(The following story by Richard Peterson and Jo Dee Black appeared on the Great Falls Tribune website on December 28.)
CRAIG, Mont. — A stretch of rail line used as temporary long-term parking for empty flatbed railcars this winter has angered some anglers and residents in the area surrounding one of America’s most scenic blue-ribbon trout streams.
“It looks like a giant scrap yard from here to Cascade,” said Mike Bushly, about the BNSF Railway cars parked on the line adjacent to the Missouri River. Bushly, who lives in Great Falls and works in Craig, said the railcars have residents in the tiny community abuzz.
“It’s the talk of the town. Everyone’s just pissed about it,” Bushly said.
The railcars are empty intermodal flatbeds for transporting containers used for ocean freight shipping.
“We’re using those tracks for temporary storage of the cars, due to a temporary decrease in demand,” said Gus Melonas, spokesman for BNSF. “It’s just a normal cycle of the market as business levels fluctuate.”
BNSF also uses tracks between Great Falls and Ulm and some near Havre for car storage, he said. About 1,100 flatbed cars are parked in the Craig area and another 500 are parked between Ulm and Great Falls, Melonas added.
BNSF engines can be heard coming into town at about noon most days, bringing more cars for storage, Bushly said.
“It is kind of fun hearing the train come through. We haven’t heard that in a while,” he said.
What’s not fun for him are the railcars snaking through the seven recreation areas between Cascade and Craig — cutting through one of the top destinations in the country for fly fishermen.
“It’s strange this would happen at one of the busiest blue-ribbon streams around,” Bushly said.
The railcars parked near Great Falls will be moved this spring, Melonas said, but there’s no set date for when the 1,100 cars near Craig will leave. Those will be moved when demand for their use picks up.
“We won’t speculate on a time frame. When needed, they’ll be moved,” Melonas said.
The parked rail cars are broken up to allow residents access to their homes, Melonas said. However, Bushly worries that wild animals might have their access to the river blocked by the cars.
“If we find there is an issue, perhaps some adjustments can be made,” Melonas said.