The Northern Transcon, a route operated by the BNSF Railway, traverses the most northerly route of any railroad in the western United States. This route was originally part of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, Northern Pacific Railway, Great Northern Railway and Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway systems, merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad system in 1970. The section between Shelby, Montana and Whitefish, Montana is also a playable route in Microsoft Train Simulator, with adjacent lines being 3rd party routes.
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The route starts at Chicago and runs west across northern Illinois to the Mississippi River. It follows the eastern shore of the river through La Crosse and Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin before turning west again in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota to Dilworth, Minnesota. From Dilworth the route runs northwest to Minot, North Dakota, then west through Montana and Idaho to Spokane, Washington.
In Montana, the line passes the East Gate of Glacier National Park and crosses the Two Medicine River on a high trestle. From East Glacier Park, Montana, the route continues ascending until it crests the Continental Divide at the summit of Marias Pass. The line then descends for 20 miles down the west side of the pass to Essex, Montana, running mostly double track on a narrow shelf, and crossing several high trestles over the Flathead River. Essex is home to the Izaak Walton Inn, which was constructed when the line was built to shelter railroad employees during the winter months, and also contains a small yard used to store helper engines, which are used to supply additional power to freight trains crossing Marias Pass. Prior to the invention of the powerful diesel locomotives used today, it was often necessary to split longer trains in order to make it up the pass.
From Essex, the line follows the Flathead River valley to Whitefish, Montana. Located in Whitefish is a restored passenger depot/museum (also serving Amtrak). The line then continues northwest to Stryker, Montana, then turns south and passes through the 7.2 mile long Flathead Tunnel as it makes its way west towards Sandpoint, Idaho. The line finally leaves the Rocky Mountains after Athol and reaches Spokane.
At Spokane the route splits into two routes, one going to Seattle, Washington and the other to Portland, Oregon. This route required construction of the Flathead Tunnel through the Rocky Mountains in Montana and the new Cascade Tunnel through the Cascade Mountains in Washington, which are the two longest railroad tunnels in the country. From St. Paul to the West Coast, this is the route of Amtrak's Empire Builder, except that the Builder turns north in Fargo to reach Grand Forks, while the Northern Transcon heads directly toward Minot, where the Builder rejoins the Transcon route. Also owned in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, is trackage with running rights and a yard operated by a switch unit and full crew and the track is maintained by a small track crew.
The modern alignment of the Northern Transcon from the summit of Marias Pass (MP 1150.00) to Libby, Montana (MP 1320.00) has only been in use since the 1970s. This 170 mile stretch of route used to run on different alignments:
Prior to the opening of the Flathead Tunnel, trains left the modern route at Stryker, Montana and travelled northwest to Eureka, Montana, then travelled south along the Kootenai River and rejoined the present-day line at Jennings, located just below the Libby Dam. In 1970, the construction of the Libby Dam formed Lake Koocanusa, flooding the towns of Rexford, Montana and Waldo, British Columbia and the railroad line, necessitating the relocation of over 60 miles of track between Stryker and Jennings and the building of Flathead Tunnel, which was constructed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. Part of the original main line from Stryker to Eureka is still in use as a branch line. Before the construction of the tunnel, the Empire Builder also had a station stop in Eureka.
The only visible remnant of the original route is a stub track at Jennings.
The alignment that travelled from Whitefish to Libby via Eureka was created in 1902 to replace a predecessor alignment over Haskell Pass, farther to the south.
The pass was named for its founder, Charles Haskell, who in the winter of 1891 had set out to locate a reasonable alignment for the GN to take between Kalispell and the Kootenai River. Ranging as far north as the Canadian Border, his party eventually returned to Kalispell in early spring, having crossed a low notch in the Salish Mountains on the return trip. A year after the scouting trip, construction was begun on what was to be the first of three Great Northern lines through the Salish.
