Burlington Northern
The Burlington Northern Railroad (reporting mark BN) was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four historic and major operating railroads — with the newly very large BN Line operating between 1970 and 1996 — when the company merged again with chief rival AT&SF.
Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroading with the chartering in 1848 of the Chicago and Aurora Railroad a direct ancestor line of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, which entity lends Burlington to the names of various merger produced successors.
Its current-day successor-in-interest is the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway corporation which subsequently shortend the company name to the BNSF Railway — which combines both corporate names and operates the trackage formerly owned by the Burlington Northern and the Santa Fe railways. BNSF was bought by the corporate giant holding company Berkshire Hathaway in 2009[1].
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History
Burlington Northern Railroad was the product of a March 2, 1970, merger comprising the Great Northern Railway, the Northern Pacific Railway, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway. Consent for this merger came only on the fourth attempt dating back to the days of James J. Hill, but for many years they shared a headquarters building in Saint Paul, Minnesota, until the merger was finally approved. On November 21, 1980, the former St. Louis - San Francisco Railway was acquired. In 1981, corporate headquarters of parent Burlington Northern Inc. were moved to Seattle, Washington, and in 1988, after its non-rail operations were spun off as Burlington Resources, to Houston, Texas.
On December 31, 1996, Burlington Northern merged with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to form the BNSF Railway, whose name was later shortened to BNSF Railway.
Route
Main line heading north out of Seattle, Washington along the shore of Puget SoundThe Burlington Northern traversed the most northerly route of any railroad in the western United States. This route started at Chicago, Illinois and ran west-northwest to La Crosse, Wisconsin. From here the route continued northwest through Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota to Grand Forks, North Dakota. From Grand Forks the route ran west through North Dakota, Montana, and Idaho to Spokane, Washington. At Spokane the route split into three routes. The former Great Northern route proceeded west to Wenatchee, Washington, crossed under the Cascade Range at New Cascade Tunnel, and descended into the Puget Sound region through Everett, Washington. The former Northern Pacific proceeded southwest towards the Tri-Cities, turned northwesterly to Yakima, Washington, and crossed under the Cascade Range at Stampede Tunnel, descending into the Green River Valley at Auburn, Washington, where it connected with existing NP lines running from British Columbia to Portland, Oregon. The Spokane, Portland and Seattle also proceeded southwest to the Tri-Cities, then followed the north bank of the Columbia River to Vancouver, Washington.
With the acquisition of the St. Louis - San Francisco Railway, the route was extended into the South Central and Southeastern United States.
Equipment Colors and Painting
Burlington Northern NW2 No. 510 awaits it's next switching duty in Aurora, Illinois.The locomotive livery of the Burlington Northern traces its early history to the final years of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. In 1968, EMD GP40 #629 was painted in a green, black, and white scheme introducing a new lettering style and logo. The green color was known as "Cascade Green" based on the reflections of pine trees along various routes the trains traveled.
In February 1970, the Spokane, Portland & Seattle ordered 6 new EMD GP38s that would become the creation of Burlington Northern's paint scheme. Originally numbered 200-205 on the order, the numbers were changed to 2072-2077. These would be the first units to introduce the horn, beacon, and antennae locations as well as adopting the "BURLINGTON NORTHERN" lettering style seen on the CB&Q's SD45s and U23Cs as well as GN's "Big Sky Blue" lettering.
In October 1990, BN departed from its Cascade Green, black and white scheme on its business car and locomotive fleet. Adopting Grinstein Green (an altered version of Brunswick Green/British Racing Green and named after the president of Burlington Northern, Gerald Grinstein), Cream, and Alizarin Red. This scheme was applied to EMD F9A-2 #BN-1, EMD F9B-2 #BN-2, and EMD E9A-2 #BN-3, of the locomotive fleet and the business car fleet.
