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Westward Over The Conley Bridge At Deer Lodge


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I happened across an old (2004) "Arrow," and reread an article about the Conley Bridge at Deer Lodge. The Old Stage Road from Gold Creek comes into Deer Lodge via that very bridge. Conley's endeavor stands out for me not so much due to its link with the Yellowstone Trail, but because that's where my dad taught me to drive when I was 12 years old. Eventually Dad allowed me to drive back along old US 10. I was terrified every time I met a Consolidated Freightways truck on the two-lane, but we made it unscathed. It's approximately 18 miles between Deer Lodge and Gold Creek, whether driven on Interstate 90 (which basically buried old US 10 between the west (north) Deer Lodge exit and Drummond), or roughing it along the Old Stage Road.

 

I checked the Internet to see which towns in that area of Montana were on the YT, and it appears the routing followed the Clark Fork valley as well as the Milwaukee's and NP's rights of way north to Garrison where a northwest heading was assumed to Gold Creek and eventually Drummond. Since the Conley Bridge lies at the end of the Old Stage Road into Deer Lodge, I wonder if the YT might have followed that route during its earliest years of existence.

 

I possess fond memories of the area during the 1950's and 60's era. As one rolls past Drummond into Hellgate Canyon even the freeway is forced to adhere to the topography. It is possible to drive on many portions of old US 10 between Drummond and Lookout Pass some 150 miles to the west. The little towns are still there if one can break the spell and regain control of their vehicle long enough to take any of the numerous off ramps from the super slab. Some businesses have closed, of course, but the towns are pretty much as I remember them from my youth. If nothing else, they bring back a flood of heartfelt memories.

 

Anyway, for those of you still reading this, I thank you. If anyone has info on that stage route's possible link to the YT, please let us know via this forum.

 

Thank you.

 

Ray

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Ray,

 

I looked at the 1919 Automobile Blue Book, and at least in that year the road went through Garrison. I can see why a routing along the Old Stage Road might make sense, though. The other route, not through Garrison, was through the Phillipsburg area. As I recall, and I would have to confirm this, I think the National Parks Highway took the Phillipsburg route.

 

I like Deer Lodge. It has been two years since I was there. Of course I recall the old prison, and the big diesel engine in town.

 

Grandpa Keep (not his real name, of course) on my Dad’s side got his citizenship papers just down the road at Anaconda. They say “Deer Lodge” on them, and until two years ago, I thought he got them in Deer Lodge. But of course he got them at the courthouse for Deer Lodge County, which is at Anaconda….another great place to see.

 

In the late 1800’s when he became a citizen, he was a miner, I thought at Butte. But it might have been that he was working at the smelters in Anaconda.

 

I’ll do a little more research and see what turns up.

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road

 

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Ray,

 

This doesn’t exactly answer your question, but there is an 1868 plat map for Deer Lodge at http://glo.mt.gov. You will need to look for the township 8N, Range 9W as they won’t allow a link.. It shows a road going roughly due north with Hells Gate as its destination. I don’t think this was the Old Stage Road to Gold Creek, but I will leave it to your keen eye to decide.

 

What it does suggest is that there was an early and presumably important road going due north with Hells Gate as its destination (east of Missoula as you know) as vs one going northwest as does the Old Stage Road. However it does appear to go over the Conley Bridge.

 

All very quickly done, with all suitable and appropriate disclaimers!!

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

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Ray,

 

I looked at the 1919 Automobile Blue Book, and at least in that year the road went through Garrison. I can see why a routing along the Old Stage Road might make sense, though. The other route, not through Garrison, was through the Phillipsburg area. As I recall, and I would have to confirm this, I think the National Parks Highway took the Phillipsburg route.

 

I like Deer Lodge. It has been two years since I was there. Of course I recall the old prison, and the big diesel engine in town.

 

Grandpa Keep (not his real name, of course) on my Dad’s side got his citizenship papers just down the road at Anaconda. They say “Deer Lodge” on them, and until two years ago, I thought he got them in Deer Lodge. But of course he got them at the courthouse for Deer Lodge County, which is at Anaconda….another great place to see.

 

In the late 1800’s when he became a citizen, he was a miner, I thought at Butte. But it might have been that he was working at the smelters in Anaconda.

 

I’ll do a little more research and see what turns up.

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road

 

 

Thanks Denny! I figured my theory might be a stretch. That route across the bridge was a typical Montana dirt road, somewhat wider and smoother the closer to Deer Lodge one ventured. I spent a good part of three summers between Gold Creek, where my uncle worked on the Milwaukee Road, and Deer Lodge, honing my driving skills--as if driving a Montana dirt road compared to Tacoma's traffic. Deer Lodge remains an interesting community, but sadly the railroad I grew up with is just a memory. The depot still stands, but now serves as a church. I suppose that's a noble use, but I'd rather have the railroad in operation. The new prison facilities are a few miles west of town now. It was always an interesting experience to drive down Main Street and have the prison walls right on the far edge of the city sidewalk. For me, at least, it was a unique experience.

 

Montana has some unusual quirks. I don't know all the details, but Deer Lodge County has always played an integral part in Montana's history. Silver Bow, Deer Lodge, and Powell counties competed left and right for money, land, mines, institutions, you name it. Somehow Deer Lodge ended up as the Powell County seat, while mining interests saw fit to back Anaconda as the Deer Lodge County seat. Silver Bow County contented itself with the mines in and around Butte, which serves as that county's center of government. The state prison ended up in Powell County, and the state mental hospital and its TB sanitarium wound up at Warm Springs and Galen, respectively. Both in Deer Lodge County. So within about a 25 mile radius, are located the prison, insane asylum, and TB hospital.

 

When I worked for the Washington State Dept of Licensing, any questions dealing with Montana vehicle and driver licenses were handled through Deer Lodge, not Helena. For years Montana license plate had "Made in Prison" stamped into them. I checked a recent Montana plate and found no such stamping.

 

I can definitely see why you might have been confused over where your grandfather was naturalized. I'm not sure Montana has settled everything yet. Just an observation.

 

Thanks again.

 

Ray

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There are certainly worse folks to be confused with but it's Dave (Keep the Show on the Road) that deserves the thanks.

 

Denny,

 

You are kind to correct Ray’s misattribution. However I was flattered to be mistaken for a younger man, author, and travel bon vivant! ;)

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

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Denny,

 

You are kind to correct Ray’s misattribution. However I was flattered to be mistaken for a younger man, author, and travel bon vivant! ;)

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

 

Dave and Denny,

 

Sorry for the screw-up with the names, guys. I got as far as the "D" and then everything blended together and out popped "Denny".

 

However, being a former Milwaukee Road employee and the relative of a former Milwaukee substation operator, I simply can't let Dave's "diesel" reference pass. The engine on display near the old prison in Deer Lodge is actually a straight electric, which operated on 3400 volts DC and produced a modest 5510 horsepower. Two of these were usually teamed at the front of a train. They were pretty impressive in action. The railroad nicknamed them "Little Joe" in reference to Joseph Stalin whose Trans Siberian Railroad had been their originally intended destination. With the advent of the Cold War President Truman embargoed the whole shipment because of their strategic value to the Soviet Union. Originally, there were 20 units, but the Milw only ended up with a dozen. The remaining eight were split between Brazil (5) and the Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend (3). There you have it. Not really related to the Yellowstone Trail, but in some ways it was.

 

Ray

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Hey, now, it's not every day I find a reference to the Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend. I grew up in South Bend. Although the heyday of that interurban was past by the time I was growing up, I've ridden that line a time or two. I had no idea that it benefitted from this Cold War event. jim

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Hey, now, it's not every day I find a reference to the Chicago, South Shore, and South Bend. I grew up in South Bend. Although the heyday of that interurban was past by the time I was growing up, I've ridden that line a time or two. I had no idea that it benefitted from this Cold War event. jim

 

Hello Jim,

 

Cold wars have a way of doing that :). The three units that went your way apparently had no nickname but were numbered either 801-803 or 800-802. They were wired to operate on 1500 volts as opposed to the Milwaukee's 3400 volt versions. I think the CSS&SB ran the Electroliner until 1963. Or maybe that was on the Northshore. Anyway, it was a nifty looking train.

