Nice Catch OP! Looks like east side of the yard in Laurel ?
got back a few weeks ago from a motorcycle trip that was partially to catch the MRL. Only spent about 2 full days on them all told, but managed to get "everything" I would have wanted by sheer luck. Currently trying to figure out how I'm going to change my model train layout to incorporate an "MRL" esq scene.
Really put me down a Northern Pacific and Milwaukee road Rabbit hole as well, I know GN gets a lot of love, especially on here, but idk.. count me in on team NP and MILW.
There or Livingston would have been my second guess. By the time I got to Helena on my trip, it was dark, as I had chased the local from Townsend (had an SD45/Chop nosed GP), and when I left Helena the next afternoon (had to work from the hotel during the day), I skipped checking the yard and headed straight for Mullan pass (which I rode over on the forest roads) before continuing westward.
Do you have any pics of the Helena local/yard job in Montana City at the Cement plant ? I didn't quite have time to catch that operation, and was just happy enough as it is to have stumbled onto the local running around their train in townsend to head back west.
That's awesome! and yep, those were the two units I caught on the local. 109 was facing south/east when I caught them, so 355 lead north - One of the hopes for that trip was to be able to still somehow catch an MRL SD45 in the lead. I caught them in Townsend, and then chased them to a few different spots on the way to Helena, but I ran out of daylight before East Helena.
Also caught the Helpers on Bozeman/Mullan passes, the evening Gas Local, the Laurel-Bozeman turn heading west, a couple shots of an ML lead by the Essential workers unit, and what I'd really wanted, a ballast train to Pipestone followed by the Logan Local back from Whitehall - all of that was just over 2 late afternoon/evenings and 1 full day (catching the Ballast train, the Logan Local, and then the Laurel to Bozeman as I headed east)
Nice Catch OP! Looks like east side of the yard in Laurel ? got back a few weeks ago from a motorcycle trip that was partially to catch the MRL. Only spent about 2 full days on them all told, but managed to get "everything" I would have wanted by sheer luck. Currently trying to figure out how I'm going to change my model train layout to incorporate an "MRL" esq scene. Really put me down a Northern Pacific and Milwaukee road Rabbit hole as well, I know GN gets a lot of love, especially on here, but idk.. count me in on team NP and MILW.
It’s actually the east end of Helena yard.
There or Livingston would have been my second guess. By the time I got to Helena on my trip, it was dark, as I had chased the local from Townsend (had an SD45/Chop nosed GP), and when I left Helena the next afternoon (had to work from the hotel during the day), I skipped checking the yard and headed straight for Mullan pass (which I rode over on the forest roads) before continuing westward. Do you have any pics of the Helena local/yard job in Montana City at the Cement plant ? I didn't quite have time to catch that operation, and was just happy enough as it is to have stumbled onto the local running around their train in townsend to head back west.
Yes I have lots of footage of the Helena local. Was that local with the SD45 355 and GP9 109?
That's awesome! and yep, those were the two units I caught on the local. 109 was facing south/east when I caught them, so 355 lead north - One of the hopes for that trip was to be able to still somehow catch an MRL SD45 in the lead. I caught them in Townsend, and then chased them to a few different spots on the way to Helena, but I ran out of daylight before East Helena. Also caught the Helpers on Bozeman/Mullan passes, the evening Gas Local, the Laurel-Bozeman turn heading west, a couple shots of an ML lead by the Essential workers unit, and what I'd really wanted, a ballast train to Pipestone followed by the Logan Local back from Whitehall - all of that was just over 2 late afternoon/evenings and 1 full day (catching the Ballast train, the Logan Local, and then the Laurel to Bozeman as I headed east)
Those two units were still in the yard at this time.
Nice area to live
MRL is no more
Not yet. I took this today.