BNSF   

The Burlington Northern & Santa Fe was created by the 1995 merger of two of the largest railroads in the west, the AT&SF and the Burlington Northern. The two roads did not have a lot of overlap, but rather complimented each other with the Santa Fe being known as a high speed intermodal freeway, while the BN brought tonnage commodities such as Powder River coal and unit grain traffic. Recently the railroad has made the BNSF acronym the official name of the company and adopted a new herald.

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New AC4400-CW's #5600, 5601 and 5602, spliced by a test car are working a westbound CSX freight at Westfield, NY on October 30, 1999. The GE plant is just down the line so the units are being broken in close to their home, prior to their being turned over to their owner.

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C44-9W #5433 has a westbound intermodal at Tangier, OK on July 19, 2003. This section of the Santa Fe main in western Oklahoma was still single tracked, but not for long as crews were already working on the section just to the west at the OK-TX border.

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simple_new_green.gifPassing in Kingman Canyon, AZ on April 8, 2006 is C44-9W #5181 headed west on the bottom and above it, C44-9W #4360 leads a couple of NS and a lease unit eastbound.

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simple_new_green.gifC44-9W #1048, 4425 & 754 are leaving the east end of Abo Canyon near Schoelle, NM on September 13, 2008. At this date the canyon was being surveyed for the beginning of the double tracking project through the canyon.

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C44-9W #4188 leads a westbound intermodal train into the crew change point of Clovis, NM on a very hot (104 degree) July 18, 2003.

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C44-9W #5373 and an SD70MAC are on a southbound unit coal train near Pleasanton, KS. The two horses are more interested in the photographer than this train on the Ft.Scott Sub, which was once the Frisco's line out of KC. January 14, 2005.

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C44-9W #4736 leads an eastbound freight over the Canyon Diablo, AZ bridge on February 17, 2001. To the left can be seen the abutment from the original bridge at this location.

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C44-9W #4789 powers an eastbound over the Canyon Diablo bridge on 2/17/01. Though seemingly flat, the canyon cuts about 225 ft. below the surface of the rails, making it one of the highest rail bridges on the continent.

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C44-9W #4409 on an eastbound unit coal train passes the old freight house in Holbrook, AZ on February 16, 2001. Holbrook is near the Petrified Forest National Monument, hence the green dinousaur to the right of the train.

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C44-9W #4152 leads a westbound intermodal through the massive bridge over the Missouri River at Sibley, MO on May 1, 2004. This is the only remaining stretch of single track on the old Santa Fe mainline between Chicago and Kansas City.

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C44-9W #4833 is eastbound through busy Santa Fe Jct. in Kansas City, MO on April 30, 2004. Two other eastbounds await their chance through the maze of trackage.

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simple_new_green.gif#4447 leads a quartet of C44-9W's with an intermodal train through a sweeping curve eastbound near Big Rock, NM on September 12, 2008.

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C44-9W #4083 powers an eastbound intermodal train out of Tunnel 2 and across 1690' long Alhambra Viaduct at Martinez, CA on October 22, 2005. In the trees above the second unit can be seen the cupola atop the home of conservationist John Muir, now restored and open for tours.

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C44-9W #969 leads two others eastbound as they cross Lake Pend Oreille near Sandpoint, ID on September 5, 1997.

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C44-9W #4945 is eastbound with a manifest freight on the Lampasas Sub near Zephyr, TX on April 4, 2008. During the wetter months the road passing under the tracks here is also a stream with vehicles having to ford through the water.

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C44-9W #1008 and 1049 lead a westbound freight out of a snowshed on the ex GN mainline near Essex, MT on September 7, 1997.

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simple_new_green.gifES44DC #5858 & SD70MAC #9996 crest Crawford Hill at Belmont, NE with eastbound coal loads on July 18, 2009. This cut replaced an earlier tunnel at this location.

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simple_new_green.gifPushers ES44AC's #5859 & 6137 have just cut off of the rear end DPU of an eastbound loaded unit train at the top of Crawford Hill, while on the adjacent track, an SD70MAC functioning as a DPU on westbound empties passes by. The track diverging to the right is for the helpers if they need to clear the line.

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simple_new_green.gifES44DC #7543 is on the point of an eastbound intermodal hotshot cruising across the high plains near Anzac, NM on September 12, 2008.

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ES44DC #7649 and C44-9W #4588 are eastbound through a series of sweeping curves in the Mojave Desert. This location is from atop the hills just west of Ludlow, CA on April 8, 2006.

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simple_new_green.gifES44DC #7796 flies by with a westbound double-stack train at Grier, NM on September 13, 2008.

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GP30u #2460 still looks good thanks to a new coat of paint. Coupled behind is GP50 #3156 at Holbrook, AZ on February 16, 2001. Behind the units can be seen part of the Wigwam Hotel, a Route 66 icon.

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simple_new_green.gifGP38-2's #2013 & 2039 in the yard at Burlington, IA on August 22, 2008. In the background is a pair of B40-8's.

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GP39-2 #2722 and GP38-2 #2325 are laying over next to the station in Fremont, NE on July 27, 2002.

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simple_new_green.gifGP39-2 #2953 and Santa Fe caboose #999809 sit in the yard at San Diego, CA on May 3, 2005. Today this line is run by the Pacific Sun RR, a Watco shortline.

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simple_new_green.gifGP60M #145 and B40-8W's #507 & 560 are eastbound with a local on the mainline at Houck, AZ on September 12, 2008.

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SD40-2 #6886 leads SD70MAC's #8889 & 9836 westbound at Hoffman Ave. in St. Paul, MN on January 29, 2000.

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SD40-2's #6857 and 6392 are eastbound past the beautifully preserved station at Panhandle, TX, which of course is in the Texas panhandle, northeast of Amarillo. July 19, 2003.

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simple_new_green.gifSD70ACe #9148 & ES44AC #6088 pull an eastbound loaded coal train around the lower horseshoe curve and the beginning of Crawford Hill near Crawford, NE on July 18, 2009. The train is already under 20 mph as 3 more units push on the rear end.

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simple_new_green.gifSD70ACe's #9289 & 9265 are eastbound with coal loads at Ardmore, SD on July 18, 2009. In about an hour the train will arrive at Crawford, NE where a set of pushers will be added to the DPU on the rear end.

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SD70MAC #9850 is brand new at UP's Neff Yard in Kansas City, MO on January 24, 1998.

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simple_new_green.gifTwo SD70MAC's & an SD70ACe lead an eastbound coal train through a curve near Rumford, SD on 7/18/09. Two DPU's bring up the rear on this busy single track portion of the coal line between Edgemont, SD and Crawford, NE.