Why Were Locomotive Bells Placed Atop Mountain Passes in Glacier National Park?

The following is a short excerpt from my book, Ramble On: How Hiking Became One of the Most Popular Outdoor Activities in the World:

Did you know that locomotive bells were once placed atop four mountain passes in Glacier National Park? Why were they placed there, who pushed the idea, and what became of them?

To further enhance the Swiss experience for park visitors, W. R. Mills, an advertising agent for the Great Northern Railway, and H. A. Noble, manager of the Glacier Park Hotel Company, requested permission from the park in 1925 to place locomotive bells atop the summits of several passes. According to Donald H. Robinson's administrative history of Glacier National Park, the request originated from on an old Swiss custom of placing bells on mountain tops and passes so that hikers and horseback riders could ring loud bells in the mountains, and signal people in the valleys that they had reached their destination. In September of 1926 the request was finally approved to place bells at Swiftcurrent Pass, Siyeh Pass and Piegan Pass. Three years later a fourth bell was added at Scenic Point in Two Medicine. Visitors continued ringing the bells until the fall of 1943, at which point they were removed by the hotel company and donated to a World War II scrap metal drive.

Although the bells were removed, and most of the backcountry chalets were razed or destroyed, much of the Great Northern Railway network still remains. In addition to most of the trails, the Belton Chalet, Glacier Park Hotel, Many Glacier Hotel, Sperry Chalet and the Granite Park Chalets are all still used by park visitors today.

If you would like to learn more about this fascinating time period during the early years of Glacier National Park, as well as many other stories associated with the history of hiking, you can read them in my book, Ramble On: How Hiking Became One of the Most Popular Outdoor Activities in the World, now available on Amazon



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Glacier National Park preserves more than a million acres of some of the most spectacular scenery on Earth. With more than 740 miles of trails meandering throughout this vast park, how will you find and choose the most scenic and rewarding hikes?

Exploring Glacier National Park takes all the guesswork out by focusing on the most amazing hikes, and provides you with handpicked recommendations that will allow you to make the most of your trip to Glacier: