Burlington Northern in the Beginning

Stephen Harris visited Washington and Oregon in 1970 and 71. He was able to capture the early beginnings of the Burlington Northern Railroad. This film shows BN operations using a variety of locomotives from the various railroads that BN incorporated...Northern Pacific, Great Northern and others.

[@FelicianaDelacruz]

In reference to the Western Pacific locomotives, In 1931 the WP and the Great Northern built a north/south line to compete for traffic with the Southern Pacific. The WP swung north out of Keddie and built northwards to Bieber, California before the WP ran out of money, so the GN built further south to link up. It was known as the "Inside Gateway" or "Highline" and it was fairly common to see WP power up north and SP&S and such down in Keddie. After the merger into the Burlington Northern this arrangement stayed in effect until the merger of the Western Pacific and Union Pacific in 1982-3. To the best of my knowledge the BNSF still uses this route into Stockton, California. While the UP uses the Feather River route.

[@christopherorourke6362]

When the Burlington(CB&Q), Great Northern, Northern Pacific, Spokane, Portland & Seattle, Colorado & Southern, Fort Worth & Denver all were merged in early 1970 into what became the Burlington Northern I was already a big fan of the Great Northern because of its logo with a mountain goat standing on top of a mountain peak. I read many books about railroads, when I had read about how the Great Northern was built without any Federal land grants and James Jerome Hill working out there with the workers, the more I became a fan of the Great Northern railroad and I was a fan of the Burlington because it went to Denver and had the stati less steel Zephyrs. I have many books on railroads. I named my property Avra Valley Union Station where I live at. 7 members of my family all worked for the Lehigh Valley railroad in Pennsylvania, my great grandfather Kearney, 4 grand uncles & 2 second cousins all worked for the Lehigh Valley.

[@BNSF-2050]

My model railway's club has the GN Goat as our mascot

[@jdp..1716]

Great story love the lehigh valley one of my favorite roads. The black diamond pacific is my favorite streamlined steamer of all time

[@rinaraissa]

🤔🤔🤔

[@douglasskaalrud6865]

Hill wasn’t necessarily working with the men-he was hounding them to get a move on. It was his railroad after all and he expected a lot.

[@mackenziezimmerer7926]

Those elegant E's and F units with the a@b set up! The most coveted deisel in any HO set and my favorite real one! Those throaty sounds are heavenly

[@ericbleuel8560]

Yes! Listening to a ABBA consist of F7's ramping up is great!

[@blainenodes8182]

Something about the sound of E/F units stuck in my 🧠since 1955🔊...( Rs3 alco stuck also)

[@stephenadams595]

I model the BN between 1977 and 1982 in the pacific northwest. Saving up for a trio of bowser Alco c 636's. It all started with a tyco trainset in1980. Now there is a fleet of 26 locomotives in all pre merger paint and BN green & black. Thanks to the internet I can all information here in New Zealand.

[@RantzBizGroup]

Excellent! My years are the BN in just this phase of operation... Here's to you in NZ!

[@scottfw7169]

Pretty cool. That's definitely a 'we mean business' snowplow on that WP F-unit.

[@gregbrown6430]

Comment on the train with Western Pacific power at 5:45 - it was very common for WP units to run all the way to Klamath Falls. Occasionally, WP power would run all the way to Vancouver or Pasco. This is the first video I have ever seen of WP F units running north of Klamath Falls.

[@ryandevlin4572]

Hey Buddy

[@gordonvincent731]

I have slides of WP GP40's at Interbay roundhouse in Seattle back in 73/74.

[@BNforever2009]

Spectacular video. I saw some of these passenger trains on the 4 track "Racetrack " on the "Q" in Chicago Illinois in the Lawndale neighborhood.

[@rockislandmodeler6802]

Like watching early Conrail with all the mixed fallen flags. Thanks for sharing!

[@LeeWitten]

Yes, I like to see a mix of power units.

[@anb740]

Holy crap at all the unbelievable, crazy consists! Wow! Fun times back then during the BN transition years before everything became green/black.

[@LeeWitten]

A model railroader could have a great time reproducing this lashup.

[@NOcollapseIN]

super cool to see all that power lashed up!!! many youths into railroading will never know the power shaking the ground with first and second gen 16 EMD cylinders (and alco) going crazy!!as one who grew up near the KATY's Denison Ray Yards, thank you!!!!!

[@LeeWitten]

Thanks for the comment. Its been fun editing these and seeing all the variety of locomotive power.

[@pauldowning3805]

I absolutely love this ❤️😍 video. Because of the variety and mixed consist. Thanks for sharing this with me and others.

