I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the Fort Lincoln Trolley is resuming operations this weekend. Last November I took a hike down the tracks to survey the damage they’d sustained from the flood, and it didn’t look good.

The damage inflicted by the Big Muddy last year is jaw-dropping all along the river’s course, and this is just one of many tragic stories. The hill eroded underneath the track just north of Fort Lincoln.

This particular section left a long stretch of rail, along with whatever ties were strong enough to remain attached, literally hanging in open air.

While the rails were not broken, they were certainly bent and in serious need of rescue. I’m so excited that the repairs have been performed given the extent of the damage! The dark spot to the right of the tracks in the upper right portion of this photo is an enormous crack in the earth.

This isn’t the first time that the trolley folks have had to deal with erosion of the hills upon which their track resides; however, I don’t know whether previous damage was anywhere near as serious as this. The hill itself looked like it had some issues, so hopefully they were able to reinforce it as well as the tracks.

As you can see, a large section of the hill simply separated and tumbled toward the river below as the hill was eroded from its base by the overflowing river. I used my monopod as a makeshift jib to suspend my camera in the air over the tracks for this treacherous shot.

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Central North Dakota was re-imaged last year after the flood waters receded, and that product has made its way to Google Earth. As a result you can see the damage from space. Click “More” then “Zoom Here”. After that use the + on the left to zoom in closer.

As you can see, it’s a fun ride. It serves as a shuttle back and forth from Fort Lincoln, but it’s also fun to just take a ride down and back if you’re pressed for time. I’m excited to see what it looks like as we cruise over it in style, aboard a new electric Trolley car! It was rolled out for last year but then the tracks failed, so few got the chance to try it. My family will be on it soon!

While poking around the river with my little boys a few nights ago, we found this ancient (by their standards) wreckage poking out of the dirt beneath the cliffs of Double Ditch. What kind of car this might be is indistinguishable to all but the most trained eye. It appears as though it has not only been here a long time, but was also likely buried for an extended period as well. I surmise that the dirt covering it was scoured away by the massive flows of the swelling Missouri River last year.

Plenty of dirt remains caked into the recesses of the engine and what remains of the frame and drivetrain of this artifact of automotive archeology. It just goes to show that nature will eventually reclaim what we leave behind.

I don’t know why people of the last century seemed to think it was a valid idea to pitch their cars into the drink, but it seems that there are a lot of old cars from the 40s through 60s rusting away quietly along the river in various places. Thankfully this practice doesn’t seem to happen often any more. As for the relics that do occasionally appear along the river banks and from beneath the river’s surface, they’re just another noteworthy and even somewhat familiar part of life along the Big Muddy.