Pacific Sun Railroad was a shortline railroad in San Diego County, California , that worked on the Escondido Subdivision , the Miramar Branch, and in Stuart Mesa Yard. It was based out of Stuart Mesa Yard in Oceanside . It was owned by Watco .
97-854: The Pacific Sun Railroad commenced operations on October 25, 2008, after being contracted by BNSF . As of October 1, 2020, the Pacific Sun Railroad's contract with BNSF expired and BNSF will once again run local freight operations on the NCTD Escondido Sub and the Miramar Branch off the NCTD San Diego Subdivision . Pacific Sun Railroad ran trains weekdays late at night along the North County Transit District 's Escondido Subdivision , between Oceanside and Escondido , and
194-478: A $ 1.5 billion state of the art master planned rail facility in Southern California, the first such facility developed by a Class I railroad . The Barstow International Gateway, encompassing approximately 4,500 acres (1,800 ha, 7.0 sq mi), an integrated rail facility, will be located on the west side of Barstow, California . This new facility, when built, will enable more efficient rail operations from
291-515: A BN hub where it could interchange with SP (which had rights on BN dating from 1990 ). The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) approved the BNSF merger on July 20, 1995 (with final approval on August 23), less than a month before UP announced on August 3 that it would acquire SP. Parents Burlington Northern Inc. and Santa Fe Pacific Corporation were acquired on September 22, 1995, by the new Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation . The merger of
388-600: A few short sections of trackage rights over BNSF, mainly connecting the SP at Chemult to the UP at Bend, Oregon , and connecting the SP at Mojave, California with existing UP rights on ATSF at Barstow, California . On April 18, 1996, UP, BNSF, and the Chemical Manufacturers Association entered into an agreement giving BNSF rights over the UP line between Houston and East St. Louis , paralleling
485-596: A final freight train on the Leadville-Climax branch in Colorado. On July 1, 1965, Harry Murphy retired from his position as president of the CB&;Q (he remained on the railroad as a director until October), and former Frisco Railway president Louis W. Menk took over as president and CEO. During his presidency, Louis Menk explored ways to reduce costs for the CB&Q's passenger operations and to reshape
582-463: A light, powerful diesel engine that could stand the rigors of continuous, unattended daily service. The experiences of developing these engines can be summed up shortly by General Motors Research vice-president Charles Kettering : "I do not recall any trouble with the dip stick." Ralph Budd, accused of gambling on diesel power, chirped that "I knew that the GM people were going to see the program through to
679-466: A massive 6,000-pound flywheel), and it had issues with overheating (even with the best metals of the day, its cylinder heads and liners would warp and melt in a matter of minutes), so it was therefore deemed impractical. Diesel engines of that era were obese, stationary monsters and were best suited for low-speed, continuous operation. It was not reliable for a railroad locomotive; there was no diesel engine suitable for that purpose then. Always innovating,
776-608: A number of accidents and incidents have occurred on the railway since its inception. As one of the leading supporters of the Operation Lifesaver program to promote safety at railway crossings and rights-of-way, the BNSF Railway, in 2000, established a grade-crossing closure program. This program, in which BNSF works with communities and landowners to identify unnecessary or redundant crossings, has helped close more than 2,900 of BNSF's railway crossings throughout
873-645: A reduced plan, whereby SP acquired trackage rights on ATSF for intermodal and automotive traffic to Chicago, and other trackage rights on ATSF in Kansas , south to Texas, and between Colorado and Texas. In exchange, SP assigned BNSF trackage rights over the former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad between El Paso and Topeka and haulage rights to the Mexican border at Eagle Pass, Texas . Regional Toledo, Peoria and Western Railway also obtained trackage rights over BN from Peoria to Galesburg, Illinois ,
970-585: A small amount of track in Canada, including an approximate 30-mile (48 km) section that runs from the U.S.–Canada border to Vancouver, British Columbia , some tracks and a yard in Winnipeg, Manitoba , approximately 70 miles (110 km) of joint track with the Canadian National Railway , which runs south to the U.S. border at Emerson, Manitoba , and less than a kilometer of trackage at
1067-725: A subsequent public outcry and protest over the program's cancellation, the No. 4960 locomotive pulled the railroad's final excursion train on July 17. The railroad operated a number of streamlined passenger trains known as the Zephyrs which were one of the most famous and largest fleets of streamliners in the United States. The Burlington Zephyr , the first American diesel -electric powered streamlined passenger train, made its noted "dawn-to-dusk" run from Denver, Colorado , to Chicago, Illinois , on May 26, 1934. On November 11, 1934,
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#17327879834071164-628: A subset of the mechanical division, operates two maintenance-of-way work equipment shops, responsible for performing repairs and preventive maintenance to BNSF's track and equipment, in Brainerd, Minnesota and Galesburg, Illinois . The system mechanical division also operates the Western Fruit Express Company's refrigerated car repair shop in Spokane, Washington . On October 1, 2022, BNSF Railway announced plans to construct
