THIS MONTH’S TOP NEWS STORIES AND PHOTOS
D&H South End Acquisition Complete
A combination of Pan Am Southern and Norfolk Southern power leads Train M1R soaring high above the town of Nicholson, Pa., as it crosses the 100-year old Tunkhannock Viaduct. On the second day of NS operations along the former Delaware & Hudson south end, Train M1R was the first run between East Deerfield, Mass., and Enola Yard near Harrisburg, Pa. See page 9 for details. PHOTO COURTESY NORFOLK SOUTHERN CORP., PHOTO BY KEVIN BURKHOLDER
BNSF RAILWAY SAYRE KOS
Montana Wildfire Threatens Mainline, Spares Iconic Town
A massive wildfire in northwest Mon- tana forced the temporary closure of BNSF Railway’s Northern Transcon and threatened the historic railroad town of Essex, Mont. The “Sheep Fire,” located near Glacier National Park, was one of hundreds that burned more than eight million acres across the American west during the summer of 2015 in one of the most destructive fire seasons in years. The lightning-caused Sheep Fire was
first noticed in mid-August, about five miles from Essex, home to the iconic Izaak Walton Inn, a railroad hotel built in 1939. Within a few days, wind and warm temperatures pushed the fire toward BNSF’s Hi Line Subdivision and the community of Essex. As a precaution, residents were told to be ready to evacuate. As wildland firefighters started arriving to protect the community, BNSF also started bringing in its own supplies, including two fire trains loaded with water. Due to the proximity to two important pieces of
6 NOVEMBER 2015 •
RAILFAN.COM
infrastructure — a snow shed just east of Essex and the Goat Lick Trestle — the railroad also hired its own firefighters. As the fire grew, BNSF set up sprinkler systems on top of both the shed and bridge in hopes of putting out any embers that might land on them. On August 20, BNSF’s main line and
U.S. Highway 2 were forced to close as the then-230-acre fire surged toward the Middle Fork of the Flathead River and threatened to spread into Glacier Park. While the highway remained closed for days, BNSF was allowed to run trains late at night and early in the morning, when the fire was mostly calm. During the coming days, one of the two mainline tracks through the fire area was shut down so that the fire train had free reign. Besides water, BNSF also used the fire train to move firefighters in and out of the area. Before going through the area, all trains had to get Form B permission from agents on the ground. The Form B system was used so that officials could shut the line down at a moment’s notice. Although the fire could be seen from
Essex and U.S. Highway 2, access was limited due to rough and steep terrain. The geography prevented firefighters from building a fire line directly around the blaze, and the more than 200 people
assigned to the battle focused much of their time in cutting brush near Essex to reduce the amount of fuel near the more than 200 structures that were threatened. On August 27, the fire had continued to grow and was then just a mile away from the community. Due to the elevated danger residents were evacuated. However, the evacuation was not in effect for long, and within a few days, cooler weather returned to the region, preventing the fire from spreading. By mid-September, the fire had burned more than 2,100 acres. In the end, Essex was spared; however, the fire did burn within a few hundred feet of the rails. While BNSF’s main line was tempo-
rarily closed, numerous freight trains were detoured via Montana Rail Link and its route through the southern part of the state. —JUSTIN FRANZ
In early September, BNSF had nearly completed its addition of a second main track through Alliance, Texas. The original Santa Fe mainline lies east of Alliance Yard, passing through Haslet, Texas, and bypassing the yard. This older route lies in the way of an extended runway coming to Alliance Airport in
Second Main Progress
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