Gas Stop On The Hi-Line - Shelby, Montana

"Go back to sleep. The hour is small.

     A freight train between stations

Shook you out of sleep with all

        Its lonely ululations....

The hour is small. Resume your rest. 

        Tomorrow will be kinder. 

Here comes a freight train nosing west, 

        Pulling the dawn behind her."

- From Lullaby Near the Railroad Tracks by A. E. Stallings

Read the full text of this lovely train poem here.

Train Tracks Crossing the Clark Fork River - Missoula, Montana

"Now train tracks, hour upon hour, were leaving always to the past, to the land falling away behind the West." - Ivan Doig (1939-2015), This House of Sky, p 110

Midnight Train - Missoula, Montana

"I was standin' at the station,

Ten to midnight in the rain

I was mindin' my own bus'ness,

Waiting for that midnight train..."

- from Midnight Train lyrics by Jon Tiven/ Roger Reale 
- My fave recording by Buddy Guy and Jonny Lang.

Blues Train, Missoula, Montana

Oh, the lovely lines and patterns that abound in the railway world!

For a dip into the best kind of Montana train mania, check out a current Montana Rail Link fan page here.

Looking Forward, Livingston, Montana

The Train of Life
by Marv Hardin

"Some folks ride the train of life,
looking out the rear,
Watching miles of life roll by,
and marking every year.

They sit in sad remembrance,
of wasted days gone by,
And curse their life for what it was,
and hang their head and cry.

But I don't concern myself with that,
I took a different bent,
I look forward to what life holds,
and not what has been spent.

So strap me to the engine,
as securely as i can be,
I want to be out on the front,
to see what I can see.

I want to feel the winds of change,
blowing in my face..."

There’s more to this though-provoker; read the rest here.

X Marks the Spot, Missoula, Montana

Being a frontier type of town, Missoula, Montana, has a rich railroad history. The old restored train depot graces the top of downtown's main street, separating the business district from the active rail yard. If you cruise the drag on a weekend night, you'll inevitably loop around the red "Crossings" statue, created in 1986 by Arlee artist Taäg Peterson.