1261-610: A total of 33 intermodal hubs and 23 automotive distribution facilities. The BNSF mechanical division operates 13 locomotive maintenance facilities that perform preventive maintenance, repairs and servicing of equipment. The largest of these facilities are located in Alliance, Nebraska and Argentine Yard in Kansas City, Kansas . The mechanical division also controls 46 additional facilities responsible for car maintenance and daily running repairs. The BNSF system mechanical division,
1358-489: Is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads , BNSF has 36,000 employees, 33,400 miles (53,800 km) of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide rail connections between the western and eastern United States. BNSF trains traveled over 169 million miles (272 million kilometers) in 2010, more than any other North American railroad. The BNSF Railway Company
1455-612: Is the principal operating subsidiary of parent company Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC. Headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas , the railroad's parent company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway , Inc., of Omaha, Nebraska . The current CEO is Kathryn Farmer . According to corporate press releases, the BNSF Railway is among the top transporters of intermodal freight in North America. It also hauls bulk cargo , including coal . The creation of BNSF started with
1552-559: The Amtrak Cascades , California Zephyr , Carl Sandburg , Coast Starlight , Empire Builder , Heartland Flyer , Illinois Zephyr , Lincoln Service , Pacific Surfliner , San Joaquin , Southwest Chief , Sunset Limited , and Texas Eagle . After the 2015 Oxnard train derailment , BNSF loaned 40 of their AC4400CWs to Metrolink while their Rotem cab cars received upgrades. These 40 units were converted to PTC. The locomotives have since been returned after
1649-796: The Aurora Branch Railroad in Illinois and the Pacific Railroad of Missouri were formed by a group of millers who were granted a charter to build a 12-mile railroad that connected Aurora with the Galena & Chicago Union Rail Road. The Aurora Branch eventually grew into the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), a major component of successor Burlington Northern . Part of the Pacific Railroad became
1746-883: The BNSF Railway Line for Metra in Chicago and the Sounder in the Puget Sound Region — using BNSF-supplied crews in addition to running over its rails. The company's network additionally hosts other commuter trains , including: Metrolink in Southern California , and the Northstar Line in Minneapolis . The line used by New Mexico Rail Runner Express was sold to the state of New Mexico, but BNSF retained all freight rights on
1843-627: The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad would bypass their towns in favor of West Chicago on its route; at the time, that was the only line running west from Chicago. The Aurora Branch was built from Aurora, through Batavia, to Turner Junction in what is now West Chicago. The line was built with old strap rail and minimal, if any, grading. Using a leased locomotive and cars, the Aurora Branch ran passenger and freight trains from Aurora to Chicago via its own line from Aurora to Turner Junction and one of
1940-532: The Houston area: west over UP to San Antonio , with a branch to Waco , and continuing over SP to Eagle Pass (replacing the haulage rights they had just obtained); south over UP to Brownsville ; east over SP to New Orleans (including the purchase of this line east of Lake Charles ); and northeast over SP to Memphis with a branch on UP to Little Rock . Ownership of a short connection between Waxahachie and Dallas also went from UP to BNSF. UP, in return, got
2037-697: The Midwest on former BN lines. Depending on where the markets are, this grain may move in any direction in unit trains or wait in silos for demand to rise. Most commonly, grain may move west on the Northern Transcon to the Pacific Northwest and its export terminals, or south to ports in Texas and the Gulf of Mexico . The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway 's main contribution to BNSF
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#17327879834072134-707: The Miramar Spur off of the NCTD San Diego Subdivision. Pacific Sun used four locomotives. Two EMD GP35 units originally owned by Seaboard Air Line , and two EMD GP40 units originally owned by Western Pacific Railroad . This United States rail–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about transportation in California is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . BNSF Railway BNSF Railway ( reporting mark BNSF )
2231-873: The Mississippi River at both Burlington and Quincy, giving the railroad through connections with the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad (B&MR) in Iowa and the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad (H&StJ) in Missouri. In 1860 the H&;SJ carried the mail to the Pony Express upon reaching the Missouri River at St. Joseph, Missouri . In 1862 The first Railway Post Office was inaugurated on
2328-621: The Northern Pacific Railway 's main line across Washington , in 1984, in favor of the ex- Great Northern Railway 's Stevens Pass . BN never abandoned the line and began rehabilitating it in early 1996, and the route reopened in early December, relieving the crowded Stevens Pass. The ex-ATSF main line, now known as the Southern Transcon , has also seen steady work to add tracks, giving BNSF more capacity on this major intermodal route. On December 20, 1999, BNSF and
