[?]

A Visit to Essex, Montana and the Izaak Walton Inn In Snow 3/17-24/1989

After my second summer stay at the Izaak Walton Inn last year, I wondered what the Essex and the hotel would look like with snow and there was only one way to find out. I called the Inn and was able to reserve the dates with no problem whatsoever, then called my brother Bruce, who was the Amtrak agent in Davis and booked my Amtrak tickets. For this trip, I had to buy a few things such as "moon boots" and ski bibs, although I knew my Union Pacific jacket would keep me warm enough as would my seldome-used longjohns. I paid for my tickets at Santa Ana and worked the days at MacArthur Fundamental Intermediate until departure day arrived.

It was an overcast morning as Amtrak 573, an all-Amfleet train arrived at the Santa Ana station, and I boarded the Amcafé. I was really looking forward to this trip and the journey to Los Angeles was quick, where I detrained from one and boarded the next.

I walked straight onto the Coast Starlight and went upstairs, choosing a coach seat on the left with a large window and relaxed until departure time. The Southwest Chief arrived and its passengers transferred onto our waiting train then we departed on schedule and and by Glendale, I was in the lounge car where I met three Australians travelling to Portland and were ready to party. We had two lounge cars on this train as Bernard was in the buffet-lounge ready to serve anything and everything. Good laughs were the call of the day as we made our way to Ventura, where our attention turned to the blue Pacific Ocean. The Channel islands were all visible and the offshore oil wells looked as though they were attacking ships off the coast. At Santa Barbara, a large group of passengers boarded the rear coach on their way to San Francisco. I pointed out the coastal sites, as well as the Vandenburg Air Force Base, to my Australian friends, then once we turned away from the coast, I went back to my seat to catch up on my reading. At San Luis Obispo, I detrained for some fresh air after the southbound Coast Starlight left on time.

Back on board, we also departed on time and proceeded up Cuesta Grade with me enjoying a drink in the buffet lounge. I have always loved this climb with the Stenner Trestle, the Goldtree Horseshoe Curve and the tunnels on the way to the summit. Once through the tunnel, we made our way down the green Salinas Valley to our station stop at Salinas then continued through Castorville and out to Moss Landing, where the the estuary looked very beautiful in the late afternoon light. I enjoyed my a steak dinner in the dining car as we travelled through the Pajora Gap and into the Gilroy Valley as the sun set. We then made our way through the darkness to San Jose, where I visited Bernard one last time and his car and the last coach would be cut off in Oakland to return to Los Angeles tomorrow. I returned to my seat before we arrived at Oakland early then once we were underway again, I watched our progression along San Pablo Bay and into the Carquinez Straits, after which we arrived at Martinez and upon crossing the drawbridge there, I curled up across two seats and called it a night.

On the way out to the train, I photographed Daylight Locomotive Works F45 743, ex. Wisconsin Southern 1001, exx. Montana Rail Link 391 1994, nee Burlington Northern 6627, built by Electro-Motive Division in 1971. After retirement, it went to Doyle McCormack as DLMX 743, painted in Southern Pacific Daylight colours in a pattern reminiscent of New York Central's lightning stripes. He eventually sold it to Transcisco Tours, where it was numbered 1001 for use on their short-lived passenger train from the Bay area to Reno, Nevada. It was scrapped in 2007.

I chose a coach seat on the right with a large window and settled in for the overnight trip to Essex. Departure was on schedule and we passed the Portland Terminal yards before crossing the Willamette River and the drawbridge over the Columbia River to our first stop at Vancouver, Washington. I rode in the lounge car and enjoyed a dinner of hot dogs, chips, cookies and a Coca-Cola. The "Baby Builder" proceeded east along the Columbia River into the Columbia River Gorge, which was absolutely beautiful in the late afternoon light. Union Pacific was putting on quite a freight train show on the opposite side of the gorge, while Burlignton Northern had freight trains in every siding waiting for our passage. Mount Hood was buried behind the blankets of clouds and we arrived at Wishram as the sun was setting then continued east into the night. Even in the dark, the upper reaches of the gorge were still absolutely beautiful. We made excellent time to Pasco and after a breath of fresh air, I called it a night and slept into Montana.

