Riding the Rails on the Yellowstone Special
The Call of the Yellowstone Special
“Every summer morning around 5:30 from my childhood farmhouse, I heard a short whistle followed by a steady long whistle. Over a mile away, the Yellowstone Special was loudly announcing its presence while zipping past a railroad crossing on its way 70 miles north to West Yellowstone, Montana. Several hundred passengers were always onboard, eager to visit Yellowstone National Park.
Then close to 8:00 every evening, that same whistle marked the return of the train loaded with hundreds of other people who had just spent a few days or a week in Yellowstone.
It was such a consistent passenger train we could almost set our clocks by it and with each whistle, I could envision the excitement these travelers felt coming from all over the country to experience for the first time the unbelievable sights, sounds and smells of Yellowstone.” (page 4, Opportunity Knocked)
Race to Ride
“After work one day, I had an opportunity to go back home for the night. I planned to ride the train back up the next morning and arrive in time for work.
It was fun to be home for the night, and the next morning, I also looked forward to the ride back to West Yellowstone. Dad drove me to St. Anthony to catch the train, and we arrived just in time to see it pulling out. We knew the next stop was in Ashton, 14 miles north. So Dad, in our little old 1950 Chevy truck, started after the train. It was quite a race but Dad beat it far enough so I could run inside the depot, get a ticket and board the Yellowstone Special.” (page 115, Opportunity Knocked)