2425-632: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration ordered BNSF to pay over $ 526,000 to workers who had been terminated in 2010 and 2011 after revealing workplace injuries at the terminal in Havre, Montana , which is in contravention of provisions of the Federal Railroad Safety Act protecting whistleblowers. In August 2016, a "huge number" of used hypodermic drug needles were found along a BNSF railroad bridge in between
2522-813: The Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach to trains for transport through the Alameda Corridor onto the BNSF mainline to the new facility, and then move across the nation on the eastbound BNSF route network. In June 2024, BNSF Railway announced plans to develop the Surprise Intermodal/Logistics Center , a regional rail-served facility near Phoenix, Arizona . The planned site is located in northwest Maricopa County and will cover 4,321 acres (1,749 ha) of land. The facility consists of three distinct, interrelated components: Large freight car hump yards are located throughout
2619-615: The San Francisco Bay Area , with an alternate route through the Feather River Canyon along UP. The ATSF trackage in California's Central Valley was linked to BN's line into Oregon , through trackage rights over UP between Stockton and Keddie and acquisition of UP's section of the "Inside Gateway" to the beginning of BN trackage at Bieber . In Texas, BNSF received rights in several directions from
2716-565: The St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco). The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (ATSF) was chartered in 1859. It built one of the first transcontinental railroads in North America, linking Chicago and Southern California ; major branches led to Texas , Denver , and San Francisco . The Interstate Commerce Commission denied a proposed merger with the Southern Pacific Transportation Company in
2813-532: The Surface Transportation Board expressed concern and surprise about the timing, since the merger that produced BNSF had been the only one in the 1990s that did not cause severe deterioration in service. On March 17, 2000, the STB imposed a 15-month moratorium on mergers involving any two Class I railroads , citing widespread opposition not only to the merger but its effects, likely starting
2910-639: The Trailways Transportation System , and still provides intercity service to this day as Burlington Trailways . 1940 was the final year the CB&Q added steam locomotives to their roster, having completed construction on their O-5A class locomotives at the West Burlington, Iowa shops. With their freight traffic weighing 31 million tons that year, the CB&Q saw no further necessity for any more steam or diesel locomotives to be added to their roster. In 1942, following
3007-595: The Twin Cities , the Burlington Route formed a natural connection between Hill's home town (and headquarters) of St. Paul, Minnesota , and the railroad hub of Chicago. Moreover, Hill was willing to meet Perkins' $ 200-a-share asking price for the Burlington's stock. By 1900, Hill's Great Northern, in conjunction with the Northern Pacific Railway , held nearly 100 percent of Burlington's stock. By 1899,
Pacific Sun Railroad - Misplaced Pages Continue
3104-420: The U.S. Supreme Court . The only major strike in the line's history came in 1888, the Burlington railway strike of 1888 . Unlike most strikes, which were based on unskilled workers, this one was based on the highly skilled well-paid engineers and firemen, a challenge to management prerogatives. A settlement would have been much cheaper, but President Perkins was determined to assert ownership rights and destroy
3201-476: The University Park and St. Johns neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon that has become an encampment for homeless individuals. According to a conductor quoted by The Oregonian "Pretty much see people down there at all hours of the night. We report them but nobody does anything." Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad ( reporting mark CBQ )
3298-447: The low-sulfur coal of Wyoming 's Powder River Basin . The city of Burlington, Iowa is the namesake of Burlington in each of Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad , Burlington Northern Railroad , and BNSF. On June 30, 1994, BN and ATSF announced plans to merge. They were the largest and smallest (by track mileage) of the "Super Seven", the seven largest of the then-twelve U.S. Class I railroads . The long-rumored announcement
3395-512: The 1970s through construction of the Powder River Basin Joint Line with Union Pacific Railroad predecessor Chicago and North Western Transportation Company . Coal goes north in unit trains on the three-to-four-track Joint Line to Gillette or south to Orin , where older BN lines and other railroads take it in all directions to coal-burning power plants . BNSF serves over 1,500 grain elevators , located mostly in
3492-535: The 1980s. The Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) was created in 1970 through the consolidation of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad , the Great Northern Railway , the Northern Pacific Railway and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway . It absorbed the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway (Frisco) in 1980. Its main lines included Chicago- Seattle with branches to Texas (ex-Burlington) and Birmingham, Alabama (ex-Frisco), and access to
3589-629: The BNSF system. Location of some intermodal yards: The BNSF system is divided into 13 divisions grouped into three regions. Each division includes numerous subdivisions, normally comprising a single main line and branches. A fourteenth division, Colorado, has been consolidated with the Powder River Division, except for the Casper and Cody Subdivisions, which were transferred to the Montana Division. BNSF directly operates
