Washington, Idaho & Montana Railway LLC.

06/10/2026

Likewise we have also gotten inquiries about rides, and sadly our answer is the same, insurance and regulations do not allow for this currently. It is a long term goal of ours however, but one that will take some work.

06/07/2026

NARCOA Motorcar excursion on the WIM today. First time in about 10 years since this has happened.

05/29/2026

Something new and exciting is happening at Kennedy Ford. Stay tuned in the next coming weeks to find out what mysteries lie inside that container! Its going to be a blast!

05/05/2026

Help out our friends at the WI&M Railway HPG (Historic Preservation Group) reseal their parking lot!

As a reminder, the WI&M Railway LLC (that’s us) is separate from the WI&M HPG. The LLC is a for-profit private company that leases and runs the railroad. The HPG is a nonprofit organization that owns the depot in Potlatch and preserves the depot and history of the railroad.

I’m ready to support Washington, Idaho & Montana Railway History Preservation Group Inc. (WIM HPG) on May 4, 2026 during Idaho Gives 2026. Learn more about Washington, Idaho & Montana Railway History Preservation Group Inc. (WIM HPG) and all the other organizations participating in Idaho Gives 202...

04/16/2026

This month we celebrate the 70th birthday of our one and only beloved locomotive, 1838!
Built in April of 1956 for Great Northern Railway, she originally wore Empire Builder colors and the number of 686. Later she was repainted into the Big Sky Blue paint scheme.
With the 1970 Burlington Northern merger she would become 1838, getting her current number and the familiar Cascade Green early on. The white stripes were only applied to the long hood as she was and still is set up for long hood forward operation.
In the early 1980’s she underwent an extensive rebuild by BN which included new electrical wiring, however she retained her original 567C engine and original control stand equipment and 6BL brake valve.
In 1985 she and several of her sister ex GN GP9’s were sold to the newly formed Central Montana Rail operation. Getting a new BN inspired blue paint job, she was one of only 2 CMR GP9’s to receive the darker blue, something which causes folks to sometimes mistake her for an MRL unit even though she never served MRL.
After a career on CMR that outlasted GN & BN combined she was traded into Western Rail in 2020. She sat at western for a few years and was one of 3 units we looked at for startup of our line.
1838 was delivered to us in February of 2025, and she received her new logos and lettering last year in April! She spent 29 years at GN/BN, 35 years at CMR, and just over a year with us. We are thankful to the crews at CMR that took such good care of her over the decades and we hope to keep her running as long as we are here.
Happy Birthday 1838, check out the photos from over the years! Photo information in the captions.

04/13/2026

Shout out and huge thank you to our community members who came through on short notice to bring and loan us a chainsaw for the day to clear some downed trees. We were able to clear the tracks and get our lumber loads delivered on time for pickup today, and our conductor even managed to avoid most of the rain in the afternoon!
We run through some awesome communities with awesome people!

03/15/2026

We were sent this awesome photo of our run yesterday, taken by Marc Entze.

02/17/2026

The Potlatcher ran from Palouse to Bovill and carried passengers, mail, and some freight. Alec Bull is loading mail at Princeton. It would be so fun to take that trip again!

02/16/2026

View from our office window today.

01/08/2026

Always worth reminding folks about the blue ENS signs! Every crossing has one.

For safety, look for the Emergency Notification System (ENS) sign located at every grade crossing. The info on the ENS sign helps first responders & you tell the railroad exactly which crossing needs help.