We need some new railroad names...

[P42 108]

CSX and BNSF should not change their names. CSX is a good name. It is short, and I like what it stands for. Chessie(C) + Seaboard (S) + Together we are so much more (X). In addition, saying BNSF is a lot better than saying Burlington Northern and Santa Fe. The name is so dragged out. BNSF and CSX both have a nice ring anyway.

[zugmann]

Interested railfan... is that like armchair quarterback? 

Not a phoamers fantasy Bunyon...just an interested railfan...

Zugmann...been there done that..thx...

 

[TimChgo9]

So what if it's BNSF.... it makes sense to me.  The Burlington Northern and Santa Fe merged, and I rather like the combination.  I never got CSX, but, I think it looks cool on the side of the locos in big yellow letters. 

Abbreviations abound everywhere in American Products.  NABISCO is one of them. (I can't think of anymore at the moment) 

It doesn't matter to me what the railroads call themselves....

From a sentimental point of view, I miss the ICG, C&NW, BN,GN, Penn Central, etc...  But, then, that's progress.

[Poppa_Zit]

This is really much ado about nothing, right?

It is about people who obsess about their hobby -- which by itself is harmless -- unless your hobby is observing from afar a global industry over which you have absolutely no control. Then it becomes frustrating. Isn't Atmo in rehab right now, to exorcise his jones with the return of the CNW?

This thread is much like those where railroads are chided by phoamers for patching locomotives or failing to keep with current paint schemes or running them dirty, which "spoils" photos.

Well, there's always the option of building your own layout and naming your railroad whatever makes you happy and painting your locomotives however you'd like them to be. And, as seen elsewhere like on the Model Railroading forum, you can even make yourself the president or CEO of your model railroad.

 

[Semper Vaporo]

This is all much ado about nothing.

It is about people who obsess about their hobby -- which by itself is harmless -- unless your hobby is observing from afar a global industry over which you have absolutely no control. Then it becomes frustrating.

This thread is much like those where railroads are chided by phoamers for patching locomotives or failing to keep with current paint schemes or running them dirty, which "spoils" photos.

Well, there's always the option of building your own layout and naming your railroad whatever makes you happy and painting your locomotives however you'd like them to be. And, as seen elsewhere like on the Model Railroading forum, you can even make yourself the president or CEO of your model railroad.

 

 Yes, but you have to realize all the trouble you have (as CEO of your own model railroad) with all the stupid "underlings" that work for you... they can be (well... ARE!) utter idiots!  I KNOW!

Sincerely,
Charles T. McCullough
Founder, President, CEO, CMO, CFO, Engineer, Fireman, Head Brakeman, Rear Brakeman, Conductor, Ticket Agent, Foreman of Right-of-way Construction and Track Maintenance, Hostler, Roundhouse crew, Blacksmith, Head of Public Relations, Yardmaster, Switch tender, Sole Stockholder, Disaster Inspector, Chef, Bridge Designer, Bridge Builder, Chief Horticulturist, Dispatcher and Proprietor;
CMBY RY

[Murphy Siding]

 Yes, but you have to realize all the trouble you have (as CEO of your own model railroad) with all the stupid "underlings" that work for you... they can be (well... ARE!) utter idiots!  I KNOW!

Sincerely,
Charles T. McCullough
Founder, President, CEO, CMO, CFO, Engineer, Fireman, Head Brakeman, Rear Brakeman, Conductor, Ticket Agent, Foreman of Right-of-way Construction and Track Maintenance, Hostler, Roundhouse crew, Blacksmith, Head of Public Relations, Yardmaster, Switch tender, Sole Stockholder, Disaster Inspector, Chef, Bridge Designer, Bridge Builder, Chief Horticulturist, Dispatcher and Proprietor;
CMBY RY

  Charles-do you contract out your train crew trasportation, or is that done in house?

[TimChgo9]

This thread is much like those where railroads are chided by phoamers for patching locomotives or failing to keep with current paint schemes or running them dirty, which "spoils" photos.

 

Since when does a dirty loco "spoil" a photo?  Not in my book.  A dirty loco?  Man, that's ART!  Trains are working machines, I expect them, nay, want them to be dirty, and streaked, and showing the scars of working... If I want a shiny train to take a photo of, I'll go down to the Museum of Science and Industry and shoot a photo of the Zephyr.    I like photos of new locomotives, but, the "worked in" ones make a better photo.   (Just my .02  )

[Semper Vaporo]

I got so daing'd many people on staff that I can't afford the number of taxis it would take to haul 'em all around.  I was going to build a railroad to go between the yard and the CMBY RY Grand Central Toolshed, Bunkhouse and Beanery, but the doctor said they needed more exercise, so I make 'em walk everywhere!  The guy with the cane complains a lot, but I just get out the whip and he quiets down.

