Idaho Railroading and Railfanning In "The Gem State"

Idaho railroading typifies that of the Pacific Northwest and mountainous Western areas of the country, stiff grades in the rugged mountains found in the Northern Panhandle as well as flat and rolling hills with almost desert-like, terrain found in the southern regions of the state. Idaho is rich in railroading history and today is still served by a number of different railroads from Class Is to shortlines.

Idaho railroading has its beginnings dating back to 1874 when the Utah Northern reached the state from Ogden, Utah (the railroad eventually reached Montana, changing its name to the Utah & Northern Railway, and today is part of the Union Pacific). Following the Utah & Northern’s entrance into Idaho the state’s railroad network would rapidly expand and reach nearly 3,000 miles at its peak.

The Milwaukee Road was the very last to build a main line to the Pacific coast, a feat already completed years before by the NP and GN. In doing so it avoided larger cities en route to the coast, sacrificing traffic for speed. While foregoing traffic it accomplished its goal of speed as the Milwaukee boasted the shortest, and best engineered route between Seattle and Chicago. When the piggyback revolution (i.e., truck trailers fixed directly to railroad flat cars) caught on in the 1950s and 1960s the railroad was one of the first to embrace it and began service in the mid-1960s. Because of its clear advantage of a direct route between Chicago and Seattle it soon dominated the market in the West.

With its web of branch lines in the Midwest and several other railroads fighting for the same amount of traffic that could no longer support so many railroads, the Milwaukee Road found itself in a hopeless situation on the eastern half of its system (and it was unable, along with the other railroads, to abandon most of these unprofitable lines because government regulations did not allow for such until the 1980 introduction of the Staggers Act which deregulated the entire industry).

However, the railroad’s fate was sealed when, in another short lapse of vision, management decided in the late 1970s to scrap the entire system west of Miles City, Montana, some 1,100 miles of track! While the results of this and other abandonment projects on the eastern side of the system worked in cutting costs the now much smaller railroad, which no longer competed for the lucrative traffic entering the Port of Seattle (which today is booming), made for a prime merger target and in 1985 the Soo Line Railroad purchased the company. With the purchase thus closed the book on one of our country’s most interesting and dynamic railroads.

It should also be noted that even as Milwaukee Road was piling up trains along its Pacific Extension with slow orders and derailments with ever-worsening track conditions the railroad astonishingly still continued to receive a majority of the container and trailer traffic from the Port of Seattle. The Milwaukee also, ironically, brought about its own bankruptcy because of the deferred maintenance to its Pacific Extension.

Even as track conditions worsened the railroad continued to move large amounts of freight over its Chicago-Seattle main line to such a degree that the lack of maintenance simply overwhelmed the line and eventually forced the railroad into bankruptcy.

Today electric locomotives no longer conquer St. Paul Pass on the Rocky Mountain Division and all is quiet over the famous Pacific Extension except for the sound of Mother Nature and the occasional hiker along a number of rail/trails. Likewise, Hiawathas no longer pace across America’s Heartland and through Iowa. However, the sprinting Indian logo lives on with the Milwaukee Road Historical Association and Amtrak continues to operate a passenger train named after the famous Indian.

While the Milwaukee Road may be Idaho's most recognized railroad the GN, NP, and Union Pacific also played an important part in the state's development as well. All three’s most prestigious passenger trains passed through Idaho including the Great Northern’s legendary Empire Builder, Northern Pacific’s regal North Coast Limited, and Union Pacific’s City of Portland. Prior to the 1960s, Idaho once even had four prestigious passenger trains as that decade saw the discontinuance of the Milwaukee Road’s Olympian Hiawatha, which operated between Seattle and Chicago.

Today, Idaho railroading is under the direction of the West’s largest railroads, the Union Pacific and BNSF Railway (successor to the Great Northern and Northern Pacific), as well as Regional Montana Rail Link and shortlines Eastern Idaho Railroad; Idaho, Northern & Pacific Railroad; and St. Maries River Railroad.

For a more in-depth look at Idaho's rail mileage throughout the years please refer to the chart below.

While passenger railroading today is virtually non-existent in Idaho Amtrak’s Empire Builder does make overnight stops in Sandpoint, Idaho.

In all, Idaho railroading offers some of the most breathtaking views found anywhere in the country and is definitely worth a trip to see whether you are interested in the trains or just the outdoors!

For more reading about the railroads of Idaho you might be interested in the book Milwaukee Road in Idaho: A Guide to Sites and Locations Revised and Expanded Second Edition by Stan Johnson which details the railroad's history, locations, and operations within the state.

Also, for more reading about railroads in the west you might want to consider picking up a copy of the book The Story of the Western Railroads: From 1852 Through the Reign of the Giants by Robert Riegel, which describes western railroading from its beginnings in the 1850s, before the transcontinental line was built (when west meant across the Mississippi) to how the large systems that dominated the 20th century came about. If you're interested in perhaps purchasing either (or both) of these books please visit the links below which will take you to ordering information through Amazon.com, the trusted online shopping network.