Trains in Havre, MT

Here are some pictures of Amtrak's Empire Builder and BNSF freight trains in and around Havre.

Amtrak P40DC #816 stopped at the Havre depot with the westbound Empire Builder in March 2000.

Amtrak P42DC #152 stopped at the Havre depot with the westbound Empire Builder in May 2003.

BNSF SW15 #3442, still in Burlington Northern colors, switching cars in the Havre yard in February 2000.

BNSF SW15 #3441, in full BNSF paint, rests east of the Havre engine shop in December 2002.

BNSF B40-8 #8615 rests outside the Havre engine shop in December 2002.

BNSF B40-8W #507 rests outside the Havre engine shop in May 2003.

BNSF Warbonnet C44-9W #4716 is being serviced at Havre before proceeding with its westbound freight train in May 2003.

This concludes the original content of my Havre PLACES page. To see any additional blog entries about Havre, click on the Havre label.

Statue of James J. Hill in Havre

In front of the depot on the street side is a statue of James J. Hill. Hill formed the Great Northern Railroad in 1889 from the bankrupt St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, and extended it to Seattle by 1893. The commercial possibilities realized in the northern United States due to Hill's Great Northern Railway earned him the nickname of "The Empire Builder."

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Railroad Depot, Havre, MT

235 Main Street

The depot in Havre, at 235 Main Street, is not only an Amtrak station; it also a local base of operation for Burlington Northern-Santa Fe freight operations and maintenance crews.  As a result, it is a large depot for a city of Havre's size.  The Burlington Northern Santa Fe was formed in 1995 when the Burlington Northern Railroad (successor to the Great Northern) and the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad merged together.  The station in Havre still shows signs of its Burlington Northern heritage, and though the situation seems to be improving over time, an apparent identity crisis remains.

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Hands Across the Border, Havre, MT

Near locomotive #2584 is Hands Across the Border Park. The small park consists primarily of a statue of an American Border Patrol officer shaking hands with a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer.  Havre is only 40 miles from the Canadian border, and the Border Patrol meets Amtrak's Empire Builder in Havre, to catch illegal aliens attempting to board the train.  As a result, there are often Border Patrol vehicles parked at the station.

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Great Northern Locomotive #2584, Havre, MT

On display next to the depot in Havre is former Great Northern Railroad 4-8-4 steam locomotive #2584.  A sign next to the locomotive tells its history:

This Northern type locomotive, survivor of the last steam engines acquired by the Great Northern Railway for main-line passenger service, was placed on permanent exhibition here on May 15, 1964.

A powerful and speedy locomotive, this engine now looks every bit the aristocrat that it was during the yrs. of its pre-eminent association with the Empire Builder and the Oriental Limited. The Empire Builder was inaugurated in June, 1929, and was pulled by a Mountain type locomotive, but popularity of the train led to addition of cars to the consist, and this necessitated more powerful engines.

In 1930 Great Northern acquired 14 Class S-2 steam locomotives from Baldwin Locomotive Works for service on the Empire Builder and the Fast Mail trains. This engine – No 2564 - is the last of the 14 engines. Samuel Vauclain, President of Baldwin described the Class S-2 engines as "the finest, most powerful steam passenger locomotives ever built up to this time." These engines were operated in freight service after the Empire Builder was streamlines and diesel powered in 1947, and were retired in 1955.

Locomotive and tender are 103 feet 3 inches long, weight 764,680 pounds, and height from rail to top of stack is 16 feet. No 2584 was an oil burner and developed 58,305 pounds of tractive effort. Each of the 8 drive wheels is 80 inches high.

The track on which No 2584 stands is laid to Great Northern main line specifications. The creosoted ties are supported on a sub-ballast consisting of 6 inches of crushed rock chips and a ballast consisting of 6 inches of crushed pink quartzite rock. Both of which are quarried by the Great Northern in Montana. Welded rails fully tie plated and anchored, weight 115 pounds to the yard.

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“Welcome to Havre” Sign, Havre, MT

A sign near the Havre railroad depot tells the story of Havre's early days.

WELCOME TO HAVRE
(pronounced Have'er)
The naming of Havre, according to William T. Cowan's memoirs.
The coming of the railroad in 1887 and '88 brought many workers and their families to Bull Hook Bottoms, later called Havre, according to William T. Cowan's memoirs.
The name Havre came from the following story:
"Two French-Canadian squatters on Bull Hook Bottoms were French Gus Descelles, a little sawed off man, and Joe De Mars, a very large, strong man.  They got in a fight over the affection of a charming girl and Joe De Mars got the best of the struggle.  Little French Gus reportedly said 'you can have her' and this is how Havre supposedly got it's name." The Great Northern Railway was the main supply line for Fort Assinniboine, located 5 miles southwest of Havre.  The railroad is still one of the main economic forces in the community.

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Havre, Montana

Havre is Montana's eighth largest city, with a population of about 9600 people. The city was incorporated in 1893. It is in Hill County, on the Milk River, U.S. Highway #2, and the former Great Northern, now Burlington Northern-Santa Fe, transcontinental rail line. Havre features a yard and engine terminal facility for BNSF freight trains. It is also a major station stop for Amtrak's Empire Builder. Havre is a service stop for the train, so it spends more time at Havre than at most other stops. There is also extra time built into the train's schedule, so it sometimes arrives in Havre quite early. I have been through Havre several times on the Empire Builder, and the station stop here can range from about 20 minutes up to almost an hour. During these stops, I have had time to explore the area around the depot.

“Welcome to Havre” Sign
Great Northern Locomotive #2584
Hands Across the Border
Railroad Depot
Statue of James J. Hill
Trains in Havre

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