BURLINGTON NORTHERN 
The BN was created on March 2, 1970 by the merger of the so called "Hill Lines", the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Burlington (CB&Q) and the Spokane, Portland & Seattle. It was the longest railroad in terms of route miles and became even longer with the acquistion of the Frisco in 1980. The company had the good fortune of being in the right place at the right time as the Powder River coal fields were developed, and became the largest coal hauling railroad on the continent in spite of the Interstate Commerce Commission's insistence that the C&NW be allowed to participate. The road also developed a significant intermodal business with the development of Tacoma as a major container port for Asian imports. In 1995 the BN merged with the Santa Fe to form todays BNSF.
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A defining shot of the BN in the 1980's: A unit coal train led by 3,000 hp GE or EMD units. Here we have C30-7 #5587 on a loaded coal train on the MP near Osawatomie, KS on May 30, 1985. |
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C30-7's #5585, 5590, 5120, U30C #5804 & SD40-2 #7008 pull a coal train out of the Powder River Basin across the vast expanse of Wyoming, south of Bill on September 26, 1985. |
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E9u #9906 powers a outbound evening commuter train at Naperville, IL on June 16, 1986. BN had M-K upgrade these units, including the addition of HEP. |
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E-9u #9905 leads a midday westbound at Cicero, IL on June 17,1986. When rebuilt by M-K the units also lost their side portholes. |
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GP7u #1418 rests at the engine facility in Wenatchee, WA on May 21, 1984. Wenatchee is on the old GN mainline of the eastern, dry side of the Cascades. |
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GP30 #2227 and GP35's #2514 & 2528 exit a tunnel on the Columbia River line near Underwood, WA on May 23, 1984. This is a westbound unit grain train. |
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GP35m #2983 and SD40-2 #8070 are westbound with a short local at Cassville, WI along the Mississippi River on August 24, 1991. |
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GP38-2 #2073 and GP39m #2889 are a set of light pushers dropping back downhill at Marshall, WA near Spokane, on September 9, 1997. |
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The crew of SD9 #6142 chats with the crew on NW2's #547 & 560 at Rice's Point Yard in Duluth, MN on September 15, 1982. |
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What appears to be another SD9 powered freight is actually SD24's #6246, 6242 and U28B #5462 at Evansville, IN on July 27, 1980. |
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SD40-2's #7142, 7238 and 6326 power a northbound train of empty ore hoppers near St. Anthony Ave. in Minneapolis, MN on August 20, 1994. The train is headed back to the Missabe Range north of Duluth. |
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SD40-2 #8082 and SD45 #6663 on a westbound freight over the old GN mainline at Index, WA on May 20, 1984. |
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SD40-2's #8081 and 8174 are headed westbound past the old water tank at Logan, MT on September 6, 1997. This is a run through train on the Montana Rail Link. |
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Westbound intermodal T#3 crosses the Wenatchee River at Dryden, WA on May 21, 1984. The train is headed towards Cascade Tunnel with SD40-2's #7040, 8163, B30-7A's #4038, 4097 and F45 #6642. |
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SD40-2 #7141 leads a Santa Fe C44-9W and ex BN SD40-2 now lettered for LMX on an eastbound train nearing East Glacier, MT on September 8, 1997. |
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Whiteface SD60M's #9248 & 9259 have an empty unit coal train headed westbound past the old wooden grain elevators at Spiritwood, ND on August 19, 1994. This is the old Northern Pacific mainline. |
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EMD built four SD60MAC's to test the concept of AC power. Here is BN #9503 at the D&H's SK Yard in Buffalo, NY on August 14, 1993. The units featured the EMD/GMD/Siemens logos on the cab sides. |
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SD70MAC's #9735, 9521 & 9403 are on a southbound unit coal train on the Joint Line at Larkspur, CO on September 30, 1996. |
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SW1200 #171 is shown in a down on view on the Midway at St. Paul, MN on September 16, 1982. |
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U30C #5916 is at the 23rd Street Diesel House in Denver, CO on May 25, 1977. The unit won't be going anywhere soon though, notice that the front coupler is missing. |