FL9

It ook us all day to cross the great state of Montana, and well after dark we finally slipped across the state line into North Dakota.  It was fairly cold outside when we made our stop at Williston and I got off to try a night shot or two.  First up the depot with its lighted sign made a perfect back drop for the train and its milling passengers.

Looking towards the head end revealed the baggage cart at work and a green board in the distance beckoning us on.

When we arrived at Minot, a cold wind was blowing that bit right through my jacket.  I did not spend much time on the platform after catching this view looking back along our train at the depot. 

Our next stop was several hours ahead at Grand Forks, so I decided to crash in the upper berth.  Next up I will share the pictures from October 18th.

A few miles east of Havre at what I think was Chinook, Montana, I managed a grab shot out the window of Rarus Railroad GP7 #102.  The Rarus was the successor to the old Butte, Anaconda & Pacific south of here off of the old Northern Pacific mainline that is now operated by Montana Rail Link.

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Around 90 minutes later we made a longer station stop at Havre where trash was removed and supplies replentished.  Before arrivng at the depot, we passed the BNSF 7698 West in the yards for our arrival.

(Read on …)

Later on the morning of October 17th the snow cover on the ground had thinned out when Amtrak 8 made its station stop at Shelby, MT.  Someday I will have to learn more about Amtrak crew changes, since the conductors seem to change at different stations than the engine crews.  Here we see the conductor swap in progress.

Even though you have more freedom of movement on the train than almost other mode of transportation, whenever the conductor announces a stop long enough for passengers to detrain, there is a rush for the platform.  Here we see the ritual performed at Shelby.

Within minutes we were under way again, our next scheduled stop an hour or so away at Havre.