Montana Rail Link Freight Railroad: Train Talk Ep. 40

[@SPRailfan4449]

One of the best Class 2 railroads of all time. It will always be missed by the Railfan Community. ❤️😔😢

[@CoasterFan2105]

Indeed it will. Thanks for watching!

[@MichaelMitchRailfan2009]

Finally, Train Talk ep has came back, thanks Mike!

[@CoasterFan2105]

No problem! Thanks for watching!

[@MichaelMitchRailfan2009]

@@CoasterFan2105 NP!

[@adventuresofamtrakcascades301]

About time a new TT ep comes back!!! I really miss Montana Rail Link greatly so this episode is WELL beyond appropriate, it's so generous

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! Yes, we were definitely overdue for another Train Talk episode. Hopefully, I’ll have another one out next month!

[@adventuresofamtrakcascades301]

​@@CoasterFan2105 nice!

[@LeHuyHoangD19E-910]

@@CoasterFan2105can you make union pacific sd70ace locomotives?

[@sp786fanboy9]

How about TT episode about the Susquehanna? I don’t know if you have enough of your own footage to make that, but their history and operations are very fascinating on their own.

[@SoCalOCRailfan]

Amazing video!! The way MRL has their own type of trains organized (like gas train, lumber, grain, ballast yard) is really cool, great episode of train talk!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@BaltimoreAndOhioRR]

Well done! Love MRL! ✔

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! It was a neat railroad!

[@PeteTesta-s6r]

"Train Talk" was really great. Narration has great info. More of them would be appreciated. Thanks Mike!

[@CoasterFan2105]

You are very welcome! I have several more in the works. Hopefully will have another one out in December. Thanks for watching!

[@SL9SHi_NorCal]

The Montana Rail Looks Impressive!!! 💙💙💙

[@CoasterFan2105]

It was a very impressive railroad!

[@vinceghio]

Best hotel is the historic Murray hotel in Livingston right across the street from the tracks and the train museum. They also have a roof deck which is cool.

[@CoasterFan2105]

I’ll have to look into that next time I’m in the area!

[@ThePandaSmuggler]

Excellent livery and gorgeous scenery! Thank you for the great video!

[@CoasterFan2105]

You're very welcome and thank you! The scenery there is spectacular.

[@TNRailProductions_01]

Great video! I took a trip to Montana this past summer to document trains between Helena and Billings with a big focus of Bozeman pass. While most of the MRL flavor was gone by that point, it was very nice to capture and chase MRL 109 on the 840 local. It was also cool to see the ancient intermediate searchlight sets around Billings MT.

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! Glad you were able to see 109 right before they retired it!

[@TranscontinentalRailfan]

I really enjoyed this video about the history of Montana Rail Link. This was one of the short line railroads I found facilitating. It definitely is no wonder why BNSF was interested in taking over this bridge line early in the lease agreement. Reminds me of how CSX took over the RF&P Railroad that stretched between Washington, DC and Richmond, VA in 1991, mostly because CSX trains used that bridge line a lot. I would like to see a train talk video on the Genesee & Wyoming Company.

[@CoasterFan2105]

Many thanks! It's a really neat railroad with an interesting history. I'm glad I had the chance to document it while I could.

[@1SaUI]

It’s a shame we won’t ever see MRL’s F45 locomotives running again. I hardly see anyone talking about them, and pictures of them are in short supply. (I have an incredible bias to the F45 and other cowl/full body units like it). Thanks for making an episode on an underrated railroad! That sharp blue is always an eye catcher!

[@MrDgwphotos]

One of them is still around and is supposed to be preserved, 390 is stored near Spokane.

[@1SaUI]

Oh neat!

[@CoasterFan2105]

You're very welcome! Glad you enjoyed the video! The F45's were really cool. It's a shame they were all retired a while ago.

[@MarcelosalivaTRENESArg]

Excellent video my friends awesome 😮like and Greeting 🙋🏻‍♂️ from Argentina 🇦🇷

[@CoasterFan2105]

Many thanks and greetings!

[@MarkWayUp]

gotta love the trains in the mountains!

[@CoasterFan2105]

They go together well!

[@EntertainmentWorldz]

great video sir😍😍❤❤

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you!

[@StormySkyRailProductions]

Awesome video and I wished I could have made it out that way before the BNSF situation. Enjoyed watching and have a wonderful upcoming weekend. Steve

[@CoasterFan2105]

Many thanks, Steve! You too.

[@PrincessAmtrakMinamoto]

0:12 Montana Rail Link locomotives looks so awesome. 🙂

[@CoasterFan2105]

They’re really cool!

