Highlands College welding students build custom fence to protect historic locomotive in Butte
Inside the welding shop at Highlands College, sparks fly as students carefully align square tubing and channel steel, checking measurements before striking an arc. One by one, massive steel panels take shape, each standing nearly 10 feet tall.
The finished product will soon surround and protect a piece of Butte history: the locomotive displayed near the Butte Civic Center.
As part of a community restoration effort, a large gazebo-style roof will be constructed over the locomotive to shield it from the elements. Montana Tech welding students are building the custom fencing that will enclose the structure and prevent vandalism, helping preserve the train for generations to come.
The project includes 20 large steel panels, each roughly 10 feet by 10 feet. By the end of February, 14 were already complete, with students steadily working through the remaining sections. Built from square tubing and channel steel, the fencing has a classic look that complements Butte’s historic character.
“It kind of looks like wrought iron,” Instructor Jim LeProwse said. “It goes with Butte.”
The materials were supplied through a community partnership. The project itself is not-for-profit, and the welding program eagerly accepted the opportunity to contribute.
For students, the project offers important hands-on learning opportunities.
“They learn fabrication,” LeProwse said. “They’ve learned mass production. They’re obviously always working on their welding skills, but teamwork is the biggest thing, because they have to work together to make it work.”
Students were given blueprints and a fabrication jig, then tasked with cutting, aligning and welding hundreds of pieces into uniform panels. Precision has been critical.
“We had to cut 410 of the same size pieces and just make sure that all those pieces were the exact same size so nothing was off when we’re putting the fence together,” said Tawni Schmauch, a second-year student from Dillon who graduates in May. “It’s honestly just been a lot of fun. It’s all new. None of us have done this yet. I think it’s just super cool that the community is entrusting us with this project, and it’s going to be around for a really long time.”
Noah Eney, a second-year student from Cut Bank who graduates in December, said the experience has been both enjoyable and practical.
“It’s been good. I like working with these people. It’s been fun,” Eney said. “Probably the hardest part was getting everything square so it looks good when it’s up on the train.”
Once the gazebo structure is installed and anchored into concrete, students will return to install the fencing panels. The finished steel will be painted before final placement.
For Schmauch, the project directly connects to her work outside the classroom. She works at the Ramsey sale barn, where she repairs metal fencing and gates used in livestock operations.
“Especially because working at the sale barn, I have to make a lot of fences and gates and all sorts of stuff,” she said. “This project helps a lot with that.”
Beyond technical skills like flux-core and stick welding, students are gaining experience in fabrication planning, workflow efficiency and real-world problem solving. The class is highly self-motivated.
“Once I gave them the blueprints and told them what we needed to do, they just ran with it,” LeProwse said. “They’re really good workers. They stay busy all the time.”
When complete, the fence will serve as both a protective barrier and a lasting reminder of collaboration between Montana Tech students and the Butte community, a project built by students, for history.