Union Pacfic or BNSF

[RyanLaP]

Hi everybody. I would like to know what freight train line you like better Union Pacfic or BNSF. What do you think about those train lines







Sincerely
Ryan LaPlaca

[Anonymous]

You're opening up a BIG can of worms there, Ryan.

But seriously, UP and BNSF are both great roads.

[Anonymous]

The WYOMING IDAHO, OREGON and PACIFIC.

I am not familiar with that Union Pacific line. I think it was a tiny little line that the WIOP swallowed up in the late 1800s

James.

[vsmith]

UP by far, licensing BS be dammed!

UP Yellow looks SOOOOOO much better than BNSF pumpkin barf orange

Now if we go back a few years to ATSF red/silver or blue-yellow warbonnets, well thats a different thing altogether....

[Anonymous]

Being from the south, im used to lines such as CSX, NS, and the occasional Conrail, KCS, and Santa Fe. But after moving out west a few years ago.. the UP has the most vast railroad I have ever seen. Im actually partial to the Class II regional Montana Rail Link, but that is just because of the territory that it runs through is so beautiful. But if you as me.. the UP.

John

[Anonymous]

Being from the south, im used to lines such as CSX, NS, and the occasional Conrail, KCS, and Santa Fe. But after moving out west a few years ago.. the UP has the most vast railroad I have ever seen. Im actually partial to the Class II regional Montana Rail Link, but that is just because of the territory that it runs through is so beautiful. But if you as me.. the UP.

John

[Anonymous]

sorry for the double post.. oops!

[Southwest Chief]

At this moment I say BNSF is the better railroad.

BNSF has a better infrastructure with a better on time performance overall. Also more friendly and open to passenger railroads. Add to this to all time record stock prices, new records for traffic levels, and the planned double tracking of Abo Canyon makes this pick easy. BNSF is (at this time) the better railroad.

But nothing stopping ole UP from reclaiming their former greatness. Just that SP really screwed them up. Same thing happened with the Rio Grande. What was it about SP...just poor track and infrastructure or something else?

But UP’s stock price has also been at record levels and from the looks of this UP is still quite the competitor. So if they update and improve their trackage (mainly former SP lines) they would get my endorsement as number 1.

[Santa Fe buff]

BNSF is my choice. They need to change the color of there engines I think.

Maybe back to red and silver or yellow and blue like the original colors.

[Anonymous]

BNSF RAILWAY.

[countershot]

BOTH!

[tgovebaker]

Armor yellow looks good to me, particularly since UP seems to have given up on the idea of repainting all the old SP and DRGW equipment, making for some good heritage consists in the Bay Area.

I always loved the component parts of the BNSF -- BN gree and the ATSF warbonnet were some of my favorite schemes -- but that new paint job is just ugly.

Ultimatley, I couldn't decide, so I run both. In the highcountry of Colorado you see both roads every day.

[RedGrey62]

I personally like BNSF since the RR I model is one of the predecessor roads (CB&Q). Either one has much to offer, with BNSF you still have various paint schemes and I have to admit the newest one looks pretty good. With UP, you do still have some equipment painted in the predecessor roads and your can run the UP passenger special.

Or you can model any of the several areas where they share trackage rights, that way you don't have to choose, run them both and still be prototypical.

Rick

[james saunders]

well i like the UP flag units and im starting to warm to BNSF H3 but my fav BNSF scheme is SD70MAC 9647 or H1


OZJIM

[2059]

Union Pacific

[Anonymous]

BNSF their "new image" paint scheme looks awesome.

[tomikawaTT]

That's a rather narrow choice you've given us there, pardner! Not that they aren't both great railroads, and not that they don't both do a good job of moving coal out of the Powder River Basin, but for sheer density of traffic, colorful paint schemes and diversity of equipment neither of them can hold a candle to my prototype.

Nihon Kokutetsu forever!

[Anonymous]

UP, UP, UP, UP ,and UP are my favorite railroads period.

[Anonymous]

Not too much UP comes rolling through N. Dakota here...so I am a bit bias towards BNSF. However, I'm not a fan of the orange. H1 wasn't too bad, I miss the ol' Mean Green though.
I know the farmers up here are not too impressed with BNSF...they have been graoning about the price to ship wheat for years. CP up in Minot is not too popular now either becasue of the amonia spill a few yrs. ago. Railroads in North Dakota sure have a bloody nose these days.

[n2mopac]

Well, I live along a very busty UP mail (Sedalia sub in central MO) so I enjoy watching them, though I model BNSF in an area where I used to live (Wichita Falls sub in NOrth TX). UP has build up a lot of animosity by railfans and modelers mostly because they have been around and been so big for so long. Being in such a position breeds contempt, desrved or not. Some people just naturally hate the big guy. Also, their acquiring of a number of other railroads in the 80's and 90's cause a nostalgic pr hit on the part of fans of those roads--I say this as a long time MoPac fan myself. Truth is, if BNSF stays around long enough--and I see no reason why they won't--people will come to feel the same way about them.

My opinion--they are both good, well run railroads which sometimes make decisions that cause bad pr or that just don't make sense to the general public (UP's licensing debacle for instance).

Ron

[zgardner18]

Both are my favorite. My layout will have both. I was a big fan of Santa Fe and I think that the "Pumpkins" are okay but they aren't the Bonnets. UP has always been a reminder of power to me. I love their big equipment, plus they have invited me to a hiring session.

[Anonymous]

Neither