3/19/1989 Awakening on the Empire Builder this morning was interesting as one had to find where the lounge car's location was, now that the Spokane and Seattle sections of the train had been combined. It did not take too long and I enjoyed my breakfast. We were approaching Whitefish, a crew-change point and it had recently snowed here and was a picturesque winter scene. We departed on time as I was enjoying the Columbia Falls and onto Belton, also known as West Glacier. The canyon east of Belton was stunning and we passed two westbound freights between Nyack and Paola. I returned to my seat as the train went through Pinnacle and by the Essex crossovers, the conductor came to get me and we went downstairs, then passed the Izaak Walton Inn and stopped at the snow-covered platform, where I detrained.

The Izaak Walton Inn symbolizes the difficulty of keeping the United States' northernmost transcontinental railroad open during Rocky Mountain winters. Each winter, sixty Great Northern Railway workers were stationed here to clear the rails of snow between Essex and East Glacier. Originally, their days of fighting snow and frequent avalanches ended with a return to abandoned railcars and wall tents, for Essex had only 150 permanent residents and nowhere for the workers to board. After numerous petitions, the Great Northern built this twenty-nine-bedroom structure in 1939, on its standard pattern for a division hotel. Railroad policy called for only a section house at a location other than division point, but the difficult winter maintenance of Marias Pass required changing the rule. The railroad also realized that the hostelry could serve summertime tourists, when fewer railhands needed lodging. The hotel was named after Sir Izaak Walton, a 16th century English author and sportsman, who has been the patron saint of fishermen for 400 years. Born on August 9, 1593 in Stafford, England, he authored the famous book about fly-fishing, "The Compleat Angler". A local resident who lived in the area in the early days is presumed to have named the hotel after Sir Izaak. This Craftsman-style inn has been in continuous use since its construction and, to this day, serves both railroad workers and tourists.

The rooms at the Izaak Walton Inn have been remodelled to offer modern amenities with a vintage charm and a true feel for Montana and The Inn is considered to offer the finest lodging experience in and around Glacier National Park. The hotel can accommodate up to 147 guests and thirty-three cozy rooms allow you to truly relax and get away.

Larry Vielleux, the owner, was waiting to take me to the Inn and we quickly re-acquainted with each other before arriving at the front porch. I went inside but as my room was not yet ready, I checked in and retrieved my rental car. Larry introduced me to Ron from Wisconsin and I invited him to join me in a couple days of train chasing. We went out to the car and drove east in chase of the same train I just left, catching him at Summit and set up for him between Bison and East Glacier. We hiked up to the tracks through the snow and waited for the Empire Builder to arrive a few minutes later.

We followed the Empire Builder east, photographing it at Two Medicine Bridge and at the "S" curve at Browning then visited the Blackfoot Indian Museum there before waiting for a westbound at the highway bridge west of town.

We raced him west, catching him at the Summit sign.

Next came three more westbounds, one we shot at the traditional Summit site, then made our way East Glacier where I had a roast beef sandwich.

Ron and I drove west to Java East and waited for this eastbound freight then returned to the Inn where I received my room and freshened up before going to the Flag Stop Bar and a dinner of fried chicken then returned to my track-side room.

3/20/1989 After breakfast and watching Amtrak go through, Ron and I drove on Highway 2 east of Summit and another hike netted us the Empire Builder. We caught a westbound and followed it through Essex as we made our way toward Whitefish, where we found three trains on the way.

The two of us stopped in the canyon east of Belton for Burlington Northern freight then continued to Whitefish.

An unexpected find was Anaconda Aluminium NW3 900, ex. Great Northern 181, nee Great Northern 5406 built by Electro-Motive Division in 1942. It toiled in relative obscurity for years behind the tall fences and security guards of the company at Conkelly, near Columbia Falls, Montana. In 1988, railfan Kenneth Good who were working on her donation to a local historical society for eventual display in full Great Northern regalia, to be re-numbered 181 and eventually placed right along the main tracks at the Whitefish depot.

