BNSF Rebranding Award

[KCSfan]

BN&SF as a name was no suprise to me.  After all, when Southern Pacific and Santa Fe were trying to merge back in early 80's they wanted to call the railroad Sothern Pacific & Santa Fe.  I still think that the real reason the ICC rejected them was that they didn't like that name, it should have been what the holding company was named after they sold the SP off, Santa Fe Pacific.

If it was up to me the railroad would be Burlington Northern and the engines would be Cascade Green, Black & Whilte, and to heck with blending in with the foliage.

I'm an Old Fogey for sure.

 

Mark Gosdin 

From one Mark to Another,

Hell I'll be 75 in Sept so I certainly qualify as an old fogey too, but I try not to act like one. Don't take offense at that remark as I surely am not intending to even suggesting you act like one.

Mark F.

[WSOR 3801]

I marvel at the heat this subject continues to generate. The negative comments that some fans expressed when the new BNSF logo and locomotive paint scheme were announced would lead one to believe they had quit the railroad business and were running freight in rubber tired vehicles. I personally like the new logo. It conveys an image of speed, progress and modernity. It helps to dispel the general public's perception of railroads as being stodgy and old fashioned.

From the standpoint of safety, particularly grade crossing safety, the BNSF couldn't have adopted a better color than orange for their locomotives. Why do you think highway construction zone signs are orange boys? It's all about visibility. Conversely, the green that the BN had for a while couldn't have been worse - it simply blended in with surrounding foliage. 

Mark 

 

To me it looks like they were trying to bring back the Milwaukee Road, their former competitor in the Pacific Northwest. 

[Mookie]

I have 2.5 cents worth - I intensely dislike the orange - and if it was to keep from blending into the foliage, what about NS.  An lot better paint job than the orange.  The old CBQ had a great paint scheme - loved it. 

I don't mind the swoosh, but I still think I could have come up with a better paint job and I don't even know how to paint. 

And just to mix it up a little more - KCSfan - we saw your newest grain cars with the red logo and they are nifty!  Those I like a lot. 

Mookie

[route_rock]

  I love the KCS bringing back its old image. Very sharp. Now if only we can get BNSF to bring back the Blackbirds with Everywhere West as our slogan. Ahh the good old days.

  But this is the land of knee jerk reactions. So the swoosh will stay only as long as some clown in Cowtown says it should. COuld we bring back bosses like Menk?Bronson? Barriger?Will we ever have a class one boss with real time rr experience? Sighs me thinks not!! I love the piece in Trains about Al Perlman I think a copy of that should be sent to EVERY MEMBER OF MANAGEMENT ! But alas they wouldnt read it.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

If railfans were any more conservative (I don't mean politically), they'd be bankers.  Alfred Perlman, strictly speaking, was not an operating man.  He was also smart enough to know that managerial talent could be found in a lot of non-traditional places.  Coming from the operating department is no guarantee of ability as a CEO, either.

While Lou Menk and John W Barriger enjoy reputations as first-rate railroad leaders, they were not known for thinking outside the box and pushing regulatory limits.  I doubt that they would have succeeded in a de-regulated environment, not unlike a lot of airline CEO's.  D.W. Brosnan was not afraid to push the limits and may well have thrived in the post-Staggers railroad environment.

[MP173]

the Perlman article was great.  It would be nice if Rush Loving would write a book on Perlman, or if not Perlman, then on other great railroaders.  I know The Men Who Loved Trains was based on passionate railroaders, but those were on the east side of the Mississippi.

 

How about a book based on the west side of the river?

 

ed

[eastside]

Prior to the story, my (rather sketchy) recollection of Perlman was that as an unsentimental and somewhat ruthless CEO at the New York Central.  Knowing that they would never make money but being unable to unilaterally discontinue them, he starved its passenger and commuter services of investment and let them go to dust.  He was the one who added day coaches to the Twentieth Century Limited.  The other memory was that when it was time to retire the J3 Hudsons the Smithsonian offered to buy one for preservation.  In what seemed to be a deliberate affront, he instead chose to scrap them, a huge loss to the national heritage.  Why he chose to do this I don’t remember.  Perhaps someone can provide more information or correct me.

[espeefoamer]

Yeah, when I noticed distinct I held my nose...

As for the paint, logo, name and all that...I think everybody here knows that I hated the new logo, had mixed feelings on the paint (Heritage I was a great scheme, but Heritage II went a little too overboard), and thought that changing the name from "Burlington Northern Santa Fe" to BNSF was only mildly less troublesome.

Personally, I think that if they had wanted to create a new corporate culture, it would have been simpler to abandon ALL ties to the past. "BNSF" still carries history in it's four letters. Shouldn't the new name have some manner of corporate buzz to it? Adding some manner of world domination as well as the word "logistics" to a company name seems to be in vogue.

Whatever. I am so glad I'm a UP fan. No matter how many railroads they gobble up, they're still the Union Pacific. Can you imagine if they had become the Western Missouri Katy and Northwestern Southern Pacific Railroad company?

Union Pacific has never made a major change to their paint scheme. They changed the brown trim to gray in the late 30s or early 40s.Other than that and adding flags to their locos recently,that was it.They seem to only take over other railroads,and paint THIER units yellow.

[KCSfan]

If railfans were any more conservative (I don't mean politically), they'd be bankers.  Alfred Perlman, strictly speaking, was not an operating man.  He was also smart enough to know that managerial talent could be found in a lot of non-traditional places.  Coming from the operating department is no guarantee of ability as a CEO, either.

