BNSF's Marias Pass: A Railroad Superhighway

SHELBY, MONTANA -- June 2018

The northernmost railroad crossing of the continental divide in the United States, Marias Pass was completed by the Great Northern in the 1890s, and has served ever since as a busy corridor for both freight and passengers - with the lauded Empire Builder still passing through each day under the Amtrak banner.

Under BNSF, traffic on the line has only grown, with huge volumes of intermodal and bulk commodities such as grain mixing in with the manifest freights, sometimes pushing fluidity to the limit.

In this railroad documentary, we'll begin in Shelby and follow the line all the way to Whitefish, stopping along the way to view the many trains of the line and the gorgeous mountain scenery. This is certainly a line worth checking out in person if you ever get the chance - just be on the lookout for those Grizzly Bears!!

Timestamps:
1:20 Shelby
4:51 Ethridge
5:23 Cut Bank
9:28 Sundance
10:45 Fort Piegan
13:41 Blackfoot
15:16 Browning
16:32 East Glacier Park
21:15 Bison
23:09 Summit
24:30 Nimrod / Snowshed No. 8
25:36 Goat Lick
28:26 Essex
32:08 Paola
33:00 Tunnel 3.8
34:51 Belton / West Glacier Park
39:53 Coram
41:20 Columbia Falls
44:42 Whitefish

Thanks for watching! Make sure to leave a like and subscribe, for more from the Thornapple River Rail Series! Your support keeps this channel rolling – don’t forget to leave your thoughts and questions in the comments below!

Videography Equipment:
- Primary: Sony FDR-AX53 4K Camcorder
- Secondary: Sony HDR-PJ790V HD Camcorder
- Aerial Platform: DJI Phantom 3 Advanced Drone
- Radio Scanner: Uniden Bearcat BC125AT
- Edited with: Cyberlink PowerDirector 16

Created by Alex Christmas. Copyright 2018, as the Thornapple River Rail Series, All Rights Reserved

[arlandzawilson]

Love watching 🚂 videos been loving 🚂 since I was little 43 now and still love watching videos and seeing them in person and I quote 👊💯💯💯

[komsomolac]

Marias Pass has been my favorite railroad route ever since MSTS came out back in 2001. It's gotten everything I love in railroads: magnificent scenery and beautiful, long freight trains!

[davids]

Dude, you have a gift for film. Great filming angles, great lighting, spectacular views, good image stability, great editing, great sound quality well narrated without having to talk the whole time. You gave thorough explanations quickly and to the point. Everything about these videos shows true professional abilities. Anyone that can make a 48 min video of trains passing and keep peoples attention should know they are doing something right. I guess sometimes you get wrapped up in something and don't realize why you sat and watched the whole thing then you realize it was just plain informative while being totally relaxing at the same time. Good work, you should be proud of your skills.

[minnesotarailfan]

4 years later this is still one of the best videos of Marias Pass. Keep up the great work.

[TheNomadicRailfan]

Hearing the name Marias Pass brings back a lot of memories of playing MSTS when I was a kid. Excellent video, Alex, really enjoyed it.

[stuartkeithguitars]

The Shelby shot is pure genius. It makes me want to move there and get e house that overlooks that area. What a vision of the grandness, the scope, of the American railroad system.

[williamcchinworth]

The images of an inter-modal train snaking towards Cut Bank off the high prairie just prior to the trestle is stunning. Excellent camera work.

[johnmay]

Fascinating, thank you very much. Being in the UK I am always amazed at the length of the trains and the distances travelled across your continent.

[thelovertunisia]

You are lucky to have such beautiful sceneries in your country.

[MARKTHESPARK]

I really enjoy your commentary while you’re explaining what we’re watching that’s really good information you’re giving out thank you

[annemaria]

What endless long trains! Wonderfull and so mighty. A miracle! Be proud of your railroads and the personel that make it possible.

[dmorgan]

I sure appreciate your channel and a few others. I’m a retired locomotive engineer and these videos sure make me to relive my former railroad days and trips. Keep up the good work. 👍👍👍❤️

[jamesconnor]

Not to mention the views in some of the locations, I live in England and we have some of the most beautiful views and countryside, and Wales with the stunning mountains and countryside, but America’s offering of countryside and mountain ranges just about equals to what we have here! Stunning!

[phuturephunk]

Dude. 10:00 is probably the greatest single shot I've ever seen to give the true scope of how big a consist can be. Fantastic!

[aaronwalsh]

I have train sim 2001 with Marias pass being my personal favorite, I got the dlc for train sim steam edition as well and I still have a lot of fun in it. It's a wonderful feeling to know that the thing you enjoy is still out there. It's also neat to see the real areas I drove past as a kid playing on a Windows 98 computer with the classic tan color.

[celestinofaginas]

Neat video, and you did superb with narration with useful details too

[judefernandez]

Loved the part where the three young boys on their push bikes ride up to the rail crossing . Looks so natural living in a town where the rail line runs . Thank you for the beaut video from Australia .

[ElCapitan]

I have ridden the EB several times. For me, Marias Pass and the Columbia River gorge are the most remarkable scenery on the route. Thank you for sharing this great video. Also, thank you for capturing the wayside signals in several segments of the video.

[JohnsKeith]

Awesome video! I agree with David S. you have a nice gift of putting this together with your locations, voice and excellent filming. Thanks so much for sharing.

[tazmankb]

superb commentary and quality footage- thank you!