- Burlington Northern Railroad
Infobox SG rail
railroad_name = Burlington Northern Railroad
logo_filename = Burlington Northern Herald.png
logo_size = 100
marks = BN, BNFE, BNFT
locale=Alabama ,Arkansas ,California ,Colorado ,Florida ,Idaho ,Illinois ,Iowa ,Kansas ,Kentucky ,Minnesota ,Mississippi ,Missouri ,Montana ,Nebraska ,North Dakota ,Oklahoma ,Oregon ,South Dakota ,Tennessee ,Texas ,Washington ,Wisconsin , andWyoming
start_year = 1970
end_year = 1996
successor_line = BNSF
hq_city =St. Paul, Minnesota
system_
map_size = 300
map_caption = The Burlington Northern system (shown in green) at the time of the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe merger.The Burlington Northern Railroad reporting mark|BN was aUnited States -basedrailroad company operating between 1970 and 1996.History
Burlington Northern Railroad was the product of a
March 2 ,1970 ,merger comprising the Great Northern Railway, theNorthern Pacific Railway , theChicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad , and theSpokane, Portland and Seattle Railway . Consent for this merger came only on the fourth attempt dating back to the days ofJames J. Hill , but for many years they shared a headquarters building inSaint Paul, Minnesota , until the merger was finally approved. OnNovember 21 ,1980 , the formerSt. Louis - San Francisco Railway was acquired. In 1981 corporate headquarters of parent Burlington Northern Inc. were moved toSeattle, Washington , and in 1988, after its non-rail operations were spun off asBurlington Resources , toFort Worth, Texas .On
December 31 ,1996 , the Burlington Northern merged with theAtchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to form theBurlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway .Route
The Burlington Northern traversed the most northerly route of any
railroad in the westernUnited States . This route started atChicago, Illinois and ran west-northwest toLa Crosse, Wisconsin . From here the route continued northwest through Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota toGrand Forks, North Dakota . From Grand Forks the route ran west throughNorth Dakota ,Montana , andIdaho toSpokane, Washington . At Spokane the route split into three routes. The former Great Northern route proceeded west toWenatchee, Washington , crossed under the Cascade Range at New Cascade Tunnel, and descended into the Puget Sound region throughEverett, Washington . The former Northern Pacific proceeded southwest towards the Tri-Cities, turned northwesterly toYakima, Washington , and crossed under the Cascade Range at Stampede Tunnel, descending into the Green River Valley atAuburn, Washington , where it connected with existing NP lines running fromBritish Columbia toPortland, Oregon . The Spokane, Portland and Seattle also proceeded southwest to theTri-Cities , then followed the north bank of theColumbia River toVancouver, Washington .With the acquisition of the St. Louis - San Francisco Railway, the route was extended into the South Central and
Southeastern United States .Rolling stock
The Burlington Northern's
locomotive livery painted the top quarter or so of the locomotive black and the rest in the corporation's official Cascade green, with a white BN logo. The front of the locomotive was striped with white and green for visibility. In 1985, several GP50 locomotives test ran a paint alteration of orange and black stripes on the cab face and nose to raise visibility at grade crossings. At the same time, the logo and road number switched locations on the body. The BN logo moved to the long hood along with the words "Burlington Northern" painted in white alongside the herald on the hood of the unit. The road number moved to the panel under the side cab window where the BN logo normally resides.Preserved equipment
Burlington Northern 1 and 2, formerly
Northern Pacific Railway 6700A and 7002C,EMD F9 s, were built in 1954 and later rebuilt by BN for special train service. They are currently owned by theIllinois Railway Museum and are on display inUnion, Illinois .ee Also
*
BNSF Railway
*Paul Bunyan Trail Rail Trail
*References
*Handbook of Texas|id=BB/eqb17|name=BURLINGTON SYSTEM|retrieved=2005-05-26
External Links
* [http://www.fobnr.org Friends of the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN historical society)]
* [http://www.bnrailstories.com Burlington Northern Adventures: Railroading in the Days of the Caboose, written by former BN brakeman, conductor and trainmaster William J. Brotherton]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.