Montana Rail Link's Gas Local heads west near Donlan, Montana (just west of Toole), in the late afternoon. Donlan sits on MRL's 4th Subdivision between St. Regis, and Paradise. Typically, MRL's Gas Local takes the 10th Subdivision from De Smet to Paradise, but since the local has extra tonnage, it will avoid the 2.2 percent grade of the 10th. The extra tonnage is the string of MRL boxcars behind the power which are headed for storage in Paradise.
Landscape photography is difficult due to the challenge of combining good light and good scenery. Good railroad photography enters another level of complexity since it requires the first two while there is a train in view.