The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-12-24
STEEL RAILS
Confined from Feature Page,

Confined from Feature Page)
spike was driven by all the little children
present, each striking it a blow. Messages
of greeting from all connecting offices of
the telegraph line in Montana were read.
This closed the m WHICH marked
the entry to Montana Territory Of the
'Steel rails"
The first terminus in Montana, of the
Utah & Northern, was established temper
arily at Red Rock, Montana, which was
several miles south of the present Oregon
Short Line station which bears the SANE
name. A short time later, the freight ter
minus was moved farther south to what
was then called Spring Hill, but is now
known as Lima, Montana. In the summer
of 1880 the road was completed as far as
the present site of Dillon, and that town
was there established and named in honor
Of the president of the Union Pacific lines.
During the fall of 1880 construction work
the north, crossing the Big Hole and
reaching MelrOse in the spring Of 1881.
Completing the line to MelrOse meant much
to the company in view OF the fact that
this point was easily accessible to and
from the great mines of the Silver Bow
districts, and for some time all freight for
was consigned there. The Hecla company,
located at Glendale, was then undOubt-
eddy the leading mining enterprise in the
territory in those days.
Butte's First Train
The line was pushed forward in the di-
%rectiOn of Silver Bow Junction, and reached
that point by the middle of October of
1881. From here q Seven-mile spur was
ready for operation December 10, 1881. The
first passenger train to enter the Mining
city, pulled up to the end of the "steel
rails" December q, 1881. This was an
suspicious event, and the epoch which
marked a beginning for that city's rapid
development. The Utah & NOrthern's
main line tracks were laid On the extension
from Silver Bow to Deer Lodge City, the
latter point. for several years being the
terminus of this line.
HarbOred Great Plans
In the winter of 1882 and 1888, the en-
gineers of the Utah & Northern Narrow
Guage branch Of the Union Pacific rail
road surveyed what was to be known as
the Gallatin extension of the National park
Ibranch, through BOzeman to Gallatin City,
then located at the headwaters of the Mis-
IsOuri river. 1t was understood at the
tine that the park branch would be built
and eventually extended to Fort Benton,
and thence to a connection with the Cana
dian Pacific. This, however, failed to ma
Iterialize, the building a few years later OF
the Northern Pacific, discouraging the EN-.
Iterprise.
The tracks Of the Utah & Northern
line were, widened in 1881. This was q
mammoth undertaking in view of the fac
that it was necessary to accomplish thu
task without delaying the service to an!
: great extent, From the Dillon Tribune
under date of July %, 1887, / read as fol
{ lows with reference to this work:
Monday, July ., 1887, was a great da!
in the history Of the Utah & Northern rail
road, now the Oregon Short Line. On tina
y day, 246 miles Of track was changed from
a three-fOOt guage to four feet eight an
One-half inches in the remarkably shor
time of five hOurs-that is, each section o
: six miles was widened within five hours 0
a given time. The last trail
8 over the road was a passenger train draw
by engine No. 90, which left Butte at tire
8 O'Clock Sunday afternoon. AS soon as tn
"a AnA ~-AUW MA1,A 49, -
ening began. . . = The change Of guag
3 was the most important move ever mad
by the management. It nearly double
the carrying capacity Of the road"