Milwaukee Road chose to electrify first, 2 difficult stretches of Lines West trackage; From Harlowton, MT., through Butte and St. Paul Pass to Avery, Idaho., and again from Othello, Wa., over the Saddle Mtns. & Snoqualmie Pass to Puget Sound. Sadly their cash poor traffic base ( They were always the 3rd or 4th railroad to call on potential customers ) never allowed for electrification of " The Gap " between Avery & Othello.
One advantage of Milwaukee Road's electrified trackage was the higher clearances which allowed for tri - level auto racks to be used all the way to Puget Sound. Milwaukee did have a small problem at first though, as the open top auto racks would show up at their Kent, WA., distribution facility with a pile of ashes where the car antenna USED TO BE. The antenna was often left up, where it could come in contact with the live 2000 volt overhead trolley wire !!!