Two Medicine trestle is the bridge
depicted by Craig Thorpe for the poster commemorating
the 75th Anniversary of the Empire Builder train. His view was
better
than ours. Crossing it you cannnot see much of the trestle,
however, you can see
into the drainage that it crosses. Two Medicine Trestle is
immediately followed by CP East Glacier Park. East Glacier Park
Station is only open seasonally from early May to early October.
This railroad route traverses Marias Pass, the lowest crossing of the
Continental Divide in the lower forty-eight states. Only Broad
Pass in Alaska has a lower elevation railroad crossing the divide.
We are approaching the Continental
Divide. The sign says "Summit, Montana, Elevation 5215,
Continental Divide, Montana Division". Oh, by the way, Mr. Gunn
was outside with us, narrating. Later, Craig Thorpe told me there
was an obelisk to James J. Hill, but I did not notice it. The
railroad is double track over most of the pass.
For the below right photo, Mr. Gunn said this was a wye. It used
to be a wye, however the railroad made it into a balloon track. A
map
I found calls this a balloon track. It probably comes in handy
during the wintertime.
Sometimes it is a good idea to take a photograph and figure out later
what the subject matter is. Lynda Vielluex later said this pickup
truck was carrying teepee poles.
As the train was almost two hours
behind schedule, sunlight was disappearing rapidly.
Having several observers on the end of Beech Grove helped get a
photograph of this elk, of which there were more than one.
While a guest on Beech Grove this
afternoon and evening, Mr. Gunn asked
me if I would like to dine with the group. I indicated that I
would be
honored to join. I was completely consumed with what was
unfolding through Marias Pass. Eventually I made my way to the
dining car to cancel my reservation.
