Bob and Liz Jenkins have plans for a continuing expansion of their love affair with the railroad.
Twenty years ago...
July 24, 2003
Take a ride on the Canyon Falls and Western Railway
By Patricia Swan Smith
Bob Jenkins has been playing with trains ever since he was a little boy. While many abandon their childhood hobbies, Bob's just kept growing. And thanks to his love for trains, the Seeley -Swan Valley has a wonderful treat to enjoy - a passenger railway complete with an engine, two passenger cars and a caboose.
"His unnatural progression with trains went from childhood to adulthood and from the garage to the house to all over the yard," says his partner and wife, Liz Jenkins, as she smiles with pride.
"I used to decorate my house with animal stuff, then I gave him one wall for railroad stuff, and it has ended up being the whole living room."
Bob started building his Canyon Falls & Western Railway four summers ago. The ¼ mile long track 15" Gauge Miniature Railway is now open for business Wednesday through Sunday.
He put in the entire track and hung the antiques he collected to help educate the kids (and adults) about how railroads operated past and present. He took the engine out of his Toyota to run the locomotive.
Thirty-five years ago...
July 28, 1988
Seeley fires contained
A 30-acre fire which started east of Seeley Lake last Friday afternoon was controlled on Monday. More than 100 firefighters worked on the blaze on Saturday and Sunday. At one point, Morrell Lookout appeared to be in the path of the fire and lookout personnel were asked to leave the area as a precautionary measure.
The fire was apparently man-caused and swept rapidly up the steep slopes of Morrell Mountain, hampering efforts to build fire lines.
Dave Sisk, assistant fire management officer in the Seeley Lake Ranger District, is asking huckleberry pickers and other recreationists to use extreme caution in the woods now.
Monday night a fire was started near Lake Inez when a tree fell over a power line and sparks started a fire beneath the lines. Quick action of local homeowners stopped the fire, according to Sisk. Forest Service crews responded with their water tender truck.
"We're jumping on fires as fast as possible. We're not taking any chances." Sisk said, adding that fire forces – the people who fight the fires - are limited right now. Seeley Lake crews have been called to fight fires in Yellowstone Park and eastern Montana.
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