oaches and one baggage car, and was run by Conductor West and crew." (Salt Lake Daily Herald, July 28, 1886)
August 1, 1886
Montana Union Railway leased 51.3 miles of main track constructed by Utah & Northern Railway and Montana Railway, along with 8.3 miles of single-track branch and 11.9 miles of sidings and other tracks. "The company was incorporated June 14, 1886 and leased the property above described in its present shape on the first day of August 1886." "Rolling stock is all borrowed and belongs to Union Pacific and Northern Pacific companies." During the year ending November 30, 1886, Montana Union Railway carried 21,735 passengers, along with 48,254 tons of through freight, 25,079 tons of local freight, and 21,110 tons of freight consisting of ore, cattle, or grain. (Montana Union Railway "Railroad Report" to the Auditor of the Territory of Montana, dated December 29, 1886, photocopy furnished by Thorton Waite)
A notice to the effect that Utah & Northern employees between Butte and Garrison will, on and after 1 August 1886, be working for the Montana Union Railway Company. Also, "In a few days there will be erected at Silver Bow Junction an apparatus for the transfer of cars from narrow to standard gauge trucks, and vice-versa." (Butte Daily Miner, July 27, 1886)
Milwaukee Road (1909-1980)
Milwaukee Road completed its transcontinental line between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest with a last spike ceremony at Garrison, Montana on May 19, 1909. Milwaukee Road ended its operations in Montana in December 1979, with the last eastbound train leaving Tacoma in March 1980. The last Milwaukee Road train left Tarkio, Montana, just west of Missoula, on March 18, 1980. The remaining Milwaukee Road trackage in the vicinity of Butte was abandoned and removed. (Guide to The Milwaukee Road in Montana, by Steve McCarter, Montana Historical Society Press, 1992, ISBN 0-917298-27-6)
Great Northern (1889-1972)
Great Northern (as the Montana Central Railway) completed its line (65.5 miles) between Great Falls and Butte in 1889, allowing Marcus Daly's Anaconda Copper Company to ship its copper ores to either the Anaconda smelter, or to the Black Eagle smelter near Great Falls. (Anaconda, by Isaac Marcosson, page 53)
The Great Northern line from Great Falls to Butte was abandoned and removed in 1972, following the March 1970 merger of Great Northern and Northern Pacific. After the merger, BN no longer needed access to Butte via the former GN line because of NP's line into Butte from the east by way of Homestake Pass, and the Montana Union (owned by UP and leased to NP) west from Butte to Garrison.
Butte, Anaconda & Pacific (1894- [current])
In 1894, Butte Anaconda & Pacific Railway began operations between the Butte mines and the smelters at Anaconda. Butte, Anaconda & Pacific was controlled by the Anaconda Copper Company, its majority shipper. Butte Anaconda & Pacific Railway was organized in September 1892, and began operations on January 1, 1894. (Anaconda, by Isaac Marcosson, page 53)
The BA&P was electrified in May 1913, with electric operations continuing until 1967 when diesel locomotives took over from the unique boxcab electric locomotives. (For an excellent history of BA&P, see "Wired For Success" by Charles V. Mutschler, Washington State University, 2002)
In January 1977, Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) purchased the all interests of Anaconda Copper Mining Company, including its Butte, Anaconda & Pacific railroad subsidiary. The purchase required the approval of the federal Interstate Commerce Commission because Anaconda owned two railroads, the Butte, Anaconda & Pacific in Montana, and the Tooele Valley Railway in Utah. During February 1980, Anaconda was shipping about 50,000 tons of ore daily from its Butte mines to the smelter at Anaconda.
On September 29, 1980, Anaconda Copper Mining Co. announced that it would close its smelter at Anaconda, and its refinery at Great Falls, both in Montana. The closure would put 1,000 people at Anaconda and 500 people at Great Falls out of work. (Eugene Register, September 29, 1980; 