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.