Dinner Train is Back on the Rail

Charlie Russel’s Chew Choo Is Chugging Again 

The Charlie Russell Chew Choo features a full-course prime rib meal, music, train robbers, saloon girls, breathtaking scenery and narration on the life and times of “The Cowboy Artist.”

By Charlie Denison

Few historical figures have done more to immortalize the West than Charlie Russell, a St. Louis native who came out to Montana Territory and captured the culture on paper and canvas. His paintings gained much popularity during his era, and today they serve as historical artifacts that bring the lore of those wild and free days back to life.

Much of Charlie’s most revered work featured the landscape in and around central Montana, and this community celebrates his legacy in a unique way. In 1994, the Lewistown Area Chamber of Commerce established the Charlie Russell Chew Choo, a premier dinner train that makes a 56-mile roundtrip journey from Kingston Junction to Denton. It features a full-course prime rib meal (catered by Harry’s Place), musical entertainment, train robbers, saloon girls, breathtaking scenery and narration on the life and times of “The Cowboy Artist.

The seven train cars fill up quickly, with visitors from all over the United States, as well as from Canada, Scotland, England and elsewhere. For many, the train’s appeal is the nostalgia involved. This is especially evident in some of the older riders.

“My father always loved trains,” a passenger said recently. “Having the opportunity to take him on the Charlie Russell and share his interest in trains meant a lot to me. It’s one of the memories with him I’ll cherish the most.”

There is much to cherish about the Charlie Russell Chew Choo experience. As passengers step off the train and thank the coordinator, they often share a variety of favorite moments: maybe it’s the landscape, maybe it’s going over the three trestle bridges (one of which — the Sage Creek Trestle — was used in the filming of the 1996 action film “Broken Arrow”) or into the half-mile Hoosac tunnel. 

For children, highlights often involve the outlaws, some of whom are rumored to be descendants of Kid Curry’s Hole-in-the-Wall Gang. These men and women are part of Winifred’s Salt Creek Gang, and they put on a Hollywood-worthy Wild West shootout outside an old, abandoned saloon.

People are startled and excited — especially the kids — as the outlaws come on board and stick up the passengers. The kids might get a little nervous, but they realize there is nothing to worry about, as the cowboys are courteous and playful. After all, the Chew Choo is a family-friendly affair from beginning to end.

Although Charlie Russell spent the bulk of his time in Great Falls, it was central Montana that first captivated him. This is evident in the wide-open prairies he captures so well in paintings like “The Toll Collectors,” “The Jerkline” and “The First Furrow.”

It was in central Montana that Charlie first got a job as a wrangler. He was a nighthawk, keeping the cattle together in the evenings. According to Western historian Gayle Shirley, he found this work “pleasant and peaceful.”

“He sang to the sleepy animals and gazed in wonder at the stars,” she wrote in “Charlie’s Trail: The Life and Art of C.M. Russell.” 

Charlie held this job for 11 years, working for several big outfits in the area. He enjoyed the opportunity to work at night and paint during the day — a schedule he did not take for granted. This opportunity to paint the vast prairies and mountains, the wild men and the wildlife, shaped Charlie as an artist and as a man. It’s this era of his life the train celebrates, as Charlie Russell is just as much a part of central Montana as central Montana is a part of him.

For more information on the Charlie Russell Chew Choo, call (406) 535-5436 or go to www.montanadinnertrain.com.