Montana Rail Link HO Scale Models

Montana Rail Link came into existence on October 31, 1987, when Missoula businessman Dennis Washington, through his holding company The Washington Companies, commenced a 60-year lease of Burlington Northern's southern Montana main line. The leased corridor ran between Sandpoint, Idaho and Huntley, Montana, near Billings, encompassing trackage that had originally been built and operated by the Northern Pacific Railway before passing to Burlington Northern through the 1970 merger that created that railroad. The arrangement was controversial in part because it coincided with ongoing labor negotiations between Burlington Northern and the United Transportation Union, and it effectively created a new operating entity with its own workforce and labor agreements. MRL's headquarters were established in Missoula, Montana, which remained the administrative center of the railroad throughout its independent existence. In practice, MRL operated over a main line corridor that passed through some of Montana's most significant cities and challenging mountain terrain, including Billings, Laurel, Bozeman, Livingston, Helena, and Missoula, before continuing westward toward Spokane, Washington, with trackage rights over BNSF tracks completing that connection. The railroad crossed the Continental Divide at Mullan Pass near Helena and also operated over Bozeman Pass east of Bozeman, both of which placed heavy demands on motive power. To address this, MRL in September 2005 took delivery of the first of sixteen EMD SD70ACe locomotives, representing the first new locomotive order the railroad had ever placed directly with a manufacturer. The primary classification yard was located at Laurel, Montana, with additional yards at Missoula, Billings, Bozeman, and Helena, and major repair and mechanical facilities were maintained at Livingston. A notable aspect of MRL's operations was its role as a bridge carrier for BNSF traffic, handling a significant volume of trains that originated and terminated on BNSF property at either end of the MRL corridor. Beyond this bridge traffic, MRL gathered and distributed local freight along its lines, with forest products and grain serving as primary commodities. The railroad also operated a specialized service known as the Gas Local between Missoula and Thompson Falls, Montana, bridging a gap in a regional petroleum pipeline. MRL retained the use of cabooses longer than most North American railroads, employing them on Laurel switching operations to carry remote control equipment. In January 2022, BNSF and MRL reached an agreement to terminate the lease arrangement early, with BNSF agreeing to pay approximately two billion dollars to reclaim control of the line. The transaction required approval from the Surface Transportation Board, which was granted in March 2023. BNSF assumed full operational control on January 1, 2024, at which point Montana Rail Link ceased to exist as an independent railroad and its former territory was reorganized as the MRL Subdivision within the BNSF system. All approximately 1,200 MRL employees were offered positions with BNSF, concluding a roughly 36-year period during which the railroad had operated as one of the more prominent regional carriers in the American Northwest.