White Sulphur Springs and Yellowstone Park Railway
Encyclopedia
The White Sulphur Springs and Yellowstone Park Railway , now defunct, was an American
railroad built and operated between the towns of Ringling
and White Sulphur Springs
, Montana
, a distance of 22.8 miles. The railroad, constructed in 1910, provided White Sulphur Springs with a link to the national railway network via a connection with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
("the Milwaukee Road") at Ringling (Formerly Leader, Montana, renamed after John Ringling). The southern four miles of the railroad's route, between Ringling and Dorsey, were leased from the Milwaukee Road.
Lew Penwell, the promoter and builder of the railroad envisioned that White Sulphur Springs would boom as a tourist center. the Montana daily record reported that $3,000,000 would be spent developing the Smith River valley and build a grand hotel at White Sulphur Springs.
The railroad did a study to extend to Cascade, on the Missouri River, and there were rumors that it might build to Helena, MT, to replace the stagecoach route.
Milwaukee Road had a majority interest in the railroad of 51%, and supplied it with rolling stock and one locomotive. Milwaukee rotated the locomotives that were used on the WSS&YP due to the pure water available at White Sulphur Springs, which removed build-up and scale from the boiler.
WSS&YP employees were expected to do whatever task needed to be done regardless of job description, from selling tickets to shoveling snow.
The railroad was nearly abandoned in 1944, but was saved by George Weatherall and W.C. Ramsey, who bought out the Milwaukee's interest. Business boomed again with the shipping of lumber cut from the nearby mountains.
The railroad was abandoned in 1980, a consequence of the Milwaukee Road abandoning its line through Ringling. The station in White Sulphur Springs still stands after being restored for the movie Heartland
in 1982. A heavyweight coach and sleeper sit in front of the station along with a Milwaukee Road ballast car and a stock car, marooned far away from the nearest rail system. An ancient WSS&YP combination car sits in a farmer's field nearby.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
railroad built and operated between the towns of Ringling
Ringling, Montana
Ringling is a small unincorporated community in southern Meagher County, Montana, United States, along the route of U.S. Route 89. The town was a station stop on the transcontinental main line of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St...
and White Sulphur Springs
White Sulphur Springs, Montana
White Sulphur Springs is a city in and the county seat of Meagher County, Montana, United States. The population was 984 at the 2000 census.The center of population of Montana is located in White Sulphur Springs.-Geography:...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, a distance of 22.8 miles. The railroad, constructed in 1910, provided White Sulphur Springs with a link to the national railway network via a connection with the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad
The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad , was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and Northwest of the United States from 1847 until its merger into the Soo Line Railroad on January 1, 1986. The company went through several official names...
("the Milwaukee Road") at Ringling (Formerly Leader, Montana, renamed after John Ringling). The southern four miles of the railroad's route, between Ringling and Dorsey, were leased from the Milwaukee Road.
Lew Penwell, the promoter and builder of the railroad envisioned that White Sulphur Springs would boom as a tourist center. the Montana daily record reported that $3,000,000 would be spent developing the Smith River valley and build a grand hotel at White Sulphur Springs.
The railroad did a study to extend to Cascade, on the Missouri River, and there were rumors that it might build to Helena, MT, to replace the stagecoach route.
Milwaukee Road had a majority interest in the railroad of 51%, and supplied it with rolling stock and one locomotive. Milwaukee rotated the locomotives that were used on the WSS&YP due to the pure water available at White Sulphur Springs, which removed build-up and scale from the boiler.
WSS&YP employees were expected to do whatever task needed to be done regardless of job description, from selling tickets to shoveling snow.
The railroad was nearly abandoned in 1944, but was saved by George Weatherall and W.C. Ramsey, who bought out the Milwaukee's interest. Business boomed again with the shipping of lumber cut from the nearby mountains.
The railroad was abandoned in 1980, a consequence of the Milwaukee Road abandoning its line through Ringling. The station in White Sulphur Springs still stands after being restored for the movie Heartland
Heartland (film)
Heartland is a 1979 American film, directed by Richard Pearce, starring Rip Torn and Conchata Ferrell. The film is a stark depiction of early homestead life in the American West, and is based on a 1914 published reminiscence by Elinore Pruitt Stewart, titled Letters of a Woman Homesteader.Though...
in 1982. A heavyweight coach and sleeper sit in front of the station along with a Milwaukee Road ballast car and a stock car, marooned far away from the nearest rail system. An ancient WSS&YP combination car sits in a farmer's field nearby.