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"The Yellowstone Branch of the Oregon Short Line Railroad, a subsidiary of the Union Pacific Railroad, reached the outer boundry of Yellowstone National Park in November 1907. A temporary depot and simple, tar-papered dining facility provided the basic amenities required for the first passengers who arrived at this new destinaton in 1908. In the following year, work began on a new stone depot, and it was ready for service in 1910. By 1911, an improved dining facility had replaced its tar-papered counterpart.
Miles from the nearest source of electrical power, the railroad made plans to generate its own supply to service the buildings that would be needed to accomodate its passengers. Around 1910, the Union Pacific built a stone building to house a generator and engine to produce electricity for its local operations.
The Union Pacific Railroad continued to generate electricity for the railroad district through1947, the year Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative completed power lines from Ashton to Island Park, Idaho and West Yellowstone, Montana. The Union Pacific's generator continued to provide emergency backup for the Town of West Yellowstone, as evidenced by the warning on the control panel:
DO NOT CLOSE THIS SWITCH UNLESS R.E.A.IS DISCONNECTED
The railroad passenger service to West Yellowstone ended in 1960, likely the same time frame as final use of the generator."
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The United States is one of the most diverse countries on earth, jam packed full of amazing sights from St. Patrick's cathedral in New York to Mount Hollywood California.The Northeast region is where it all started. Thirteen British colonies fought the American Revolution from here and won their independence in the first successful colonial rebellion in history. Take a look at these rolling hills carpeted with foliage along the Hudson river here, north of New York City.The American south is known for its polite people and slow pace of life. Probably they move slowly because it's so hot. Southerners tend not to trust people from "up north" because they talk too fast. Here's a cemetery in Georgia where you can find graves of soldiers from the Civil War.The West Coast is sort of like another country that exists to make the east coast jealous. California is full of nothing but grizzly old miners digging for gold, a few gangster rappers, and then actors. That is to say, the West Coast functions as the imagination of the US, like a weird little brother who teases everybody then gets famous for making freaky art.The central part of the country is flat farmland all the way over to the Rocky Mountains. Up in the northwest corner you can find creative people in places like Portland and Seattle, along with awesome snowboarding and good beer. Text by Steve Smith.
