Burlington Northern Railroad

Burlington Northern (now BNSF)

While its predecessors number more than 330 and date back as early as 1849, Burlington Northern Railroad (BN) was created on March 2, 1970, by the merger of four primary railroads: Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co. (CB&Q); Northern Pacific Railway Co. (NP); Great Northern Railway Co. (GN); and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway Co. (SP&S).

It is interesting to note that GN's first president, James J. Hill, attempted to merge GN and NP in 1893, only to have the merger denied by the U.S. government. In 1901, Hill again tried to merge the two railroads, this time with the CB&Q, but was turned down a second time. In fact, these railroads tried to merge four times (1893, 1901, 1927, 1961) before finally receiving ICC approval. Later, in 1980, the St. Louis-San Francisco Railway Co. (Frisco) was acquired and merged into BN.

Each of BN's predecessor railroads played an important role in developing the American west and each has its own rich heritage. Hundreds of books have been published chronicling the colorful history of a number of these railroads, and some of the highlights are presented here.*

courtesy BNSF.com*

 

Locomotives

Left	Right	Details	Notes
		Burlington Northern EMD GP-38-2	-
		Burlington Northern EMD GP-38-2	BN herald on nose
		Burlington Northern EMD GP-38-2	BN herald on nose; yellow reflective frame strips
		Burlington Northern EMD GP-38-2	yellow reflective frame strips
		Burlington Northern EMD GP-38-2	BN herald on nose; yellow reflective frame strips
		Burlington Northern EMD GP-38-2	BN herald on nose; white hood stripe; yellow reflective frame strips
		Burlington Northern EMD GP-50	yellow reflective frame strips
		Burlington Northern EMD GP-50	-
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-40-2	-
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-40-2	BN herald on nose; flag decal
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-40-2	BN herald on nose; white hood stripe
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-40-2	"BNSF" on cab; loco no. on cab; yellow reflective frame strips
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-40-2	"BNSF" on cab; loco no. on cab; BN herald on nose; flag decal; yellow reflective frame strips
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-40-2	"BNSF" on cab; loco no. on cab; BN herald on nose; white hood stripe; yellow reflective frame strips
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-40-2	"BNSF" on cab; yellow reflective frame strips
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-40-2	"BNSF" on cab; BN herald on nose; flag decal; yellow reflective frame strips
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-40-2	"BNSF" on cab; BN herald on nose; white hood stripe; yellow reflective frame strips
		Burlingron Northern EMD SD-40-2B	-
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-40-2B	white hood stripe
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-60M Phase I	-
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-60M Phase I	"BNSF" on cab
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-60M Phase II	nose-mounted headlight; "BNSF" on cab
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-60M Phase II	standard EMD mounted high headlight
		Burlington Northern EMD SD-60MAC	1 of 4 demo units

Rolling Stock

Left	Right / Universal	Details	Notes
		BN Coal Hopper	load
		BN Coal Hopper	empty
		BN Coalgon	load
		BN Coalgon	empty
		BN Coal Hopper	load
		BN Coal Hopper	empty
		BN Ore Car	load
		BN Ore Car	empty
-		BN Woodchip	load
-		BN Woodchip	empty
-		BN Woodchip	logo; load
-		BN Woodchip	logo; empty
		BN Tank Car	-
		BN small Covered Hopper	-
		BN small Covered Hopper	-
		BN small Covered Hopper	-
		BN Covered Hopper	-
		BN Covered Hopper	-
		BN Covered Hopper	logo
		BN Covered Hopper	-
		BN Covered Hopper	logo, lettering
		BN Covered Hopper	logo
		BN Gondola	-

 

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