[@GoldenRailsMedia]

Awesome video as always Mike!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Many thanks, Christian!

[@Cab_Productions]

Best Class II Ever 😭

[@TrainStory281]

Great job on the Episode of Train Talk Mike! It was a big success that you talk about the history of the Montana Rail Link! So, Where does the train go in Montana about how many miles? Thanks for Sharing with You!! 🛤🛤👍🏻👍🏻

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! I break down all the routes and different trains MRL ran later on in the video.

[@derrickwong5337]

Way to go for Train Talk Series!!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks for watching!

[@andrewmazzarini2742]

I'm a week late but I'm SO glad Train Talk's back! Do you take topic recommendations for episodes? If so, an episode on what Genesee and Wyoming is and why they own most of the shortlines in America would be a great topic

[@AnEAShasbeenissued]

I remember as a kid seeing a MRL and Rail America train in Fresno, CA and always wondered what it was about.

[@Now.JorgeV]

Magnificent! 👍

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@kptrains]

Nice video of the Montana Rail Link! Too bad the railroad is not around anymore.

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! It is a shame that it's no longer around, but some of the locomotives are still in service.

[@TrainzNS_NYCHeritageUnit2K9]

Great Video Mike! I miss Montana Rail Link

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! I do too.

[@coolleo149]

Awesome to see these fantastic freight trains!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks for watching!

[@07Giddyup]

As usual, excellence video and historical narrative!

[@TheNewTriStateGuy]

My friend used to work on this railroad, sad the MRL doesn’t exist anymore.

[@CoasterFan2105]

That it is. I always liked seeing it when I went through Montana.

[@infaredxkingz8786]

Now these engines are just the last remnants of this railway...

[@RailfanSam]

Great video as always Mike!! I'm sad to see another railroad pend for the history books

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you, Sam! I am too.

[@samuelsalmonsen3944]

Enjoyed this!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Glad to hear it!

[@AttackTheDPoint-WT]

i have countless hours of railfanning west laurel catching trains coming out of the yard onto the start of the second sub...

[@CoasterFan2105]

It's a really neat place to just take everything in. So much going on with all the different trains and switch jobs.

[@yankeesforlife24]

I miss the MRL, at least I can say I worked on the MRL subdivision

[@CoasterFan2105]

Me too. Coolest class II around.

[@railfan104]

Great Video! I like the Montana Rail Link!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks! It was a really neat railroad!

[@RFPAreaRailfanner]

@@CoasterFan2105 Sure was!

[@RFPAreaRailfanner]

Awesome video! Keep it up man!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you! I will!

[@MikasRealm]

Amazing 😻

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@paulcastillo1310]

Great video on mrl

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you, Paul!

[@paulcastillo1310]

@CoasterFan2105 your welcome

[@dmcry600]

Great video!!! Thanks for the informative video!!!! Well done!!!!

[@jeffmurphree2937]

Well done!!!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you!

[@wolfgangpfeilergartenbahnd6530]

Hello Mike, an interesting video about the railroad companies that operate railroad services in Montana. Very nice pictures of the trains and landscapes. What types of locomotives are used. Thanks for the video and have a nice Sunday, best wishes from Germany.

[@CoasterFan2105]

Many thanks, Wolfgang! Hope you had a nice weekend.

[@zenontrainstrucks9433]

Great video!

[@CoasterFan2105]

Many thanks!

[@HarborSubHughley]

Great video

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks, Evan!

[@HarborSubHughley]

@ No problem Mike

[@KaissCoiffier]

Cool vidéo ❤

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you!

[@Buckeyesfanashost]

Man not Montana Rail Link. To be honest it was my favorite class 2 railroad of all time and its livery is pretty recognizable. R.I.P Montana Rail Link 1987-2024 It sucks to see railroad’s like Montana rail link go away

[@nigelslade5276]

From UK, have always like MRL, locomotives always looked well maintained and clean, very few smokers.

[@CoasterFan2105]

They had some of the best painted locomotives of any railroad I've ever seen. I can't ever remember seeing a single one with fading or peeling paint.

[@WVRailroadPapa]

Veey nice video. I watched an interview of Darius Gaskins a couple of years ago who was the CEO of BN. It was his idea to lease the former NP to the Washington Group. Apparently he wanted to make changes to operations but the unions objected so the lines were leased.

[@AJFreeman-oj4rp]

Montana Rail Link had a nice livery.

[@CoasterFan2105]

That it did!

