Nostalgia & History > Those great early BNSF days

Top: An eastbound BNSF trackage rights train skirts Table Mountain at Oroville, Ca. back in December of 1997. The second unit is an ex-Conrail SDP45.
Bottom: Deep in the Feather River Canyon, ex-Santa Fe SD45-2 #6474 leads another eastbound at Virgilia, Ca. in January of 2004.

Adam

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Wow, good throwbacks man!
Always good power on the Highline stuff.

PT

I had forgotten how good it was then...how bad it got (all GE's) and how it has improved with pool or leased power, and the occasional EMD! Also hard to believe that the Highline has been owned by BNSF for 17+ years!

Tom Y



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/27/14 13:28 by icancmp193.

icancmp193 Wrote:
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> I had forgotten how good it was then...how bad it
> got (all GE's) and how it has improved with pool
> or leased power, and the occasional EMD! Also hard
> to believe that the Highline has been owned by
> BNSF for 17+ years!
>
> Tom Y

And it's in it's best shape ever! Kinda makes you wonder how WP would have fared if the Santa Fe had been allowed to buy the WP back in the 60's.

PHall Wrote:
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> icancmp193 Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > I had forgotten how good it was then...how bad
> it
> > got (all GE's) and how it has improved with
> pool
> > or leased power, and the occasional EMD! Also
> hard
> > to believe that the Highline has been owned by
> > BNSF for 17+ years!
> >
> > Tom Y
>
> And it's in it's best shape ever! Kinda makes you
> wonder how WP would have fared if the Santa Fe had
> been allowed to buy the WP back in the 60's.

A 'little' off-topic.....but I keep fantasizing about a more "natural" D&RGW/WP (& also MP) alliance.

Seems I recall the "Grande" (along with the Missouri Pacific) having helped to secure the financing of Gould's construction of the WP?

Pat from Littleton, Colorado

We do have the DRGW/WP/MP combination, it's called UP.

These are some mighty fine consists! Nice catches and shots.

I recognize that first shot from Pool Power West, my favorite book growing up :)

SantaFe9820 Wrote:
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> I recognize that first shot from Pool Power West,
> my favorite book growing up :)


This photo is in the 4 Ways West 1997 BNSF annual. The pool power book was pre merger stuff only.

Adam

Super composition, great background! Refreshing to see the colorful MRL and SF blonde EMDs rolling down the highline, with no orange in sight!

I will have to find my timebook from 04 but I am pretty sure I got to ride in that 6474. I was lucky to hire out in 01 and enjoy this stuff firsthand. One of my favorite memories was having the MRL 8925 on the point one trip. A real "big block" SD45, it had "class of 66" stenciled on the firewall. A lot of guys that have hired out in the last couple years think anything that's a spartan cab is yard/local power. I used to get a kick out of it when we would get a train that had newer dash 9's in the consist but they would have a SD40-2 for a leader!