List of Montana railroads

The following railroads operate in the U.S. state of Montana.

Common freight carriers

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Private freight carriers

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Passenger carriers

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Defunct railroads

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Name Mark System[nb 1] From To Successor Notes
Big Blackfoot Railway MILW 1910 1916 Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway
Big Horn Railroad CB&Q 1905 1916 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Big Horn Southern Railroad CB&Q 1888 1897 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Billings and Central Montana Railway NP 1912 1921 Northern Pacific Railway
Billings and Northern Railroad GN 1902 1907 Great Northern Railway
Bozeman Street Railway MILW 1892 1909 Gallatin Valley Electric Railway
Burlington Northern Inc. BN 1970 1981 Burlington Northern Railroad
Burlington Northern Railroad BN 1981 1996 Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway
Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway BA&P, BAP 1892 1985 Rarus Railway
Butte, Wisdom and Pacific Railway 1913 1914 Southern Montana Railway
Camp Creek Railway NP 1911 1914 Northern Pacific Railway
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad CB&Q CB&Q 1894 1970 Burlington Northern Inc.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railway CB&Q 1901 1907 N/A Leased the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad
Chicago, Milwaukee and Puget Sound Railway MILW 1909 1912 Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway MILW 1912 1928 Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway of Montana MILW 1905 1908 Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway of Washington
Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway of Washington MILW 1908 1909 Chicago, Milwaukee and Puget Sound Railway
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad MILW MILW 1928 1982 Burlington Northern Railroad
Clearwater Short Line Railway NP 1898 1914 Northern Pacific Railway
Coeur d'Alene Railway and Navigation Company NP 1886 1897 Northern Pacific Railway
Drummond and Philipsburg Railroad NP 1887 1888 Northern Pacific and Montana Railroad
Elliston and Southern Railroad 1896 N/A
Gallatin Valley Railway MILW 1910 1918 Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway
Gallatin Valley Electric Railway MILW 1908 1910 Gallatin Valley Railway
Gaylord and Ruby Valley Railway NP 1897 1899 Northern Pacific Railway
Gilmore and Pittsburgh Railroad NP 1907 1939 N/A
Great Falls and Canada Railway GN 1889 1901 Montana and Great Northern Railway
Great Falls Terminal Railway MILW 1912 1914 Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway
Great Falls and Teton County Railway GN 1912 1914 Great Northern Railway
Great Northern Railway GN GN 1890 1970 Burlington Northern Inc.
Helena, Boulder Valley and Butte Railroad NP 1886 1888 Northern Pacific and Montana Railroad
Helena and Jefferson County Railroad NP 1883 1898 Northern Pacific Railway
Helena and Northern Railroad NP 1886 1888 Northern Pacific and Montana Railroad
Helena and Red Mountain Railroad NP 1886 1899 Northern Pacific Railway
Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad SOO CP 1944 1961 Soo Line Railroad
Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railway SOO CP 1913 1944 Minneapolis, St. Paul and Sault Ste. Marie Railroad
Missoula and Bitter Root Valley Railroad NP 1887 1888 Northern Pacific and Montana Railroad
Missoula and Hamilton Railway NP 1911 1916 Northern Pacific Railway
Missouri River Railway NP 1906 1914 Northern Pacific Railway
Montana Railroad MILW 1894 1910 Chicago, Milwaukee and Puget Sound Railway
Montana Railway NP 1881 1898 Northern Pacific Railway
Montana Central Railway GN 1886 1907 Great Northern Railway
Montana Eastern Railway GN 1912 1928 Great Northern Railway
Montana and Great Northern Railway GN 1901 1907 Great Northern Railway, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway
Montana Southern Railway 1917 1940 N/A
Montana Southern Railway NP 1893 1897 Gaylord and Ruby Valley Railway
Montana Union Railway NP 1886 1898 Northern Pacific Railway
Montana Western Railway MWRR 1986 2003 Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway
Montana Western Railway 1909 1970 Burlington Northern Inc.
Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad MW&S, MWS 1909 1955 N/A
Northern Pacific Railroad NP 1864 1896 Northern Pacific Railway
Northern Pacific Railway NP NP 1896 1970 Burlington Northern Inc.
Northern Pacific and Montana Railroad NP 1888 1898 Northern Pacific Railway
Oregon Short Line Railroad UP 1897 1987 Union Pacific Railroad
Oregon Short Line and Utah Northern Railway UP 1889 1897 Oregon Short Line Railroad
Rarus Railway RARW 1985 2007 Butte, Anaconda and Pacific Railway
Rocky Fork and Cooke City Railway NP 1886 1898 Northern Pacific Railway
Rocky Mountain Railroad of Montana NP 1881 1898 Northern Pacific Railway
St. Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway GN 1879 1907 Great Northern Railway
Shields River Valley Railway NP 1908 1914 Northern Pacific Railway
Soo Line Railroad SOO CP 1961 Still exists in Montana as a lessor of the Dakota, Missouri Valley and Western Railroad
Southern Montana Railway 1914 1917 Montana Southern Railway
Utah and Northern Railway UP 1878 1889 Oregon Short Line and Utah Northern Railway
White Sulphur Springs and Yellowstone Park Railway WSYP MILW 1910 1980 N/A
Yellowstone Park Railroad 1905 1909 Montana, Wyoming and Southern Railroad
Electric
Not completed

Notes

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  1. ^ This is one or more of the Class I railroads that the railroad became part of, if any.

References

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  • Association of American Railroads (2003), "Railroad Service in Montana" (PDF).. Retrieved May 11, 2005.
  • Hilton, George W. (1990). American Narrow Gauge Railroads. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. ISBN 0-8047-2369-9.