Here's a photo I took on July 06, 1989, THIRTY-SIX YEARS AGO, of High Iron Travel's EXPLORERS III chartered train crossing the Missouri River and Lake Oahe on the former Milwaukee Road Western Extension at Mobridge, SD. The bridge in the photo was built as part of an Army Corps of Engineers project related to the construction of Oahe Dam and the reservoir it created. Photos of passenger trains in South Dakota are pretty rare as it is one of the states that Amtrak does not serve. I believe the state became "freight service only" sometime in the 1960s. The lighting for this photo is not the best, but I still think it makes for a good photo, if for nothing else than its rarity. Here's a GOOGLE Streetview link that will show you what this same general area looks like today:

[maps.app.goo.gl]

[en.wikipedia.org]
[en.wikipedia.org]

The dam is located more than 76 miles from this location, so that gives you an idea of the size of this reservoir.

This special train originated in Spokane, WA and traveled on Montana Rail Link over the ex-NP branch lines to Polson and Darby and then went to Livingston by way of Helena (the Butte Line over Homestake Pass was out-of-service, and still is). We then backtracked to Helena Jct. and took the BN over the now-out-of-service ex-GN line to Great Falls. We then made a round-trip to Fort Benton and then a round-trip to the Canadian border at Sweet Grass. Then we ran from Great Falls to Mossmain on ex-GN track and worked our way through Laurel on ex-NP track and down to Cody, WY on ex-CB&Q track. Then we backtracked through Laurel, and traveled through Billings on the ex-NP to Terry, MT where we switched to the ex-Milwaukee and ran on that all the way to Appleton, MN where we switched back to ex-GN track via Benson and Willmar, to Minneapolis. Then we made a side trip to Amery, WI by using the Minnesota Transfer, Soo Line and Wisconsin Central railroads. Then we ran from Withrow, MN to Forest Park, IL on the Wisconsin Central railroad (ex-SOO Line) via Stevens Point. Lastly, we took the B&OCT for nine miles from Forest Park to Union Ave. in Chicago and then one mile of ex-CB&Q track to get us into Chicago Union Station where, sadly, the 10-day trip came to an end.

The chances of a trip like this running today are probably zero. Clark Johnson and Nona Hill and their High Iron Travel Company ran an amazing number of trips similar to this and an in-depth article has recently been published about them in the Summer 2025 edition of CLASSIC TRAINS. A photo by my friend Neil Lang of this train appears on pages 3 and 48.

Here are some other posts I've made on AP where I've discussed the special trains and trips organized by the husband-and-wife team of Clark Johnson and Nona Hill and their High Iron Travel Company:

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