I had New Year's Holiday off from work and school so I decided to head up to Montana for a cold weekend.  My brother decided to accompany me on the trip since Thursday before the railfanning started we planned on heading up to Schwitzer mountain.  We stayed at some friends house and left on December 31 around 7:00am.   It was quite a long drive up to Libby and then taking the road up towards Flathead tunnel.  The first train was an eastbound manifest at Fisher River siding (BNSF 5208, 4942, 4890).  After a picture we headed farther up the canyon checking out several side roads as we went.  The eastbound met a westbound hopper train at Tamarack siding so we found a spot and waited for it.  It was in the typical 2x2 combination for loaded hopper trains (BNSF 5323, 5044, 4184, 4596).  After that train passed we continued our exploration of the route.

     Since we were planning on spending the night in the car parked on one of the little side roads we were looking for a good spot.  Near Wolf Prairie siding I found a nice curve and a couple minutes later the V-LPCTAC8-29E rolled downgrade (BNSF 1022, 4172).  Taking a couple more side roads we noticed that the signal was on for an eastbound.  After a short wait in the new falling snow an eastbound hopper train rumbled around the corner (BNSF 5253, 4742, 4801).  They were pulling quite hard enough though it was an empty train.  Heading on up to Rock Creek the hopper train went into the siding and so we stopped were the road crosses the tracks to wait for the westbound.  Around 1:45 it arrived pulling a long sting of manifest cars behind the 4 locomotives (BNSF 5347, 6952, 567, 7015(patched)).  Next we heard that train take the next siding to the west so we knew there was another eastbound around.

     The Z-SSECHC1-30A arrived a little later (BNSF 4843, 4873, 4116).  It in turn went into the siding at Rock Creek.  This is just before Flathead tunnel's west portal so we hurried down to the entrance to get a photo of the train coming out.  Unfortunately we weren't quite quick enough and it came out just as we were arriving.  It was the westbound S-CHCSEA1-29M (BNSF 6860, 7324, FURX 7932, NREX 6416).  After the tunnel had cleared the eastbound entered and we headed back west.  I figured that a Z-CHCPTL train should be coming sometime soon so we drove down to one of the side roads we had found earlier and headed up that to wait.  It was almost an hour before it arrived (BNSF 4760, 835, 124).  After that it was getting a little dark so we continued on towards our selected spot for the night.  At Wolf Prairie we waited a little bit for the westbound hopper train, G-GRFRGT1-29A (BNSF 1056, 6392, 4554, NREX 6404).  Next it was on to camp for the night.  After having a bite to eat, reading and playing a couple card games we stretched out for the night in the back of my car. 

     We awoke the next day to the year 2005 in a cold car.   After running it and heating it up we headed out to find a good spot for our first train.  After finding a spot and waiting for an hour or so the Z-CHCPTL1-30A rounded the curve (BNSF 4958, CSX 171, HLCX 7199).  After photographing the first train of the new year we headed down towards Tamarack to find another spot.  But unfortunately we missed an eastbound and due to slick road conditions and fast train speeds I knew it was foolish and useless to try to chase it.  So figuring it would be awhile until the next train my brother got his snowboard out and I pulled him down the road for several miles.  Just as he was getting back into the car the detector just west of us went off.  This alerted us not only to the presence of a train but also that it was a mere 11F degrees outside at 11:00am!!!  The train turned out to be an eastbound hopper train and although I managed to see it I didn't get stopped and set up in time for a photo (BNSF 5103, 5057, 4344). 

     Next I wanted to find a spot I had briefly seen several summers ago.  It had looked like a great S-curve shot for westbounds.  We found it and parked and as I got out of the car I heard a train.  Quickly running over a small hill to the tracks I found that an eastbound stack and TOFC train had overtaken us and was now disappearing.  Hoping that it would meet a westbound somewhere I looked around for the right shot.  Finally finding it about 30 feet up in a pine tree I sat down on a branch to wait.  But after an hour of waiting in 11 degree weather and no sign of a westbound I thought I heard an eastbound off in the distance.  So I came back down and we headed back up to where we had stayed the night near Wolf Prairie siding to wait for the train.  After waiting for awhile in the cold I decided to wait inside the car and go out when I heard the EOT of the approaching train.  Unfortunately the EOT never went off that I heard and the next thing I knew was that it was going passed (BNSF 4397, 4601, 567).  After that I knew that things would probably have another slack in traffic so I took the time to explore several new roads that I had found.

