As a result of the Burlington Northern merger on March 2, 1970, the Milwaukee Road was given Trackage rights from Longview Juction, Washigton to SP’s Brooklyn yard in Portland, Oregon. Their first train arrived in Portland on March 23, 1971. The Milwaukee Road was also given trackage rights north of Renton to Snohomish (ex NP) and then through Everett up to Bellingham, Washington (ex GN) , where they connected with a previously isolated branch which ran to the Canadian border at Sumas.
I have read they also received trackage rights from Miles City, Montana to Billings and then on to Bozeman or Sappington (ex NP) as well as from Billings up to Judith Gap, Montana (ex GN). Company maps from 1970 to 1980 showed these lines as being part of the system. I have never heard of them actually serving Billings. I do know several times they had to detour through Billings. Perhaps this was just Haulage rights, with Milwaukee traffic moving in BN trains.
The Offical Railway Guide of 1979 lists MILW as serving Billings. However, in there in ad in the same publication the MILW on their route map does not show them serving Billings. [:o)][:D]
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Originally posted by nanaimo73
Sorry yes there map shows the MILW departed their manline @ Miles City then moving southwest to Billings & ending up at Bozeman. The map since it it was not a solid line but dashes I take that to mean it was not owned by MILW but they has rights to serve it off another RRs tracks. [:o)][:D]
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Originally posted by nanaimo73
Service to Billings was by way of trackage rights granted as a condition of the Burlington Northern merger in 1970. I believe that MILW exercised the trackage rights through a car-handling contract rather than actual train operation on their own.