THE CONNECTING LINE: Re-Imagining the Train's Identity in Montana's Historic Railroad Towns

Abstract

This thesis proposes that Montana towns need to establish new, healthier relationships between the railroad corridors and the communities they divide. Once the primary mode of transportation for goods and people, the railroad brought life to the developing region and served as an organizer for commerce and civic activity. Today, as these towns have grown and as alternative modes of transportation have supplanted travel by rail, Montana’s train corridors have fallen out of relationship with the towns they once established. Once the hallmark of westward expansion in the late 19th century, these now industrial pieces of infrastructure act as physical barriers in the city and have become isolated utilitarian conditions devoid of human activity. This thesis contends that these industrial train corridors should be re-imagined to function as mixed-use, multi-modal spaces that support other facets of city life and provide new levels of access to public recreation, small business development and various living and learning accommodations. The proposed integration of infrastructure and civic amenity will expand the role of the working railroad to serve more than just itself, but to also serve the city and its inhabitants to facilitate healthier and more sustainable futures for Montana’s railroad towns.