I am looking into my next layout and I am fascinated by Burlington Northern as an protype, setting (PNW) and era in segements (1970-1996) +/- X Years.
The two books I am considering to start are:
Burlington Northern: A Great Adventure, 1970-1979
by Earl Currie, Rails Northwest/Washington State Press (2019)
https://www.amazon.com/Burlington-Northern-Great-Adventure-1970-1979/dp/0996122567
and/or
Burlington Northern Railroad Historical Review 1970-1995
by Robert C. Del Grosso, Withers Publishing (2014)
https://www.amazon.com/Burlington-Northern-Railroad-Historical-1970-1995/dp/1881411710
Currie's is "newer", even if both are relatively recent and BN hasn't existed for a quarter century, and "larger" even as a single book, although at two volumes it is more expensive.
Both seem to have previous work. Is there a difference in professional background (BN/BNSF management vs Rail Enthusist; or whatever)? Would they be redundant? Better primer? Better pictures? Narrative vs technical operations?
I'm interest in both the 70s and 80s but somewhat wieghted to the 70s so I can run examples of the predcessor lines and Cascade Green (maybe I don't appreciate Frisco yet).
Any reviews or other recommendations are appreciated. I know most books are cheaper than a single locomotive so there's an arguement for all two (three) as well as the predcessor railroads and maybe BNSF.
I haven't found reviews for either.
Currie's history is more along the lines of a business analysis. It's very good, but I don't think it's the one to get for layout building. Not much in the picture department.
That leaves the other, which I don't have. DelGrosso has written many books, and I've not been disappointed with any. It's likely to be more "railfan-y". I'd go with that one, for sure.
Right from the beginning of BN, there were BN annuals. Ten. You might try finding the earlier ones. They're not done so much as an annual overview (except for the photo roster in back), but as snippets of interesting news, plus "features", like one on snow-fighting equipment, or BN's remaining passenger cars.
You can also pick up books on the predecessor lines in the georgraphical area of your interest--very useful for the early years.
Ed
Some of those Gel Grosso annual books command high prices on the used book market. Most I have seen are so well thumbed as to be at best in "fair" condition.
Don't ignore the Morning Sun color books on BN rolling stock. There is often good caption info
An oldy but goody that I leaf through now and then is Robert Olsted's [amended post due to type; Robert Olmsted's] The Green Machines (1986) -- train photos some from the early years of BN. Also good caption information. photos are black and white by the way
And while not a book per se, don't ignore the historical societies. There is or was a BN Historical Society, and of course the Burlington Route Historical Society (or the historical societies for the other roads that became the BN) have all published useful stuff about the physical plant.
Dave Nelson
Thanks Ed!
Is a business analysis not (as) useful for strategic level operations, setting, or context?
DelGrosso is probably a more complete "starter". I wish the standard Amazon preview, even of the table of contents, was readily available for either. I'll have to look for the annuals.
For further discussion, I suppose this is the flip side of choice and running essentially four (or five) different although related railroads in the PNW (GN, NP, SP&S and BN; maybe CB&Q), that it obligates four railroads worth of resources.
I welcome any specific GN, NP, SP&S (maybe CB&Q) recommendations too.
-Ryan
There IS still a BN HS--I just reupped. It's not much on flashiness, but it's a very good and useful group:
https://fobnr.org
Be sure to explore the BN drop down menu.
Besides the Burlington HS, there's also NP, GN, and SP&S. Probably Frisco, too--don't know. Many of the folks on these kinda picked up an interest in BN, so sometimes you can ask a specific question there. If, for example, you were interested in the (recently replaced) truss bridges for the BN along the north bank of the Columbia River, you might visit the SP&S people, since they were the same bridges used by that railroad.
And there's also a BN group on Groups.io: BNlist. It's not used much, but it's there. And there ARE helpful people there. And there are groups for pretty much every other railroad you might be interested in.
Thanks Dave!
I was looking for the equivlent historical society (I think I found it; those were the keywords). It seemed strange that an iconic railroad wouldn't have one, but most of my searches generated the modern BNSF.
Links below:
Friends of the Burlington Northern Railroad - https://fobnr.org/
Burlington Route Historical Society - https://www.burlingtonroute.com/
Great Northern Railroad Historical Society - https://www.gnrhs.org/
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association - http://www.nprha.org/Pages/Home.aspx
GN-NP Archive - http://www.gn-npjointarchive.org/default.aspx
Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Historical Society - https://www.spshs.org/
Thanks. I'm searching through the BN site now. I think the BN Historical Society threw me off because most of my search results were for BNSF and myopically I expected a Cascade Green background (although to be fair even the BN Society has a front page picture of BNSF).
If you are interested in predecessor paint, get the Del Grosso book. It gives annual acquisitions and dispositions, along with initial rosters. It should be the first book you buy if you are a BN fan. Those BN annuals can be pretty pricey-if you can find them.
