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MINNEAPOLIS - It's traditional for railroads to operate their inspection or business car trains with special motive power. In the case of railroads such as CSX, Kansas City Southern, Norfolk Southern, and Union Pacific, they maintain special locomotives to use on those types of special moves. In lieu of specially maintained power, a railroad will often use newly purchased locomotives to pull a business car special. But sometimes a railroad will simply use what's available, and that's what happened with a BNSF train this week.
The train, symbolled O-KCKNTW9-15 ran from Kansas City to Northtown Yard in Minneapolis, with an overnight stopover in La Crosse, Wis. The train ran up the former Burlington Route from Kansas City to St. Joseph, Mo., then to Pacific Junction, Iowa, where it headed east to Galesburg, Ill. It departed Galesburg using BNSF's Barstow Subdivision to Savanna, Ill., then along the former Burlington Route line along the Mississippi River to La Crosse.
The train consisted of five cars from BNSF's business car fleet: Crew sleeper "Cajon Pass," sleepers "Trinchera Pass" and "Stevens Pass," sleeper/diner "John S. Reed," and track inspection observation car "William Barstow Strong." From Kansas City to La Crosse the train was pulled by ex-Santa Fe Dash 8-40BW No. 529, but at La Crosse it was replaced by Norfolk Southern C40-9W 9231, which pulled the train from La Crosse to Northtown Yard this morning (5-16-2007). Lest you read anything into this motive power, the 9231 was less than a pristine locomotive, and if any new developments were afoot between BNSF and NS, you can bet the motive power would have been sparklingly clean. (Railzfan: yeah right, you never know though!!)
