The calm of the Idaho pine forests are momentaily distrubed by the St. Maries River Railroad's Plummer turn. The train is lead by a pair of the railroads GP9s as they trundle across the massive Pedee Idaho Trestle with 12 cars enroute to Plummer Idaho and the interchange with the UP. The St. Maries Railver Railroad serves a couple of the lumber mills on the south side of Lake Couer d'Alene in and around St. Maries.
This piece of railroad was part of the Milwakee Roads Pacific Extention route. While much of the Pacific Extention west of eastern Montana has since been abandoned, and rails removed, around 20 miles still remains as the St. Maries River Railroad from St. Maries to Plummer Idaho.
The Pair of GP9s are no strager to this piece of railroad either, as the entire STMA locomotive roster is made up of former Milwakee Road locomotives. The pair of GP9s seen here, numbers 101 and 103, were built in 1959 as Milwaukee Road 292 and 322 respectivly. Some 60 years after being built they are still working on home rail.