Celebrate the rise and legacy of the Montana Rail Link with this special edition from Trains magazine. Featuring 12 memorable articles, plus exclusive detailed maps, this issue traces the launch, growth, and evolution of a highly distinctive and much-respected railroad.
Montana Rail Link
Montana Rail Link remembered
Lessons from Montana Rail Link • BNSF is terminating the lease of the West’s most-loved regional railroad. Why we’ll miss it
Fortuity in Montana
31 years on MRL • CEO reflects on decades atop a leading short line: Montana Rail Link
BIG POWER for the little guys • What’s fueling the trend to buy big diesels
SURVIVOR • From Day 1, Montana Rail Link has overcome adversity. Here’s how the railroad has managed to survive for more than 25 years.
Lombard, Montana
Haulin’ gas • On a railroad that prides itself on serving its customers, Montana Rail Link’s Gas Local is the crown jewel of its operation
The Gas Local fleet
The power
MONTANA MUSCLE • “Good old girls” — it’s last-roundup time for MRL’s 20-cylinder SD45s, the largest fleet in the land
New MUSCLE for Montana • Montana Rail Link’s first new locomotives are changing the face of this mountain railroad
MRL SD70ACe features
Backstage at Livingston • Behind the scenes at Montana Rail Link’s locomotive shop
Upriver from Paradise • In search of semaphores on Montana Rail Link’s Clark Fork cutoff
Two roads to Paradise
Breathing easier in Mullan Tunnel • A Montana regional aims to improve on Mullan Tunnel’s unsavory reputation
Bye-bye, blowers