Story Line Trains

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For train lovers of all ages, Story Line Trains features railroads and the communities they helped build, and works to promote the future of sustainable transportation.


2010 Online Summer Edition Contents

1910 Historic Railroad Tour
Railroads in the 1910 Fire

Postcards from 1910 • Links and Area Resources

  Northern Pacific Depot


The 1910 fire, or "the Big Blowup," was the largest forest fire in American history. It burned three million acres of timber, an area about the size of the state of Connecticut, in Washington, Idaho, and Montana. Smoke hid the sun. It was dark at noon from Denver to Saskatchewan, and as far east as Watertown, New York. To the west, ships at sea couldn't navigate by the stars. People were afraid it was the end of the world.
      Thousands of people were evacuated from the fire by the Northern Pacific Railway and the Milwaukee Road, and brought to safety in Missoula, Montana, and Spokane, Washington. Northern Pacific Engine 1356, the steam engine on permanent display in front of the Missoula Northern Pacific Depot, is said to be one of the engines that brought refugees from Idaho to Missoula. Our website features the 1356 this summer, as a symbol of the community of brave men and women who risked their lives to fight the fire and man the trains.
     From this page, you can begin our virtual 1910 historic railroad tour. The city tour is based on locations in Missoula, Montana. The website includes fire information and links to area resources.

1910 Missoula Tour Stops

The Northern Pacific Depot
The Northern Pacific Roundhouse
Railroad Street and Hotels
The Hardware Store
The Grocery Store
The Apothecary
The Trolley
The Milwaukee Station
Northside Historic District
Lower Rattlesnake
Northern Pacific Engine 1356

More about the 1910 Fire

Blog: Stories from a branch line
Railroad Kids and Rescue Engines, 1910
Postcards from 1910 (Newsletter)
1910 Fire Links
Missoula Area Resources
Other Railroad Resources

More Train Tour Reading

A Brief History of the Northern Pacific Railroad
Roundhouse Foremen: An Interview

More Reading about Trains

Travels with Pop
Shep: The Most Faithful Dog



Story Line Trains: Stories about American Railroads
Sustainable Transportation for the Future
Online reading for adults
Train stories for children


Privacy Policy. Story Line Trains complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which applies to children under thirteen years of age. If you are under thirteen and you ask us to send a newsletter, we collect your email address and name, and we only use it to send the newsletter. We also collect a parent's email address to obtain their permission. If you are under thirteen and would like to send writing or enter a contest, we will email a form for your parent’s permission. For contests we’ll ask for your full name, address, and age, for the purpose of contacting you if you win. We aren’t allowed to ask you for more information than is reasonably necessary to participate. We do not collect any information through cookies or share information with third parties. A parent can ask us not to disclose information to third parties (which we don’t anyway), or write and ask us to delete your information. Inquiries about our privacy policy may be directed to: Jeannine Nixon • Story Line Trains • 1717 South Higgins Ave. • Missoula, MT 59801 • 406 543-6045


1910 Missoula Historic Railroad Tour Map of Locations



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