Montana Rail Link's Harrison Local rolls across a trestle between Sappington and Harrison, Montana.
I'll be sharing at least one photo of my trip every week until I head out to Montana once again. I guess I look at it like my way of holding a protest, or going on strike, until I get my way and I depart for Big Sky Country. Along the way I will try to give everyone some information and other tidbits about each photograph. So come along, and join me in my protest! After we photographed Montana Rail Link's Harrison Local for the first time in Logan, we jumped in the car to commence chasing. Even though the top speed on the Harrison Branch is 10 mph, the local had 19 miles of MRL's 5th Subdivision Branch Line to traverse. The speed limit on the 5th between Logan and Sappington is 40 mph, so getting ahead of the little speedster before Sappington is probably out of the question. As it turned out, that was true. With one car and two locomotives, it didn't take long for the train to eat up the miles. Not only that, but we wanted to make sure we were in position for our first shot on the branch. With help from our MRL friend, we made our way to first easily accessible location south of Sappington. Montana Highway 359 crosses the branch, and just beyond that, a nifty little wooden trestle sits just off of the highway. This was easy pickins. The trestle shot is really what we wanted, but as is the case with many locations around here, many angles and different lens choices are available. To see a different angle at this location before the train reached the bridge, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/tdanneman/6281396858/in/set-72157627730697286 After we arrived at the trestle, we had some time to kill. Once through Sappington, the first 5 miles or so of the branch are not easily accessible, so with the slow top speed of the branch, we had a bit of a wait. Finally, we heard the locomotives in the distance. It's hard to believe they would be working much with only one car, but there is a 2.2 percent grade on the branch, so it probably isn't as much of a cakewalk as one would think. Around a distant bend came the little local. We started firing the cameras well before it reached the trestle, but the shot I really wanted to get was this one when the train crossed the bridge. I finally checked off an item on my MRL "bucket list." With all of the factors that could have prevented this chase, I was certainly grateful that it all came together. But I didn't want this to be it. We had more chasing to do! Stay tuned for more on the Harrison Branch. Montana tidbit that may only interest me: Sappington was named for resident Henry Hiter Sappington, who moved to Montana from Sappington, Mo., in 1869. The Missouri town took its name from a family of pioneers.
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Tom's Montana Protest Flickr Set
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