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[quote user="MichaelSol"] [quote user="erikem"][quote user="MichaelSol"] Cadotte Pass is about five miles north of Rogers Pass on the Continental Divide. It was the historic crossing of the Divide in the area. [/quote] The USGS maps show Cadotte Pass to be 2 miles NNW of Rogers Pass (where highway 200 crosses the Continental Divide). It is at the upper right hand corner of the Cadotte Creek 7.5 minute Topo.[/quote] Ha! I should have said five "hiking" miles, or at least it seemed like it at 90 degrees, August 12, 2001. [quote] Looks like Cadotte Pass would not have been practical without some sort of tunnel - my eyeballing the topo suggests that a 3 to3.5 mile tunnel would have allowed for crossing the divide with a maximum elevation of 5,000 feet and mild grades. A much shorter tunnel would have been possible with steeper grades and/or a lot of curvature. Coupled with a 5 mile tunnel under St Paul Pass, this would have made for a nice low grade crossing of Montana. [/quote] On July 26, 1913, the final survey for the Milwaukee Road’s second crossing of the Continental Divide was completed. From the "Choteau" line to the Big Blackfoot Railway, the new line would be 116.81 miles in length. From Great Falls to Bonner, the distance was 169.7 miles. The total estimated cost was $9,539,507.11. The total curvature of 6,517o permitted a maximum of 8o of maximum curvature with a 1% maximum grade eastbound and westbound crossing the Continental Divide at an elevation of 5,293 feet with an 8,200 foot tunnel. [Letter, Powrie to Reeder, August 13, 1913, Great Falls. DSC.] When I looked at it in 2001, I had the final location survey map with me, as well as a USGS topo map, plus Powrie's notes. There had been discussion about a lower crossing, and it was perfectly feasible from the standpoint of the Pass itself. The tunnel was just commensurately longer but it looked like they were trying to keep the cost of the project under $9 or $10 million. [/quote] So the projected line would have run along the Sun River drainage to Augusta, then head due south gaining elevation along the Eastern Front of the Rockies to the proposed eastern portal of a Cadotte tunnel?  An 8200' tunnel isn't that long for a 1910 era tunnel, unlike the wish list 5 mile tunnel under St. Paul Pass.  So it even with the Cadotte Pass realignment, the Milwaukee still would have had to deal with 1.7% and 2.2% grades over St.Paul Pass and the Saddle Mountain crossing respectively, at least until better technology allowed a longer St. Paul Pass tunnel. But assuming both the Cadotte Pass line and the lower crossing of St. Paul Pass could have been had prior to electrification, what contingency if any did Milwaukee have for the Saddle Mountain crossing from Beverly to Boylston to aleviate the 2.2% of that climb other than electrification?  Did Milwaukee also have a wish list plan for Beverly to Boylston, or was electrification the sole solution offered?  Also, weren't there some grades to deal with east of Lewistown to Winnett if indeed that route had been chosen for the main transcon?  Or would that part of the mainline realignment have come up from Harlowtown and Judith Gap?
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