Throughout its history, the Burlington Northern had various oddities and interesting test demonstrators/paint schemes.
| Burlington Northern Paint Schemes | ||
|---|---|---|
| Locomotive Model | Road Numbers | Notes |
| EMD GP40 | 629 | First locomotive experimented in pre-Burlington Northern Livery in 1968 |
| EMD SD45 & GE U23C | 516 • 530, 460 • 468 | Pre-Burlington Northern livery designed by the CB&Q in 1969 |
| EMD GP38 | 200 • 205 (2072 • 2077) | First new locomotives for the Burlington Northern; ordered by the Spokane, Portland & Seattle in 1970 |
| EMD SD40-2 | 8174 | Carried a ‘’Together at Last’’ BN-SLSF Merger slogan along the walkway |
| EMD SD40-2 | 8002 | First locomotive painted in an experimental ‘’Tiger Stripe’’ paint scheme |
| EMD GP50, EMD SD60 | 3110 • 3162, 8300 • 8302 | The only SD60’s leased from EMD for three years; earliest units in the ‘’Power by the Hour’’ program |
| EMD SD40-2 | (unknown) | The first locomotive to receive the ‘’Whiteface’’ paint scheme |
| EMD GP50 | 3110 & 3112 | The only units receiving an alternative version of "Tiger Stripes", using white instead of black |
| EMD F9A-2, EMD F9B-2, EMD E9A-2 | BN-1, BN-2 & BN-3 | The first new locomotives painted in an ‘’Executive’’ scheme |
| EMD GP38-2 | 2100 | The only unit receiving white striping along the front cab section |
| EMD GP38 | 2075 & 2085 | #2075 was the first unit painted in a ‘’Pacific Pride’’ Scheme; later replaced by #2085 after 2075 was reported with fire damage [2] |
| EMD GP9 | 1813 & 1863 | Received "The National Academy of Railroad Sciences" lettering along the carbodies |
| EMD SD60M | 1991 | Painted to honor the employees serving in Desert Storm |
| EMD SD40-2 | 7149 & 7890 | Modified to run on compressed liquefied natural gas (refrigerated liquid methane) |
| MK GP28M | 1522 | The only unit with Operation Lifesaver logos |
| EMD SD70MAC | 9647 | Introduced a proposed Burlington Northern Santa Fe paint scheme |
| EMD SD70MAC | 9709 • 9712 | 9709 • 9710 were the last two new locomotives for the BN in January 1996. 9711 • 9712 are the first new locomotives for BNSF |
| EMD GP50, EMD SD40-2 | 3120 & 7812 | The last locomotives painted in Burlington Northern green on August 8, 1996 |
| MK GP39E | 2911 & 2931 | Painted in an experimental Cascade Green BNSF scheme |
Preserved equipment
Burlington Northern 1 and 2, formerly Northern Pacific Railway 6700A and 7002C, EMD F9s, were built in 1954 and later rebuilt by BN for special train service. They are currently owned by the Illinois Railway Museum and are on display in Union, Illinois.
See also
References
- BURLINGTON SYSTEM from the Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 2005-05-26.
- [2] Burlington Northern 'Executive' Paint Scheme
- [3] Burlington Northern 'Tiger Stripe' Paint Scheme
- [4] Burlington Northern 'Whiteface' Paint Scheme
- [5] Burlington Northern History
External links
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Burlington Northern Railroad |
- Friends of the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN historical society)
- Burlington Northern Adventures: Railroading in the Days of the Caboose, written by former BN brakeman, conductor and trainmaster William J. Brotherton
- List and Family Trees of North American Railroads
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Categories: Burlington Northern Railroad | Companies based in Saint Paul, Minnesota | Defunct Alabama railroads | Defunct Arkansas railroads | Defunct California railroads | Defunct Colorado railroads | Defunct Florida railroads | Defunct Idaho railroads | Defunct Illinois railroads | Defunct Iowa railroads | Defunct Kansas railroads | Defunct Kentucky railroads | Defunct Minnesota railroads | Defunct Mississippi railroads | Defunct Missouri railroads | Defunct Montana railroads | Defunct Nebraska railroads | Defunct New Mexico railroads | Defunct North Dakota railroads | Defunct Oklahoma railroads | Defunct Oregon railroads | Defunct South Dakota railroads | Defunct Tennessee railroads | Defunct Texas railroads | Defunct Washington (U.S. state) railroads | Defunct Wisconsin railroads | Defunct Wyoming railroads | Former Class I railroads in the United States | Predecessors of the BNSF Railway | Railway companies disestablished in 1996 | Railway companies established in 1970
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