[@LeeWitten]

I'm glad this struck a chord with you. Yes, those were fun days for train spotters.

[@jaydesthegtarailmaster1968]

Man I love these kind of videos, I know I wasn’t born in the 1960s to see this is the 1970s but I wish I was. It shows me how much kooler things were back then.

[@svenmartin840]

i was only 3 when these videos where made. But I feel like a kid again. Oh the color schemes

[@warrenwilson4818]

Love your dubbed in engine and track sounds. My favorite paint scheme? BN's SkyBlue.

[@LeeWitten]

Thank's for the comment, appreciate it. Yes the SkyBlue is a nice looking livery.

[@tomfields3682]

Imn the early 80s, the Rock Island adopted a similar sky blue scheme just before it went bankrupt.

[@luciusvorenus9445]

Great video! Thanks for sharing! The first HO scale train set I received for my 9th birthday was a TYCO Burlington Northern set. They have been my favorite ever since!

[@MrJimmybgood]

wow that took me back to my childhood in spokane still living here and how much has changed thank you for sharing.

[@billanderson4619]

I find something new every time I watch one of these videos. Prior to the BN merger, the Northern Pacific repainted a few F units from the classic "Pine Tree" scheme to a simplified "swoop." One of these repainted diesels is the trailing unit of the freight at the 0:44 mark, as evidenced by the wide yellow band which extends all the way down to the bottom of the car body. Compare it to other NP F units in the video which have the original narrow yellow band with red separation stripes on both the top and bottom. When I was a student at Washington State University (Go Cougs!) from 1968-73, I saw at least one "swooped" A unit pass through Pullman on the head of the High Ball, a freight which ran nightly on the Northern Pacific's P&L Line between between Spokane and Lewiston, ID. Much to my delight, F units showed up quite often on this train.

[@VOTERED-i5k]

Thank you for posting this archive. Best time of my life. Absolutely awesome watching these old trains. 🚂🚃🚃🚃

[@LeeWitten]

Glad this brought back good memories.

[@oldclip70]

This is a Highline train. In the early 70's, both BN and WP started run-through power from K-Falls to Oroville; later it was expanded from Seattle to Stockton. I remember those trains growing up in Stockton. Thanks for posting.

[@LeeWitten]

+Christopher Clipper Thanks for your comment. Appreciate the information about the run-throughs. Interesting lash-ups of locomotives back then.

[@LeeWitten]

+Christopher Clipper By the way, you might like to check out the next video I just uploaded of BN and WP in Feather River Canyon.

[@JDsHouseofHobbies]

+Christopher Clipper Lee Witten One of the things that I love about the WP were the wonderful post BN merger trains that came down the Highline. I model the WP just before the end of the Cali Zephyr and just as the BN merger started. Makes for some beautiful trains!

[@DistanceNsVeterans]

5:47 love the way the red mars light blinks

[@LeeWitten]

Yes, don't switch onto my track please!!

[@billanderson4619]

Love seeing all the pre-merger paint schemes. The passenger train at the beginning of the video has something I have never seen before: two boxcars at the head of the train and the rear passenger car painted in some kind of experimental Big Sky Blue scheme with a broad white stripe through the windows. The next passenger train looks like the North Coast Limited, bit it would not have been going through Kelso, which is located near the Columbia River on the Seattle-Portland mainline.

[@Greatdome99]

Those were former GN express boxcars equipped with high speed trucks, steam and signal lines so they could run in passenger trains--usually mail trains. The experimental GN scheme on the back coach was a precursor to BN Green. Both Big Sky Blue and BN green schemes were designed by the marketing firm Lippincott and Margulies (as was CP Rail's).

[@ericbleuel8560]

Great old footage! Even a few old Alco's!

[@LeeWitten]

Thanks for the comment. Glad you enjoyed this video. I'm happy that Harris captured some of railroading history on film.

[@aksa0159]

This is too sad for me watching those locomotives from separated companies merged into one. I always love seeing those Big Sky Blue locomotives running around in the north. And also those SP&S C636 trio hauling freights

[@ronniefarnsworth6465]

One of the Best videos of that great era of four colorful RR and the Fantastic liveries, even the BN though I Love the Fallen Flags so much Better like I think most of us did !! ? GN, NP, CB&Q and SP&S had such a nice variety motive power from the Big three builders and Colorful schemes, it was just the Best !!! : )

[@LeeWitten]

Ronnie, thank you so much for the compliment. I'm so glad that Harris caught these historic scenes and we have KZbin to allow so many others to see it.

