Iron Ridge and a coal train, Mullan Pass

[@rolpfeiffermuller935]

Thanks Herr Scoot never-ending sounds of those precious "helpers" .Symphony and Bliss

[@bobw7066]

Excellent capture.

[@irishrebel1798]

another super video, those sd70ace's sound great

[@ljreed8671]

Great usage of the drone I enjoyed your video

[@phinsgranpop]

Fantastic filming Scott. Worth waiting for . The clip with the CN leed unit was alot Quieter. Hope more to come Cheers Dave O'Callaghan(KIWI) .

[@TheMadNorsky]

Nicely done! I've never seen filming from that view of Mullan Pass before. Great use of pan and zoom! There is a good informational plaque at the Gold Creek Rest Area I-90 (about mile marker 169 on I-90) about the Northern Pacific RR. There were three big tunnels built, Bozeman, Mullan and Big Horn when it became the first northern route transcontinental in 1873. Guess Big Horn, near Glendive/Custer MT was "daylighted" like this one sometime in the early 1950's. Never knew of that before.

[@charger348]

Great video mate, you have certainly got the angles covered in this one. Gives a wonderful sense of how it all happens, 15 minutes did not seem that long so keep them coming.

[@asd67lkj]

Thanks Scott. I learned more about Mullan Pass from that one video than many others. I have to put this on our destination list for our next trip "Stateside".....

[@ScottHiddelston]

Hi asd67klj !! i apologize for not replying sooner. I've been otherwise occupied with home stuff. Thanks for the kind comments. I'm really appreciate them. I'd be happy to offer any info you might be looking for if you're up for a Mullan Trip. Might even invite myself along. It really is the best of the passes in the Western U.S. Also, Re another video of mine, the stalled train on Mullan. It was about an hour for the rescue locos to come over the pass. They had to tie their train down then disconnect and come over to help out. A westbound coal train was blocking any help from Helena.

[@asd67lkj]

On our first US roadtrip , we only got up as high as Yellowstone...

[@NorfolkSouthernES44AC]

Amazing location and stunning scenery. Awesome sound.

[@bcr4601]

Nice work Scott keep the MRL alive.

[@MrAdrianc100]

Brute force against gravity......I'm going to go buy a house in that town there...I love that noise!!!

[@JesseC1007]

Well where gonna be neighbors then 😂

[@ScottHiddelston]

I agree Mike. The place itself is what makes these videos, the area is fairly clear of trees and the valley holds in the sound.

[@carlosturren2683]

Muy bien ubicado el "Cameraman", nos muestra el tren enterito, en un laborioso pasaje por este difìcil escollo. Muchas gracias.

[@ScottHiddelston]

Hi Pikkakikka, these coal trains start at the mines in Montana and Wyoming, then travel to Roberts Bank in southern British Columbia, where the coal is loaded on to ships bound for Asia. Thanks for commenting

[@ScottHiddelston]

Hadn't heard about that one either Norsky. On the way home I took a quick swing by Homestake. Tracks still there, and could be used again!! Maybe one day. Very scenic.

[@ScottHiddelston]

Homestake was the route that the NP used to go west via Butte MT. It parallels I-90. The Milwaukee Road crossed the divide at Pipestone Pass, which is further south and can be reached by taking Montana State route 2 south out of Butte. It is almost all private property now, while Homestake is still owned by BNSF and still has rails down. I didn't know any of this until I saw a note on the MRL group saying the Montana Legislature was considering funding a rebuild of Homestake for coal trains.

[@mikebni]

Good grief Scott, that is one hell of a coal train! Great scenery too, which always helps.

[@inrd9001]

Cool shot, plus power. I really like how you look down onto the train. Power wise, a BNSF Fakebonnet and an Executive SD70MAC make one nice coal train.

[@SantaFe19484]

Awesome video! I love the sound the engines working to climb the mountains

[@spacecalander]

Excellent video, love the sd70macs in action

[@ScottHiddelston]

Thanks Fuzz. I had been looking for a different viewpoint on Mullan and came across this. It was funny that the DC loco was on the coal train yet three hours later that 8-loco manifest passed through, with almost all AC power. Odd indeed.

