Railroad Talk

Fallen Flags of the BNSF

Smaller railroads merged to form Burlington Northern-Santa Fe

The large railroads of today started out as several much smaller railroads that merged with other railroads to form one big railroad line. The small railroad lines that went by the wayside when these mergers occurred are called “fallen flags”.

One of the largest railroads today, BNSF, was formed in 1995 after the merging of many smaller railroads. The merges that occurred to created the BNSF known today began in 1970, although there were other merges that happened prior to 1970, when the small railroads gobbled up even smaller lines.

The Burlington Northern Railroad was created in 1970 when Great Northern Railway, Northern Pacific Railway, Chicago Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and Spokane Portland & Seattle Railway merged. The merger of these four lines allowed the newly formed Burlington Northern Railroad to serve a large portion of the Northwest and Midwest parts of the country.

Great Northern Railway & Northern Pacific Railway served St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota; Duluth, Minnesota; Bismarck, North Dakota; Billings, Montana; Butte, Montana; Spokane, Washington; Seattle, Washington; and Portland, Oregon. The two lines ran parallel to each other. Great Northern Railway had a slightly more northern route, but served the same cities.

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad served the Midwest: Chicago, Illinois; Minneapolis, Minnesota; Omaha, Nebraska; Kansas City, Missouri; St. Louis, Missouri; Denver, Colorado; Billings, Montana; Amarillo, Texas; Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; and Houston, Texas.

Cities in the Northwest such as Spokane, Washington; Pasco, Washington; Portland, Oregon; Vancouver, Washington; and Eugene, Oregon were served by the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway. This railway’s route included trackage rights into Seattle using Northern Pacific Railway tracks.

Because there were so many overlaps on the various railroad’s routes, it only made sense to merge the smaller railroads into one company, creating the Burlington Northern Railroad.

Burlington Northern Railroad acquired the St. Louis-San Francisco, or Frisco, Railway in 1980. The Frisco line served Kansas City, Missouri; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; Memphis, Tennessee; Birmingham, Alabama; Mobile, Alabama; and Pensacola, Florida.

In 1995, Burlington Northern Railroad merged with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway, creating the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad. The AT&SF route included Chicago, Illinois; Kansas City, Missouri; Topeka, Kansas; Wichita, Kansas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Denver, Colorado; Amarillo, Texas; Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; Houston, Texas; Albuquerque, New Mexico; El Paso, Texas, Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles, California; San Diego, California; Sacramento, California; and San Francisco, California. Burlington Northern already served many of these cities; the merger allowed one railroad to serve most of the West and Midwest regions of the continental United States.

In 2005, Burlington Northern-Santa Fe was shortened to BNSF, as the railroad is known today.

Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Engine 3759

The AT&SF steam engine is on display in Kingman, Arizona

Engine #3759 was built for the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad in 1928 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. This engine was a 4-8-4 "Northern" type steam engine. It was one of sixty-five engines of this type used by AT&SF.

4-8-4 refers to the wheel configuration of the engine. There is a four-wheel leading truck, supporting the cab of the engine. This four-wheel truck is followed by an eight wheel driver arrangement. The driver wheels on the steam engine were 73 inches in diameter.

The driver wheels are followed by another four-wheel truck, the trailing truck, which supported the fireboxes and the boilers. The 4-8-4 configuration made locomotives faster, and was used mainly on fast freight and passenger trains.

The term "northern" type came into use in reference to locomotives in 1927 when the first 4-8-4 engine was built for Northern Pacific Railroad. This first engine was built by the American Locomotive Company.

There were a total of 1,126 engines with the 4-8-4 wheel configuration built for 36 North American railroad companies. Many Southern railroads did not want to use the "northern" type designation, so they came up with their own names for these engines.

AT&SF Engine #3759 was a coal-burning steam engine that pulled passenger trains between Los Angeles and Kansas City, with Kingman, Arizona being a water stop. The engine was rebuilt in 1941 to burn oil since oil was more readily available and cleaner-burning than coal.

The 73 inch driver wheels were changed out to 80 inch wheels to provide more speed to the locomotive. Engine #3759 traveled 2,585,600 miles in its passenger runs before being retired in 1953. This engine is only one of nine 4-8-4 engines left in existence in the United States.

Kingman, Arizona has its roots in the railroad. The town was started as a railroad camp for the Atlantic & Pacific Railroad, and is named for railroad surveyor Lewis Kingman.

The Santa Fe Railroad presented the engine to the people of Kingman as a gift in 1957. The town created Locomotive Park in August of that year to house Engine #3759. Locomotive Park is located between Beale Street and Andy Devine Avenue near downtown Kingman. Andy Devine Avenue is also Historic Route 66. The park became listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. A year later, a retired caboose was donated to Kingman to become part of the #3759 display.

