Today, tour trains and train festivals have become more and more popular. Throw in a coal-fired, steam belching locomotive, you've got the makings of a vintage thrill ride.
Pictured here is the Southern Pacific 4449 making its way across a Medicine River trestle bridge. Part of the TrainFestival 2009, this celebration of railroad history follows the train excursion across northwestern America, from Portland, Oregon, to Owosso, Michigan.
With plenty of photo opportunities along the way, this scene captures the 433 ton GS-4 Northern locomotive nearby East Glacier, Montana. The locomotive and tender, approaching a weight of a million pounds, is the only operable streamline steam powered engine in the country. Through its 80 inch drive wheels, over 5,000 horsepower is delivered to the rails.
Here in Montana's Glacier and Pondera counties, the Medicine River offers up a class II and class III whitewater river. River trips are relatively easy, but river runners are reminded that these long sections of river provide a true wilderness experience.