For the NP side of the rolling stock, I whole heartedly recommend NP Color Guide to Freight and Passenger Eauipment by Todd Sullivan. It is a Morning Star book and a very good resource. I model rainbow-era BN myself and also love NP even though I never saw the NP run in person. (A little too young and a family connection to the NP.)
Good to know about the initial roster. I found this roster for BN with any renumbered predecessor locomotives too.
https://www.thedieselshop.us/BN.HTML
Still sifting through it. It appears to be sorted by BN number and has builder date but not when they were taken out of service (or repainted).
Which is fine, especially for free, and I'm not that particular (yet). Just trying to build a picture of what was out there and reasonable distribution for two decades I'm not readily familiar with (the 1970s and 1980s).
My current thinking is essentially two different fleets. A mixed and mostly second generation predecessor locomotives, and a mostly third generation original Cascade Green locomotives (with some legacy switchers). I've read the "last" predecessor locomotive (SP&S) was repainted by 1977, but I have seen pictures of switchers later than that.
Again new to this timeframe, so invariably I'm also trying to figure out the impact of various watershed events, such as Powder River (1979; although outside PNW), the Staggers Act (1980), Milwaukee Road (1980), Montana Rail Link spinoff (1980), changes in industries served that lead to the Staggers Act, etc. Also closure of certain lines, which I wouldn't directly model (still need trains to run), but traffic can be lighter.
https://www.american-rails.com/burlington.html
Thanks! I'm also partial to NP as a predecessor line, and trying to fight the temptation of being myopic. I'm not even sure if "blend" of rolling stock even applies in the early BN case, given it sounds like CB&Q, GN, NP, and SP&S in different ways functionally operated as the Burlington Northern before merger approval.
Change happened quickly with BN. Except when it didn't!
For example:
the NP's Alcos got shifted down to the old SP&S.
NP and Q U25C's and U28C's showed up there, too, on occasion. Never before the merger
the SP&S used to run their C-636's on the Oregon Trunk line, south from Wishram. These were pulled off and assorted EMD's showed up.
If you're doing early BN, Ed Austin has written 3 books (so far): two about the BN in Washington, and one about the BN in Oregon. They have GREAT photos, and very good captioning. They're published by Morning Sun Books.
One photo taken on the old SP&S main line shows: ex-Q U25C, ex-GN F45, ex-NP U25C, about 4 Alco RS-3's and a C-415, all in SP&S. 1971 or 1972, I think.
On t'other hand, it appears to me that about half of the SP&S diesels hadn't yet gotten their new BN numbers around May-June. And the closer to headquarters, the faster the "patching".
Re: your question about the Currie book: Useful and interesting it can be. But getting info like the above won't happen. I read my two volumes "cover to cover", and even bought one of his books on James Hill's management style.
GREEN MACHINE
TF
If you're interested in a particular railroad, I would just buy every book you find about it! I've been a member of the Missabe Road Hist. Soc. for maybe 35 years or so, I think I have every book that came out about it during that time (and earlier). Even if there's some overlap with other books, you never know which book is going to have that one thing in it that helps shape your layout.
BTW as mentioned, the change to BN paint was pretty slow for freight cars. I recall many NP cars and CB&Q cars in BN's Northtown yard in the 1980's, and photographed GN "Big Sky Blue" boxcars still in original paint and reporting marks there in 1990-91.
Wouldn't some of the videos like pentrex and others be useful?shane
A pessimist sees a dark tunnel
An optimist sees the light at the end of the tunnel
A realist sees a frieght train
An engineer sees three idiots standing on the tracks stairing blankly in space
wjstix BTW as mentioned, the change to BN paint was pretty slow for freight cars. I recall many NP cars and CB&Q cars in BN's Northtown yard in the 1980's, and photographed GN "Big Sky Blue" boxcars still in original paint and reporting marks there in 1990-91.
From the January 2020 ORER:
NP 66110-66229 60' flat 3 cars remaining.
7j43k Re: your question about the Currie book: Useful and interesting it can be. But getting info like the above won't happen. I read my two volumes "cover to cover", and even bought one of his books on James Hill's management style. Ed
Maybe I'll just ask for the Table of Contents from the Publisher (and repost here).
Back issues of The Expediter (the BN historical society quarterly) are available back to 1993. If you want to learn BN, you should get them. Search for the company store on the FOBN website.
There is posted the table of contents for each issue.
If you're interested in the former NP in Washington, Ed Austin's Washington, Volume two is the one to get of the three volumes I mentioned.
I'm trying to be selective or prioritize my book money. Although at current prices a book is basically 1-2 freight cars. I also might be just as satisfied with the book/knowledge without a physical layout if the book was that good or complete.
+1 on the Del Grosso books. I'm neither a BN nor BNSF modeler, but I did get a couple of his books on the cheap a few years ago and I would put them up against any of the Morning Sun books any day of the week. A few years ago, Mr. Del Grosso himself was selling his books at great discount at one of the monthly DuPage Great Midwest Train shows, and it's one of the few times I regret not making a purchase.