3686-666: The Burlington Railroad must be included into a powerful transcontinental system. Though the railroad stretched as far west as Denver and Billings, Montana , it had failed to reach the Pacific Coast during the 1880s and 1890s, when construction was less expensive. Though approached by E. H. Harriman of the Union Pacific Railroad , Perkins felt his railroad was a more natural fit with James J. Hill 's Great Northern Railway . With its river line to
3783-628: The Burlington Route was able to enter the trade markets in 1862. From that year to date, the railroad and its successors have paid dividends continuously, and never run into debt or defaulted on a loan—the only Class I U.S. railroad for which this is true. After extensive trackwork was planned, the Aurora Branch changed its name to the Chicago and Aurora Railroad in June 1852, and to Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad in 1856, and shortly reached its two other namesake cities, Burlington, Iowa , and Quincy, Illinois . In 1868 CB&Q completed bridges over
3880-581: The Burlington by GN and NP, expansion continued. In 1908, the CB&Q purchased both the Colorado and Southern Railway and the Fort Worth and Denver Railway , giving it access south to Dallas and the Gulf of Mexico ports in Houston and Galveston . It also extended its reach south in the Mississippi Valley region by opening up a new line from Concord, Illinois , south to Paducah, Kentucky . It
3977-685: The Burlington included: The California Zephyr is still operated daily by Amtrak as trains Five (westbound) and Six (eastbound). Another Amtrak train, the Illinois Zephyr , is a modern descendant of the Kansas City Zephyr and the American Royal Zephyr services. Multiple locomotives from the Burlington have been preserved, including two Zephyr power units, thirty-five steam locomotives , and thirty-four diesel locomotives . Originally, 5632 (O-5B 4-8-4)
Pacific Sun Railroad - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-416: The CB&Q created a subsidiary, the Burlington Transportation Company , to operate intercity buses in tandem with its railway network. On January 1, 1932, the CB&Q received a new president; former Great Northern Railroad president Ralph Budd . By which time, the CB&Q was facing a decline in passenger ridership from the Depression, and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was exploring ways to help
4171-467: The CB&Q merged with the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle (SP&S) railroads on March 2, 1970, to form the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN), with Louis Menk serving as the company's first president and CEO (twenty-six years later, the BN and Santa Fe Railroads merged to become the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF)). Most passenger operations would be assumed in 1971 by Amtrak . Beginning in
4268-576: The CB&Q's commercial passenger operations was completed on September 26, 1952, when the last of the 4-6-2 locomotives that operated for the Chicago-Aurora suburban service were retired; the remaining steam locomotives on the CB&Q were primarily reassigned as freight haulers and yard switchers. The first division on the CB&Q to be fully dieselized was the Casper Division in Wyoming, where EMD GP7 road switchers were delivered in 1951. In 1955, regular performance on class 3 overhauls on steam locomotives were discontinued, and Harry C. Murphy opted for
4365-408: The CB&Q's new steam excursion program, only two of which remained operational by 1961: 2-8-2 No. 4960 and 4-8-4 No. 5632. In 1962, the CB&Q's passenger department began sponsoring the excursion runs by offering ticket discounts to paying customers, and the Burlington began to host several school trains for school students. In 1964, steam excursion operations on the railroad had dwindled, in
4462-445: The CB&Q, completed in 1922. Burlington's rapid expansion after the American Civil War was based upon sound financial management, dominated by John Murray Forbes of Boston and assisted by Charles Elliott Perkins . Perkins was a powerful administrator who eventually forged a system out of previously loosely held affiliates, virtually tripling Burlington's size during his presidency from 1881 to 1901. Ultimately, Perkins believed
4559-427: The G&CU's two tracks east from there to Chicago. The G&CU required the Aurora Branch to turn over 70 percent of their revenue per ton-mile handled on that railroad; as a result, in the mid-1850s, surveys were ordered to determine the best route for a railroad line to Chicago. The line from Aurora to Chicago was built through the fledgling towns of Naperville , Lisle , Downers Grove , Hinsdale , Berwyn , and
4656-409: The H&StJ to sort mail on the trains way across Missouri. The B&MR continued building west into Nebraska as a separate company, the Burlington & Missouri River Rail Road , founded in 1869. During the summer of 1870 it reached Lincoln , the newly designated capital of Nebraska and by 1872 it reached Kearney, Nebraska . That same year the B&MR across Iowa was absorbed by the CB&Q. By
4753-595: The Houston-Memphis SP line, and allowing BNSF to participate in the UP's plan for directional running , in which each line would serve through trains in only one direction. The Surface Transportation Board , successor to the ICC, approved the UP-SP merger on July 3, and UP control of SP took effect on September 11, 1996. BNSF trackage rights operations began on the Central Corridor on October 10, and soon thereafter on other lines. BNSF continued projects started by its predecessors, most notably BN's work on reopening Stampede Pass . BN had closed Stampede Pass,
