The Clearwater Terminal is a modern proto-freelanced HO (1:87) layout in a compact 7'x11' office designed with social and realistic operations in mind. Set in the rugged hills of Western Montana this layout serves the town of Clearwater and it's surrounding industrial district. The CT is imagined as a modern industrial service railroad with some occasional eccentric operating practice but it serves the goal of an operational layout the owner enjoys. Welcome aboard Your Clearwater Rail LInk!
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Layout Premise
Layout Premise
The Clearwater Terminal, corporately known as the Clearwater, Seeley Lake & Pacific (CSLP), is a Class III short line railroad operating in western Montana during the spring and summer seasons of the early 2020s. CSLP provides terminal service between Edmonds Landing, Clearwater and the Clearwater North Industrial District. Edmonds Landing lies railroad east of Clearwater Junction, a historic interchange point on the former Milwaukee Road main line, now owned and operated by BNSF. CSLP interchanges with BNSF at Clearwater Junction, providing the railroad’s primary connection to the national rail network. Clearwater North lies railroad east of Clearwater and provides an interchange with another Class III railroad, the Kalispell Southern.
The trackage was owned by then Burlington Northern Sante Fe until 2019 when it's operating contract was put up for sale. The local consortium of local business owners and national short line investors won the bidding war against major players in the short line market to bring the railroad to life. Following major rehabilitation of the physical plant traffic began a slow but steady increase. Carloads rose by 14% over the first three years. This allowed the Clearwater Pacific to be purchased outright in 2024.
Bucking the national trend of mile long trains and Precision Scheduled Railroading the CLSP thrives on local traffic, direct customer communication and operating transparency ensuring efficient and on time performance.
The Clearwater Terminal is operated as a living, developing railroad rather than a fixed historical snapshot. While its identity loosely aligns with the modern era, the district’s timeline advances through real operational change—new motive power arriving as needs evolve, crews training and refining their craft, and operating practices improving through experience. Traffic patterns, infrastructure, and connections grow unevenly, reflecting markets being proven and lines still taking shape. Each operating session represents another step forward, with change treated not as a reset but as the natural history of a railroad built on new connections, practical decisions, and continual progress.
The goal of a railroad in the office has always been operations. To come home after work and enjoy my own little world where the tiny citizens depend on the work we do to keep living their 1/87th size lives. The idea has many parents but Mike and Dan are two of my biggest supporters, having put up with me ramblig on about my dreams and plans for the layout. So it was only fitting that they were the first ever operating session crew. As the layout grows it's been decided the second Sunday of each month will be devoted to operations. I hope to take you a long on the journey.
All Aboard!
James Maxwell, CSLP Superintendent and CEO
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