Many moons ago spent time in Sandpoint on holidays, went over to the train station to paint and sketch and watch some choo-choo’s go by, was Sandpoint an important link in the line? and just what railroad(s) used this line, I think now it is BNSF ? I also spent time in Whitefish Montana, which I believe was Great Northern, right? as they have a GN switcher on display, These are both great small towns with railroad history and present day trains. go visit them, and try some bumbleberry pie, while you are there.
A few moons ago, during the Thanksgiving holiday, I took the Empire Builder west to Seattle. At Sandpoint, I got off to have a look around. Nice place, but the stop wasn’t long enough to take in the bumbleberry pie. Is it served at the depot? Sandpoint must be important for Amtrak, at least, because large crowds of vacationers got on and off. I didn’t take any pictures because it was in the dead of night.
Sandpoint sounds like a little town one only sees in the movies or a fictional place in a book…
More than many moons ago…{50 plus years}, I was on a troop train heading to Seattle for a trip across the Pacific for Uncle Sam and I was able to get my head out the vestibule at Chyenne, Wo…and the air was so fresh smelling and all the rest…Just a fairy tale place but it actually was real…
The depot in Sandpoint was formerly NP and now marks the beginning of Montana Rail Link (which has trackage rights on BNSF into Spokane.) The line from Spokane to Sandpoint was formerly NP and at merger time a link was built to connect w/ the former GN on the west side of town. This now constitutes the BNSF main line. The former GN line from Sandpoint to Spokane was abandoned except for a short stretch between Sandpoint and Newport Wa. There’s also a UP line (formerly Spokane International) that runs from Spokane to a connection W/ CPR at the Canadian border.
The remaining GN trackage between Spokane and Sandpoint is now POVA, a short line that operates this part of the old GN and the MILW branch that ran up the Pond Oreille River from Newport to Metaline Falls. The SI now operates over the old GN to the point where it crosses the Lake at Laclede to head South to Spokane.
Sandpoint hosts four railroads, the Montana Rail-Link, Spokane International (UP), Burlington Northern-Santa Fe and Pond Orielle Valley.
I was in Sandpoint twice last August and when I asked about where the depot was, I was met with laughter. Makes one wonder. Didn’t find one.
http://www.povn.com/npovlions/
Just found info on train station in Sandpoint, it’s an Amtrak station now on Railroad Ave. just off Bridge St. The Empire Builder departs west @ 11:49 pm and east @ 1:40am.
Sandpoint is a really great little town. It’s located in a beautiful setting, on a huge lake, and surrounded by decent sized mountains. It has a good ski area (Schweitzer Basin), a beautiful golf course (Hidden Lakes), better restaurants than one would expect to find hidden away up in northern Idaho, a wonderful music festival in the summer, and lots of train action.
It got ‘discovered’ back in the early 90’s and I suspect that real estate prices have shot up since.
Once upon a time I actually had a really nice house built there that I expected to retire in. Didn’t quite work out that way, and my “ex” wound up with the house.
I still miss the place.
Regards
Ed
eg, How true, the big bucks have moved in after “discovery” but its a great place , super beach, no people, lots of trains, and if I remember isn’t the lake the deepest in the U.S. ?
Sorry, Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. @1943 feet, Lake Pend Oreille is only 1152 feet deep (don’t drop your watch)
It’s deep enough that the U.S. Navy maintains a submarine research facility there, (Acoustic Research Detachment in Bayview), mainly involved in testing methods for silent running. While they work with models, and not full sized subs, these are not toys. They are typically 1/4 scale, so that some of their ‘models’ are over 80 feet long.
While Lake Pend Oreille may not be as deep as Crater Lake, it’s much bigger (43 miles long vs 6 miles).
Regards
Ed
…Are the sub “models” of 80’ or so remote controlled…Probably not manned from your description, but I’m guessing.
The articles certainly implied that they were remote controlled. Here’s one link:
http://www.geocities.com/rrowe50/idahoss.html
Here’s a better one that specifcally says ‘unmanned’. Neat photos too.
http://www.nn.northropgrumman.com/news/2000/nr2k0811.html
Packed away with all my slides (which I no longer show) are a number of decent shots of trains in Sandpoint, especially those coming over the long railroad bridge across the lake. One day I need to dig them out, after getting a scanner that can scan slides, that is.
Regards
Ed
…That just seemed weird when I first read that post of the sub. testing In “Idaho”…But the depth and size of the lake should make it a good place to do so…