im assuming that during the merger, that a person watching these trains, would see a CB&Q gp 40 and a burlington northern gp 40 in the same consist? i have an atlas geep 40 of each that run really good together on dc, reason for asking. thanks....
We saw all kinds of color combinations. While I did not see what you are curious about, never say never.
i have always liked the Q, and have eight atlas Q geeps. the 1970 merger i assumed that included the Q from the beginning, but i dont know that for sure.
CB&Q? Absolutely. Primary components of the 1970 BN merger were CB&Q, GN, NP, SP&S. Also included were some subsidiaries such as Pacific Coast RR, Oregon Trunk Ry and Oregon Electric Ry. There were some other smaller components. The Frisco was not acquired and merged for another ten years. NOT included were such as Colorado & Southern; Fort Worth & Denver. Control of these CB&Q subsidiaries passed to BN, but they were not immediately absorbed, instead operated for some years thereafter. Colors were BN, but sublettered engines, cabooses, etc. It was quite a rainbow for a few years after 1970.
thanks for the information. im not really a merger fan, but the BN happened so long ago, it just seems like it was always here...
Fluff, One thing to note, BN renumbered their Loco fleet very early into the merger. So you might want to think about renumbering your CB&Q GP40 to it's BN number. http://rr-fallenflags.org/bn/bn3016adb.jpg Dan
Very true, and you were liable to see those GN and NP locos and cabooses running Q trackage, too. The passenger trains also showed quite a mix of equipment during the era, and right up to Amtrak. They did come up with a BN passenger scheme, but never did get everything repainted to it.
In fact, that started fairly quickly. Within months, many units were shifting all over the place. Far from home rails. And just the opposite, some units remained in a very captive local area for many long years thereafter. I met more than a few people who could not decide what happened or which railroad they were even seeing. :tb-wacky:
If I remember correctly, the first engine to wear the Cascade Green and Hockey stick stripe was actually in 1969 before the merger was postponed to 1970. It was, in fact (according to a few of my books), a CB&Q GP40. It only bore Burlington under the cab with Northern to be added later. Considering that many engines found themselves in new territory with the BN, It wouldn't surprise me if a CB&Q Red and BN Green GP40 locked couplers at one point. Most of what I've seen has been a colorful rainbow of U-Boats, however. But there is one thing to remember. With BN's Rainbow, as long as it was produced in the 1980s, the sky's the limit.
IIRC, although it was before my time, the Alcos pretty much stayed close to home rails, due to the fact of parts supplies.
I'm pretty sure the Charles Smiley video Milwaukee Road West has some shots of consists I believe like you are describing, Also the BN Empire of the North. Also rrpicturearchives would have some and rail-pictures... Just watched the Empire DVD preview on the Smiley website and it had a Q and BN GP40! 1 min into video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x27WRQpIcIg&feature=player_embedded#!
This engine was noted at the time in magazines. I recall seeing it reported in RMC. Also, the original merger startup date was to be May 10th of 1968. In fact, they had both timetables and (separate) special instructions (both #1) all printed up and distributed. I have several in my collection, which were given to me by RR friends.
For the most part, the ALCo engines remained fairly close to home. However, there was some shifting around of where they had been. Some did make it out on the road away from home now and then.
From my CB&Q GP40 build thread. In 1968 in anticipation of the Merger, CB&Q pulled off its six month old GP40, #629 and had it repainted into a Cascade Green, White and black experimental scheme. That is what we'll see here. It was the only one of the Pre-Merger locomotives to have the BN logo on its cab. The SD45's and U23C's were delivered to the "Q" in the Green/White/Black scheme from the factory but did not have the BN logo. The New Jersey connection? Well most of you know I have spent the last few years in Illinois, but I recently moved to Northern New Jersey to work for Carstens as an Associate Editor of Flying Models Some of you probably don't know that magazine but you should know Railroad Model Craftsman and Railfan & Railroad. Well Railfan & Railroad was started by Jim Boyd, who also wrote the book I'm using as my guide, Burlington Northern in Color Volume II which covers the early years of the Burlington Northern. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to meet one of the most prolific railfans of our time as Jim passed away this past winter. So with that I found my fitting tribute to both Galesburg / CB&Q as well as Jim. A link to the build thread if anyone is interested: http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine...R-Days-Tribute-Locomotive-Build-CB-amp-Q-GP40 And the locomotive in N.
The Alcos went to Livingston for bigger repairs. Then they ran the hill for helpers as was custom. Almost every loco rebuilt stayed as a helper for a day or two to make sure it worked. That is why Bozeman Hill was always one of my favorite haunts. GP18, f units with an alco pushing, it was great!
I remember seeing Big Sky Blue in Illinois. Some old heads in the Burg recall some NP and GN stuff. We did get some C&S stuff as well. It was a rainbow on the BN in the 70's.Then it was all Cascade Green till we got tiger stripes and the 1990. I do remember C&S being a catch on the line I grew up on.Was amazing how many I did see in the 80s seeings most of the trains they were on were coming out of Northtown and LaCrosse.
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=355847&nseq=11 A note on typical power assignments. http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=389918&nseq=0 http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=314835&nseq=18 BN Alcos seem to have appeared fairly often on WP pool trains.