The Twin Meadows Tunnel is on the GN line between Whitefish and Libby. It
is also known as the Flathead Tunnel. This tunnel was built as part of the
Libby Line Change that was started under GN and completed under BN.
When Libby Dam was built on the Kootenai River, it would form Lake
Koocanusa from Riverview, Mt. to past the Canadian border. The creation of
this lake would flood the GN line from Rexford to Riverview, and required
that the GN be relocated from Stryker to Riverview, a distance of about 60
miles. The original line from Stryker was kept as a branch line as far as
Eureka, and removed from there West.
The Flathead Tunnel is located in about the middle of the new line, and is
7 miles long. It is the second longest tunnel on the BNSF, and third
largest in North America, after Rogers Pass and Cascade Tunnels.
Glen Haug
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