Burlington Northern Bi-Level Car BNA #31 Fox River

Fox River was originally built by Pullman-Standard in 1955 as a 145-seat bi-level gallery coach for the Southern Pacific’s commuter service in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was originally Southern Pacific #3703. After the commuter service was taken over by Caltrain in 1985, all of the Southern Pacific gallery cars were replaced with new equipment and sold to Tillamook Railcar in 1986.

In 1992, this car was sold to Transcisco Tours, where it was rebuilt as #800532 and was named Club High Sierra. It was purchased by Burlington Northern in 1994 and renamed Fox River.

Burlington Northern Bi-Level Car BNA #33 Skagit River

Skagit River was originally built by Pullman-Standard in 1955 as a 145-seat bi-level gallery coach for the Southern Pacific’s commuter service in the San Francisco Bay Area. It was originally Southern Pacific #3702. After the commuter service was taken over by Caltrain in 1985, all of the Southern Pacific gallery cars were replaced with new equipment and sold to Tillamook Railcar in 1986.

In 1992, this car was sold to Transcisco Tours, where it was rebuilt as #800533 and was named Donner Lake. It was purchased by Burlington Northern in 1994 and renamed Skagit River.

Burlington Northern Sleeping Car BNA #22 Stevens Pass

Stevens Pass was originally built by Pullman-Standard in 1951 as a sleeping car for the Great Northern’s Empire Builder. It was originally Great Northern #1260 and was named Skykomish River. It had 7 duplex roomettes, 4 sections, 3 double bedrooms, and 1 compartment. In 1963 it was rebuilt with 7 duplex roomettes, 6 double bedrooms, and 1 compartment. When the Great Northern was merged into Burlington Northern in March 1970, it became Burlington Northern #1260.

When Amtrak took over passenger rail service in 1971, this car was retained by Burlington Northern for company use. In 1973 it was renamed Stevens Pass.

Burlington Northern Power Car BNA #30 Snoqualmie Pass

This car was originally built by Pullman-Standard in 1965 as Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe baggage-express car #3931. It was converted by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe to Steam Generator Car #138 in 1970. 

The car was sold in the late 1980s and became DLWX #138 in 1990. It was purchased by Burlington Northern in 1995, rebuilt as power car BNA #30, and named Snoqualmie Pass.

Burlington Northern F9-2 BN-2

BN-2 was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in August 1954 as Northern Pacific F-9B #7002C. It became Burlington Northern #809 after the merger of March 2, 1970. It was retired in November 1982 and was rebuilt as Rotary Snowplow Power Plant #972574.

In September 1990 it was rebuilt by Burlington Northern’s West Burlington Shops in Burlington, Iowa into F9-2 BN-2. The rebuild included replacing the original 1500 horsepower engine with a new 2000 horsepower 16 cylinder engine.

Burlington Northern F9-2 BN-1

BN-1 was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in February 1954 as Northern Pacific F-9A #6700A. It became Burlington Northern #9800 after the merger of March 2, 1970.

After the creation of Amtrak, #9800, originally a passenger unit, was assigned to freight service and renumbered #766.

It was retired in November 1981 and was rebuilt as Rotary Snowplow Power Plant #972567. 

In September 1990 it was rebuilt by Burlington Northern’s West Burlington Shops in Burlington, Iowa into F9-2 BN-1.

The rebuild included replacing the original 1500 horsepower engine with a new 2000 horsepower 16 cylinder engine.

Kelso Intermodal Facility Dedication

Rail service first came to Kelso, Washington, in 1872, when the Northern Pacific Railway built north from a river connection at Kalama, Washington toward Seattle. This brick depot opened on February 12, 1912, replacing an earlier wood-frame depot built in the 1800s. On March 2, 1970, the Northern Pacific Railway was merged into the Burlington Northern Railroad, and Amtrak took over passenger service on May 1, 1971. By the early 1990s, the depot was locked up. Amtrak trains still stopped at the station, but there were no personnel at the station and passengers had to wait outside. Tickets had to be purchased in advance, either from a travel agent, or from another station with Amtrak personnel.

In September 1994, after years of neglect, a major renovation and restoration of the depot was started to turn the depot into a multimodal transportation hub for Cowlitz County. The renovation included the addition of a clock tower and putting a full basement under the depot, which had never had one before, to be used for retail space. The renovation was completed and the depot was dedicated at 2:30 PM on September 23, 1995 at the Grand Opening of the Kelso Intermodal Facility and the "Keeping Kids on Track" festival. 

A few classic cars had been gathered for the event.

1950 Ford Fordor Sedan Police Car

1949 Chevrolet Styleline DeLuxe 2-Door Sedan

1955 Chevrolet Two-Ten 2-Door Sedan

The grand opening also featured an appearance by Burlington Northern’s executive train, though a couple of other trains passed by first.

Burlington Northern GP39E #2914 was originally built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in May 1964 as Chicago, Burlington & Quincy GP35 #986. It was originally powered by a 2,500-horsepower turbocharged 16-cylinder 567 engine. After the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy was merged into Burlington Northern on March 2, 1970, it became Burlington Northern #2532. In March 1990, it was rebuilt by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors as 2,300-horsepower GP39E Burlington Northern #2914.

Burlington Northern #2914 led a local southbound freight train with Burlington Northern extended-vision caboose #12510 bringing up the rear. This caboose was originally Burlington Northern #12088. It was built by Pacific Car & Foundry in September 1975. It was rebuilt by Burlington Northern subsidiary Western Fruit Express at Yardley Yard in Spokane, Washington, on July 3, 1990. 

Amtrak F40PHR #319 was built by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors in August 1979. It was built using parts from retired Amtrak SDP40F #583. I think the train it is pulling is the northbound Pioneer, which ran between Chicago and Seattle via Denver and Portland. The Pioneer was inaugurated on June 7, 1977, and would continue until May 10, 1997, when it was discontinued.

The Burlington Northern executive train arrived from the south with the following consist:

• F9-2 Locomotive BN-1
• F9-2 Locomotive BN-2
• Power Car #30 Snoqualmie Pass
• Sleeping Car #22 Stevens Pass
• Bi-Level Car #33 Skagit River
• Bi-Level Car #31 Fox River
• Bi-Level Car #32 Flathead River
• Lounge Car #10 Como
• Full Dome Observation Car #24 Glacier View

Each of these will be covered in more detail in its own post.