A postcard view of the "Last Chancer" tour train at the Veterans and Pioneers Memorial Building, late 1950s. The tour train was created in 1954 under the auspices of "Helena, Unlimited", a not-for-profit corporation organized by the Helena Chamber of Commerce.

An updated " Last Chancer" still operates today, taking passengers on a narrated tour of Helena's historic sites. A second train was added in 1993. The Last Chancer Tour Train website.

The information presented on the tours is a mix of factual history, inaccurate history, and tall tales that the drivers make up.

The veracity problem has been ongoing for a very long time, despite efforts by local historians (including the late Ellen Baumler) to correct it. Consequently, thousands of tourists come away with false impressions of the city. Helena's colorful history does not need embellishment, and the facts are easy to find.

The falsehoods and misrepresentations are many, but one whopper that persists on the tour is that Benton Avenue was the terminus of the Benton Road, the overland wagon route that connected Helena with St. Louis, Missouri, via the river port of Fort Benton, Montana. The claim is made that Benton Ave. was the main freight route into town, ending at Reeder's Alley, and that the stone Benton Ave. retaining wall above Park Avenue was built for that purpose. The truth is that Benton Avenue was never part of the Benton Road, no wagon freight came in that way, for obvious logistical reasons. The retaining wall was built in 1893, a decade after rail service came to Helena.

Tour train drivers have also presented as fact a version of the unproven story that a World War II pilot flew a fighter plane between the spires of the Cathedral of Saint Helena.

Also, the replica of the Liberty Bell on the Capitol campus was not, contrary to what the driver might tell you, cast at the same foundry that made the Statue of Liberty -- which wasn't even cast.

Thomas Francis Meagher (the figure on the equestrian statue in front of the Capitol building), did not design the flag of Ireland.

The list goes on and on.

There were apparently even wilder tales in the past -- public hangings on the courthouse lawn, underground labyrinths of Chinese tunnels with opium dens.

Such hooey is harmless enough if it is presented as being just tall tales, but it is typically presented as historical fact. Plus, the tour train is headquarted at the Montana Historical Society, which gives an unearned endorsement to the material presented on the tours. One important consideration is that groups of school children are taken on the tours, and they should be told the truth.

We can only speculate why train drivers tell these tales. One motivation might be to put on a memorable show for the patrons, with hopes of good tips at the end of the tours. Unfortunately, Helena's history ends up getting short-changed.

A city-wide contest was held in June of 1954 to name the train, which was at first little more than a gold-painted jeep pulling three cars. Some of the names suggested were "Sacajawea", "Gulch Express" and "The Six Shooter". The maiden run of "The Last Chancer" (winning name submitted by Mrs. S. J. Zahara) occured on June 15, 1954. For several years, tours began at the Great Northern depot (now demolished), at the intersection of Neill Ave. and Fuller.

During the winter of 1954-55, the jeep was upgraded to look like a locomotive at the State Training School in Boulder. It was designed by Harold Jensen and executed by Clem LaVinge.

Publicity photo of the first Last Chancer, taken at the Old Brewery Theater, June 14 1954. This was the day before the official inaugural run of the Tour Train. Seated on the train are numerous local notables of the day, including Montana Governor J. Hugo Aronson behind the wheel.

The train made its maiden run the following day with H. S. "Hi" Dotson, Norman B. Holter, Mr. and Mrs. A. T. Hibbard, Mr. and Mrs. Marc Buterbaugh, Fred Heinecke, George Vucanovich, Vernon Cougill, Mr. and Mrs. John Quigley, James Dion, Harold L Paulsen, P. W. Singer, Neil MacLean, C. F. Mueller, Larry Graham, Mrs. Sherman W. Smith, Eugene Fehlig, John G. Thompson, Clem Meyer and Bryant B. Anderson aboard.