[@dalekling7303]

You should do a train talk on the Great Lakes Central Railroad.

[@CoasterFan2105]

That might be a topic for a future video!

[@adventuresofamtrakcascades301]

Fun Fact: Southern Pacific 4449 came to Billings Montana with an excursion train in 2004 with one MRL locomotive involved for braking

[@neilschwerdt3493]

Great video to watch 😊😊😊 from Neil schwerdt

[@heatherjenkins1009]

I hope we'll still see MRL locomotives running around

[@CoasterFan2105]

I hope they'll still be around for a while!

[@FXE-4011]

Exelent

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thanks!

[@Ovalaardvark433]

The parent company of MRL (the Washington companies) still has another railroad called Southern Railway of British columbia (SRY rail link)

[@aidenandrako8908]

I have subscribed to your channel

[@CoasterFan2105]

Thank you!

[@seanmas7599]

I am going to miss this line and Amtrak silver star and capital limited for 1 or 2 years break

[@rdrogel]

I hope that the 29 ex MRL SD70ACEs will be renumbered(either be patched or after repainting) to BNSF number(only 8720-8748 number range are vacant)

[@MrDgwphotos]

The Clark Fork isn't a fork of the Columbia. It flows into Lake Pend Oreille, which drains into the Pend Oreille river, ending in the Columbia just north of the Canadian border.

[@CoasterFan2105]

It is a tributary of the Columbia. I checked multiple times because I wasn't sure. volcanoes.usgs.gov/observatories/cvo/Historical/LewisClark/Maps/map_columbia_river_and_tributaries.shtml#:~:text=The%20mainstem%20of%20the%20Columbia,Fork%2C%20Snake%2C%20and%20Willamette

[@dsma2023]

It's literally called Clark's Fork of the Columbia River. Always has been.

[@NathanPolicarpio]

Hey mike guess what montana rail link was featured in the film monster trucks

[@vinceghio]

I got to film it in Livingston in 2021

[@CoasterFan2105]

Awesome!

[@tdginc]

Is it just me or do those train Hortons sound like the trains you hear in the movies

[@CoasterFan2105]

They have a lot of Nathan P3 and P5 horns, which have been used a number of times as sound effects.

[@tdginc]

@ got it so it’s not just me tripping

[@africarocks_official]

So why did BNSF take over the main MRL line? I mean, don't they potentially have enough routes and locomotives to keep their system running?

[@CoasterFan2105]

Most of the traffic over the MRL was BNSF traffic, so it simplifies their operation.

[@MrDgwphotos]

They are also working to upgrade the line, Marias Pass is overloaded.

[@yankeesforlife24]

⁠@@MrDgwphotosthey absolutely are not. Since the takeover Almost nothing infrastructure related has changed on the MRL. I would know I work on it. Honestly, there isn’t much they can upgrade. Heavy trains cant reach the max speed of 45 anyways due to the grade

[@yankeesforlife24]

They were paying MRL per car load to move freight over rails they they owned. It was actually a Union busting move that backfired. BN hoped and expected to fail within the first 5 years and ask out of the lease. 37 years later BNSF got their tracks back

[@Lowerbcspotter]

why do they look like the SRY train in BC canada?

[@yankeesforlife24]

Bc Denis Washington owned both railroads. He still owns SRY

[@Joe-d7m6k]

Now that it's back to BNSF-- wonder how long it will take for BNSF to start screwing up the customers, and causing loss of business. Happens every time a BIG RR takes over a smaller, shortline.

[@yankeesforlife24]

@@Joe-d7m6kthey already have. They’ve told every customer not to expect the same level of service that they received from the MRL

[@Railfan_Austin]

We have one rail link left, sry, Southern railway of bc, It also has mrl paint schemes.

[@XavierTheRailfanner_]

Man MRL was such a good railroad. Shame BNSF took them over.

[@CoasterFan2105]

It was pretty neat!

[@lizggil123]

Imagine Bnsf makes a mrl heritage unit

[@Укрзалізницяфан]

In 2025 I will go to USA to California in July but my mother needs to keep working if I want to go on a vacation in July

[@tracksidebcproductionsofficial]

If all those GP9's are in storage, why not send them to SRY Rail Link (Southern Railway of British Columbia)?

[@CoasterFan2105]

I think ownership of all the locomotives was transferred over the BNSF as part of the deal. They'd probably have to work out a sales or lease agreement with SRY if the GP9s were to be sent there.

[@Among_us3.0]

@@CoasterFan2105well ok…..

[@killerbees177]

This is the first train talk episode in a long time. What gives?