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Once on the railroad bed, the drive is very scenic and you can almost imagine the powerful steam locomotives chugging their way up the grades loaded with ore and hard working men. It didn’t take long before coming to the first railroad tunnel of the day. This one is fairly short and in very good condition.
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1st of two tunnels along this route
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Inside the first tunnel
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The railroad bed drops down to the interstate where you drive under it at Exit 151 and get right back on the railroad bed and follow it to the town of Basin.
Just past Basin, the railroad bed climbs above the road and cannot be accessed.
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All thats left of a mill near Basin, Montana
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We were forced to follow a frontage road to the town of Boulder where I had to use my GPS to find the railroad bed again. We found it northwest of Boulder by keeping an eye on the still visible railroad bed. Whether by shear luck, or by the help of the GPS, we found the southern portal to the Boulder Tunnel (N-46 deg. 19.205 W-112 deg. 06.434) at Amazon.
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South Portal of the Boulder Tunnel
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As mentioned earlier, this tunnel is 6,145 feet from one end to the other and the light at the other end of the tunnel looks like the size of a pinhead.
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Inside the Boulder Tunnel
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Inside the Boulder Tunnel
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It’s an eerie feeling driving into this tunnel as the entrance was partially flooded and water was running down from the ceiling. My mind started to race imagining what would happen if my lights quit or if the tunnel started to collapse. After forging through the water, the tunnel gains elevation and I was able to stop and take some pictures from inside. Coming out safely at the other end, into the sunlight, was a great feeling!
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Feels great to finally be out of the tunnel
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At this end of the tunnel, we found more treasure.
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Forgotten Treasure-1947 Dodge COE
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A 1947 Dodge COE truck that was once used my Moon Construction and an old Dodge Power Wagon that at one time, had been converted to a crane.
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Dodge Power Wagon
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If only these lonely and forgotten trucks could talk. Imagine the stories they would tell.
After leaving, we tried to follow the railroad bed as far as we could, but it ran into private property just past the town of Wickes. (pictures 27-29 railroad bed)
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Railroad bed north of the Boulder Tunnel
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Railroad bed north of the Boulder Tunnel
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Railroad bed north of the Boulder Tunnel
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The end of the line does give a commanding view of the largest tailings pile I’ve ever seen. (picture 30 tailings pile)
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Massive Tailings Pile
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From this point on, it was getting late in the day and we still had over 250 miles to go to get back home. We high tailed it on the highway to make up some time and had a great drive the rest of the way home.