Continuing east through Columbia Falls, I spotted Somers Lumber Company two- truck Shay 1, ex. F.H. Stoltz Land and Lumber Company 1 1933, exx. State Lumber Company 1 1926, exxx. Brooks-Scanlon Lumber company 1 1922, exxxx. P.L. Howe Lumber Mills 1 1919, nee Somers Lumber Company 1 built by Lima Locomotive Works in 1914. We started back and caught a helper set at Belton, as well as a westbound passing the depot.

Driving east on US 2, we caught another westbound in the canyon then more at Nyack, Red Eagle and Paola before returning to the Inn. I enjoyed a steak for dinner before retiring to my room.

3/21/1989 The last day with the rental car was a slow day of train watching. After another good breakfast, we chased Amtrak east and were rewarded with a good scene east of Bison.

We then returned to the summit for an eastbound freight.

We caught a meet at Bison with LMX B39-8E 8510, built by General Electric in 1987, on the point of a westbound.

More hiking into locations yielded more results. Over the scanner we heard track and time being given to work crews for the next three hours so we went to East Glacier and looked around the station and hotel there before driving west to the snowshed near the highway east of Java and scouted future photo locations. We returned to Belton searching for an eastbound which we followed back to Essex, then I filled the car with petrol before we returned it to the Inn after three great days of Montana railroad photography. The westbound parade then started and we caught several trains in front of the hotel but all too soon, the sun started to set and the shadows took over, ending the day. I went to the Flag Stop Bar and another fried chicken dinner then sat by the fire in the lobby for a while before going to my room.

3/22/1989 I was up early for the eastbound Empire Builder and good breakfast, after which it started to snow.

A westbound Burlington Northern freight. Once the snow stopped, I walked east and saw a freight on both sides of the snowshed near the hotel then enjoyed a nice morning walk that took me across the Goat Lick trestle to West Java.

I waited only minutes before a freight train, led by a pair of Oakway SD60s, came through. I sat in the sun waiting for another train but after a couple of hours of nothing, the helpers came from the east and stopped at the red signal. Seeing me there, the crew asked if I wanted a ride back as they had seen me taking pictures for the last three days. Naturally, I said yes, so climbed up into SD40-2 8016 for the journey back to Essex.

We crossed the Goat Lick bridge and before the snowshed, I captured this forward view.

The ride ended much too quickly and upon our return to Essex, here are the two locomotives and the Izaak Walton Inn. I checked out but asked the front desk to hold my bags until train time later this evening then walked around the yard and saw several trains. The afternoon passed then following another great steak dinner, I enjoyed the fire and thought about everything I had done. Larry told me the westbound Builder was on time and a few minutes later, he drove me to the platform and we waited, thus bringing this visit to the Izaak Walton Inn to an end.

I was the sole passenger boarding here so the stop was only 45 seconds. I walked upstairs and upon seeing people's faces, wondering where I had come from, pointed to the Izaak Walton Inn when we passed it. I found a seat and settled in for the night in Montana and would wake up in Washington.

3/23/1989I awoke as the Baby Builder was cruising along the Columbia River just south of Pasco. It was a cloudy morning and once in the Columbia River Gorge, the rain started the rest of the way to Vancouver, where I detrained on time. From the cover of the station's overhang, I watched the trains roll by on a very wet morning until my Coast Starlight arrived later that afternoon.

I was glad to aboard this nice warm train on a rather chilly day. The rain stayed with us as headed south through Oregon and we ran on time. Before Eugene, I enjoyed a steak dinner then we crossed the Cascade Mountains in a light snow storm, which I watched from the lounge car, then went to bed after Chemult and slept almost to Martinez the next morning.

San Joaquin 708 3/24/1989

I detrained to catch the San Joaquin down the valley to Bakersfield, where rode the Thruway Bus to Los Angeles to catch San Diegan 580 home to Santa Ana, ending another relaxing Amtrak adventure.

RETURN TO THE MAIN PAGE