FINANCIAL EDGE, RAILWAY AGE NOVEMBER 2022 ISSUE: The container ship backlog in Southern California was declared officially “over” by The Wall Street Journal in late October. Its ending was not celebrated as
“And now I can retire,” Randy Anderson, a BNSF locomotive engineer based in Sioux City, Iowa, said recently. “For years I have said that as soon as the bypass is complete, I’m hanging up my boots. The new bypass allows train crews to keep on moving through this area. It’s a really good thing and will continue to benefit the railroad and community for years to come.”
As the world grapples with pandemic fallout, recessionary conditions, supply chain challenges and labor shortages, railroads remain a lynchpin for economic growth. For Union Pacific, that responsibility means safeguarding our employees, meeting customer commitments, responsibly supporting communities, and consistently delivering shareholder expectations.
Although six of 12 rail labor unions have ratified amendments to contracts setting wages, benefits and work rules on most Class I railroads and many smaller ones, two unions—the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen (BRS) and Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Division of the Teamsters Union (BMWED)—have rejected the tentative deal, creating a likelihood of a nationwide rail work stoppage as early as November 19.
Seventy-five years ago, San Francisco’s cable cars were viewed as more of a costly nuisance. A few city leaders wanted to tear out the 1870s-era transit system of wooden vehicles towed by an underground cable system. Pioneer of civic activism, Friedel Klussmann led the charge to preserve this moving landmark that draw visitors from around the world looking to fulfill their dream of riding the cable car over our hills.
Many businesses are rising to the challenge of operating sustainably to reduce their impact on our planet. At BNSF, we’re also finding more and more ways to contribute to long-term sustainability, including tapping members of Team BNSF for new ideas.
The digital age of telematic network monitoring comes in different business models. It might even help resolve passenger and freight train capacity questions. Jim Blaze takes a look at how cameras might displace or at least supplement confusing private spreadsheet calculations as to network capacity and fluidity, as well as help shippers adjust their railway routing options when certain rail routes become congested.
If the name of Britain’s new Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, seems familiar, it’s not because most recently he was the comical BoJo’s (Boris Johnson) treasury chief (they call it Chancellor of the Exchequer across the pond, where lately the ruling Conservative Party has been changing out Prime Ministers with the frequency of replacing furnace filters).
BNSF is made up of almost 400 predecessor rail lines, and one of the majors was Northern Pacific Railway (NP). During NP’s prime, the railroad ran not only freight, but passenger service. Traveling by train was often a necessity up until the mid-20th century before automobiles became common and the highway system was established. Although the heyday of traveling by train has passed, some of the railcars of yesteryear remain. One NP passenger rail car is now being repurposed, thanks to rail enthusiasts who want to keep history alive.
If you’re a railroad historian, you’re doubtless aware of some of the passenger trains of bygone days named for famous people, like the Ethan Allen Express, Abraham Lincoln, Commodore Vanderbilt, William Penn,
