Buffett Buys BNSF

Financial emperor Warren Buffett has been buying up BNSF shares for years, but even in the first 48 hours since the announcement, this much is known about Berkshire Hathaway's $34 Billion purchase: Buffett is betting the farm on American rail.

Buffett believes that American coal will continue to produce in the long term, carried by Rio Grande-like unit trains from western sources such as the Wyoming and Colorado coal fields. He also believes that the American economy will rebound, once again driving demand for cheap and easy imports from China and the Pacific Rim to Wal-Mart and Sears aboard BNSF container trains from Washington and California ports.

Little if any impact is expected at the operations level. In a letter to BNSFs customers, John Lanigan stated,

You will not see any changes in the weeks and months ahead. Our leadership will remain in place and focused on providing value to our customers.

BNSFs Ft. Worth, Texas-based operations will remain in Ft. Worth. Largely, this looks like a move that's behind the scenes. The funny thing about those behind-the-scenes moves, however, is that they have an uncanny way of driving long-term strategies. Is this the anticipated move that sets the "fabled" next round of mergers in action that pairs BNSF and UP with their East Coast counterparts CSX and NS? What would this mean for the plans of high speed rail? If mergers happen, they will happen in the next 12 months. That's just a hunch based off the last round in 1995-96 where Conrail was divided up between CSX and NS and BN and Santa Fe merged, forcing UP to buy Southern Pacific from Colorado's Phil Anschutz.

Off-Road And On Track At the Alpine Tunnel

An off-road vehicle is often your best choice for exploring the sites of Colorado's extensive railroad history. It therefore follows that some members of the off-road vehicle groups would find some crossover interest. The folks at UTV Weekly put together a nice piece on Hancock Pass and the Alpine Tunnel, complete with photos.

The Alpine Tunnel was an endeavor by the Denver, South Park & Pacific (wikipedia), a narrow gauge railroad founded in 1872 with a small but hardy following among narrow-gauge railfans. In 1889, the DSP&P became the Denver, Leadville, & Gunnison (UP-controlled) and then in 1898, part of the Colorado & Southern system. The Alpine Tunnel was in use from 1881 to 1910, connecting Leadville and the Arkansas River Valley with Gunnison and the western slope.

Having visited the site a few years ago, I can tell you that the progress at the Alpine Tunnel historic district is noticeable, but slow. Hard, grueling work is complicated by the short summer--if you can call it that--along with the high altitude and lack of funding, things that conspired to prevent the original route from completion and continued operation. If you look at the photos, you'll see that even the memorials are not immune to the harsh conditions. Yet it is all worth a visit, if only to see the beauty of the state and embrace the history of men who bravely fought and died facing the worst conditions Colorado's Rocky Mountains could throw at them.


Further & Related

• What's a UTV?
  
• UTV Weekly also covered the Alpine Loop.
• Denver, Leadville & Gunnison #191, the oldest native locomotive in Colorado, recently returned to display at the Colorado Railroad Museum after a full cosmetic restoration.
  

Derailment in Glenwood Canyon Closes Line For More Than a Day

A thirty-car derailment in Glenwood Canyon forced the UP to close its D&RGW mainline through Colorado for more than a day while crews repaired damaged track and righted cars, from Wednesday night to Friday morning. More than 1,200 feet of track needed replacing after a handbrake was left engaged on one of the cars. The car jumped and derailed, remaining upright, which could not be said for all of the cars behind it in the 103 car, 5 locomotive train. The Grand Junction Sentinel has the story.

Runaway Rail Car Rolls Through Arvada

What happens when you mix morning rush hour, a carload of plastic pellets, no brakes, and Arvada's finest? One wild ride!

Apparently the fun started just before 8:04 a.m. Thursday morning when calls came in to the Arvada police about a runaway freight car. According to the Denver Post, the car reached 40 miles per hour as it rolled out of control on the BNSF railroad tracks west of Denver. With that speed and with the car being so short, the gates at the grade crossings never descended or signaled approaching traffic. The car could have easily struck a car or pedestrian, or several, if any had been in the crossing at the time the car quietly rolled through.

