Montana Canyon Postcard

I have this colorized photo in postcard form, but I have also seen it in a promotional booklet that the Milwaukee must have published in the late teens or early 20's. It depicts the Electrified Olympian passenger tain threading it's way through the beautiful Montana or Sixteenmile Canyon between Lombard and Three Forks.

East Portal, MT circa 1915

Here is an interesting photo from the Milwaukee Road, showing the substation and the operator's bungalows at East Portal, MT. East Portal was so named because of it's proximity to the east portal of the St. Paul Pass (or Taft) Tunnel, about 600' to the right of the substation, just out of this picture.
Notice how bare the mountain is in the background. Just a few years before this photo was taken, a massive forest fire destroyed thousands of acres of timber in Idaho and Montana, and this is what the terrain looked like before the new growth took over. I was just at East Portal last year, and I can report that the trees grow tall and thick. The bad news is that the substation is just a pile of bricks and the bungalows have also been destroyed.

Sacajawea Inn Three Forks, MT

Three Forks, Montana

This photo is most likely a Milwaukee Road publicity shot, taken to advertise their connection to Yellowstone National Park at Three Forks and Gallitan Gateway. The "bus" in the photo was used to take passengers to and from the Milwaukee's Gallatin Gateway Inn. Most times, these passengers would be stopping for a visit to Yellowstone.

Montana Canyon Postcard

Here is a very early view of trackage in Montana Canyon, note the lack of catenary which hadn't yet been installed.

Gallatin Gateway Inn Postcard

Here is a vintage view of the Milwaukee's Gallatin Gateway Inn. Many passengers would get off the Olympian Hiawatha at Three Forks and ride these busses to the inn where they would stay while they toured Yellowstone National Park

Miles City, Montana Postcard

This is another very early view. This time, the Milwaukee's yards at Miles City. Miles City was a crew change point on the Trans-Missouri Division.

Olympian Postcard

Piedmont, Montana postcard

This is a very interesting view of the Milwaukee's substation and operators bungalows at Piedmont, beginning of the grade over Pipestone Pass and the continental divide.