Montana's coal mining history dates back to the late 1880s, when the black gold was discovered in the state's rich soils
By the early 1990s rail lines enabling the transport of Montana coal from mine to market began sprouting across Montana, effectively changing the course of Montana's coal mining history. With the necessary infrastructure in place, Montana's abundant coal reserves were ready to see the light of day and the Montana coal mining industry was poised to make history.
One of the rail lines that made it into Montana's coal mining history books is the Montana, Wyoming and Southern (MW&S), a privately owned rail line completed in 1906. The MW&S was a short line built in the early days of Montana's coal history with the intention of getting bought out by the mother of Montana railroads: Northern Pacific Railway. Its owners recognized the profit potential of the high-grade coal deposits found in Carbon County, especially along the Bearcreek stream, and hoped Northern Pacific would bite.
As Montana's coal mining history unfolded, Northern Pacific showed sporadic interest in acquiring the MW&S, but never actually did. Instead, Northern Pacific opted to control the short line by virtue of dominating the transportation industry in Montana and holding the key to major Montana coal distribution terminuses. Northern Pacific knew well that without its vast coal-hauling network, MW&S would shrivel up, as would the Montana coal mines it served, and it pulled those levers to its advantage.
But alas, after almost a half century of operation, the Montana, Wyoming and Southern rail line became history. Unable to recover from the Great Depression's impacts on the Montana coal mining industry, during which time Bearcreek's high-quality coal saw a 35 percent drop in production and sales, the MW&S rolled into its final stop in 1945.
Rail lines like the MW&S had a profound impact on Montana's coal mining history, aiding in the dramatic increase of Montana coal production. Today, Montana coal mines yield about 40 million tons of coal each year, compared to just a few thousand tons produced in the early days of the Montana coal mining industry. And with the largest and highest-quality coal reserves in the county, the state is ready to keep making coal mining history.
