The Pedersen Collection

The largest HO scale collection of Milwaukee Road models in the United States tells the story of railroads in Central Montana including the Montana Railroad (the Jawbone), the Milwaukee Road, the White Sulphur Springs & Yellowstone Park Railroad, the BNSF and Montana Rail Link.

Harlowton was first known as Merino, Montana. A stage stop, Merino was a combination saloon, post office, general store and stable. Merino’s few residents enticed Richard Harlow to bring his railroad (The Montana railroad) to Merino in exchange for naming the “town” after him. Harlow bit and Harlowton was platted in 1900 by The Montana Railroad Company. The first lot was sold to a barber.

The Montana railroad depot and yard were located behind the current Wheatland County Courthouse and the Catholic Church. The Milwaukee Road bought The Montana Railroad and moved the depot and yard to their current location.

The Montana Railroad (the Jawbone) was founded by Helena attorney Richard Harlow. Wanting to connect Helena to Castle and the Musselshell Valley, Harlow started The Montana in 1896. In spite of the abandonment of Castle in 1989, Harlow grew The Montana until it reached Lewistown. In 1908 the Milwaukee bought The Montana and incorporated it into the Milwaukee’s system. Most famous for the “Eagle’s Nest” tunnel south of Ringling, this section of the Milwaukee became critical to the railroad’s success. Harlowton was the eastern terminus of the Milwaukee’s electrified system across Montana and Idaho and served as the main line terminus for the Milwaukee’s branch lines to Lewistown, Great Falls, and northern Montana.

This collection includes over 550 models – some 450 models of the Milwaukee Road are found here. It is the largest collection of Milwaukee Road models in the United States today.

Assembled by the Pedersen Family, with a major contribution by Emmet “Ty” Typolt’s children, the collection continues to grow. The Milwaukee Road collection is limited to equipment that actually saw service in Harlowton.

John and Ida Belle Pedersen were life long residents of Harlowton, Montana. John retired off the Milwaukee Road after 30 years of service. Ida Belle was Harlowton’s pastry chef for many years. She baked cakes, pies and cookies and other treats for several Harlowton restaurants including Murray’s Café.

Important to this collection is the model train layout of Emmet “Ty’ Typolt. Ty was a Milwaukee Road employee who owned a model train store in Helena for three decades after his retirement. Ty died in 2009 at the age of 91. Ty’s children donated the layout to the museum in Ty’s memory.

If you would like to contribute funds or models to this collection, please contact a museum docent or the curator.