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Greetings and Welcome to The 405 Coffee Break with O.K. Solberg
New episodes tend to air over the local KMMR radio station @ 5 minutes past 4PM each M-F. And have been doing so, nearly every week since Sept 2018.
New episodes appear here usually within a few hours after that KMMR air time and been striving to post new releases here by 4:30PM.
I want again welcome you out of The 4:05 Coffee Break. Guys, hot off the press today. Stick around. Get your cup of coffee, glass iced tea, bottle of water. Let's see what's happening.
OK Solberg:Spring wheat $6.19 a bushel, 550lb steer calf, $4.20-4.35, a 100lb fat lamb in Billings at $2.60 to $2.80 a pound. But guys, there's more, much more.
OK Solberg:Okay. It's our son, Tony's birthday. Happy birthday, Tony, born back in 1992, October 20th. Hey. Look at me. I'm an old man. Now the news hot off the press. Any local historian in Phillips County can tell you that Bowdoin was once a booming town and that Bowdoin boasted a railroad roundhouse.
OK Solberg:Well, shoot. You can even go out there today and go north of the tracks and see the concrete skeleton of the roundhouse foundation. Well, it's still visible to our eye as we walk around in the prairie grass and still visible from Google Earth. Yes.
OK Solberg:So local historians can tell you all this, and they can tell you that 1920, the railroad moved the roundhouse out and rebuilt it in Havre, Montana. Those facts, many people can verify.
OK Solberg:But the hard question to answer is why? Why? Why did the railroad move that costly roundhouse out of Bowdoin? If you remember, I Orvin Solberg, had my own hypothesis on the why.
OK Solberg:I hypothesized that it was because Highway 2 was platted out in 1919 and the highway didn't go through Bowdoin. Well, good try Orvin, but no cigar. That's wrong. So in other words, I'm publicly admitting that I was wrong.
OK Solberg:And guys, I like to know when I'm wrong because I like to learn and nobody knows everything, especially me. So let me tell you what I believe was the real reason why they moved the roundhouse out of Bowdoin.
OK Solberg:When you hear my new hypothesis, you will certainly say, oh, sure. That makes perfect sense. Now remember, I said it's still my hypothesis. It hasn't been proved into theory yet, but I will be in contact with the railroad archives in Minneapolis and I'll report back to you.
OK Solberg:Now sit back children and listen to the why. A steam engine requires a number of things to operate. But one of the key items to make the steam engine run is water. Really? Yes.
OK Solberg:Sure. It's hard to make steam without water, and that's why the railroad moved the roundhouse out of Bowdoin. Guys, I believe it is because of the high alkali content. The water had high sodium. Go out to Bowdoin Wildlife Refuge and notice the white powder on the ground to this day.
OK Solberg:Alkali. When you have a steam engine that requires water, you need to have that water usable within the boiler. Highly concentrated alkali in a steam locomotive's boiler would cause foaming, carry water into the steam lines while also contributing to scale deposits and corrosion under certain conditions.
OK Solberg:These problems reduced boiler efficiency, damaged equipment, and could create dangerous operating conditions. From what I can find so far, the railroad was aware of the high alkali content.
OK Solberg:They knew it could cause a problem, so they did something to curb this problem. They dug a deep well. Guys, makes sense. You have to have good water for a steam engine. If the surface water is contaminated, well, go deep, boys. Go deep.
OK Solberg:So they punched a well, tested the water, the results turned back fine for boiler operation. Well, with that information gathered, the railroad gave the go ahead to construct the roundhouse in Bowdoin, Montana. Boom. Boom. It's up and running.
OK Solberg:But as they pumped tens of thousands of gallons from the deep well, that continued to extract surrounding groundwater through the soil and underlying geological formations replenishing the well with water that restored its high alkali concentration.
OK Solberg:The railroad called it the big mistake. Havre Montana called it the great gift. Wow. What about that then? Call the doctor and shout out the news. Now I just thought you'd like to know.
OK Solberg:I believe it's true, but I'll share more when I prove it absolutely. But that just makes sense, doesn't it? There had to be a why they moved it out, and I believe now we know.
OK Solberg:Understand also that the 1st diesel engine for the railroad came in 1925. So if they could've used that water for a little longer in Bowdoin, things on the High Line might look totally different than today. Can you imagine if Bowdoin had become the Havre of today?
OK Solberg:Listen to this bible verse from Proverbs 19:21. Many are the plans in the minds of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. Again, Proverbs 19 verse 21.
OK Solberg:Neat in the fact that in 1921, the roundhouse had vanished like a candle snuffed out in the Montana wind.
OK Solberg:So until next time, as you go out there, remember now, don't be bitter.