After restoring the Great Northern Railroad’s only remaining Bruck, Whitefish historian Paul Snyder was selected as a 2026 recipient of the Montana Historical Society’s Heritage Keeper Award.  

The Bruck’s roots go back to the early 20th century, when a one-coach rail line called the Galloping Goose carried mail, passengers and freight from Whitefish and Columbia Falls to Kalispell for nearly half a century. For economic reasons, Great Northern discontinued this short train in 1950. 

Shortly thereafter, Great Northern ordered a rare, custom-designed bus/truck unit called the Bruck, No. 101, from Kenworth Motor Truck Corporation, to run the discontinued route. 

The 44,000-pound rail car on wheels was equipped with a 220-horsepower engine. Painted like a signature orange and green rail car, it looked like a runaway train as it traveled down U.S. 93 on its first trip to Kalispell on July 17, 1951.  

The Bruck was a workhorse. It averaged six daily round trips to Kalispell for the next 20 years. The front section could accommodate 20 passengers with overhead baggage while the rear could carry seven tons of freight.   

After Amtrak took over rail passenger service in 1972, the Great Northern's Bruck became part of a bygone era. The combo vehicle was later auctioned off.  

Fast forward to the turn of the century, and the Bruck was spotted in a boneyard in Great Falls. Connie Hoffman of Great Falls purchased the dilapidated vehicle in honor of her husband, Larry, and donated it to Whitefish's Stumptown Historical Society.  

Stumptown Historical Society Director Jill Evans said Paul Synder, a board member, took on the restoration of the Bruck on his own. The massive undertaking required up to $50,000 worth of fundraising.  

"He was so incredibly involved with the backbreaking labor of this kind of project," Evans said. "He's just a man who got things done. A fantastic man, curious, driven, dogged."  

Molly Kruckenberg, director of the Montana Historical Society, said Snyder represents the heart of heritage keeping, as the Bruck restoration was just one highlight among Snyder's 30-plus years as a dedicated steward of Montana's history. 

A Malta graduate raised on the Hi-Line, Snyder graduated from the University of Montana and served in the Air Force for 11 years before working for Western Airlines. He retired in 1995, giving him time for preservation and woodworking. 

Snyder lived in Whitefish for about 20 years, where he served for the Stumptown Historical Society and Kiwanis International. His historic efforts span the state, from the Phillips County Museum in his hometown to the Montana Heritage Commission in Virginia City. At The History Museum in Great Falls, he guided the 2007 archives move, oversaw facility repairs and hand-crafted the woodwork for the Ozark Club room. 

Snyder also traveled the state to photograph and research historic backbars, culminating in the book “Make Mine a Ditch: Beautiful Backbars Under the Big Sky." 

“I have always been intrigued by the beautiful, ornate backbars in saloons," Snyder wrote. "My appreciation of the age, woodwork, artistic appearance, and variety of backbars, grew with time.  

"I felt compelled to capture as much history and as many photographs as possible of the backbars remaining. A limited number remain in use and they are disappearing for several reasons: age, fire, economics, population changes, and antique value as home decor, to name a few." 

The title of the book is a reference to early days in Montana, when bad whiskey was mixed with bad water to make "ditch water."  

The book features 40 backbars, including Whitefish's Palace Bar. In 2021, Snyder estimated there were about 50 to 55 backbars left in the state.  

Snyder and his wife Ann moved from Whitefish to Great Falls in 2006. Ann passed peacefully in 2018 at 80. Snyder survived a stroke in recent years. 

"His roots run deep," Evans said. "He was always concerned about our ability to know and appreciate whose shoulders we stand on." 

Evans was an advocate for Snyder's nomination for the Montana Heritage Keeper Award, which he accepted in July. 

For more information on the Montana Historical Society and Heritage Awards, visit https://mths.mt.gov or contact [email protected].

    Paul Snyder was presented with the Heritage Keeper Award by the Montana Historical Society. (Photo provided)
  

    The Bruck being hauled from Great Falls to Whitefish. Photo provided.