THE OFFICIAL WEBPAGE
OF ROBERT D. WEST
Havre is Montana's eighth largest city, with a population of about 9600 people. The city was incorporated in 1893. It is in Hill County, on the Milk River, U.S. Highway #2, and the former Great Northern, now Burlington Northern-Santa Fe, transcontinental rail line. Havre features a yard and engine terminal facility for BNSF freight trains. It is also a major station stop for Amtrak's Empire Builder. Havre is a service stop for the train, so it spends more time at Havre than at most other stops. There is also extra time built into the train's schedule, so it sometimes arrives in Havre quite early. I have been through Havre several times on the Empire Builder, and the station stop here can range from about 20 minutes up to almost an hour. During these stops, I have had time to explore the area around the depot.
Map
Informational Sign
A sign near the depot tells the story of Havre's early days.
WELCOME TO HAVRE
(pronounced Have'er)
The naming of Havre, according to William T. Cowan's memoirs.
The coming of the railroad in 1887 and '88 brought many workers and their families to Bull Hook Bottoms, later called Havre, according to William T. Cowan's memoirs.
The name Havre came from the following story:
"Two French-Canadian squatters on Bull Hook Bottoms were French Gus Descelles, a little sawed off man, and Joe De Mars, a very large, strong man. They got in a fight over the affection of a charming girl and Joe De Mars got the best of the struggle. Little French Gus reportedly said 'you can have her' and this is how Havre supposedly got it's name." The Great Northern Railway was the main supply line for Fort Assinniboine, located 5 miles southwest of Havre. The railroad is still one of the main economic forces in the community.
Great Northern locomotive #2584
On display next to the depot in Havre is former Great
Northern Railroad 4-8-4 steam locomotive #2584. A sign next to the
locomotive tells its history.
This Northern type locomotive, survivor of the last steam engines acquired by the Great Northern Railway for main-line passenger service, was placed on permanent exhibition here on May 15, 1964.
A powerful and speedy locomotive, this engine now looks every bit the aristocrat that it was during the yrs. of its pre-eminent association with the Empire Builder and the Oriental Limited. The Empire Builder was inaugurated in June, 1929, and was pulled by a Mountain type locomotive, but popularity of the train led to addition of cars to the consist, and this necessitated more powerful engines.
In 1930 Great Northern acquired 14 Class S-2 steam locomotives from Baldwin Locomotive Works for service on the Empire Builder and the Fast Mail trains. This engine - No 2564 - is the last of the 14 engines. Samuel Vauclain, President of Baldwin described the Class S-2 engines as "the finest, most powerful steam passenger locomotives ever built up to this time." These engines were operated in freight service after the Empire Builder was streamlines and diesel powered in 1947, and were retired in 1955.
Locomotive and tender are 103 feet 3 inches long, weight 764,680 pounds, and height from rail to top of stack is 16 feet. No 2584 was an oil burner and developed 58,305 pounds of tractive effort. Each of the 8 drive wheels is 80 inches high.
The track on which No 2584 stands is laid to Great Northern main line specifications. The creosoted ties are supported on a sub-ballast consisting of 6 inches of crushed rock chips and a ballast consisting of 6 inches of crushed pink quartzite rock. Both of which are quarried by the Great Northern in Montana. Welded rails fully tie plated and anchored, weight 115 pounds to the yard.
Hands Across the Border
Near locomotive #2584 is Hands Across the Border
Park. The small park consists primarily of a statue of an American
Border Patrol officer shaking hands with a
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
officer. Havre is only 40 miles from the Canadian border, and the
Border Patrol meets
Amtrak's Empire Builder in Havre, to catch
illegal aliens attempting to board the train. As a result, there
are often Border Patrol vehicles parked at the station.
Depot
The depot in Havre, at 235 Main Street, is not only
an
Amtrak station; it also a local base of operation for
Burlington Northern-Santa
Fe freight operations and maintenance crews. As a
result, it is a large depot for a city of Havre's size. The
Burlington Northern Santa Fe was
formed in 1995 when the Burlington
Northern Railroad (successor to the Great Northern) and the Atchison,
Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad merged together. The station in Havre
still shows signs of its Burlington Northern heritage, and though the
situation seems to be improving over time, an apparent identity crisis
remains.
Statue of James J. Hill
In front of the depot on the street side is a statue of James J. Hill. Hill formed the Great Northern Railroad in 1889 from the bankrupt St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, and extended it to Seattle by 1893. The commercial possibilities realized in the northern United States due to Hill's Great Northern Railway earned him the nickname of "The Empire Builder."
Additional Photos
Here are some pictures of Amtrak's Empire Builder
and BNSF freight trains in and around Havre.
Havre Links
Also See:
PLACES - Stevens Pass, Washington
PLACES - Illinois Railway Museum, Union, Illinois
PLACES - Antique Powerland, Brooks, Oregon
All website content, including graphics and pictures are © Robert D. West unless otherwise noted. Content is not to be used out of the context of this webpage without expressed permission. Any opinions expressed herein are mine and are not necessarily shared by the Milwaukee School of Engineering, or anyone else.
Questions? Comments? Critiques? Corrections? Concerns? Email me at westr@msoe.edu.