Montana Rail Link is a regional Class II railroad operating in the states of MT WA and ID. It gathers grain and productes throughout the three states it operates in, and funnels the cars to the major Class I railroads.
Blasterz have seen a loaner Montana Rail Link locomotive on a sister railroad in Garland, the Dallas Garland and Northeastern Railroad, so it was fun to see their depot in downtown Billings.
More on the Montana Rail Link can be found at their website: (
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"Welcome to Montana Rail Link (MRL). MRL stretches over 900 miles of some of the most beautiful country in the world and employs approximately 1,000 people. Our employees are passionate about what they do and work at various locations across southern Montana from the Billings, Montana region all the way west to Spokane, Washington."
And this entry for Wikipedia: (
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"Montana Rail Link (reporting mark MRL) is a privately held Class II railroad in the United States. MRL, which operates on trackage originally built by the Northern Pacific Railway, is a unit of the Washington Companies, and is headquartered in Missoula, Montana.
The railroad runs between Huntley, Montana and Spokane, Washington, largely within Montana, and the main line passes through the towns of Missoula, Livingston, Bozeman, Billings, and Helena. Montana Rail Link connects with the BNSF on both ends and also in Garrison, Montana. The railroad has over 900 miles (1,400 km) of track, serves 100 stations, and employs approximately 1,000 personnel. The main yard is in Laurel, Montana, while a smaller yard is in Missoula.
Montana Rail Link's present status and main line date back to 1987, when MRL under Missoula businessman Dennis Washington agreed to lease Burlington Northern's southern Montana main line between Sandpoint, Idaho and Huntley, Montana, near Billings. This spin-off was controversial as it happened during contract negotiations between Burlington Northern and the United Transportation Union. MRL workers are represented by various unions. Montana Rail Link trains operate between Billings, MT and Spokane, WA using trackage rights over BN successor BNSF Railway's tracks connecting those points."