Mullan Pass is MRL's crossing the Continental Divide west of Helena, MT. With a ruling westbound grade of 2.2% and hosting a pair of curved deck plate trestles, it's easy to see the draw many have to visiting the highly scenic, though difficult to traverse mountain pass. We spent a summer evening around the Austin Creek Trestle, coming down the pass towards Austin and then on to Tobin, catching a fleet of BNSF trains conquering the grade. While little MRL power is seen other than helper sets, the action put on here is quite amazing. MRL had work windows on the pass during much of the daylight hours, so this was our only opportunity to see traffic traverse the pass.
MRL announced in January, 2022 that it would be terminating its lease of the former Northern Pacific line across Montana, giving BNSF full control of the line well before the 2047 expiration date. While the STB has yet to rule on this matter, the odds are in favor of a BNSF takeover, ending a 35 year run of one of America's favorite regional railroads.
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21 мар 2023
