What on earth do you suppose is this giant contraption? What could it have to do with Glacier National Park? To discover the answers, read on.

Early railroad travel within the northern U. S. was primarily from the east coast's major cities, such as New York, to as far west as Minneapolis. There was no easy way to reach the west coast. In 1879 the Great Northern Railroad, newly reorganized, decided to extend the line from Minneapolis to Seattle, 1665 miles according to a modern road atlas. It was not as if there was absolutely no track in place, some segments of rail lines existed, and by 18...