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Milwaukee Road Depot - Alberton, MT

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Posted by:  T0SHEA

11T E 691837 N 5208534

Once along the Milwaukee Road mainline which reached to the Pacific Coast, the Alberton Station was long ago abandoned, to be repurposed by the town.

This Craftsman style depot was built by the Milwaukee Road as it pushed its way westward. Between 1906 and 1909 the line extended its line from North Dakota to Seattle creating yet another transcontinental route for passengers and freight. As it pushed through western Montana it followed the Clark Fork River, passing through Alberton in 1908 and building this depot as it passed, as well as a roundhouse, turntable and locomotive repair shops, making Alberton a division point. The depot remained in use by the railroad until possibly as late as 1980, the year that the line was abandoned and the depot sold to the town of Alberton. Today the depot houses the Alberton Town Hall, the Alberton Community Centre, the Alberton branch of the Mineral County Public Library, the senior citizens center and the American Legion. They seem to have squeezed half of the town's services into the building. Given that Alberton was made a divisional point, the depot was substantially larger than the norm, built to include a passenger waiting room, station master's office, rest rooms, ticket booth, freight warehouse and living quarters for the station master and family.

The Milwaukee Road encountered more than its fair share of bumps in the road, declaring bankruptcy in 1925 and again in 1935, this time aided by the "Great Depression". While it managed to survive the decrease in railroad traffic caused by highway improvement in the middle of the twentieth century, by the end of the 1970s the Milwaukee Road was a big time money loser, finally filing for bankruptcy for the third and last time on December 19, 1977. The section of the Milwaukee Road in western and central Montana was abandoned in the early part of 1980.

Though the railbed in the area is currently unused, the Rails to Trails Conservancy is active in an attempt to have the entire unused portion of the Milwaukee Road in Montana converted to a Rails to Trails hiking trail.

Judge Thomas R. McMillen presided over the bankruptcy until the Milwaukee's eventual sale in 1985. The Milwaukee's primary problem was that it possessed too much physical plant for the revenue it generated; in 1977 it still owned 10,074 miles (16,213 km) and 36% of that mileage produced a mere 14% of the company's yearly revenue.[30] The approach taken by the bankruptcy trustees was to sell or abandon unprofitable or marginally-profitable lines, leaving a much smaller railroad which could be profitable. Outright liquidation was considered, but not pursued.

Between 1977 and 1984, route distance was reduced to a quarter [of] its peak and a third [of] its total in 1977, shrinking to 3,023 miles (4,865 km). The most extensive abandonment eliminated the Milwaukee Road's transcontinental service to the West Coast. While the Burlington Northern merger generated more traffic on this route, it was only enough to wear out the deteriorating track, not enough to pay for rebuilding, forcing trains to slow down at many locations due to bad track. A final attempt to devise a plan to rehabilitate the Pacific Extension under the Milwaukee Road Restructuring Act failed. Operations ended west of Miles City, Montana on February 29, 1980.
From Wiki

Alberton Depot

This single-story railroad depot has a rectangular plan with three entry bays to the north, the central bay being gabled. There is also a projecting bay on the south wall beneath the eave extension. The frame construction is finished in clapboard with board and batten in the gable ends, and vertical and horizontal board trim. There is vertical beaded tongue and groove in the lower one-third wall panel. Doors are half-light panelled doors with three-light transoms. A freight door is in the east-south wall and east gable end with a four-light transom. The foundation is of concrete. The gable roof is covered with black asphalt shingles and features decorative knee braces beneath the eaves and three interior brick chimneys. The building is painted light grey with dark grey trim and has bright red-orange on the lower wall panels.

The Milwaukee Railroad Depot is an outstanding historic building for its associations with rail transportation history in Alberton, Montana. It is the only, and historically most important, building remaining in the community that was associated with the founding of the community as a rail freight division point. For these reasons, it is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.

The Milwaukee Railroad Depot was constructed in Alberton in 1908, and quickly became an anchor in the town's commercial district. During the early years, passenger trains stopped at the Alberton Depot for thirty minutes each day. Travellers would rest and eat at "The Beanery" located in the depot, or walk north across Railroad Avenue (Main Street or Highway 10) to the saloons, restaurants and other Alberton businesses.

Today, the depot is one of the few buildings related to the days when the Milwaukee Road had established a division point in Alberton for the repair and maintenance of their engines. The roundhouse and shops were taken out of this freight division point when the Milwaukee converted to electric power [in 1917].
From the NRHP Nomination Form

MILWAUKEE ROAD DEPOT
The first of the Milwaukee Road’s steam locomotives rumbled through this valley in 1908, bringing sure stability to the young settlement of Alberton. The town noisily came to life as a division point along the route, where fresh crews waited and engines were serviced. The Milwaukee Road Depot anchored the early community. Machine shops, repair tracks, and a roundhouse occupied the town’s busy center, where four passenger trains made 30-minute stops daily. The depots “beanery” fed both workers and travelers; local businesses thrived. In 1917, railroad officials cast a pall over Alberton when electrification of the line between Harlowton and Avery made this and other division points like it obsolete. The wood-frame depot continued to serve for the next 65 years, but the town’s growth had been arrested at a developmental peak. Consequently, its main street buildings were never rebuilt in more substantial brick. In 1980, salvage crews pulled up the tracks, boarded up the depot and the valley became silent, its heritage apparently forgotten. By 1983, it seemed as if Alberton would become a ghost town. Determined residents, however, refused to write its epitaph. Rehabilitation grants turned the rail yards into a city park and refurbished the 1908 Craftsman style depot, sparking community enthusiasm to preserve Alberton’s railroad roots. Now housing a senior citizen center and town offices, the splendid depot is more than the symbol of a once-vibrant economy. It is again the heart of the community.
From the NRHP plaque at the building