While Lou Menk and John W Barriger enjoy reputations as first-rate railroad leaders, they were not known for thinking outside the box and pushing regulatory limits.  I doubt that they would have succeeded in a de-regulated environment, not unlike a lot of airline CEO's.  D.W. Brosnan was not afraid to push the limits and may well have thrived in the post-Staggers railroad environment.

Quite right and well stated Paul. The mega-railroads of today are big, BIG business and IMHO their CEOs need to be a combination of financial manager, politician, crystal ball gazer and cheer leader. They need to keep an eye on the financials; credit ratings, debt ratios, stock price, P&L and balance sheet. They need to keep the company in good favor with the stock owners, customers, credit institutions, general public and politicos at the federal, state and local levels. They need to keep abrest of trends in all fields of transportation (not just railroad transportation), economics and regulatory matters. They need to have the vision to look to the future and see that "what if" scenarios are developed that will insure the company is positioned to flourish in tomorrow's environment. They need the ability to select the brightest and most competent subordinates in each of the many departments and to motivate them to work in harmony with the singular purpose of achieving corporate goals. Quite frankly these abilities are not likely to be found in someone who grew up in the operating department.

Don't for a minute fall into the trap of knocking the decisions that come out of Omaha, Ft. Worth, Jacksonville, etc. There are some pretty smart, big picture folks calling the shots from those locations.

As a group railfans naturally tend to focus on operational matters. I know that I certainly do because that's what intersests me the most. Obviously the operating department is key to the success of any railroad - it's where "the rubber meets the road" day in and day out. I strongly believe that the Operating VP must possess the experience and expertise that comes only from growing up in operations and "having been there and done that". The smart CEO will select such a person and leave them alone as long as the operating metrics meet expectations.

Mark

[Andrew Falconer]

This is the new name for BNSF Railway.

The Big Western States Railway

That at least means something.

Andrew

[snagletooth]

Yeah, when I noticed distinct I held my nose...

As for the paint, logo, name and all that...I think everybody here knows that I hated the new logo, had mixed feelings on the paint (Heritage I was a great scheme, but Heritage II went a little too overboard), and thought that changing the name from "Burlington Northern Santa Fe" to BNSF was only mildly less troublesome.

Personally, I think that if they had wanted to create a new corporate culture, it would have been simpler to abandon ALL ties to the past. "BNSF" still carries history in it's four letters. Shouldn't the new name have some manner of corporate buzz to it? Adding some manner of world domination as well as the word "logistics" to a company name seems to be in vogue.

Whatever. I am so glad I'm a UP fan. No matter how many railroads they gobble up, they're still the Union Pacific. Can you imagine if they had become the Western Missouri Katy and Northwestern Southern Pacific Railroad company?

Union Pacific has never made a major change to their paint scheme. They changed the brown trim to gray in the late 30s or early 40s.Other than that and adding flags to their locos recently,that was it.They seem to only take over other railroads,and paint THIER units yellow.

Does the Harriman family still own controlling stock in UP?

[MStLfan]

On the other hand, I was just reading an article in Classic Trains (IIRC) which mentioned that one railroad intentionally painted the same model locomotive in different schemes so people wouild notice. 

That road was the M&StL. Their 35 Alco RS1's were painted in 9 different schemes when delivered. Some were repainted in red and white and after the merger with C&NW some were repainted in that road's colours, which let to variations....

greetings,

Marc Immeker

[MStLfan]

Personally, I think the BNSF is just so-so, but it is an improvement over what they had.  CN really needs an upgrade...they have had the same for what...40 years or so. 

Uh oh, Nederlandse Spoorwegen is in trouble then. It's logo and paint scheme dates from around 1970...

With some exceptions everything passenger was repainted in yellow (trains for local service) or yellow and blue for longer distance services.

Some 15 years ago a quiet experiment was done on a suburban emu that was being build. The new concept apparently didn't work and the train left the factory in yellow.

The other exception is the paint scheme on the refurbished Sprinter type of suburban emu's. They went from yellow to white with yellow and blue bands.

greetings,

Marc Immeker

[Murphy Siding]

On the other hand, I was just reading an article in Classic Trains (IIRC) which mentioned that one railroad intentionally painted the same model locomotive in different schemes so people wouild notice. 

That road was the M&StL. Their 35 Alco RS1's were painted in 9 different schemes when delivered. Some were repainted in red and white and after the merger with C&NW some were repainted in that road's colours, which let to variations....

greetings,

Marc Immeker

Didn't the New Haven do pretty much the same thing?  They had a lot of different paint schemes on the line at one time.

[MichaelSol]

Does the Harriman family still own controlling stock in UP?

Institutional Investors and Mutual Fund owners own 85% of the Union Pacific. Interestingly, Dick Davidson appears to have liquidated nearly all of his shares.

[KCSfan]

At the risk of repeating what someone may have already posted let me add that the KCS has come full circle in their colors. They started with the Brunswick Green (almost black), red and yellow colors of the Southern Belle, then went to the all white with red lettering freight diesels, then to the gray with yellow striped and red lettered engines and their most recent acquisitions are once again painted in the original Southern Belle colors. Who says history doesn't repeat itself.

Mark

[Cris_261]

The current BNSF paint scheme of black and orange makes me wonder if the railroad has plans to merge with the Bessemer & Lake Erie.

As for new names for BNSF, how about Santa Fe Northern? That name was jokingly suggested in a 1990s Trains issue.