Riding The Helps
It’s late in the blue hour as I sit in the fireman’s seat of BNSF 6820 (EMD SD40-2 blt. Apr. 1293 as BN 6360) along for a ride as we glide west into the night on Hi Line Subdivision, the legendary ex Great Northern mainline. This unit along with sister 6818 are the Essex helper set, and back then in the era before every train had a DPU the lonely little terminal hard by the southern border of Glacier National Park dispatched helpers to boost nearly every train up the 2.2% climb to the top of Maria Pass. We are on single track near Paola about to plunge in to 1744 ft long Tunnel 2 near MP 1176.2 only 7 or so miles from the terminal beside the Izaak Walton Inn where I was lodging for a few nights.
Flathead County, Montana
Monday December 22, 2008
Riding The Helps
It’s late in the blue hour as I sit in the fireman’s seat of BNSF 6820 (EMD SD40-2 blt. Apr. 1293 as BN 6360) along for a ride as we glide west into the night on Hi Line Subdivision, the legendary ex Great Northern mainline. This unit along with sister 6818 are the Essex helper set, and back then in the era before every train had a DPU the lonely little terminal hard by the southern border of Glacier National Park dispatched helpers to boost nearly every train up the 2.2% climb to the top of Maria Pass. We are on single track near Paola about to plunge in to 1744 ft long Tunnel 2 near MP 1176.2 only 7 or so miles from the terminal beside the Izaak Walton Inn where I was lodging for a few nights.
Flathead County, Montana
Monday December 22, 2008