4850-581: The Red River Division, and the former Springfield and Nebraska divisions were combined into the Heartland Division, in the spring of 2016. Not including second, third and fourth main-line trackage, yard trackage, and siding trackage, BNSF directly owns and operates over 24,000 miles (39,000 km) of track. When these additional tracks are counted, the length of track which the railway directly controls rises to more than 50,000 miles (80,000 km). Additionally, BNSF Railway has gained trackage rights on more than 8,000 miles (13,000 km) of track throughout
4947-646: The Southern Transcon, has been almost completely double-tracked, and triple-tracking has begun in areas such as Cajon Pass . BNSF transports Boeing 737 fuselages from the Wichita, Kansas plant to Renton, Washington. The BNSF Railway directly owns and operates track in 28 U.S. states : Alabama , Arizona , Arkansas , California , Colorado , Idaho , Illinois , Iowa , Kansas , Louisiana , Minnesota , Mississippi , Missouri , Montana , Nebraska , Nevada , New Mexico , North Dakota , Oklahoma , Oregon , South Dakota , Tennessee , Texas , Utah , Washington , Wisconsin , and Wyoming . The railway also operates
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#17327879834075044-473: The United States and Canada. These rights allow the BNSF to operate its own trains with its own crews on competing railroads' main tracks. BNSF locomotives also occasionally show up on competitors' tracks throughout the United States and Canada by way of leases, mileage equalizations, and other contractual arrangements. BNSF operates various facilities all over the United States, plus a yard in Winnipeg, to support its transportation system. Facilities operated by
5141-399: The United States' entrance into World War II , the railroad's freight traffic increased to 49 million tons, with Ralph Budd (now named President Roosevelt's federal transportation commissioner) poised to ensure his company would help the war effort. In 1943, the War Production Board authorized EMC (now reincorporated as EMD) to construct sixteen FT locomotives for delivery to the CB&Q
5238-411: The United States. Due to the program, BNSF has been the industry leader in lowering the number of grade-crossing collisions. BNSF contracts with News Link , a small business in Lincoln, Nebraska , to publish employee newsletters focused on safety for some of the railroad's divisions and shops. These newsletters vary in length from four to 28 pages, published ranging from monthly to quarterly. In 2014,
5335-416: The West. UP and BNSF announced in late September 1995 that, in exchange for BNSF not opposing the merger, it would obtain ownership of 335 miles (539 km) of line and about 3,500 miles (5,600 km) of trackage rights to reach these "two-to-one" shippers. Significant additions included rights over SP's Central Corridor from Denver via the Moffat Tunnel and Salt Lake City , and over Donner Pass , to
5432-431: The assumption of $ 10 billion in Burlington Northern debt, brings the total value to $ 44 billion. Consummated February 12, 2010, it is the largest acquisition in Berkshire Hathaway's history. The deal was structured so that the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation would merge with and into R Acquisition Company, LLC, an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. The deal closed on February 12, 2010, and at
5529-553: The border in Northgate, Saskatchewan . For administrative purposes, BNSF is divided into two regions and ten operating divisions. The North Region includes the Montana, Northwest, Twin Cities, Heartland and Powder River divisions. The South Region includes the Red River, California, Chicago, Kansas and Southwest divisions. Each division is further divided into subdivisions, which represent segments of track ranging from 300-mile (480 km) mainlines to 10-mile (16 km) branch-lines. The former Texas and Gulf divisions were combined into
5626-417: The cab cars went back into service. Although it does not have a steam program like the Union Pacific, the BNSF has allowed for the Southern Pacific 4449 , St. Louis–San Francisco 1522 , Santa Fe 3751 , Santa Fe 2926 , Spokane, Portland and Seattle 700 and Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotives to operate excursions over their rails. BNSF has received E.H. Harriman Award for safety multiple times. But
5723-424: The company had rostered 1,205 locomotives, 936 passenger cars and 40,720 freight cars. In 1901, a rebuffed Harriman tried to gain an indirect influence over the Burlington by launching a stock raid on the Northern Pacific. Though Hill managed to fend off this attack on his nascent system, it led to the creation of the Northern Securities Company , and later, the Northern Securities Co. v. United States ruling by
5820-580: The final round of mergers into two big systems. BNSF and CN immediately turned to the U.S. Court of Appeals , which on July 14 ruled that the STB's right to regulate mergers allowed a moratorium, and the two railroads called off the merger. The STB released its final rules on June 11, 2001, requiring any new application to merge two Class I railroads, with the exception of smaller Kansas City Southern Railway , to demonstrate that competition would be preserved and address effects of defensive moves by other carriers. No further Class I mergers would take place until