 

Ray

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So the choo choo was electric! I had an electric train when I was a kid! :rolleyes::P Isn’t it true that if a locomotive doesn’t have a smokestack, it must be electric? Even diesels are electrics…..right?

 

I should have looked at my old photo of the electric at Deer Lodge. The story of the Milwaukee electrics is a legend unto itself. And we have the abandoned sub stations in the Northwest to prove it. I recall one west of Missoula visible from the YT, and there is a beauty at Cle Elum, also visible from the YT. And both are on the National Parks Highway! Which sub station did your relative work in?

 

Dad was a street car conductor and later a motorman on the famed red cars of the PE in Southern California. Between the interurban and the street cars, much of the American Road was defined. Literally, you don’t have to dig very deep in many of our roads to find the rails of the interurban or the street cars.

 

(Note how cleverly I brought the subject squarely back to roads while deftly inserting a bit of family history! :lol: )

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

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Hi Dave,

 

Between 1949 and 1974, my uncle worked at most of the 14 substations on the Milwaukee's Rocky Mountain Division between Harlowton and Avery, Idaho. Gold Creek (where I learned to drive on the Old Stage Road) was one of the places he lived. From there he operated Morel (17 miles east (compass south) of Deer Lodge), and Ravenna, right in the middle of Hellgate Canyon about 10 miles west of Drummond. He also served a stint at Avery, Idaho, and ended up living and operating Janney (above Butte) for the last nine years of his career. By that time (the early 70's) the Milwaukee was doing everything it could to save money. From Janney he remotely controlled Morel, Gold Creek, and Ravenna--as well as Janney manually. The substation west of Missoula that you mentioned is at Primrose, right on the Mullan Road which runs from Missoula to Frenchtown. Gold Creek, Ravenna, and Primrose are still there, gutted, of course. Drexel was very near the Camel's Hump which, as you know, is a few miles west of St. Regis, actually pretty close to Henderson. It's public fishing access now. All that remains are a few foundations. My uncle spent a few weeks at East Portal, up above Taft. That's where the bicyclists start their downhill trip along the abandoned grade into Idaho. Absolutely amazing scenery! He also worked east of Butte at the five substations between Two Dot and Whitehall. Those assignments were before I knew him. One substation building remains at Loweth, about 45 miles west of Harlowton, but that's not on the Yellowstone Trail.

 

I love driving old US 10 (now MT 2) between Three Forks and Butte. It hasn't changed much in the 50+ years I've traveled on it. A couple years back I noticed a truss bridge sitting near the highway somewhere west of Three Forks. Might that be the old Garrison Bridge? Seems like a long ways to move a bridge of that size. There was also a bridge over the Jefferson near Sappington. Maybe it's the one alongside the old highway. The Lewis and Clark Caverns are great, but I'm not sure I'd fit through the narrow passages anymore. God, I hate getting old--and fat!

 

Wow, the big red cars of the Pacific Electric! I'm sure the old rails are a mere few layers of pavement below the surface in many places. Yakima's interurban has been whittled back to a short line between Yakima and Selah. It still operates, but only infrequently. Rails still stick out on a few of our streets, too.

 

I might be heading south on US 97 next month to see my son in LA. Pretty much two-lane from Toppenish to Weed, CA. Then I'm back on the Interstate and eventually CA 99 from Stockton to Bakersfield. I-5 over the Grapevine. I'm retired now, and would rather drive than fly. Something about the airplane seats getting smaller <_<.

 

Glad I could be of service as far as the electric engine is concerned. Yes, today's diesels are actually diesel electrics. Diesel prime movers revving up generators which feed current to the traction motors. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

 

Take care,

 

Ray

 

 

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Ray,

 

It sounds as though your uncle had an interesting career. It must have been interesting to live at Avery. I haven’t been up the St Joe River road, but it has to be into one of the more remote areas in the west.

 

It didn’t occur to me that those sub stations could be operated remotely, but sure makes sense. And I haven’t been inside one, so I didn’t even think about them being without their equipmemt, but that also makes sense.

