If the North Coast Hiawatha train makes a comeback, I wonder if a new schedule will include a stop in Livingston? It would be a gateway to Yellowstone Park.
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Discussion of expansion of service in Western States
- Thread starter Northwestern
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Here's a link that shows the track side of the Livingston Depot
Livingstone Depot Track Side
Livingstone Depot Track Side
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- Aug 7, 2023
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I'm an East Coaster and while I love seeing the expansion of Amtrak routes west...I need a map to see where these Montana towns are. (Yes-I'm Geographically Challenged). I see mention of many small population towns as possible stops. Let me just say this. I just took the Cardinal from Chicago to Wilmington DE (home station)...I can tell you, there are a number of stops on the route that have populations less than the words in this post...well almost. If there are routes that have been mothballed...update them with proper rails and technology. Our rail infrastructure is so far behind in many ways (go to Europe)...it's often an embarrassment. That being said, I still love sitting back and relaxing, watching the country glide by my window. Rain, shine...doesn't matter.
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My Dad was born in Red Lodge in 1901, went to MT State in Bozeman and drove tour bus in Yellowstone in summer '27, met Mom who had come from SD on special train for summer staff & worked at Mammoth near Gardiner entrance. Except for some "sagebrushers" coming by car everyone came by train to Gardiner or W Yellowstone or Cody, WY. In '59 we visited MT/WY & the memories were rich. Students working at the Park's Canyon area put on nightly entertainment and asked whether anyone had worked in the Park. I still "see" Dad standing up to say "1927 gear-jammer & bubble-queen" to loud applause. Both of them in '27 went by train from Gardiner to the fair in Billings before she returned to SD. In '59 I remember a 6-6-4 Pullman at W. Yellowstone's lodge-like depot (arrived that morning) with a pillow up against one of the tiny upper berth windows (shade wasn't shut). When Dad drove the bus down the long cliff-edge road to Cody nobody said a word; they applauded upon reaching Cody. After a 1928 wedding in SD, Pittsburgh was home (where Dad worked since '27). They moved to FL in '72. He died in '85; in her 90s when I showed her a photo from somewhere of the lovely lodge-like Gardiner station she burst out in tears. It's no longer there from what I could tell using slideshow of the Montana stations to zoom in & out Livingston to Gardiner. Also in '59 we boarded the North Coast Limited in Missoula for Portland, taking Olympian Hiawatha back from WA. The CMSTP&P line's no longer there but the lovely depot still is (now the Boone & Crockett Club).
Dan Olsen
Train Attendant
The trick to viewing the "slideshow" is to click on the "slideshow" button in the upper right corner (which "flies" to the first station)
and then use the "table of contents" button arrows in the lower left corner that shows up to move to the next (or previous) "slide". It should "fly" from one depot to another along that route.
Dan Olsen
Train Attendant
You are correct, the Gardiner station is long gone. The rail bed is now a Rails-To-Trails path for part of the way and I understand that they're adding more sections of trail. The section at Gardiner is a nice ride (once they get the initial approach repaired from 2022 flood damage) along the Yellowstone River. The local e-bike rental place has tours along that stretch.