5917-455: The following year, by which time, the road's freight traffic peaked 57 million tons. After World War II ended, the CB&Q began ordering additional diesel locomotives from EMD, as part of a $ 140-million program to dieselize their roster. August 31, 1949, was Ralph Budd's final day as president of the railroad before he would retire during that year's Chicago Railroad Fair , and Harry C. Murphy succeeded him in September. Dieselisation of
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#17327879834076014-423: The formation of a holding company on September 22, 1995. This new holding company purchased the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (often called the "Santa Fe") and Burlington Northern Railroad , and formally merged the railways into the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway on December 31, 1996. On January 24, 2005, the railroad's name was officially changed to BNSF Railway Company using
6111-448: The former Burlington-Rock Island Railroad ). In 1970, it merged with the Northern Pacific Railway and the Great Northern Railway to form the Burlington Northern Railroad . The earliest predecessor of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the Aurora Branch Railroad , was chartered by act of the Illinois General Assembly on October 2, 1848. The charter was obtained by citizens of Aurora and Batavia, Illinois , who were concerned that
6208-612: The former would buy the latter, but this plan was called off on October 25. The Union Pacific Railroad (UP), another major Western system, started a bidding war with BN for control of the SF on October 5. The UP gave up on January 31, 1995, paving the way for the BN-ATSF merger. Subsequently, the UP acquired the Southern Pacific Transportation Company (SP) in 1996, and Eastern U.S. systems CSX Transportation and Norfolk Southern Railway split Conrail in 1999. On February 7, 1995, BN and ATSF heads Gerald Grinstein and Robert D. Krebs announced that shareholders had approved
6305-458: The initials of its original name. Warren Buffett 's Berkshire Hathaway acquired BNSF Railway in February 2010, obtaining all of its shares and taking the company private. BNSF and its chief competitor, the Union Pacific Railroad , have a duopoly on all transcontinental freight rail lines in the Western , Midwestern and Southern United States and share trackage rights over thousands of miles of track. BNSF's history dates to 1849, when
6402-483: The last commercial steam assignment for the railroad at Herrin Junction on January 27, 1959 (the only major U.S. railroads to operate revenue steam after this date were Union Pacific, Illinois Central , Nickel Plate Road , Norfolk and Western , Grand Trunk Western , Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range , and Lake Superior and Ishpeming ). CB&Q subsidiary Colorado and Southern eventually ended their commercial steam operations on October 11, 1962, when 2-8-0 No. 641 pulled
6499-443: The line and operates freight trains as needed. Metra's cars that were originally purchased by BNSF predecessor Chicago Burlington & Quincy have letterboards above the doors. In about 2011, about 15 of the remaining cars had the original "BURLINGTON" lettering restored, while the rest now read "BNSF RAILWAY". Other Metra cars assigned to BNSF have the current BNSF "swoosh" logo next to the door. Many Amtrak routes use BNSF rails:
6596-446: The merger between Kansas City Southern and Canadian Pacific in April 2023, creating the Canadian Pacific Kansas City Railway . The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation was incorporated in 1993 to facilitate the merger of Burlington Northern, Incorporated , parent of the Burlington Northern Railroad , and Santa Fe Pacific Corporation , which owned the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (Santa Fe). The corporate merger
6693-420: The merger. UP was satisfied with a single segment of trackage rights from Abilene, Kansas , to Superior, Nebraska , which BN and ATSF had both served. KCS gained haulage rights to several Midwest locations, including Omaha , East St. Louis , and Memphis , in exchange for BNSF getting similar access to New Orleans . SP, initially requesting far-reaching trackage rights throughout the West, soon agreed to
6790-476: The midwest and mountain states, the railroad used the advertising slogans "Everywhere West", "Way of the Zephyrs ", and "The Way West". In 1967, it reported 19,565 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 723 million passenger miles; corresponding totals for C&S were 1,100 and 10 and for FW&D were 1,466 and 13. At the end of the year, CB&Q operated 8,538 route-miles, C&S operated 708, and FW&D operated 1,362 (these totals may or may not include
6887-429: The operating companies was held up by issues with unions ; ATSF merged on December 31, 1996, into BN, which was renamed the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company. Union Pacific's merger with Southern Pacific further enlarged the combined BNSF network. Unlike BN and ATSF, UP and SP had significant overlap, where the end of competition between the two risked creating a monopoly for freight carriage in much of
6984-534: The plan, which would save overhead costs and combine BN's coal and ATSF's intermodal strengths. Although the two systems complemented each other with little overlap, in contrast to the Santa Fe-Southern Pacific merger, which failed because it would have eliminated competition in many areas of the Southwest , BN and ATSF came to agreements with most other Class Is to keep them from opposing
7081-469: The rail industry improve. Ralph Budd subsequently asked for a streamlined stainless-steel train to be built, and this resulted in the railroad introducing the famous Zephyrs . As early as 1897, the railroad invested in alternatives to steam power, namely, internal-combustion engines. The railroad's shops in Aurora had built a three-horsepower distillate motor in that year, but it was not reliable (requiring
