The Clearwater Pacific

The Clearwater Pacific is a modern proto-freelanced HO (1:87) office layout designed with operations in mind. Set in the rugged hills of Western Montana this layout serves it's namesake towns and the local industries located there. The CSLP is imagined as a modern short line with some very eccentric operating practices but it serves the goal of an operational layout the owner enjoys. Welcome aboard the Tamarack Route!

Layout Premise

The Clearwater Pacific Railway, 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 freight service between Edmonds Landing and Clearwater, with its long-term planning and corporate identity oriented eastward toward Seeley Lake. Edmonds Landing lies 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.

Although rail service was never extended beyond Clearwater, early plans for a line east to Seeley Lake were partially realized through completed grading, surveying, and the establishment of right-of-way ownership. That unbuilt extension, long dormant under prior operators, was inherited by CSLP along with the active railroad. Today, the Seeley Lake route represents a tangible and deliberate future objective, with CSLP positioned as the first operator prepared to complete the original vision.

Within Clearwater, CSLP serves and manages rail access to the Clearwater Industrial District, including the Blue Star Rail Park. While individual tenants operate their own businesses, CSLP functions as both common carrier and industrial steward, coordinating switching, access, and rail service across the district. This role reflects the railroad’s responsibility for inherited industrial trackage and leasehold property and ensures reliable access and orderly operations for on-line customers.

Traffic on the CSLP is light but steady, supporting regular operations and a strong emphasis on switching. A single daily train performs all work between Edmonds Landing and Clearwater, handling interchange traffic, serving the Blue Star Rail Park, and switching the industries within the Clearwater Industrial District. Operations are deliberate and methodical, reflecting the realities of a small railroad focused on consistency, reliability, and leaving the railroad in a known condition at the end of each operating day.

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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The Clearwater Pacific Railway is operated as a living, developing railroad rather than a fixed historical snapshot. While its identity loosely aligns with the modern era, CSLP’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.