BNSF Railway is one of the largest freight railroads in North America. One of seven North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 35,000 employees, 32,500 miles (52,300 km) of track in 28 states, and nearly 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide rail connections between the western and eastern United States. BNSF trains traveled over 169 million miles in 2010, more than any other North American railroad.
The Empire Builder is an Amtrak long-distance passenger train that operates daily between Chicago and either Seattle or Portland via two sections west of Spokane. Introduced in 1929, it was the flagship passenger train of the Great Northern Railway and its successor, the Burlington Northern Railroad, and was retained by Amtrak when it took over intercity rail service in 1971.
The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and also in Texas through subsidiaries Colorado and Southern Railway, Fort Worth and Denver Railway, and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad. Its primary connections included Chicago, Minneapolis–Saint Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Denver. Because of this extensive trackage in the midwest and mountain states, the railroad used the advertising slogans "Everywhere West", "Way of the Zephyrs", and "The Way West".
Saint Paul Union Depot is a historic railroad station and intermodal transit hub in the Lowertown neighborhood of the city of Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. It serves light rail, intercity rail, intercity bus, and local bus services.
A dome car is a type of railway passenger car that has a glass dome on the top of the car where passengers can ride and see in all directions around the train. It also can include features of a coach, lounge car, dining car, sleeping car or observation. Beginning in 1945, dome cars were primarily used in the United States and Canada, though a small number were constructed in Europe for Trans Europ Express service, and similar panorama cars are in service on Alpine tourist railways like the Bernina Express.
The North Coast Limited was a named passenger train operated by the Northern Pacific Railway between Chicago and Seattle via Bismarck, North Dakota. It started on April 29, 1900, and continued as a Burlington Northern Railroad train after the merger on March 2, 1970 with Great Northern Railway and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The next year, it ceased operations after the trains which left their originating stations on April 30, 1971, the day before Amtrak began service, arrived at their destinations.
The North Coast Hiawatha was a streamlined passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois, and Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It operated from 1971 to 1979. The train was a successor to the Northern Pacific Railway's North Coast Limited and Mainstreeter, although it used the route of the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad east of Minneapolis–Saint Paul. The train's name combined the North Coast Limited with the Milwaukee Road's famed Hiawathas. Created at the behest of the United States Congress, the North Coast Hiawatha enjoyed an uncertain existence before being discontinued in 1979. Since then there have been several attempts to restore the service, without success.
The Nebraska Zephyr was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad between Chicago, Illinois; Omaha, Nebraska; and Lincoln, Nebraska, from 1947 to 1971. Until 1968, the service was provided by two Twin Cities Zephyr articulated trainsets — the "Train of the Gods" and "Train of the Goddesses" — that became synonymous with it. The Nebraska Zephyr was one of many trains discontinued when Amtrak began operations in 1971. The "Train of the Goddesses" set is preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois.
The BNSF Line is a Metra commuter rail line operated by the BNSF Railway in Chicago and its western suburbs. In 2010, the BNSF Line continued to have the highest weekday ridership of the 11 Metra lines. While Metra does not refer to its lines by particular colors, the BNSF line's color on Metra timetables is "Cascade Green," in honor of the Burlington Northern Railroad.
The Denver Zephyr was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado. In peak years it ran to Colorado Springs. It operated from 1936 to 1973. The Denver Zephyr continued operating after the Burlington Northern Railroad merger in 1970. BN conveyed the train to Amtrak in 1971; Amtrak merged it with the Denver–Oakland City of San Francisco to form the San Francisco Zephyr and dropped the "Denver" name in 1973.
The 400 was a named passenger train operated by the Chicago and North Western Railway between Chicago and Saint Paul, with a final stop in Minneapolis. The train took its name from the schedule of 400 miles between the cities in 400 minutes, and was also a nod to "The Four Hundred Club", a term coined by Ward McAllister to refer to the social elite of New York City in the late 19th century. It was an express train with limited stops between Chicago and the Twin Cities. The "400" ran from 1935 to 1963 on the Chicago to Twin Cities route. The C&NW later named their other passenger trains using the number "400".
The Pioneer Limited was a United States named passenger train running overnight on the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. The westbound train was Milwaukee Road train No. 1 and the eastbound was No. 4.
The Twin Cities Zephyr was a streamlined passenger train on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), running between Chicago and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota. It was the second Zephyr service introduced by CB&Q after the record-setting Denver–Chicago "dawn to dusk dash" of the Pioneer Zephyr trainset.
La Crosse station is an Amtrak intercity train station in La Crosse, Wisconsin, served by Amtrak's daily Empire Builder line. The train station was originally built in 1926 by the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad. The station was renovated in 1997 and today is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in Wisconsin as the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway Depot, as well as the Milwaukee Road Passenger Depot. The La Crosse Rail Bridge, which crosses the Mississippi River, is located just under two miles west of the La Crosse station.
The Western Star was a named passenger train operated by the Great Northern Railway between Chicago and the Pacific Northwest via Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. Between Chicago and St. Paul the train used the route of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad; in later years eastbound passengers were accommodated on Burlington trains east of St. Paul. Through cars from the train operated between Spokane, Washington and Portland, Oregon via the Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway. It operated from 1951 to 1971.
The Texas Zephyr was a named passenger train operated by the Colorado & Southern Railway and the Fort Worth & Denver Railway. The train was originally designated number 1 southbound, and number 2 northbound.
The St. Croix Subdivision or St. Croix Sub is an American rail line operated by the BNSF Railway. It runs approximately 150 miles (240 km) from La Crosse, Wisconsin to Saint Paul, Minnesota, following the Mississippi River. It runs through the communities of La Crosse, Onalaska, Brice Prairie, Trempealeau, East Winona, Fountain City, Cochrane, Buffalo City, Alma, Nelson, Pepin, Stockholm, Maiden Rock, Bay City, Diamond Bluff, and Prescott, Wisconsin. This section of track sees 55-60 trains a day and is double tracked for most of the 150 miles with exceptions of Burns to Prescott, Mears to Trevino, and Winona Jct. to East Winona.
The Arrowhead was a daily passenger train operated by Amtrak between Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, in the United States. After two years of operation, service was extended from Superior to Duluth, Minnesota.
Glendive Depot is an office building and former train station in Glendive, Montana. The Northern Pacific Railway established the town in 1881 and opened the first depot in 1882. The present depot building was built in 1922 and is part of the Merrill Avenue Historic District.
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy 5632 was a O-5b class 4-8-4 “Northern” built in the CB&Q's shops in September 1940. It was used to pull mainline passenger and freight trains before it eventually became famous for pulling a plethora of excursion trains for the CB&Q’s steam excursion program. By the time the program ended in 1966, No. 5632 was disassembled for an unfinished overhaul, and it was subsequently sold to locomotive caretaker Richard Jensen. The locomotive was stored inside a roundhouse, waiting for restoration until 1969, when it was moved to a scrapyard. The locomotive derailed on a switch in 1972, resulting in its scrapping and a subsequent lawsuit between the scrapyard and Jensen.