[@ronniefarnsworth6465]

@@LeeWitten You are so very welcome !!

[@robertramsay5963]

Thanks for posting. Good to see that historic raw power at work.

[@LeeWitten]

Thanks Robert. Appreciate the comment and that it meant something to you. I'm still editng more of Harris' films. Check my channel now and then.

[@cprtrain]

Great video. What an interesting era.

[@lamontduplessis3552]

Just truly Awesome!! Because of disabilities I "arm chair" my railfaning, but love it just the same!! Burlington Northern will always be one of my personal favorites. I learned alot just from this Great video!! Ty for posting.

[@LeeWitten]

Lamont, thanks so much for the comment. I'm really glad you enjoy these videos, especially of your BN. There's another BN segment coming up with the BN southern hookup from Denver to Raton.

[@TheTonystearns]

Thanks for the share this is to cool . Growing up in the 80’s I got to see some of these fallen flags and Bn still used a couple high hoods in Seattle on the main line ❤

[@LeeWitten]

Glad this video had meaning for you and brought back memories.

[@dennisbrowder6316]

Love the WP plow, SP and UP also had a few on there Fs. I had a couple Brass H-O model's ! Boy wish I had them back

[@markshogan2642]

Great films! Never been out west, but I remember going to horseshoe curve in the early Conrail era and taking numerous photos of multicolored units. Interestingly enough, my friend and I kept looking toward the east, hoping not to see s rising mushroom cloud. The reason, the weekend we were there was the weekend after the Three Mile Island accident.

[@LeeWitten]

Horseshoe curve, that's one railfan spot I've always wanted to visit.

[@SunsetRailMultimedia]

The scene at 7:50 was my favorite. nothing beats a bunch of fallen flag units moving at track speed hauling a long freight.

[@tommythomason6187]

Those Big Sky Blue, Great Northern passenger trains were some of the most striking trains on the rails. I don't know if they made money on those trains, but they went all out to repaint the equipment and make the trains look nice. They obviously cared about making the passenger trains look nice. Some railroads did not.

[@tomfields3682]

I wonder why they bothered to repaint the passenger equipment just a couple years before Amtrak took over.

[@RogerThunderhandsGilbert]

Talk about colorful and classic motive power,,you have to love northwest railroading! Also makes me appreciate the BNSF color scheme a little more since I was a die-hard Santa Fe Warbonnet fan. The orange and dark green coming from a bit of history for sure. I don't think BNSF should have dropped the cigar band design on the nose though. That BNSF slash doesn't quite cut it with me.

[@stevenfd123]

Love seeing those SP&S units.

[@ScottJohnson4449]

The WP units look like they ran up to Klamath Falls to interchange. I think I have seen pictures of them there before.

[@randyoehling6010]

Love big sky blue!

[@tommyhunter1817]

The glory days.

[@tommythomason6187]

Heck of a snow plow on that Western Pacific F unit at around 6:00 . Any idea when BN retired their Fs? They still had quite a few of them in the late 1970s.

[@jimholder6656]

A super job of audio dubbing! Great video -- reminds me of the song "Seems Like Old Times"!

[@LeeWitten]

Jim, thanks for the compliment on my audio. Strictly an amateur with my iMac. Its lots of fun to see how close I can come to the on screen action.

[@Eurofima]

Still better than my microphone

[@lamontduplessis3552]

Ty Lee; happy to subscribe and Great job!!

[@RantzBizGroup]

This is fantastic video, thanks for taking the time to post!

[@LeeWitten]

thank you, glad you enjoyed it.

[@mikekutz5776]

Really cool.

[@espeescotty]

I think even the Alaska Railroad envied those plows the WP put on their F-units! How cool it would have been to see one of those just cutting through 2 or 3 feet of fresh undisturbed snow.

[@markfrench8892]

W.P. had to have plows like that for the snow was heavy in the Westwood area of the High Line.

[@progx8679]

Love those SP&S Alco's !!!!

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

in 1976 at the start of CR,,, CR needed power, any power. CR leased a handful of SPS RS3s, a buddy saw 2 of them. CR also leased Southern FP7s but CR deemed them too far gone,,i did see 1 in cincy 6132. CR also leased MP de turboed GP35s,CN 4 axle ALCOs(i saw some of both of these). even 2 years into CR, CR needed power, so they got their hands on some of those high nose ex FRISCO U25Bs. I saw 2 of these running around.

[@JoyceLund]

Same

[@jamescashell4754]

great video

[@LeeWitten]

+james cashed Thanks.