7178-506: The railroad purchased "doodlebug" gas-electric combine cars from Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) and built their own, sending them out to do the jobs of a steam locomotive and a single car. After the positive results the doodlebug cars created, and after having purchased and used three General Electric steeple-cab switchers powered by distillate engines, Ralph Budd requested the Winton Engine Company to design and construct
7275-583: The railroad's remaining steam fleet to use up their previously-restored mileage throughout the next year. By which time, the majority of the Burlington's steam fleet were relegated to operate east of Lincoln, Nebraska, with only two steam locomotives held for back-up service west of Lincoln. The final division on the CB&Q to be fully dieselized was the Beardstown Division in Southern Illinois, where 2-8-2 locomotive No. 4997 worked
7372-502: The railway include yards and terminals throughout its rail network, system locomotive shops to perform locomotive service and maintenance, a centralized operations center for train dispatching and network operations monitoring in Fort Worth , and regional dispatching centers. BNSF Railway also operates numerous transfer facilities throughout the western United States to facilitate the transfer of intermodal containers , trailers, and other freight traffic. BNSF Railway has direct control over
7469-562: The recently privatized Canadian National Railway announced plans to combine as subsidiaries of a new holding company , North American Railways, which would control about 50,000 miles (80,000 km) of railroad. With CN's lines primarily in Canada and, through subsidiary Illinois Central Railroad , on a north–south corridor near BNSF's eastern edge, the two systems had little overlap. The combination would have benefited both companies by expanding available cash for capacity improvements and allowing for longer single-system movements. Shippers and
7566-474: The road's freight operations. Passenger service was markedly reduced, as people had shifted to using private automobiles for transportation. In late 1966, Louis Menk became president of the Northern Pacific, leaving William John Quinn in charge of the CB&Q. As the financial situation of American railroading continued to decline throughout the 1960s, forcing restructuring across the country,
7663-400: The same time, the now merged company changed its name to Burlington Northern Santa Fe, LLC. It remains an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway. In January 2022, BNSF agreed to purchase Montana Rail Link , a private company, for $ 2 billion, through an "early lease termination". The return to BNSF control required the approval of the Surface Transportation Board , which
7760-500: The summer of 1955, the CB&Q hosted a series of occasional steam excursion trains per request of railfan clubs, such as the Illinois Railroad Club. Harry C. Murphy was a steam fan who recognized the popularity in steam locomotives, and he authorized additional steam excursion trains to take place on the railroad throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s. Twenty-one steam locomotives of varying classes took part in
7857-959: The system grew. By the early 1900s, the shops at Aurora served the Chicago Division, the shops in Galesburg, Illinois served the Galesburg Division, the shops in Hannibal, Missouri served the St. Louis Division, the shops in West Burlington, Iowa and in Creston, Iowa served the Iowa Division, and the shops in Denver, Colorado served the McCook and Red Cloud Divisions. The latter were the final steam era shops built for
7954-756: The time the Missouri River bridge at Plattsmouth, Nebraska , was completed the B&;MR in Nebraska was well on its way to Denver . That same year, the Nebraska B&;MR was purchased by the CB&Q, which completed the line to Denver by 1882. Early repair shops for rolling stock were built by the Aurora Branch Railroad in Chicago, but the first true shop site was established at Aurora, Illinois in 1855. These were capable of repairing and building locomotives, freight cars, and passenger cars. Other shop sites were established or inherited from predecessor lines as
8051-486: The train was put into regularly scheduled service between Lincoln, Nebraska , and Kansas City, Missouri . Although the distinctive, articulated stainless steel trains were well known, and the railroad adopted the "Way of the Zephyrs " advertising slogan, they did not attract passengers back to the rails en masse , and the last one was retired from revenue service with the advent of Amtrak . The Zephyr fleet included: Other named passenger trains which operated on
8148-455: The union threat. The fight dragged on 10 months before the financially and emotionally exhausted strikers finally gave up, and Perkins declared a total victory. However, he had spent heavily on strikebreakers, lawsuits, and police protection, hurting the balance sheets and putting the railroad in a poor position to face the nationwide depression of the Panic of 1893 . Following the purchase of
8245-488: The very end. Actually, I wasn't taking a gamble at all." The manifestation of this gamble was the eight-cylinder Winton 8-201A engine that powered the Burlington Zephyr (built 1934) on its record-breaking run, and it opened the door for developing the long line of diesel engines that has powered Electro-Motive locomotives for the next seventy years. In 1936, the CB&Q would become one of the founding members of
