Montana Rail Link

Montana Rail Link
MRL #652 EMD SD19-1, coupled between two Union Pacific engines.
Reporting mark	MRL
Locale	Idaho, Montana, Washington
Dates of operation	1987–
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) (standard gauge)
Headquarters	Missoula, Montana

Montana Rail Link

Legend BNSF to Seattle BNSF to Portland BNSF to Kettle Falls Spokane Yardley Hauser Coeur d'Alene Sandpoint BNSF to Bonners Ferry Joint trackage with BNSF to Spokane Kootenai Hope Clark Fork Noxon Trout Creek Thompson Falls Woodlin Plains Polson Pablo Paradise St Regis Ronan Perma Superior Charlo Frenchtown Dixon Schilling Ravalli Arlee DeSmet Missoula Lolo Bonner Florence Clinton Stevensville Bearmouth Victor Drummond Hall Corvallis Gold Creek Maxville Hamilton Phosphate Philipsburg Darby Garrison BNSF to Buttee Avon Elliston Blossburg Mullan Pass Mullan Tunnel 3,426-foot (1,044 m) BNSF to Great Falls Helena East Helena Montanna City Spire Rock Louisville Winston Twin Bridge Townsend Whitehall Sheridan Toston Sappington Alder Clarkson Harrison Trident Three Forks Logan Manhattan Belgrade Bozeman Bozeman Pass Bozeman Tunnel 3,015-foot (919 m) Wilsall Livingston City Park Mission Big Timber Greycliff Reed Point Columbus BNSF to Denver Laurel Mossmain BNSF to Great Falls Billings East Billings Huntley BNSF to Kansas City Jones Junction BNSF to Twin Cities

Montana Rail Link (reporting mark MRL) is a privately held Class II railroad in the United States. MRL, which operates on trackage originally built by the Northern Pacific Railway, is a unit of the Washington Companies,^[1] and is headquartered in Missoula, Montana.

The railroad runs between Huntley, Montana and Spokane, Washington, largely within Montana, and the main line passes through the towns of Missoula, Livingston, Bozeman, Billings, and Helena. Montana Rail Link connects with the BNSF on both ends and also in Garrison, Montana. The railroad has over 900 miles of track, serves 100 stations, and employs approximately 1,000 personnel. The main yard is in Laurel, Montana, while a smaller yard is in Missoula.

Montana Rail Link's present status and main line date back to 1987, when MRL under Missoula businessman Dennis Washington agreed to lease Burlington Northern's southern Montana main line between Sandpoint, Idaho and Huntley, Montana, near Billings. This spin-off was controversial as it happened during contract negotiations between Burlington Northern and the United Transportation Union. MRL workers are represented by the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers. Montana Rail Link trains operate between Sandpoint and Spokane using trackage rights over BN successor BNSF Railway's tracks connecting those points.

Montana Rail Link still uses cabooses, which are used to carry remote control switching equipment, on some trains. A significant number of MRL movements are actually BNSF trains, complete with locomotives, that MRL receives at one end of its track and forwards back to BNSF at the other end. MRL also operates trains of its own to gather and distribute local freight along its lines. Forest products and grain are primary commodities, and MRL also operates a special train, called the Gas Local, between Missoula and Thompson Falls, Montana, to bridge a gap in a long-distance gasoline pipeline.

On September 8, 2005, Montana Rail Link took delivery of locomotive number 4300, the first of 16 new EMD SD70ACe locomotives. This is the first locomotive that the railroad has ordered new from a manufacturer, and it and the rest of the class are intended to replace aging SD40 and SD45 class locomotives on trains crossing the Rocky Mountains over the continental divide at Mullan Pass near Helena, Montana and Bozeman Pass near Bozeman, Montana.^[2]

References

1. ^ Taking the last name of Dennis Washington rather than the state of Washington.
2. ^ Danneman, Thomas (March 2006). "New Muscle for Montana". Trains Magazine 66 (3): p 38–41. 

Montana Rail Link boxcar on the CRANDIC at Cedar Rapids, Iowa

External links

• Official website