[@stevekalis139]

Man that’s one big ass snowplow on the front of that western pac diesel!

[@tomfields3682]

Surprised the NYC didn't have those for its track along.the snow belt.

[@mikehawk2003]

Western Pacific and Great Northern/Burlington Northern had a run-through power agreement for trains between Klamath Falls, OR and Stockton, CA for Inside Gateway trains connecting to the Santa Fe at Stockton. For a while in the early 70's, Stockton was host to a rainbow of BN power despite how far it was from the rest of the BN. This agreement ended overnight in 1980 with the announcement of the UP merger, and WP was forced to use their four-axle power over the steep grade.

[@Zebrails]

Nice job of sound editing! Awesome footage!

[@LeeWitten]

Thank you for the compliment. Its fun trying to match up the sound to the film.

[@casperfriendly47]

Fantastic!

[@LeeWitten]

Thank you!

[@Greatdome99]

"Cascade Grade" doesn't exist. Looks like Chemult, OR where the GN line from Bend joins the SP line from Eugene. GN had trackage rights on the SP from Chemult to K Falls.

[@metalheadYcigarguy]

Great video. Love seeing all the fallen flag power. Thanks for sharing.

[@michaelhadamson7749]

The WP and the Great Northern interchanged traffic @ Bieber Ca. often the locomotives would go through.

[@tomfields3682]

Whoa, look at that cowcatcher on the front of that WP engine at 6:11!

[@wildbill9919]

I was born in 1972. Wish I was born about 1950 so I could have experienced the BN merger.

[@ishirotanaka]

at 5:50 BN Didn't Purchase The WP Motive Power, It's Actually Run through Pool Power. Beginning In 1971, WP's President Alfred Pearlman Made Arrangements & Agreements With BN To Have Motive Power Run Through & Pool On The Highline Between Stockton CA, & Bieber CA. So A Lot Of Times, WP Motive Power Could Be Scene As Far North As Washington State.

[@LeeWitten]

Thanks for that clarification. It was just a stab in the dark when I edited the video.

[@ishirotanaka]

@@LeeWitten no problem, you can always re-edit the video saying that it’s pool power.

[@Greatdome99]

The first train wasn't the North Coast Limited, but one of two BN Portland-Seattle Pool Trains. The 3rd train was taken at Auburn, not Kelso.

[@LeeWitten]

Thanks for the heads up. I was going by Harris' notes since he was actually there filming.

[@gregbrown6430]

I grew up in Klamath Falls and I remember seeing a lot of this. Thank you for making it available. It looks like Stephen Harris spent a lot of time in Klamath. Did he film the OC&E log trains?

[@LeeWitten]

Greg, yet Harris seemed to have taken several trips up there. He lived in Salt Lake City. As for OC&E log trains, I'm not sure. I'll have to see. Watch for future uploads.

[@kyleecarlson9912]

I have many pictures of Wp power coming up to Seattle generally it wouldn't go any further than that WP is bicentennial units also made it up there. S p's run through power from Brooklyn in Portland would come to Seattle also.

[@TexasRailfan21-RailfanRyan]

3:05 what kind of diesel is that on the point of that Burlington Northern Freight Train in Great Northern blue white and black colors?

[@LeeWitten]

It looks to me like an F40. Google Locomotive F40 and you can see a lot of photos of it.

[@jeffreymcfadden9403]

F45.

[@AndreiTupolev]

Notice one thing missing? Graffiti. Not a trace of any anywhere

[@LeeWitten]

That really dates it doesn't it. I don't know what cultural change happened that started that stuff happening.

[@tramwayjohn]

Very well put together, and enjoyable. I rode the EMPIRE BUILDER from Portland to Yakima in 1976, to rode the Yakima Interurban trolley. AMTRAK drop the route via Yakima?

[@LeeWitten]

Thanks John.

[@mikestubenvoll5708]

NO HORNS THANKS GREAT VIDEO

[@jakewagner4947]

Amazing fotage

[@LeeWitten]

+Jake Wagner Thanks for the comment. I'm glad Harris recorded these historic scenes.

[@bradhardy2629]

Looks like Milwaukee road units mixed in the bn stuff

[@alexpendley10]

Do these locomotives still exist or have they been scraped I live next to a big train yard and never see those trains

[@LeeWitten]

I would imagine many have been scrapped or donated to museums, sold to small railroads and repainted. Hard to tell.

