BNSF and Galesburg Illinois

[CShaveRR]

You're right, Ken. Some of our officers who have served in other areas of the system say that we're the best as far as doing our jobs. One guy says that by summertime, folks in some areas are figuring out how many more days they can lay off without jeopardizing next year's vacation pay!

[greyhounds]

QUOTE: Originally posted by dknelson

Galesburg IL is one of the best places in the midwest to see trains (it is where the old Santa Fe and CB&Q cross). True, Galesburg Railroad Days is not the railfan event it once was but is still a good train show and decent equipment display; the Railroad Museum and proposed Hall of Fame and the many excellent train watching vantage points are going to make Galesburg a railfan destination for years to come. The other day the Galesburg Register Mail ran a story about the health of the BNSF -- no small matter in a town that has lost two major employers. Here is the web address for the full article, and some selected quotes so you get the flavor. I suggest reading the full article

By the way when the article says that on some days 150 trains go through the yard -- keep in mind from a train watching perspective that not all trains that go through Galesburg go through the yard!
Dave Nelson

http://www.register-mail.com/stories/061106/BIZ_BA2DDHBJ.GID.shtml

Railroad revival
Galesburg's unique position has made it a BNSF workhorse

Sunday, June 11, 2006
By MIKE LANDIS
The Register-Mail
Galesburg is home to the second
largest classification yard in the BNSF system.
As Galesburg braced for difficult economic times with the closing of
Maytag and Butler, BNSF has emerged as Knox County's top employer and
helped prevent the local job market from falling completely off the
tracks.

"We've been fortunate. We've seen about 10 percent growth in the last
few years," said Rick Danielson, terminal superintendent of the
Galesburg yard. "We've been hiring considerably. Right now we're
probably at 1,200 total employees, plus or minus a few."

Danielson can point to the numbers at the Galesburg yard to demonstrate
the uptick the railroad industry is enjoying. When he arrived as
terminal superintendent in 2000, Danielson said, 85 to 90 trains went
through the Galesburg yard daily. Now, Danielson said about 130 trains
go through the yard daily, and that number spikes occasionally to 150.

Danielson said Galesburg's location is what makes the yard unique in the
BNSF system. The yard has two ways to go to Chicago, St. Louis and
Kansas City, Mo.; routes to Lincoln, Neb., Minneapolis and on to the
West Coast, and to Peoria and back. Danielson said there also are local
routes to Peoria, Chicago and Burlington, Iowa, that originate from
Galesburg on a daily basis.

The possibilities are seemingly endless for the Galesburg yard - thanks
largely to the construction of the Cameron Connection shortly after
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe merged in 1995 and the land available
around the yard.

Last year, the BNSF completed a yard improvement program in Galesburg
where two additional departure-yard tracks were installed and extensions
were put on receiving-yard tracks.

Next year, Danielson said, the yard's diesel shop will be expanded from
two bays to four.

"I can't say enough about our workforce here," said Danielson. "I've
worked for the BNSF 29 years and I've worked all over the system. ... To
me the work force here in Galesburg is the best."

It's called the "Midwestern Work Ethic". People around here take it for granted. People elsewhere are amazed by it.

[dknelson]

Galesburg IL is one of the best places in the midwest to see trains (it is where the old Santa Fe and CB&Q cross). True, Galesburg Railroad Days is not the railfan event it once was but is still a good train show and decent equipment display; the Railroad Museum and proposed Hall of Fame and the many excellent train watching vantage points are going to make Galesburg a railfan destination for years to come. The other day the Galesburg Register Mail ran a story about the health of the BNSF -- no small matter in a town that has lost two major employers. Here is the web address for the full article, and some selected quotes so you get the flavor. I suggest reading the full article

By the way when the article says that on some days 150 trains go through the yard -- keep in mind from a train watching perspective that not all trains that go through Galesburg go through the yard!
Dave Nelson

http://www.register-mail.com/stories/061106/BIZ_BA2DDHBJ.GID.shtml

Railroad revival
Galesburg's unique position has made it a BNSF workhorse

Sunday, June 11, 2006
By MIKE LANDIS
The Register-Mail
Galesburg is home to the second
largest classification yard in the BNSF system.
As Galesburg braced for difficult economic times with the closing of
Maytag and Butler, BNSF has emerged as Knox County's top employer and
helped prevent the local job market from falling completely off the
tracks.

"We've been fortunate. We've seen about 10 percent growth in the last
few years," said Rick Danielson, terminal superintendent of the
Galesburg yard. "We've been hiring considerably. Right now we're
probably at 1,200 total employees, plus or minus a few."

Danielson can point to the numbers at the Galesburg yard to demonstrate
the uptick the railroad industry is enjoying. When he arrived as
terminal superintendent in 2000, Danielson said, 85 to 90 trains went
through the Galesburg yard daily. Now, Danielson said about 130 trains
go through the yard daily, and that number spikes occasionally to 150.

Danielson said Galesburg's location is what makes the yard unique in the
BNSF system. The yard has two ways to go to Chicago, St. Louis and
Kansas City, Mo.; routes to Lincoln, Neb., Minneapolis and on to the
West Coast, and to Peoria and back. Danielson said there also are local
routes to Peoria, Chicago and Burlington, Iowa, that originate from
Galesburg on a daily basis.

The possibilities are seemingly endless for the Galesburg yard - thanks
largely to the construction of the Cameron Connection shortly after
Burlington Northern and Santa Fe merged in 1995 and the land available
around the yard.

Last year, the BNSF completed a yard improvement program in Galesburg
where two additional departure-yard tracks were installed and extensions
were put on receiving-yard tracks.

Next year, Danielson said, the yard's diesel shop will be expanded from
two bays to four.

"I can't say enough about our workforce here," said Danielson. "I've
worked for the BNSF 29 years and I've worked all over the system. ... To
me the work force here in Galesburg is the best."