Asphalt and Sulfur Can Change Things

The railroad bridge collapse last month that spilled tanker cars full of liquid asphalt and molten sulfur into the Yellowstone River was hardly the first indignity the river has suffered.

A broken oil pipeline under the river near Billings a few years ago comes to mind. So does a broken sewer line over the river at Gardiner, to name a few.

The longest free-flowing river in the lower 48 has taken some abuse.

Before the rail line between Livingston and Gardiner was discontinued, trains used to deliver goods and supplies, along with tourists, to Yellowstone Park.

The tracks followed the river through Yankee Jim Canyon and its turbulent whitewater, where a derailment years ago sent at least one boxcar into the deep.

Rumor has it that the door on the boxcar was ajar, allowing trout to swim inside where they found refuge from the current. After a number of years, some of the fish in the boxcar grew too large to get out the door. True or not, monster trout in a train car at the bottom of the river made an interesting story.

Too bad it was tanker cars that fell into the river near Reed Point. They don’t provide as good a habitat for fish as boxcars, although asphalt and sulfur in the water are sure to improve the fishing downstream.

It was unfortunate that the Legislature became so entangled in social issues during the recent session that rail safety and the state’s failing infrastructure weren’t even an afterthought.

The stretch of river affected by the bridge collapse and subsequent derailment isn’t in that part of the Yellowstone considered a blue ribbon fishery, but it offers excellent fishing nonetheless. The summer hopper fishing there is phenomenal. At least it used to be. Asphalt and sulfur can change things.

For 678 miles the Yellowstone River runs relatively unfettered from its start high above Yellowstone Lake to its confluence with the Missouri River at Fort Union. But that’s not to say it isn’t abused along the way.

Sadly, no one seems to be too upset.

Parker Heinlein is at [email protected]