This former Santa Fe F45 is now repainted in Great Northern "Big Sky Blue" and repurposed as a luxury cabin at the Izaak Walton Inn at Essex, MT. The inn itself was built in 1939 by the Great Nort... (more)

The Eastbound Empire Builder passes the famous Izaak Walton Inn just before making the flag stop at Essex station. The inn was built in 1939 by the Great Northern Railway to house workers on this ... (more)

Christmas Eve
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy caboose (waycar in CB&Q parlance) No. 14602 glows in the gathering twilight of Christmas Eve 2007. The Izaak Walton Inn at Essex, Montana, ha... (more)

While there are many great lodging establishments that have a railroad theme and are close to active lines, the Izaak Walton Inn on Marias Pass is a railfan's paradise. Adding inspiration (as if o... (more)

Marias Pass in known for heavy snow and my recent trip there didn't disappoint. I had shot the pass in spring, summer and fall but never winter. The Izaak Walton was a busy place with skiers takin... (more)

An interior shot of the "GN441 Luxury Locomotive Lodge" at the Izaak Walton Inn at Essex, Montana. This shot shows the main lounge area.

Essex, Montana: There are railroad towns and then there is Essex. Located on the former Great Northern Railway's Marias Pass line, the small community was and still is a critical helper sta... (more)

In a time honored shot, and somewhat of a tradition over the years with Alta-Mont railfan weekend attendees, BNSF 6819 patiently waits its next helper assist up Marias Pass, late in the evening on... (more)

Izaak Walton Inn`s newest form of accomodation has been lifted into position and is being readied for it`s first guests.

I was traipsing around the small Essex Yard to get some close up shots of the vintage SD40 Helpers reposing there when suddenly this westbound grain train snuck up on me. It's amazing how quiet a... (more)

It's 11 AM on Christmas Eve and the ubiqitous Essex Helpers have returned from an eastbound workout. They are drifting into the yard and passing the famous 1939 built ex GN landmark. Cascade Gre... (more)

A pair of GP38s lead the "Mountain Work Train" back into the east end of the compact little Essex Yard after running over the divide and down to Browning to pick up single air dump. This job is t... (more)

Merry Christmas from the Izaak Walton Inn The helpers idle outside awaiting their next call to duty in just about two hours. The Inn is decorated merrily for the holiday and these two bears sit... (more)

In response to comments about the cabooses that appear across the tracks from the Izaak Walton Inn (photo 260312), these are static cabooses that are available for rent from the Inn. There are a ... (more)

A helper set with BNSF 6819 and 6816 move out of the Essex Yard and onto their primary task of pushing heavy tonnage trains over Marias Pass. The hummingbird feeding on the porch of the Izaak Wal... (more)