CMSP&P Small Creek (1) Tunnel 23

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The Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad stretched from Chicago to Seattle. Their mainline was 2,200 miles long and included 51 tunnels. These were numbered from 1 in Wisconsin to 52 in Washington State (38 and 39 were never built, while 16.5 was added later). The CMSP&P was merged into the Soo Line Railroad at the end of 1985.
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This portion of the Olympian Hiawatha route has been called one of the most breathtaking scenic stretches of railroad in the country. The "crown jewel" of rail-to-trail mountain bicycle trails is operated by Lookout Pass Ski Area which is located adjacent to I-90 at the Idaho/Montana state line, 12 miles east of historic Wallace, Idaho.

Winding through 10 tunnels and 7 high trestles, this 15-mile route crosses the rugged Bitterroot Mountains between Idaho and Montana. The Route of the Hiawatha is best known for the long, dark St. Paul Pass, or Taft Tunnel, which burrows for 1.66 miles under the Idaho/Montana state line.

With an incredible history beginning in 1906 of construction, hardships and calamities, unprecedented electrification, and of carrying passengers and freight from the Northwest to the Midwest, generations of railroaders kept the Milwaukee Road running until it finally went bankrupt in 1977. The last train west of Butte, Montana passed through in 1980. After that the line was abandoned.

With government funding and private donations, the rails were removed, and the construction of this spectacular wilderness bicycle and hiking trail was undertaken in 1997. The Idaho portion of the trail first opened for public use on May 29, 1998. The St. Paul Pass, or Taft Tunnel, was completed in May of 2001, and is now open for bike riding.

However, Tunnel 23 is closed.