Western Montana Railroad Historical Association

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Western Montana Railroad Historical Association WMRHA's physical address is 619 N Last Chance Gulch, Helena, Montana 59601, and our mailing address is 620-B Helena Avenue, Helena, MT 59601.

A 501(c)(3) nonprofit whose mission is to educate the public (thru modeling) about 1950-60's railroading in western Montana, and to preserve and present historical railroad artifacts and railroad modeling items relevant to the region. Currently we are only open to the public on Saturdays from 10 AM to 3 PM.

A pair of Joe's could be seen dragging a long string of cars this weekend along the rivers and over the passes at the WM...
09/14/2026

A pair of Joe's could be seen dragging a long string of cars this weekend along the rivers and over the passes at the WMRHA's "Last Chance Layout"!! Stop by some Saturday (10 AM to 3 PM) and see what kind of motive power is struggling up the grades of our western Montana themed (and located) layout!!

08/06/2026

Just doing a little bit more testing of our "cab view" camera car that we built. Shawn was able to add lights so we can now see how the insides of some of our tunnels turned out! Some of them look pretty awesome - others?!?!? ;-) This particular video shows the train coming into Missoula on the Northern Pacific line, stopping at the depot, and then heading back eastbound toward Butte - running past Bonner, Garrison, and Anaconda on the way! Enjoy the Alco FA sounds!!

07/04/2026

One of our members captured this BNSF beauty traveling west across North Dakota on the old Northern Pacific route, heading for it's rendezvous with President Trump to give him a lift into historic Medora, ND!! Go Roughriders!! Good catch Tim!:-)

07/01/2026

Something new at the "Last Chance Layout"!

07/01/2026

The WMRHA has been working on getting and testing equipment that will allow us to provide an "engineer's view" of our layout! This video is an early test, and we hope to add lights and other improvements to our homebuilt "camera car"! This video was taken on our Milwaukee Road tracks, as an eastbound freight (with livestock) leaves the Missoula depot and heads towards Bonner, Garrison, Butte, and is on it's way up Pipestone Pass when the video ends.

06/07/2026

One of our WMRHA members caught this 250th anniversary beauty in the Helena yard! Thanks for sharing C.W.!!

The WMRHA has been doing its part to "dress up" our little section of downtown Helena! Working with our awesome landlor...
06/01/2026

The WMRHA has been doing its part to "dress up" our little section of downtown Helena! Working with our awesome landlord, VEK Railway Supply, and the Helena Business Improvement District ( downtownhelena.com ), we were able to get our vandalized/wind damaged large front window replaced! As we are located on N Last Chance Gulch and right at the entrance to Helena's historic downtown, this new window and frame will make a much more positive impression of Helena for our many out-of-town visitors and guests! Thanks to all involved!!

It's very important to have good track work so that your trains run smoothly, but most layouts don't really come to life...
04/28/2026

It's very important to have good track work so that your trains run smoothly, but most layouts don't really come to life without the effort of artists! A couple of recent additions at the "Last Chance Layout" include the new backdrop behind the Great Northern's Corbin Trestle (thanks Kim B. for the excellent artistry!), and the stained glass light fixture over our helix (thanks Scott and Mindy P.. for the lamp, Bill for glass repair, and Ron for installation!)! There are generally many hands involved with each improvement at our layout, and our visiting guests seem to really appreciate those efforts!!

Montana's largest model train/railroad memorabilia show is coming right up in less than two weeks! The 44th annual Hele...
04/15/2026

Montana's largest model train/railroad memorabilia show is coming right up in less than two weeks! The 44th annual Helena Railroad Fair will be held in Helena, Montana on the last Sunday in April. The WMRHA will have extended hours at our "Last Chance Layout" on Saturday the 25th and Sunday the 26th to accommodate the many out-of-town guests. Saturday hours will be 10 AM to 8 PM, and Sunday hours will be from 11 AM to 5 PM. In addition - the WMRHA will be having 8 tables of model railroad related items to sell at the Railroad Fair! We hope to see you at both the Helena Railroad Fair AND the Last Chance Layout (619 N Last Chance Gulch) on the 26th of April!! Happy Railroading!!

Here are some early Burlington Northern related photos taken by Eugene "Gene" Koch in the vicinity of Mullan Pass, near ...
04/02/2026

Here are some early Burlington Northern related photos taken by Eugene "Gene" Koch in the vicinity of Mullan Pass, near Helena, Montana in June of 1979. An eastbound train led by BN SD45 #6543 leads a bunch of SD45 power into the Mullan Tunnel which goes underneath the Continental Divide. Also shown is the giant blower system which was located at the east portal of the tunnel at that time! Additional photos from this roll of film and others can be found in the Eugene (Gene) C. Koch Railroad Photo collection located on the WMRHA's webpage: wmrha.org

Address

619 N Last Chance Gulch
Helena, MT
P.O.BOX2016,HELENA,MT59624

Opening Hours

10am - 3pm

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