Completed in 1892, the Haskell Pass line left the modern alignment of the route at Columbia Falls, Montana, a few miles east of Whitefish. The line travelled almost due south to Kalispell, Montana, where a branch split off the route that ran to Somers, Montana on the shore of Flathead Lake. The line then travelled west from Kalispell to Marion, then alongside Little Bitterroot lake, looping up on a high trestle over Herrig Creek, then passed through a 1,425 foot long tunnel at the summit of Haskell Pass, emerging high on the mountains above Pleasant Valley. The line descended to the valley floor, then turned north along Island Creek, then west down Wolf Creek, to the Fisher River. The tracks then followed the Fisher River north to the Kootenai River Valley, where it returned to the 1902-1970 alignment at Jennings.
For whatever reason, the Haskell Pass line was only used for 10 years before the Kootenai River alignment opened. This decision was controversial because the new alignment was 20 miles longer than the old route, although the new route did not have as significant grades.
Much of the Haskell Pass route was abandoned in 1902. The leg from Columbia Falls to Marion remained in use as a branch line until 1948, when it was truncated to Kalispell. When Flathead Tunnel was constructed in 1970, part of the Haskell Pass alignment along the Fisher River was recycled, namely the leg from Jennings to Tamarack siding (originally Sterling).[1] On Haskell Pass, much of the right-of-way has been grown over, but small remnants of infrastructure and the original tunnel through the pass itself are still intact.
Keeping the Northern Transcon open during the winter is a significant challenge, whether from snow in the Midwest and mountains or rain on the west coast. Heavy rains have the potential to cause mudslides along Puget Sound between Seattle and Everett and in the Nisqually, Washington area between Tacoma and Olympia. For example, in early January, 2006 there were four slides between Seattle and Everett. This was followed in late January, 2006 and again in early February, 2006 by mudslides both between Seattle and Everett and around Nisqually. Following the clearing of a slide no passenger train can run for 48 hours to ensure that the slide area has stabilized.
Before the creation of Lake Koocanusa in 1970, the route originally left the modern alignment at Stryker and ran northwest to Eureka, Montana, then turned and travelled south to Libby. When the Libby Dam was built to create the lake, the Kootenai River flooded, forcing the railroad to reroute around 60 miles of destroyed track. This necessitated the construction of a more easterly route and the creation of Flathead Tunnel. The original main line to Eureka is now a branch line that is primarily utilized by local freights and lumber trains.
Prior to the early 1900s, the route left the modern alignment at Columbia Falls, and travelled south to Kalispell, Montana. From here, the line ascended and crossed Haskill Pass, then descended to join the modern alignment near Tamarack. This alignment was abandoned in favor of the flatter route through Whitefish and Eureka. The stub-end branch to Kalispell is the only remnant of the Haskill Pass alignment.
The Northern Transcon is divided into many subdivisions. From east to west, these include:[2]
To the west of Spokane, WA (at Latah Jct, as of June 1973[3] to the present day[4]) the line splits into two main routes,[4] one utilizing mostly the old Great Northern Railway route directly to Seattle, WA, and the other utilizing mainly the former Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway route, but also a large section of the former Northern Pacific Railway route, to Portland, OR via Pasco and Vancouver, WA then north to Seattle.
Expedited transcon traffic is generally routed via the direct Seattle route, and slow bulk freight traffic is generally routed via the Portland-Seattle route (through Vancouver, WA). The Portland route to Seattle is mostly water level with a 1.15% maximum grade near Marshall, WA and also a 0.95% maximum grade in the Napavine, WA area.[4] The direct Seattle route traverses the Cascade Range at the Cascade Tunnel (Scenic and Berne, WA) with its 2.2% ruling grades in the vicinity of the tunnel.[4]
Direct Seattle route[4]:
Portland-Seattle route[4]:
The former Northern Pacific Railway route via Stampede Pass through Pasco, WA and Auburn, WA to Tacoma, WA has had a checkered history and since 1996 has been a third route to the coast. It currently (2010) is sparely used, but still in service.
Stampede Pass line[4]: