The Montana Central Railroad

The colonel the Herald credits was a freighter before he was a railroad man. Charles A. Broadwater came to Montana Territory in 1862 and made his money as a merchant, government contractor and partner in the Diamond R, the wagon outfit that dominated overland freight out of Helena before the rails, the trade the panel says the railroads came to compete with. As the Montana Central's president he brought Hill's line into Helena in 1887. He died at his own resort hotel west of town on May 24, 1892, aged fifty-one, and Broadwater County carries his name.

What the plaque says

The Montana Central Railroad The Montana Central Railroad used to run on the tracks that follow Little Prickly Pear Creek and Interstate 15. It was part of the railroad tycoon James J. Hill's plan to build a vast transcontinental transportation system. As the Helena Weekly Herald reported: "The Montana Central was a scheme inaugurated by Col. Broadwater (of Helena) and countenanced by James J. Hill of St. Paul, president of Manitoba Railroad. Its birth was coetaneous with the decision of Mr. Hill to begin the extension of the Manitoba to Montana and the West." Hill and other railroad magnates took the first through train from St. Paul to Helena on Nov. 18, 1887. At the very hour that locals were dressing the city in flags and bunting to welcome Hill and party, the Northern Pacific Railroad attempted to keep the Montana Central track-laying crew from building across its line. The blockage attracted much attention and a hot exchange of words, but was settled quickly; and without further incident, the track was completed. The Nov. 21 celebration was held as scheduled. Helenans had rejoiced five years earlier when the Northern Pacific came to town because it meant competition for the stage companies and bull-team freighters. In turn, arrival of the Montana Central broke the NP's monopoly. The Manitoba Railway became the Great Northern in 1890 and Montana Central sold out to them in 1907. Burlington Northern now owns these lines as well as most of the others in Montana.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Mann Gulch — 11 mi
  Thirteen markers on a grass slope above the Missouri, where a fire outran a crew of smokejumpers in 1949.

More markers nearby

• A Perfect Defile — steps away
• Old U.S. Highway 91 — 6.5 mi
• The Mann Gulch Fire — 6.5 mi
• "Cliffs High and Steep" — 16 mi