Riding The Rails Through Montana

This week I met several travelers on Amtrak in Havre and spent a few days touring the area with them. They had been in northwestern Montana and I was ready to show them around northcentral Montana.

First of all, I was a bit over eager in planning our itinerary. The eastbound train was scheduled to arrive in Havre at 1:15 pm but it was a couple hours late. That isn’t bad but I had lots of things planned for the afternoon and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

To keep myself occupied I wandered around outside the train depot. A statue of James Hill stands proudly in front of the depot. The county is named after him, he brought the railroad here, and he is credited for starting the economy in this area. Pretty important guy!

The Havre railroad depot is also a hub for Burlington Northern-Santa Fe. The favorite thing I found outside though was a display of a restored engine with the former Great Northern logo. The mountain goat is what I always identify with traveling on the train and it’s easy to find lots of memorabilia with this logo.

The Havre Amtrak depot is what I would call medium-sized. There is lots of seating, literature of area attractions to read, and vending machines. Within two blocks of the depot you find several restaurants, Scotty’s Ice Cream shop, a western wear store, outdoor gear store and a few more retailers. The Atrium mall is about three blocks and it houses a lot of small retailers.

I opted for some fresh ground, fresh brewed coffee at Scotty’s (too chilly for ice cream) and a stroll around downtown. Just to one-up all of my quilting friends, I stopped in to Bearly Square quilt shop in the Atrium. I’m sure there are several of my friends who haven’t been there and now I have bragging rights. Dang, I’m going to have to take up this quilting hobby!

Finally, the train arrives. Check back for stories of our travels around Havre and Chinook.