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Pictured is Ed Kieras, relief operator at East Portal Substation,probably July, 1972. East Portal had a lot of activity at night typically, and the machines there generally ran continuously the whole shift,either generating or regenerating, although often, between the three 2000kw MG sets,startups and shutdowns of individual machines would occur during this time, adjusting for load.This photo was taken about 1 AM.Each substation had a recording ammeter to record trolley amperage at all times,but every hour the operators still had to manually record individual machine readings off the "high voltage switchboard", which was the electric heart of every substation, and that is what Ed is doing here.I was spending the night at East Portal, but couldn't sleep because of all the trains, MG set activity, and shutdowns and startups, so I figured I might as well take some pictures. - Photo and caption-Michael Sol ©

After the electrification was shut down on the Rocky Mountain Division the Little Joes were stripped of usable parts such as traction motors.They were then lined up and stored in Deer Lodge before being sent to scrappers in Seattle and Chehalis Washington.
Photo by Michael Sol ©

Prior to storage in Deer Lodge the E50 has it's pantographs removed. The E50 is now on display in Duluth Minnesota and is especially noteworthy as it is the original Boxcab, built as the 10200 A/B in 1915.
Photo by Michael Sol ©
 

A Little Joe is on the point as an eastbound charges through Missoula Montana in August of 1971. In less than three years the sun will set on the electrics.
Photo by Michael Sol ©
 
 

E20 leads a westbound past the substation in Avery Idaho. Note the motorcycle that has come along for the ride.
Photo by Michael Sol ©
 
 
 

On a cold, windy day in January of 1974, SD40-2 #22 charges east through the University of Montana campus in Missoula. The head end crew is probably wishing they had a Joe on the point with it's 3000 volt heaters.
Photo by Michael Sol ©
 
 

More snow flies as we see what is likely the X900212 churning through East Portal Montana. The Milwaukee rebuilt two of it's steam rotaries to work off the overhead.They were numbered X900212 and the X900215, the 212 based in Avery while the 215 was in Tacoma. The rotaries had tremendous power when working  on the 3000 volts supplied by the catenary,however they spun the blades faster than the optimum speed of 150 RPM. Sometimes the substation operators would lower the voltage for rotary operation,but normally they were powered by 600 volts supplied by a trailing diesel.
Photo by Ed Kieras, collection of Michael Sol ©

In April, 1974, Ed Kieras was sitting at his desk in the substation office listening to a train go by; suddenly he heard an ominous clackety, clackety, which suggested a boxcar was dragging on the ties. As he reached for his radio, boom, the MG sets flashed over and there was terrific roar from the mouth of Tunnel 20. The boxcars were literally form-fitted into the mouth of the tunnel, destroying the snowshed entirely. The Milwaukee did not have a big enough wrecker east, and the Avery wrecker had to work from inside the tunnel west, so the Milwaukee borrowed the Northern Pacific's big wrecker stationed at Missoula, and that is what is working here, with East Portal sub in the background. Michael Sol.
Photo by Ed Kieras, collection of Michael Sol ©
 

So, as a result, since the end of the electrification was only a few weeks away, repair of the trolley was not authorized, and the Joes had to drop their pans just east of East Portal, before raising them inside the tunnel. Michael Sol
Photo by Ed Kieras, collection of Michael Sol ©
 
 

Missoula's beautiful station looms in the distance in this view from the cab of Little Joe E21. October,1973.
Photo by Michael Sol ©
 
 
 
 

One of the Joes leads an eastbound into Alberton Montana for a crew change. In the later years of the electrification,the Joes more or less became helpers,being added to the point of trains at Avery and Harlowton instead of replacing the diesels. The tremendous horsepower of the Joes, along with their high speed capabilities helped keep the diesels "wound up" above transition speed, generally around 24 MPH.Without the Joes for help, the diesels would fall below this speed and end up lugging their way up the hill,if they made it at all.
Photo by Michael Sol ©

An eastbound is ready to go with a Joe on the point while a westbound works the yard with some Coast Division GE's.

Does it get any better than this?
Photo © Michael Sol