The Montana Rail Link gas local glides east towards Missoula, Montana. Taken at Dixon, MT.
The Montana Rail Link's gas local heads towards Missoula, Montana following the Clark Fork out of Thompson Falls. Montana Rail Link operate a series of freight trains from a loading facility in Missoula to this unloading facility at Thompson Falls, a distance of 129 miles. These trains are refered to as the "gas local", and usually operate twice a day, with two locomotives and 20+ tank cars. The Yellowstone Pipeline Company had a 532 mile line conveying petroleum products from Billings, Montana, to Moses Lake, Washington. During 1995 the pipeline was shut down for safety reasons (3.5 million gallons in 71 separate spills since 1954), in particular due to a 56 mile segment crossing the Flathead Indian Reservation. The Gas Local trains now form a link between the eastern and western segments of the pipeline that currently operate.