 

The drive on 97 is always a pleasant one. I lived in Bend for many years and our regular travels took us as far north as Madras or the head of Cow Canyon (then to Portland) or south via Klamath Falls to the Bay Area. The section between Yakima and Cow Canyon is much less familiar, although we went up to Shaniko and Kent and its old service station as recently as a year ago. As you pass Kent, if you have the time, let me know its condition of the station. I posted a few shots here a year or so ago, with my fingers crossed that no one would ruin the pumps.

 

A fellow with a little time could swing into Ft Simcoe, or even take the original old road through Bickleton. And don’t discount the virtues of old 99/ Pacific Highway between Weed and Redding. Lots of good stuff! And even old 99 between Redding and points north of Sacramento has some gems. A guy who likes trains might like buses and I know of a great bus graveyard on old 99. I posted some of that stuff under the US99 forum a few months ago..

 

The shrinking airline seat is just part of the overall trend that seems to be hitting the seat industry. We went out to buy a new car with the clunkers for cash deal, and the same problem exists in the new cars. I even notice that the distance between the table and the seat in restaurant booths is shrinking, I suppose to make more room for more tables.

 

Cheers!

 

Dave

 

Keep the Show on the Road!

 

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Hi Dave,

 

Yes, Avery was pretty interesting the first time I saw it in '63. I'd been through it on the Milwaukee's Olympian Hiawatha in 1960, but since the train arrived at 215AM, I was zonked. My grandparents from Germany were visiting their daughter, Mom's sister, and we drove up the St. Joe from St Maries over Memorial Day weekend to pick them up for a trip to Tacoma and Mount Rainier. There were probably 300-400 people living there in 1963. Most were associated with the Milwaukee Road as it was both a division point and start of a helper district where extra engines assisted heavy freights over St. Paul Pass. It was also the western end of the Rocky Mountain Division electrification, so engines were always being worked on.

 

It's still a 47 mile trip from St. Maries to Avery, but the road has been improved significantly. Some of the old railroad grade is now used by the Shoshone County Road Dept to gain entry to Avery from the west. The road used to be gravel for the last dozen or so miles, but now is paved all the way. It was pretty exciting meeting log trucks on that stretch of the old road which was on the south side of the shadowy St. Joe.

 

The Avery depot now serves as the town post office and community center. It actually looks much better than when it housed a beanery, baggage room, and the usual assorted railroad paraphernalia. The substation, now demolished, was similar to the one at Cle Elum in that it had a gabled roof to ward off heavy snows. It was about 100 feet east of the depot. Between the depot and the substation was an old fish pond which attracted the attention of many bored passengers as they stretched their legs during brief station stops. It's still there, fish and all. The town now "boasts" a full-time population of about 60 hardy folks. Like you mentioned, this is one of the most isolated areas in the Northwest, if not the country. The area is popular with hunters and fishermen. A forest Service camp lies just west of the townsite--near where the old roundhouse sat. Both substation operators' bungalows still exist a couple hundred feet east of the depot. My uncle's place was the second one. It's been remodeled, but is still there. With the exception of some bait shops and ourfitters, a cafe and a tiny store are about the only businesses left in the town. Oh, there is a school on the west end just across the river, and a couple of tiny motels have sprouted over the past couple of decades. Posh, it's not! There's a 33-mile-long dirt road over Moon Pass connecting Avery to Wallace. Part of the road uses the old Milw right of way, including several tunnels and high trestles.

 

After turning 90 degrees to the left, the tracks headed virtually straight north up the North Fork of the St. Joe River. About 12 miles into the canyon the railroad turned east and followed Loop Creek to gain elevation. Still climbing a 1.7% gradient, the trains made a 180 degree turn through a pair of tunnels to head west until reaching the mouth of the 1.8 mile tunnel over St. Paul Pass at Roland, Idaho. The far end of the bore lies at East Portal, Montana.

 

I'll keep Kent in mind when heading south on 97. Then I will definitely try to cruise a few miles on old 99 below Weed. I've been through Dunsmuir on the old road, and it was a hoot. Lots of railroading in that area as well. I remember seeing your gas station pictures a while back. I'll see if I can find the place.

 

Happy trails,

Ray

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