8342-421: The wake of rising operation and maintenance costs and a loss of experienced steam locomotive mechanics; the only factors that kept the CB&Q's steam program going were public demand and Harry Murphy's passion for steam. In the process of reducing operating costs for the railroad, Harry Murphy's successor, Louis Menk, ordered for the CB&Q's steam excursion program to be shut down by August 1, 1966. Despite
8439-438: The west side of Chicago. It was opened in 1864, and passenger and freight service began. Regular commuter train service started in 1864 and remains operational to this day, making it the oldest surviving regular passenger service in Chicago. Both the original Chicago line, and to a much lesser extent, the old Aurora Branch right of way, are still in regular use today by the Burlington's present successor BNSF Railway . The company
8536-727: Was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States . Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route , the Burlington , CB&Q , or as the Q , it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado , Illinois , Iowa , Missouri , Nebraska , Wisconsin , Wyoming , and also in Texas through subsidiaries Colorado and Southern Railway , Fort Worth and Denver Railway , and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad . Its primary connections included Chicago , Minneapolis–Saint Paul , St. Louis , Kansas City , and Denver . Because of this extensive trackage in
8633-833: Was approved on March 8, 2023. The railroad had over 900 miles (1,400 km) of track, and served 100 stations. The main classification yard was in Laurel, Montana, with smaller yards in Missoula, Billings, Bozeman and Helena. BNSF took over MRL operations on January 1, 2024. This absorbed the MRL into BNSF, integrating MRL operations, technology and personnel. All 1,200 employees were offered employment with BNSF. With BNSF's large system, it hauls many different commodities, most notably coal and grain , as well as intermodal freight . Predecessor Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) entered Wyoming 's low-sulfur coal -rich Powder River Basin in
8730-454: Was consummated on September 22, 1995, at which point shareholders of the previous companies became shareholders of BNSF and the two companies became wholly owned subsidiaries of BNSF. In December 1996, the two holding companies and two railroads were formally merged, and in January 1998 the remaining intermediate holding company was folded into the railroad. Robert Krebs of Santa Fe Pacific
8827-417: Was delayed by a disagreement over the disposition of Santa Fe Pacific Gold Corporation, a gold mining subsidiary that ATSF agreed to sell to stockholders. This announcement began the next wave of mergers, as the "Super Seven" were merged down to four in the next five years. The Illinois Central Railroad and Kansas City Southern Railway (KCS), two of the five "small" Class Is, announced on July 19 that
8924-564: Was during this period that the Burlington was at its largest, exceeding just over 12,000 route miles in 14 states by the 1920s. With the First World War having the same effect on the railroad as on all other railroads, during the 1920s, the Burlington Route had an increasingly heavy amount of equipment flooding the yards. With the advent of the Great Depression , the CB&Q held a good portion of this for scrap. In 1929,
9021-631: Was never acted upon, and was repealed by an act of February 14, 1855, which instead reorganized the line as the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The new railroad was formed by the consolidation of the Chicago and Aurora Railroad, the Central Military Tract, the west end of the Peoria & Oquawka, and the Northern Cross Railroad companies. With a steady acquisition of locomotives, cars, equipment, and trackage,
9118-423: Was preserved, but later scrapped. The Burlington was a leader in innovation; among its firsts were use of the printing telegraph (1910), train radio communications (1915), streamlined passenger diesel power (1934) and vista-dome coaches (1945). In 1927, the railroad was one of the first to use Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) and by the end of 1957 had equipped 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of its line. It played
9215-447: Was president of BNSF from the merger until 1999, chief executive from the merger until 2000, and chairman from 1997 until 2002. He was succeeded in all three positions by Matthew K. Rose . On November 3, 2009, Berkshire Hathaway made a $ 26 billion offer to buy the remaining 77.4% of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation it did not already own, valuing the purchase at $ 34 billion. The deal, including Berkshire's previous investment and
9312-406: Was renamed Chicago and Aurora Railroad on June 22, 1852, and given expanded powers to extend from Aurora to a point north of LaSalle ; this extension, to Mendota, was completed on October 20, 1853. Another amendment, passed February 28, 1854, authorized the company to build east from Aurora to Chicago via Naperville , and changed its name to Chicago and Southwestern Railroad. The latter provision
9409-500: Was the Southern Transcon , a fast intermodal corridor connecting Southern California and Chicago . Most traffic is either trailers of trucking companies such as intermodal partner J. B. Hunt , or containers from the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles . The latter begins its trip on the triple-track Alameda Corridor , shared with the Union Pacific Railroad , and then follows BNSF rails from downtown Los Angeles . Its route,
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