Billings station is a historic train depot in the Historic District of downtown

Billings, Montana Billings is the most populous Lists of populated places in the United States, city in the U.S. state of Montana, with a population of 117,116 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located in the south-central portion of the state, i ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The depot was constructed to serve as a passenger station for the

Northern Pacific Railway The Northern Pacific Railway was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. It was approved and chartered b ...

, Great Northern and

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, CB&Q, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado ...

. All three railroad merged to form the

Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

in 1970, along with the

Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway The Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway (SP&S; ) was a railroad in the northwest United States. Incorporated in 1905, it was a joint venture by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway to build a railroad along the north bank ...

. In 1971 Amtrak took over passenger service throughout the country. The station has been a contributing property on the Billings Historic District since 1978, listed as the Northern Pacific Depot. The last regular

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

train, the ''

North Coast Hiawatha The ''North Coast Hiawatha'' was a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington. The train was a successor to the Northern Pacific Railway's '' North Coast Limited'' and '' Mainstreeter'' ...

'', departed in October 1979. Today, the depot has been renovated into a popular events center.

External links

Official Website

References

Buildings and structures in Billings, Montana Former Amtrak stations in Montana Former Great Northern Railway (U.S.) stations Former Northern Pacific Railway stations Former Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad stations Railway stations in the United States opened in 1909 Historic district contributing properties in Montana 1882 establishments in Montana Territory 1979 disestablishments in Montana National Register of Historic Places in Yellowstone County, Montana Railway stations on the National Register of Historic Places in Montana Repurposed railway stations in the United States Railway stations in the United States closed in 1979 {{Montana-NRHP-stub