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OTTO M. VONDRAK
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NEWS COORDINATOR KEVIN C. SNYDER
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BNSF RAILWAY SAYRE KOS
BNSFNEWS@RAILFAN.COM
CANADIAN SHORTLINES GLENN COURTNEY
CDNSHORTS@RAILFAN.COM
CANADIAN NATIONAL SAYRE KOS
CNNEWS@RAILFAN.COM
CANADIAN PACIFIC JAY BROOKS
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CSX TRANSPORTATION CHASE GUNNOE
CSXNEWS@RAILFAN.COM
DM&E/IC&E
DAVE KROGER
DMENEWS@RAILFAN.COM
CHICAGOLAND RANDY OLSON
CHICAGONEWS@RAILFAN.COM
IOWA INTERSTATE ALLAN HUNT
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IRON ORE ROADS
DAVE SCHAUER
ORENEWS@RAILFAN.COM
KANSAS CITY SOUTHERN DANNY JOHNSON
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MONTANA RAIL LINK JUSTIN FRANZ
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NORFOLK SOUTHERN SCOTT LINDSEY
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PASSENGER AND COMMUTER OTTO M. VONDRAK
OTTO@RAILFAN.COM
REGIONALS/SHORTLINES - WEST GARLAND MCKEE
WESTSHORTS@RAILFAN.COM
REGIONALS/SHORTLINES - EAST STEPHAN KOENIG
EASTSHORTS@RAILFAN.COM
UNION PACIFIC KEVIN SNYDER
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STEAM/PRESERVATION JEFF TERRY
STEAMNEWS@RAILFAN.COM
Topeka & Santa Fe 1431, which was renum- bered to 3431 in the 1969-70 general renum- bering campaign. That locomotive was later rebuilt as ATSF 2931 in the early 1980s and was renumbered BNSF 2631 in the Burling- ton Northern-Santa Fe merger. Immediately before being rebuilt at Albia, it was relet- tered GN 2631. The second GP39-3R rebuilt, BNSF 2629, was originally Toledo, Peoria & Western 902, which became ATSF 3464 when ATSF merged the TPW into its system in 1983. In 1984, dynamic brakes were added to the locomotive during a rebuild, from which the unit emerged as ATSF 2963 — a number it carried until being renumbered BNSF 2645 with the BNSF merger. Later, the locomotive was relettered GN 2645 before this most re- cent rebuilding. Also in November, BNSF picked up 3GS21C
1311 from National Railway Equipment, and the unit is now in service at Corwith Yard in Chicago. Formerly a Santa Fe SD45-2, the genset reportedly was built from the remains of BNSF 6507, although this contradicts in- formation that suggests that the 3GS21C was built from BNSF 6507. As of press time, BNSF was awaiting delivery of just one more 3GS21C, the 1312. Units 1313-1316 were re- leased in September and October 2014. BNSF continued its lease of Canadian Pa- cific-owned AC4400CWs and ES44ACs into December 2014. As of December 1, four AC4400CWs (9506, 9511, 9543, and 9550) were added to the lease pool, bringing the to- tal of BNSF-leased CP locomotives up to 63. In addition to the CP leasers, BNSF con-
tinues to lease CREX ES44ACs in the 1200, 1300, and 1400 series, six SD40-2s from CEFX (2802, 3106, 3127, 3135, 3138, and 3184), 20 CEFX SD60s numbered 6000-6018 and 6020, seven NREX SD60s in the 5900 series, and a smattering of four-axle PRLX units. The number of leased locomotives did, however, sink slightly going into November after BNSF returned six of the SD90MACs leased from CIT Rail, CEFX 105, 125, 130, 133, 136, and 137.
2015 Capital Spending
On November 20, 2014, BNSF announced it plans to spend $6 billion on capital expendi- tures in 2015. The 2015 plan represents the third consecutive year in which BNSF has committed to a record amount for capital in- vestments. Since 2000 and through the end of 2015, BNSF has reinvested more than $50 billion into its network and related infra- structure. The core of the 2015 spend centers on the
renewal of assets and maintenance, which is expected to total $2.9 billion. Projects in- cluded in this renewal and maintenance cam- paign include replacement of rails, ties, and ballast. BNSF will spend another $1.5 billion on expansion projects, nearly a third of that work in the Northern Region where BNSF clearly is seeing the fastest growth across the agricultural, coal, crude oil, and oil explora- tion markets. Early in 2015, BNSF is expected to release
specific details on the various line capacity and maintenance projects it intends to pur- sue, with additional emphasis expected on projects along the Northern Region.
MRL Collision
Two BNSF trains operating over Montana Rail Link collided late on November 13, 2014, blocking the single-track MRL for about 16 hours. Train X-PWAWMI9-11 (Empty Grain, Plymouth, Wash.-West Millbank, S.D.) was entering the siding near Bonner, Mont., just east of Missoula, when its rear end was clipped by Train G-STEINB9-08 (Grain Loads, Sterling, Colo.-Interbay, Wash.), which did not stop in time to keep from strik- ing the eastbound empty. The loaded train was led by BNSF ES44DC 7847 and struck the empty around the 45th car, derailing 11 empty covered hoppers and three of the four lead locomotives on the loaded train. Fortu- nately, there were no injuries to either crew.
CANADIAN NATIONAL SAYRE KOS
Federal Oversight of EJ&E Continues
In December 2014, federal regulators ex- tended their oversight of the operations of the former Elgin, Joliet & Eastern property that Candian National acquired in 2008. Re- sponding to protests from online communi- ties that were concerned about an uptick in freight traffic, in December 2008, the Surface Transportation Board approved CN’s request to purchase the line’s half-circle route from Waukegan to Joliet, Ill., to Gary, Ind., but with several conditions, including a period of federal oversight that was scheduled until January 23, 2015. This scrutiny will now continue until Jan-
uary 23, 2017, the STB ruled after it decided that concerns over freight congestion in Chi- cagoland and an escalation in train traffic had gone unaddressed. “Given that the potential impacts from
higher rail traffic levels led the board to insti- tute oversight in the first place, in our view it would not be appropriate to end our oversight at a time when the pressure to avoid Chicago is greater due to increasing congestion lev- els,” the board stated. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said CN’s expec-
tation the merger would reduce crossing de- lays simply hadn’t materialized. “The data — thousands of blocked rail crossings and lengthy delays — just doesn’t support their claims,” Durbin said in a prepared statement.
Agreement Reached with Teamsters
CN announced in late December that it had reached a tentative labor agreement with Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC), a union representing locomotive engineers and conductors, on the carrier’s Northern Quebec Internal Short Line (NQISL). The four-year agreement provides wage in-
creases and benefit improvements to 93 em- ployees that work over the the Lac St-Jean, Roberval, Cran, Chapais, Matagami, Val d’Or, Taschereau, St-Maurice, and La Tuque Subdivisions in Quebec. Specific details of the agreement are being withheld pending ratifi-
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