so THICK, you can't see the main tracks below. They are really tucked
in underneath the hillside. To see trains, a hike down to the pedestrian
overpass is required.
Oh, my goodness, me. Wouldn't that look GREAT in my backyard out by the fence?
It would just dress things up back there.
UNFORTUNATELY, it's taller than I am. At about 80" in diameter, it wouldn't fit
in the bed of my truck. Too bad. So sad.
Nyack, MT.
This REALLY wouldn't fit in my truck. At the Deerlick Creek turn off from US 2,
I found this old Great Northern Mountain Sign for Blackfeet Mountain (elevation
9,597 feet). I believe this sign was MOVED from it's original location west of
here.
Kalispell, MT.
I am back at the Red Lion by 1430. Whilst googling the Glacier Rail Park
yesterday, I came across mention of an old GN diesel locomotive on display,
close to my hotel. I had to check it out.
I am walking along the "Parkline trail", the former GN mainline through
downtown. Note the big window observation car in one of the pictures. That's GN
1294, "Trempealeau Mountain".
It's only a few blocks before I spot the Great Northern #657,
an EMD GP9
locomotive built April 1954.
GN 657 was renumbered to
Burlington Northern 1809. It never received GN Big Sky
Blue paint during its working life, as seen here. It went into the merger in the
"simplified" orange/green, then repainted into
BN's "Cascade Green". In 1985, it
was sold to Central Montana Rail as their 1809. CW Rail painted it blue with
white stripes!
This engine was set up to run long nose forward (GN practice at the time) as
indicated by a raised-metal "F" on the side sill. The amber warning light and
winterization hatch are GN spotting features as are the five steps (instead of
the usual 4) on each end.
It was a lot of fun seeing this engine, as I had no idea it was here. And I
really do like the Big Sky Blue. ;p
Once more back at the Red Lion, at 1645, I set off for the
Glacier Art Museum
(nee-Hockaday), a former Carnegie Library.
Three authors: Ray Djuff, Scott Tanner and Bill Lundgren collaborated on "A
Glacier Gallery", a colorful collection of stories and images from their
memories and memorabilia.
There's a fairly good crowd assembled to hear about this new offering.
Bill, Ray and Scott answer questions after the presentation.
In the main lobby afterwards, Ray, Scott and Bill autographed and personalized
copies of A Glacier Gallery. This book is available on Amazon at:
https://www.amazon.com/Glacier-Gallery-Tales-Hidden-History/dp/1560379189/
My last picture of the trip, as I was walking back to my hotel, was this Great
Northern Railway logo on display in a store window. It's almost a montage with
all the reflections. I think the object was cut out of the side of a wooden
railroad boxcar or caboose.
Rocky lives!
THE END
All images (c) Lindsay Korst, unless otherwise indicated.
 
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