[@alexpendley10]

In auburn washington of course

[@alexpendley10]

Lee Witten I've never seen a streamlined diesel locomotive at the yard except a cab less loco that's supposed to be attached to one but put on other trains

[@alexpendley10]

The oldest I've seen was a 53 sd9 and a 460 steamie but the steam engine was used when union Pacific ran through Washington and was bought by bn in 69 when steam locomotives weren't as valuable and was used as a shunting train and now it's out of service but still on the line this morning I saw it being pushed to a shed thing by an sw1500

[@utubewatcher806]

+Alex jew gaming the date at front of video marks these as 1970's time era, so these "fallen flags" are museum pieces, sold to short line railroads, or scrapped. If you see BNSF swoosh locos, that's the successor to all of this unique and great footage. I was x-years old when the BN merger was announced, and was first of many consolidations through 70's and into late 1990's. Conrail, Chessie, Seaboard, SP, IC and UP consolidating many western, midwestern and regional carriers on a formal basis; other noteworthy carriers failing out of existence--CRI&P, CMStP&P. The rise and decline of regional based industry bases being a prime motive for the ascent and decline of these former regional giants needing to consolidate to form what is a "national network" as international through traffic became a greater commodity.

[@addicz2]

3-5 locos for a few passenger cars? Underpowered locos?

[@elizabethpate2740]

They weren't as many BN locomotives in the early 1970s as the late 1970s.

[@joelnordstrom8049]

I they think they have them in the 40s or the 50s, but I'm not sure. I know in the late 80s Union Pacific bought them

[@whiteknightcat]

Rainbow times indeed!

[@john72ss]

sp&s n #904 at the end!

[@saxonaudio]

3:31-4:27 holy colors.

[@geoffreylee5199]

Not Fallen Flags, but incorporated ...

[@john72ss]

ive never seen a western pacific loco here!

[@LeeWitten]

Lots of mixtures of locos during that period.

[@skipsassy1]

1870s? Hardly the "Beginning" All I see are modern diesel locomotives?

[@LeeWitten]

What are you referring to?

[@andyevans9369]

SassyHershsey SassyHershey maybe you are confused... The BN was created in the 1970s when a bunch of other legacy railroads merged...this is what it looked like AFTER they merged. As in: the beginning of a new consolidated railroad. I hope this helps.

[@xanadujohn79]

They could have let the merged RR namely the NP and kept their monads/logo's.

[@mrserious55]

SP got the WP

[@mrserious55]

and ultimately UP

[@rickygarcia7400]

Sad these lash ups will never be repeated I was realy hoping bnsf would fallow Norfolk southern and paint a locomotive in each fall in flag paint scheme but that's not going happin):

[@1shelver]

great northern James hill ran steam ships on red river then started great northern with no help from government. Name any other railroad company that can match that

[@tomfields3682]

Got his start at age 18 working on the steamboat landing in Saint Paul.

[@ohioandnortheastern]

Great footage, you can tell the railroad industry was failing in the 70's

[@LeeWitten]

Yes, Harris caught an interesting transition era in the 70's for both freight and passenger service.

[@john72ss]

#4360 SP&S coulda been my dad as hoghead.

[@thomaswood6118]

*common

[@danielhandler6646]

Damn shame we couldn't hear those Alcos rapping past... but not a criticism. Just how it was.

[@LeeWitten]

Yes, I would have loved if Harris had a sound camera back then. He made just 10 sound films at the end of his career.

[@gilessmith5057]

Getting it done. Make America Great Again!

[@LeeWitten]

That's a MAGA I could get behind...make railroads great again!

[@TouffmanJasonTGV]

In di bininging

[@daveskinner5131]

Gosh, if he'd only used a TRIPOD.

[@appalachianrails]

Would you rather that he didn't film any of this footage at all?

[@andyevans9369]

Dave Skinner it's amazing how jaded people have become with CURRENT technology. I'd Bet that some would even bitch about those Alcos pushing so much smoke "Gee! They should put 'clean diesel' motors in those locomotives" and now anybody can make a perfect video...did you notice this was 8mm with NO sound? Dinosaur tech, indeed! From another era.

[@spaceship092v3]

Seeing what my parents would see when thay were kids makes me happy nowadays the railroad is kinda bland with BNSF, Union Pacific, CSX & Norfolk Southern being primary

[@LeeWitten]

Glad this video had some meaning for you. Thanks for commenting.

[@brassbunnies]

Look! Not a one tagged by vandals!

[@LeeWitten]

I wonder why graffiti became a thing. Yes, Its nice to see just cars clean or dirty from natural use or maintenance.

[@thomaswood6118]

WP run--thru units c9mm9n