In the very last sunlight of June 28, 2016, an eastbound BNSF grain train passes by on the main line while Montana Rail Link’s Helena local prepares to pick up a BNSF SD70ACe off the house track... (more)

Montana Rail Link's Helena Local reaches the top of Winston Hill under threatening skies just after sunset. It will roll past a waiting eastbound empty coke train then continue on to Helena to end... (more)

Montana is big sky country, but not always big sky blue. Thunder clouds and the Montana landscape show the insignificance of the Helena Local in the scheme of things as it climbs Winston Hill with... (more)

The Helena Local was enjoying the last sunlight of the day as it dent around the curve out of Lombard Canyon and rolled through Tosten on its way back to Helena, MT. It was following a westbound f... (more)

After fighting cloud screws, more mainline freights, swallows and bugs, the Helena Local makes its way along the Gallatin River at the confluence with the Missouri at Trident, MT, finally with MRL... (more)

Hard to believe an SD45 on point in 2015, and on a Main Line! MRL 382 and company leads the "ML" freight across the Skyline trestle and down Mullan Pass in Western Montana.

Entering the siding to meet an eastbound at Thompson Falls, Montana, is BNSF HKCKSPO on October 1, 2014. Three leased Montana Rail Link SD45s (382, 319 and 328, now labeled SD45-2s) power the west... (more)

An immaculate MRL SD45 and bigger sister SD70ACe idle east of the shops in Helena.

After chasing the LM up Bozeman Pass, we heard the dispatcher tell them they'd meet one at the top, then we heard the dispatcher tell the Laurel-Pasco train behind them they'd meet the train at Mu... (more)

Imagine this: You're sitting in your living room, enjoying a fine scotch, a cold beer, or even a tall glass of iced tea. Your home begins to shake, as the rails outside come to life, as a former S... (more)

The all night drive from Eastern Montana with a friend and fellow co-worker suddenly became worth it, after MRL's ML spent nearly four hours switching out their pickup in Garrison and adding anoth... (more)

On May 23, 2011, spring has sprung along the Flathead River just east of Perma, Montana, as Montana Rail Link’s gas local heads east, powered by SD45 (MRL rebuild now labeled a SD45-2M) No. 382 ... (more)

Battling Bozeman Pass: Under threatening storm skies, the Spokane to Laurel manifest with four SD45's and a SD45-2XR battle their way up Bozeman Pass.

Entering the siding at Thompson Falls, Montana, to meet an eastbound is BNSF HKCKSPO on October 1, 2014. Three leased Montana Rail Link SD45s (382, 319 and 328, now labeled SD45-2s) power the west... (more)

SIX Montana Rail Link SD45s lead a BNSF Spokane to Laurel manifest freight (M-SPOLAU1-07) through Manhattan, Montana, on MRL's 2nd Subdivision. MRL has 12 SD45s (SD45-2s) leased to the BNSF. Six t... (more)