General Discussion

 Know that Berkshire Hathaway owns the BNSF is the name BNSF even going to exist anymore. I hope not.

They'll keep the name..

Buffet

Never

Sells

Foolishly

 Buffett is not known for foolish investments.  ~$29 Bil. for a railroad isn't chump change. Perhaps rail is the hi-tech of today?

Good one there, zardoz ! 

Berkshire Hathaway, AKA Warren Buffet, buys only top line companies within a given growing industry. Companies with Top Management already in place, a leader in Market Share, and with first class Infrastructure.

Buffet has never contended to be an expert in any of the industries he buys. He buys it BECAUSE it already has Top Management in place who know that industry.  He only asks they continue to be honest, hard working, proftable for its new stockholder.  Then no problem and few changes.  

Berkshire Hathaway Co., a textile mill founded in 1839 in Rhode Island as the Valley Falls Co.,merged with Berkshire Fine Spining Asso., then with Hathaway Mfg. Co..  Berkshire Hathaway was headquarted in New Bedford MA.  In 1962, enter Warren Buffet --------------

I guess Berkshire Hathaway could change the name of BNSF to "The Berkshire Lines", but then that nickname is already being used by the Rensselaer Model Railroad Society's New England Berkshire & Western model railroad, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute....

wjstix:

I guess Berkshire Hathaway could change the name of BNSF to "The Berkshire Lines", but then that nickname is already being used by the Rensselaer Model Railroad Society's New England Berkshire & Western model railroad, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute....

Not unless you want to move the BNSF to the east coast. 

The Berkshire Mountains is a barrier mountain range in western Massachusetts penetrated by the 1 mile long State Line Tunnel on the Boston & Albany (now CSX) and the 5 mile long Hoosac Tunnel on the Boston & Maine (now Pan Am Southern AKA Gilford/ Norfolk Southern).   The damp weather in the New England states made it an ideal home for the American textile industry that spun Southern Cotton.  Berkshire Hathaway was one of the largest.

Buffett Nebraska - Sounds Fine to me!

"Great Western Railway"

"Western Lines"

I think these names are appropriate. Most of my friends who aren't familiar with the railroads didn't understand what the name meant or where it was(course most didn't even know there was such a railroad in the country or even do anything anymore).

 There was an article in an issue of TRAINS Magazine stating that railroad names like BNSF & CSX could use a name change to state where they operate.

BT CPSO 266:

 Know that Berkshire Hathaway owns the BNSF is the name BNSF even going to exist anymore. I hope not.

 When I say "I hope not" I mean I hope that the name BNSF doesn't change, unless it helps identify where to RR operates (or unless the STB ever allows a west - east merger)

DMUinCT:

wjstix:

I guess Berkshire Hathaway could change the name of BNSF to "The Berkshire Lines", but then that nickname is already being used by the Rensselaer Model Railroad Society's New England Berkshire & Western model railroad, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute....

Not unless you want to move the BNSF to the east coast. 

The Berkshire Mountains is a barrier mountain range in western Massachusetts penetrated by the 1 mile long State Line Tunnel on the Boston & Albany (now CSX) and the 5 mile long Hoosac Tunnel on the Boston & Maine (now Pan Am Southern AKA Gilford/ Norfolk Southern).   The damp weather in the New England states made it an ideal home for the American textile industry that spun Southern Cotton.  Berkshire Hathaway was one of the largest.

Yes I know where the Berkshire mountains are. It was a joke based on the new owner's company being named Berkshire Hathaway.

As a side note, except for a merger or re-organization (like after a bankruptcy), I can't offhand think of a railroad that just up and changed their name for basically no reason?? I'm not counting situations like where a RR adopted their commonly used nickname, like the New York, Chicago & St. Louis becoming the Nickel Plate Road, or Minneapolis, St.Paul and Sault Ste. Marie becoming the Soo Line (although come to think of it, that was part of a consolidation with subsidiaries WC and DSS&A).

DMUinCT:

wjstix:

I guess Berkshire Hathaway could change the name of BNSF to "The Berkshire Lines", but then that nickname is already being used by the Rensselaer Model Railroad Society's New England Berkshire & Western model railroad, at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute....

Not unless you want to move the BNSF to the east coast. 

The Berkshire Mountains is a barrier mountain range in western Massachusetts penetrated by the 1 mile long State Line Tunnel on the Boston & Albany (now CSX) and the 5 mile long Hoosac Tunnel on the Boston & Maine (now Pan Am Southern AKA Gilford/ Norfolk Southern).   The damp weather in the New England states made it an ideal home for the American textile industry that spun Southern Cotton.  Berkshire Hathaway was one of the largest.

Not related to the sale but the State Line Tunnel falls about 5,000 feet short of being a mile long.

I wondered about that, too - I've been in the area as recently as last weekend, and didn't remember it as being that long.  The railroad article near the bottom of this source says it's 600 feet long: 

 http://www.southwoodsmagazine.com/jul04.html 

And that's something else I didn't know until tonight - that it is/ was actually 2 parallel bores.  As I understand it, the old westbound one was the first and the smaller of the two, and so was abandoned by ConRail in the late 1980's in favor of a single track through the newer/ larger former eastbound bore.

- Paul North.

From an aerial photo at http://www.pennpilot.psu.edu/ I scale it to be about 440 ft. / 150 yds. long.  It's where Tunnel Hill Road crosses over the B&A main, at about 1 mile north of I-90 = NY State Thruway's eastern extension, and about 2.5 miles northwest of the actual NY-Mass. State Line.

- Paul North.

I WOULD LIKE TO SEE A NEW  "  SANTA FE "   WITH RED WARBONNET PAINT