DISTINCTLY MONTANA MAGAZINE
•
WINTER 2022-23
20
BA&P TRAIL
BUTTE, MONTANA
LENGTH: 4.1 miles
ADA ACCESSIBLE: Yes, on paved segments
HIGHLIGHTS: Headframes, Big Butte Open Space,
World Museum of Mining (April through October)
Film location for the 1985 action thriller Runaway Train with
Jon Voight, the Butte Anaconda and Pacific (BA&P) Railroad is
a fun and family-friendly way to take in Butte's historic mining
landscape. First incorporated in 1891 to carry copper ore from
Butte's mineyards to the smelters in Anaconda, the 30-mile short
line was the nation's first freight line to electrify. The line closed
in 1985 at the same time as the smelters.
Today, you can walk or bike southwest from the trail's start on
Wyoming Street through historic neighborhoods, taking in the
headframes at Kelley, Mountain Con, Steward, Original, and An-
selmo mines along the way. You can branch off to the Big Butte
Open Space, or keep heading southwest to the World Museum of
Mining, open April through October (though underground tours
have been known to occur in the winter). If you keep going, you
can hook up with the Silver Bow Creek Greenway and enjoy a
case study in Butte's "phoenix from the ashes" saga following its
Superfund designation.
FIRST INCORPORATED
IN 1891 TO CARRY COPPER ORE FROM BUTTE
TO ANACONDA, THIS WAS THE NATION'S
FIRST ELECTRIFIED FREIGHT LINE.
THOMPSON PARK
BUTTE
SHERMAN CAHILL (2)
