CM & St. P RR Construction of Taft Tunnel – scaffolding around east end of tunnel in the Bitterroot Mountains in winter; men, tracks, and scaffolding at entrance to 9,000-foot long tunnel; cut and markers on right of way over the tunnel.
Scope and Contents
Images document equipment, crews, construction camps, preparing rail bed, laying track, locomotives, steam shovels, dirt excavation, building of bridges and tunnels, etc. This subseries includes images taken near Missoula (circa 1907-1912) donated by Jack McDougall who worked as a contractor for the railroad. These photos were removed from a scrapbook and donated in 1962. There are images of track laying, tunnel and bridge building, and construction equipment, camps and crews. Photographs of construction near Butte were donated by Mrs. George Grossberg in 1959 whose husband worked on a survey crew in 1907-1908. The Grossberg photos include construction of bridges and tunnels and construction camps and crews in the Butte area. Other construction photographs include postcards donated by Hanely M. Johnson of Wisconsin in 1972 and include excavating, track laying, bridges and tunnels. Finally, there are miscellaneous photographs of bridge construction, construction crews, and building a tunnel at Taft. Negatives of the Taft tunnel photographs were received from the Wisconsin Historical Society in 1969.
Dates
- Creation: 1880s-1960s
Language of Materials
No textual or other language materials are included in the collection. Captions are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Extent
From the Collection: 4 Boxes
From the Collection: 401 Photographic Prints
From the Collection: 47 Film Negatives - Nitrate
From the Collection: 20 Film Negatives - Nitrate
From the Collection: 27 Film Negatives - Safety
Repository Details
Part of the Montana Historical Society, Research Center Archives Repository
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT 59620-1201 United States
406-444-2681
406-444-2696 (Fax)
mhslibrary@mt.gov