As it was, Arvada police tried to get to the crossings in time to protect the intersections. Whether it was the police or the work of an angel or two, thankfully no one was injured and no railroad traffic was threatened. A BNSF  switching crew was in the area at the time and BNSF's team is investigating the incident.

Pile Driver OB Demonstration At CRRM

According to C&TS, we will have the opportunity to see Pile Driver OB in action the next two weekends at the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden. On Saturday October 10 & 11 and again October 17 & 18, there will be demonstrations on the museum grounds. The Colorado Railroad Museum opens at 9:00am and the demonstrations will be held at 10:00am, 12:30pm and 3:00pm all four days.

General Palmer To Visit Canon City Tomorrow

A one-man play, General Palmer, focuses on the life of the founder of Colorado Springs and the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad. Raymond Purl, father of Linda Purl and World War II veteran, will be performing in Canon City tomorrow. Admission is free.

Take the Royal Gorge Route railroad and make a day of it!

Bring Back the Mizpah Welcome Arch

Tom Noel, noted Colorado historian, wrote an Op-ed piece in today's Denver Post about the work to bring back the Welcome arch that stood at 17th and Wynkoop in front of Denver Union Station from 1906 to 1931. The hope is that this will be the first step toward restoring the interior of the station, something the current owner, RTD, has been neglecting. Interested parties can participate here.

The Ski Train Is Coming!

With enough effort and time, the improbable becomes the probable.

Union Pacific Railroad has agreed to allow a new Ski Train, between Denver Union Station and Winter Park, run by Amtrak and likely using Rio Grande Scenic Railroad equipment owned by the San Luis and Rio Grande, part of Iowa Pacific. Although the agreement between Amtrak and Iowa Pacific has yet to be completed, it appears that the biggest hurdle, an agreement with UP, has been cleared. Denver Union Station Planning Authority plans to accommodate Amtrak traffic at a temporary terminal north of the current station. The Denver Post reports the details.

WH Jackson Photography Exhibit At Western Mining Museum

William Henry Jackson was an early photographer who captured much of Colorado's scenic beauty during the early years of the state. His photograph of Mount of the Holy Cross was widely reproduced and hailed by many as a miraculous sign of Christianity. Much of his photography was taken of and near railroads. He was hired by General Palmer's baby railroad to take many of the pictures that remain hallmarks, showing the infancy and growth of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad.
 

The Western Museum of Mining and Industry, also known as the Western Mining Museum, is hosting an exhibit of WH Jackson's work for the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad starting two weeks from now, September 25th, and running until the end of the year. The museum is just north of Colorado Springs off I-25, open Monday - Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit the museum website. The rest of the museum is worth a look for all those interested in history and mechanical engineering, as well as the obvious mining and geology.

Ouray County Railroad Days

Ouray County over in the western San Juan Mountains is hosting Railroad Days this weekend. Indulge your inner rail geek and head on over.

When the Railroad Moved By ...Station Wagon?

Rare enough are photographs of the days of steam in Colorado. Rarer still are photos of odd equipment like pile drivers and the barrel transfer in Salida. Rarest of all are photos like this. Denver & Rio Grande Western auto 333 sitting at the top of Loveland Pass on US 6 in 1958! Company cars were a rare thing when the company moved on rails. Click here to visit the gallery.

Ski Train Reserving A Platform At Union Station

The news continues to be hopeful for the revival of the Ski Train with a letter to Union Station, but the true test will be Union Pacific.

The Union Pacific loves coal. It loves the little black diamonds that come out of the mines of Wyoming's Powder River Basin as much as those that come out of northwestern Colorado, mostly because the grade of coal is so good. Coal means cheap electrical power, but it also means heavy revenue that UP uses to keep its bottom line. Getting them to let a passenger train in the mix will interfere with that. Or will it?

Opinion
The success or failure of a revived Ski Train will also affect the east-west high-speed corridor proposal. Ed Ellis, head of the San Luis & Rio Grande shortline is doing Colorado a huge favor by going out on a limb with this business venture. Supporting him, the SL&RG and the Rio Grande Scenic Railroad is something most of us can do in some manner.