I'm always interested to read about Amish communities that I am unfamiliar with, the sort "off the beaten" path horse and buggy locales. Montana has seen an increasing Amish population over the past decade.  The two largest and best-known communities are in Rexford and St. Ignatius, but there are others dotted around the state.  One of them now finds itself unwittingly in the cross-hairs of railroad and coal interests. Regrettably, American history is full of corporate interests trumping Amish interests.  So I'm not overly optimistic that the Amish in this town aren't going get "railroaded" (pun intended).  Click here to read the full story that is in USA TODAY today. This appears to be a small, conservative community. Such groups are often attracted to the isolation and the arable land found out west.
Wendy P
Interesting that the article pointed out that one of the railroad's owners simply bought a controlling share, and now, surprise, the proposed route no longer goes through *his* land. Nice, with enough money you can force someone else to give up their land and livelihood.
I agree with the landowner who said, "I don't think we ought to sacrifice my ground or my neighbors' ground so some corporation can make a profit by shipping coal to Asia."
Good luck to them.
Heather M
I'm looking forward to hearing more about this as time goes on. Here in Washington, many cities and towns along the proposed rail route don't want the trains running coal through them on their way to Longview. I happen to live in one of those towns and I sure as heck don't want the coal trains coming through Puyallup. I can truly understand why the landowners are up in arms about this. I would be too. I'm rooting for the small guy in this 100%. Those with money should not be allowed to act like "bullies" and force onto others what they themselves don't want. Living in harmony with your fellow man isn't an option for them I guess.