Damn The Torpedos

These railroad explosives were used as a warning device

When someone mentions “torpedo”, most people are going to think of the underwater missiles fired from submarines and ships. However, torpedoes were also used on the railroad. These torpedoes were detonators strapped on top of the rails and used as a warning signal for engineers. They were mainly used during the steam era, and before radio contact between train crews and towers became the norm.

When it was necessary to use a torpedo, the device was strapped to the top of the rail, and it would explode as the train wheels passed over it. Torpedoes were generally used in pairs to ensure that the train crew heard the explosion. Torpedoes served as a warning of an accident or another train stopped on the tracks up ahead of the approaching train. They were also used in times when signals were difficult to see, as in foggy conditions, or when signals were malfunctioning.

Upon hearing a torpedo explosion, the train engineer was required to reduce the train’s speed to restricted levels, generally less than 15 miles per hour. The train could not resume normal speed until it was at least two miles beyond the point where it encountered the torpedo.

Each railroad had written rules for the proper use of a torpedo. In a 1967 Norfolk and Western Operating Rules book, the rule states :

“In automatic block signal territory, the explosion of two torpedoes is a signal to look out for an employee flagging or other signal.”

“Unless otherwise provided, in other than automatic block signal territory, the explosion of two torpedoes is a signal to proceed at restricted speed for a distance of one mile.”

“The explosion of one torpedo will indicate the same as two, but the use of two is required.”

“Torpedoes must not be placed near stations, road crossings or where they may injure persons.”

Torpedoes were deemed unnecessary by the Federal Railroad Administration in the late 1980s or early 1990s, and their use today is illegal.

Grand Canyon Railway

The historic railroad carries more than 200,000 people to the Grand Canyon each year

The Grand Canyon Railway is an historic railroad that operates between Williams, Arizona and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, covering 65 miles one way. It operates every day except for December 24 and 25. The first trip from Williams to the Grand Canyon by rail occurred in 1901. Rail service was suspended in 1968, when traveling by automobile became the norm. The Grand Canyon Railway was restored and brought back into existence in 1989. Today the railroad carries more than 200,000 people to the Grand Canyon annually.

The Grand Canyon Railway departs from the Williams Depot at 9:30 am and arrives at the Grand Canyon Depot at 11:45 am. The return trip leaves the Grand Canyon at 3:30 pm and arrives back in Williams at 5:45 pm.

Passengers on the Grand Canyon Railway can choose between four classes of rail car: Coach, First Class, Deluxe Observation Class and Luxury Parlor Class.

Coach passengers travel to the Grand Canyon in Budd Coach Class cars, which are 90-seat steam liner-era coach cars. First Class passengers are seated in one of eight areas, ranging from 42 seats in the Coconino, Kokopelli, Anasazi and Grand View cars, to 68 seats available in the Arizona and Bright Angel cars. Deluxe Observation Class is comprised of areas in the second story dome of the Coconino, Kokopelli and Grand View cars. Forty-one seats in the Chief car and thirty-three seats in the Santa Fe car make up the Luxury Parlor Class. Passengers in First Class, Deluxe Observation Class and Luxury Parlor Class can purchase beverages and snacks during the trip to and from the Grand Canyon.

There are daily Wild West shoot-outs at the Williams Depot prior to departure. The Williams Depot also features a gift shop, coffee shop and restaurant. The Grand Canyon Depot, at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, was built in 1910 and is a National Historic Landmark. It is the only log depot still in operation today. Lodging is available in Williams and at the Grand Canyon.

The Grand Canyon Railway offers special trains throughout the year. 2012 marks Arizona’s Centennial, and the Grand Canyon Railway will operate the Arizona Centennial Train on February 14, 2012. Vintage train cars will be used on the trip to the Grand Canyon and the train will be pulled by steam locomotive #4960, one of two steam locomotives used by the Grand Canyon Railway. Steam locomotives travel from Williams to the Grand Canyon once a year in September to mark the anniversary of the Grand Canyon Railway. Steam locomotives also make several special, shorter trips throughout the year.

The Pumpkin Patch Train operates every October and takes passengers to a special pumpkin patch that is accessible only by train. Passengers can choose a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, and can decorate it once the train returns to the Williams Depot.

Every year at holiday time, the Grand Canyon Railway operates The Polar Express, transporting children and adults alike to the magical world of Santa Claus and the North Pole. The Grand Canyon Railway started The Polar Express in 2001.