[@BaronvonBavert]

wow, cool video, Thanks Scott

[@gragor11]

8 years later Scott, still an amazing video. Maybe one of the best there is on YT. It was one of the first I watched of trains and I've been watching them ever since. Got here this time after watching one of your other videos and then that video posted by mtrrnick in 2019 of those Montana Rail Link loki's starting that train up again after it broke a coupling. (Montana Rail Link's SD70ace's Put to the Test). I think I'm going to post all three of them to my FB wall they are so impressive. Was this a road trip for you because I see you are posting from Ohio now with your kid in tow. Must be getting just about old enough to start toting that super smooth ball head and tripod around for you. This is one of the best executed continuous shots of a train I've ever seen. As an aside, I go past the Roberts Bank coal port on the ferry when I am on my way out or back from Vancouver Island. An island where CP Rail rigged it that all train traffic was forced to stop running 10 or more years ago.

[@ScottHiddelston]

Thank you sincerely for the kind words Gra Gor. I truly appreciate it. No, not in Ohio my friend, just down the road from you in Whidbey Island Washington!!

[@ScottHiddelston]

Thanks Michael. Probably a mile and a half in length, and around 18,000 tons. Thanks for commenting.

[@ScottHiddelston]

Thanks again rebel, I just wish I had got wind of this place when the SD45's were king. Oh well

[@TheMadNorsky]

Would Homestake have been the Milwaukee Road route???? Trying to figure out the path of the Northern Pacific and other lines as I drove across Montana, and didn't get the full info on the NP route until I read the plaque at the rest area. I'm thinking the tracks along I-90 west of Butte towards Deer Lodge were Milwaukee Road rails at one time.

[@ScottHiddelston]

Thanks once again Hans. I appreciate your support.

[@ScottHiddelston]

Thanks Dave. Yes I tried a different sound setting this time, and the audio was definitely louder. But it worked against me in some other clips I'll be posting soon, when I was too close and the locomotives blew the sound out. A guessing game! Thanks for commenting.

[@Morfeusz120]

Beautifull video.Thumbs up 5*****

[@TheMadNorsky]

thanks for the education; much appreciated

[@gragor11]

Must be thunderous at times for the people who live in those houses as those 8 loci's pull full power on 3 sides. How many trains would go through here in a average day or week? One every 3 hours or so? That was quite the shot. Very impressive to be able to catch all that movement from that one view. And geology too. Good eye ya got.

[@ScottHiddelston]

Thanks Gra. A bit more than one every three hours. Maybe one per hour average

[@ScottHiddelston]

Thank you morfeusz. I appreciate it.

[@ScottHiddelston]

No there are two sets of four SD70's, and a third set of one SD70 and I think four SD40/45 mix. You have to visit. Four hours from Essex!!

[@ScottHiddelston]

Thanks mafarnz!! I'd go further than cool and say bloody cold ha ha !!

[@Pikkakikka]

Thank you for sharing this nice video. Im impressed of the length of those coal trains. I watched on my 46 inch TV, the quality is really good. Where is the train go to? Where is it coming from?

[@DASCO2136]

Any idea as to why the NP decided to bypass Iron Ridge tunnel? Was it because it couldn't handle clearance for higher cars or what?

[@marceltk643]

Good video, pure sound. Love it! The locos in the middle of the consist are SD70ACe's???

[@mafarnz]

Cool spot!

[@TheDrummerman1951]

What year was this video shot?

[@ScottHiddelston]

TheDrummerman1951 these videos were shot in October 2013

[@ScottHiddelston]

Thanks charger. A camera with more zoom would have been nice but oh well.

[@tjyumoto9899]

how do you get to this location as well? Sorry for the same comments but my friend and I are planning a trip and want to figure out the spots. your shots and vantage points are amazing

[@ScottHiddelston]

TJ Yumoto No need to apologize TJ, happy to share. I've sent you a message, if you get back to me I'll give you all the details.

[@tjyumoto9899]

how can I locate the message?

[@hansolepetersen3573]

WOW :-)

[@sergiooliveira7778]

em um país sério ferrovias são prioridade... no Brasil lixo é ao contrário trens não furan pneus nen paga pedágios....

[@ricoisrael880]

SUUUPERRR VIDEO GOOD POWER,?