Nostalgia & History > BNSF at Niles

As a condition of the UP-SP merger, BNSF was granted trackage rights from Richmond, CA to Warm Springs (near San Jose), primarily to serve the New United Motors auto assembly plant. This joint General Motors/Toyota facility generated enough traffic to keep a regular BNSF turn busy, as well as shipping via UP. However, the plant shut down in 2010, causing the BNSF local to be abolished. On March 20, shortly before the end, the local passes the restored SP Niles depot and preserved WP caboose. The Niles Canyon Railway museum operation has a boarding platform out of view to the left. I believe the BNSF still runs to Warm Springs once a week for whatever traffic remains. The former "NUMI" plant is now the location where Tesla electric automobiles are assembled, but no rail traffic originates from that point.

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About two weeks later, the 2333/2346 were still on this job when they encountered a truck stalled on the tracks at the 66th St. crossing in Oakland:

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