From Utah To The Black Hills By Way of Montana

Train-order signal at Hill City, SD.

I have traveled far and wide in recent weeks; business took me to Fort Peck, Montana, and pleasure took me to the Black Hills. There is a lot to inspire a modeler in that amount of driving, and here's a quick summation of some posts that are forming in my head:

• Division points as layouts. Many much better and smarter did this before me - John Armstrong in the November 1952 Model Railroader,  for one - but seeing it for myself in the old and yet still current division points of Glendive, MT and Livingston, MT really got me thinking, as it would be a great way to bring big-time passenger and freight operations onto a smaller layout, without a big classification yard.



The now-quiet Livingston Rebuild Center; formerly the Northern Pacific shops at Livingston, Montana.



The BNSF (former BN, former NP) division offices in the station building at Glendive.

• I suppose that should explain that last part, how no yard is a good thing. I don't like yard switching. (It's personal. There, I said it.)



Stuck just outside the Glendive yard, waiting to get in.

• The Black Hills offers some awesome modeling ideas. (That said, I don't think I'm the guy to tackle them. My tastes run Pacific Northwestern. I blame Spokane.)



The former FE&MV depot at Deadwood, SD. No tracks anymore, sadly.



Fortunately, the Black Hills Central made up for that. In spades. (The South Dakota State Railroad Museum nearby is a must-see, too.

• You can find trains in the most interesting places - so always carry a camera.



Ex-GN combine sitting in a field outside Fort Peck, MT.

I'll open up the comments; feel free to drop in your thoughts!