Doran

I. Background

Near Hardin, Montana, railroad tracks of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company (“Burlington”) run north and south parallel to Montana Highway 87. Somewhere thereabouts, a short gravel road leads from Highway 87 in a southwestwardly direction. Approximately ninety-four feet from Highway 87, the gravel road crosses the Burlington’s railroad tracks at a sharp angle (roughly 45 degrees) as it heads into the parking lot of Cenex, a privately-owned com- mercial grain elevator. The gravel road also provides access to a number of residences that lie beyond Cenex’s facility.

Burlington did not build the gravel road, the pertinent por- tions of which lie on land owned by the State of Montana or by Burlington. Rather, Cenex’s predecessor constructed the gravel road pursuant to a permit from the Montana Depart- 1590 DORN v. BURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTA FE ment of Transportation (“MDT”) in 1968. Burlington none- theless installed a stop sign with a railroad-crossing symbol at the edge of the tracks — albeit without crossing gates or warning lights.

In 1975, a truck traveling west on the gravel road across Burlington’s tracks was struck by a southbound train.…