Helena’s Western Montana Railroad Assoc. Museum
 | Author:
Brenda Phillips
Brenda Phillips: MT43 News Office Administrator |
Helena’s Western Montana Railroad Assoc. Museum
Brenda Phillips
On Saturday, December 30, we went to Helena to check out the Western Montana Railroad Association Museum. Neither of us were aware of this unknown gem. We saw a news report on TV that in honor of the Montana Rail Link’s final days in operation they were having a special showing of the model railroad layout.
The display is at 619 Last Chance Gulch. They are open Saturdays from 10:00 am - 3:00 pm for public tours. There is no charge, but they do accept donations to keep this labor of love going for all generation to see.
The Association is a group of Railroad enthusiasts that want to share their love of trains and railroads and their history in Montana. Many current and historic railroad companies are represented in this display, including Burlington Northern Santa Fe, Montana Rail Link, Great Northern and other local. As a child my dad was a mechanic on trains in the railyard in Great Falls.
The model towns that have been built by hand are representing south western Montana, with many cities, such as Anaconda, Bonner, Garrison, Helena, Lewistown, Harlowton and many others. You can imagine the surprise on this girl‘s face to see the roundhouse of the Great Falls yard where my dad worked. I raised my kids in a house across the street from the Great Falls yard. We talked about the noise of the trains coming and going all night long, rattling the house as they crashed together coupling up, but we got used to it.
All of the Association’s members were very friendly and willing to share their knowledge of all the aspects of this project. As we listened to the conversation, we learned fun historical information. We visited with Ron and he showed us the Wolf Creek Canyon area that they are just finishing. Because of limited space it is not exact, but you can see a very nice likeness of that area.
When we told him we are from Townsend and he showed us the water tower – complete with star - sitting up on a shelf for safety. They are working on a Townsend section. I recognized the railroad trestle that is just north of town. He said they replicated 2 of the 4 spans – not enough room for all 4. When the rest of this model area is finished, they will bring the water tower off the shelf and place it in town. So we will be going back, to check on their progress. We learned that Townsend was a stopping point for the steam trains as they needed to fill with water, about every 30 miles.
Growing up in Great Falls there was a similar railroad club at the fairgrounds. We would check it out every year at fair time. I am aware that the model has grown over the years but I haven’t been back to see it.
After our adventure in Helena on Saturday, we plan to visit the Montana Museum of Railroad History in Great Falls on our next trip to Great Falls. It is open Saturday 12:00 to 4:00 pm and Thursday evening 7:00-9:00 at the MT ExpoPark. This model replicates the rail lines from Shelby to Butte.
Projects like this help us find little pieces of history and memories in a building, business, movie theater, train trestle and scenery. The rivers and dams, tunnels and railroad crossings, highways and driveways that are along these miles of track are each replicating a piece of Montana history. You need to look for the smallest details, such as the cattle yards, the fisherman in the river, the logs in the lumber yard, a dog, or bear or the star on our water tower. I remember as a kid, finding the skinny dipper under the bridge!
Stay tuned for more Montana Adventures.
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PhotoCredit: Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
Image 1 Caption: Wolf Creek Canyon
Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
Image 2 Caption: Sieben Area - Train of Tanks
Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
Image 3 Caption: Great Falls Rail yard
Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
Image 4 Caption: Townsend water tower
Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
Image 5 Caption: Townsend Trestle in progress
Photo Credits: Brenda Phillips