     After driving up and around several of these winding little roads I found myself approaching Tamarack siding.  Just before reaching the tracks a westbound auto train sped by.  Well after that the score was like 1 out of 6 trains that I had gotten a photo of that day so I decided to find a spot where I was sure I wouldn't miss a train.  At the west switch of Tamarack we found a good spot and pulled over to wait and eat lunch.  At 2:15pm an eastbound stack train finally showed up (BN 7908, 7008, 6380(all patched)).  After getting that shot we headed back out to another side road to wait for another train.  It wasn't long before an eastbound manifest train arrived (NS 8676, ATSF 615, BNSF 5216, BN 9261(patched)).  Next we headed down to the other side of Tamarack siding and waited for another train.  After hearing an EOT for quite some time a westbound hopper train finally arrived (BNSF 5067, 5441, 5168, 4351).  After that we drove down to another road crossing to wait for an eastbound that the previous train met at Fisher River.  It was the X-KALFIN9-31A (BNSF 4197, 5237).  Next we headed back to our friend's house for the night.   And although we followed the tracks that was the last of the trains for the night.

     After getting out around 7:30am we proceeded west into Bonners Ferry, ID.  Our first train was an eastbound stack train (BNSF 5508, 5210).   Next we continued down to Naples, ID to wait checking out several side roads on the way.  After waiting a bit we were moving to a new spot when a westbound surprised us.   So I quickly got onto the highway and easily beat it to Elmira, ID (FURX 8101, 7931, BNSF 7311, BN 8077(patched), NREX 6452).  We had heard something in Bonners Ferry just before we got the last train so he headed back up towards Naples a bit to find a good spot.  Around 9am a westbound hopper train rumbled up the canyon (BNSF 4606, 5128, 4720, 999).  On the scanner we heard that a UP local was having to clear up at Sandpoint and head up to Samuel's to go into the siding for a northbound.  So heading over to Samuel's siding we parked and waited for the train.  Meanwhile the westbound hopper train had met an eastbound manifest at Colburn and it went by.  Soon UP 1200 and 1014 arrived with 21 cars and headed into the siding.  After waiting near Colburn for awhile with no results I drove back over to the UP tracks when I heard that the northbound was getting close.  It went by at 10:40am with 96 manifest cars (CP 8578, UP 7104, 5578).

     Next I quickly headed back to Colburn, ID to catch the train that had just gone through the detector.  It was an eastbound stack with quite a mix for the consist (BNSF 4461, CEFX 3135, NREX 5088).  Next we meandered down to Algoma, ID to wait for another train.  Over the scanner we heard that a Z-train was headed our way.  Just after we finished lunch an eastbound hopper train with 122 cars rounded the corner (BNSF 4316, 4040).  Then just a few minutes later the Z-train arrived (BNSF 4946, 4432, BN 9240(patched)).  Next I drove down to a new crossing I hadn't shot from before to wait for a train.  Over the scanner we heard about several more westbounds that were coming our way.  Then around 1pm a westbound stack train arrived (ATSF 619, EMD 9093, BNSF 745).  The clouds looked to be getting better to the south so I decided to chase this train down that direction.  Finally catching up with it I got another shot at Granite with the sun just barely peeking out from behind a cloud.  Next it was back to Cocolalla for a short wait before a westbound stack and TOFC train arrived.

     After that I decided to head down to the big cut between Athol and Granite to wait for a train.  On the way down we paced the westbound all the way but didn't have enough lead time for a shot of it.  At 2:15pm a westbound train went through the detector near Granite and I set up for the shot.  It soon rounded the sweeping curve with hopper cars in tow (BNSF 4628, 5243,  ATSF 810(patched)).   Even though it was a loaded grain train it only had 3 engines which is just a little uncommon around here.  Next I headed down to Athol, ID where the hopper train pulled up to a stop at the end of the double track.  After a little wait an eastbound hopper train flew passed (BNSF 1061, 804, 4183).  After that the westbound pulled out and picked up speed.  But in a couple miles it pulled into Ramsey siding to meet another train.  After quite a long wait an eastbound stack and TOFC train rolled through (BNSF 5354, CSX 7534).

     Next it was down to Rathdrum for another shot before the light was totally gone.  It wasn't a long wait before the westbound arrived and slowly crawled by.  After getting my shot and a couple going away glint shots I followed it down to Hauser yard.  The westbound went into the re-fueling pad while an eastbound stack and TOFC train waited for it to clear (BN 7020(patched), CSX 7927, BNSF 7826).   Down at the west end of Hauser yard a couple trains were waiting to pull out.   The first one out was a westbound stack train (FURX 8103, NS 9366, BNSF 4512).   Then there was the S-CHCTAC1-29M that had been stuck in Hauser yard over the weekend (BNSF 8064, UP 3082).  After seeing what there was to see we drove on towards Spokane, WA.  We didn't find anything all the way to Yardley and that was pretty much empty too.  The M-SPOKFA was parked and ready to pull later in the evening and there were just a couple of other engines sitting around.  So with the light now gone we made a quick trip home.  It was a exciting cold trip but I really like that area of Montana!