BN Executive Fleet ??

[john120/240]

What happened to the BN Executive fleet ? At one time (20 years ago?)  they were stored at BN Murray

Yard, Kansas City.  Wintergreen & Cream scheme on the engine if I remember right ?

[eolafan]

BN 1, BN 2 and BN 3 are all at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL.  I believe 1 and 2 (the F units) are in good shape mechanically, having been rebuilt to GP38-2 standards shortly before being donated to IRM, but 3 (the E-9) is not in good shape.  All three (at least the last time I saw them) had cosmetic issues from being ill-maintained and sitting outside in the Midwest Winters for years.

[samfp1943]

Correct me, if I am wrong, but the current fleet of the BNSF Office Car Fleet operates out of the Topeka,Kansas Facilities.  Their trains operate with apparently any available locomotive power from the fleet.  many of the cars have their own power resources and they also have a car equipped to supply power for longer trains.

Here are a couple of videos that show the Topeka Shops ( open for tour in 2002 )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=YfIiQUUfgas&feature=endscreen

part #2http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eB-5JnKD9ys&feature=related

BNSF Office Car Specia on the road to Paducah, Ky

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BdLEX3_2bs

You can see a couple of their HEP Cars in use and equipment at Topeka  Shops.

[DwightBranch]

eolafan

BN 1, BN 2 and BN 3 are all at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, IL.  I believe 1 and 2 (the F units) are in good shape mechanically, having been rebuilt to GP38-2 standards shortly before being donated to IRM, but 3 (the E-9) is not in good shape.  All three (at least the last time I saw them) had cosmetic issues from being ill-maintained and sitting outside in the Midwest Winters for years.

 

I saw that train go past Pinecliffe CO westbound (upgrade) in 1992-3 from slightly above the top of the units, one of the units (the E as I recall) had a geyser of green antifreeze coming out of the roof, I think the E had a generator for HEP and it was overheating (the prime movers on EMD units can't take antifreeze).

[MP36er]

All three units are operable, and in fact all three were featured during IRM's Diesel Days this past weekend. The BN 2 currently has a bad radiator leak, but other than that, all three units still run well. However, they are indeed looking very ratty as none of them are stored indoors. I was looking at photos of the BN 1 and 2 from 2005 when they were used for the film "Flags of Our Fathers," and their paint has really gone downhill in the past 7 years.

Locomotives do not use anti-freeze. However, the cooling water is often colored green (or more recently I've seen pink) in order for mechanical personnel to better identify just what is leaking from a locomotive.

All the cars that BNSF has retained from BN's fleet have either had their paint removed if the car is stainless steel, been painted gray, or been painted gray and then had ornamental stainless steel fluting attached to the side of the car to better match the rest of the cars.