[espeefoamer]

Although they're great railroads, BNSF and CSX would probably benefit by renaming themselves...even borrowing from their past would be a vast improvment. Santa Fe sounds alot better than BNSF...likewise Chessie or even Clinchfield beats CSX. What do others think?

Burlington Route sounds better than Santa Fe

Just wait someone else will chime in and say call them Great Northern

How about Atchison,Topeka,Burlington & Quincy?

[joseph2]

I wonder if names confuse potential shippers ? Because NS doesn't go South from Norfolk,BNSF doesn't go North of Burlington nor to Sante Fe,CSX sounds like a chemical and biological warfare device.Canadian Pacific sounds great. Mainly in jest,Joe

[al-in-chgo]

Well, one railroad that goes against the trend is the CANADIAN PACIFIC RAILWAY....formerly known as CP Rail or just CP or the CPR.

Alot of the shortlines also have NAMES as opposed to just a bunch of letters. I guess if CSX and BNSF ever do merge they may call themselves CSXBNSF..."the alphabet route". C'mon guys...get rid of BNSF and call yourselves SANTA FE RAILROAD...and CSX...bring back the CHESSIE... You guys (BNSF, CSX)  spent alot on snazzy new paint schemes just to throw a bunch of letters on there (BORING) when you should be coming up with some cool names or at least something that reflects your past.. At LEAST give us a flippin vowel!   

 

I agree.  And Canadian Pacific does it in two languages! 

 

[Murphy Siding]

I wonder if names confuse potential shippers ? Because NS doesn't go South from Norfolk,BNSF doesn't go North of Burlington nor to Sante Fe,CSX sounds like a chemical and biological warfare device.Canadian Pacific sounds great. Mainly in jest,Joe

I'm fairly certain, that BNSF goes north of Burlington, Iowa.

[Poppa_Zit]

I wonder if names confuse potential shippers ? Because NS doesn't go South from Norfolk,BNSF doesn't go North of Burlington nor to Sante Fe,CSX sounds like a chemical and biological warfare device.Canadian Pacific sounds great. Mainly in jest,Joe

I'm fairly certain, that BNSF goes north of Burlington, Iowa.

Maybe he meant Burlington, Vermont.

[CSSHEGEWISCH]

A rose by any name would smell as sweet.  I've seen name changes in railroading, aviation, etc., almost since I started school 50 years ago.  These things happen all the time and the name change does not affect the underlying operation.  Nickel Plate became Norfolk & Western in 1964 and they still switch Ford's Chicago Assembly Plant, same as when I was a child.

[Ulrich]

Try telling the marketing people that...branding is everything. Lot's of people can make running shoes...but nobody can SELL them like Nike. and in today's marketplace where the consumer can buy anything from multiple vendors...the ability to SELL out-trumps the ability to produce the product or service. Maybe those letter names are fine...I dunno...all I've stated is that a real name might work better... I'm not obssessed over it...just thought I'd bring it to the table for discussion. BTW...my HO layout is Canadian Pacific...I'm not into personal empire building..

[carnej1]

  As far as names that might seem confusing to shippers, think back to the "golden age" of railroads when there were a plethora of railroads in the middle of the continent which had "Pacific" in their formal names. Granted many actually were identified by official "nicknames" (i,e Frisco(which obv. didn't have "Pacific" but "San Francisco" instead), Rock Island, etc.) but one of the largest and most successful, Missouri Pacific, got only as far as the Rockies.

[Murphy Siding]

Try telling the marketing people that...branding is everything. Lot's of people can make running shoes...but nobody can SELL them like Nike. and in today's marketplace where the consumer can buy anything from multiple vendors...the ability to SELL out-trumps the ability to produce the product or service. Maybe those letter names are fine...I dunno...all I've stated is that a real name might work better... I'm not obssessed over it...just thought I'd bring it to the table for discussion. BTW...my HO layout is Canadian Pacific...I'm not into personal empire building..

I think you're losing focus of a bigger picture here.  Marketing mass produced tennis shoes to a mass market is entirely different than what railroads do to market their goods.  Let me give an example:  I work for a small, family owned lumberyard.  We don't have the name recognition among the general public, the way Home Depot and Lowes do.  But, we do still run circles around them, in our focused market-building contractors.  John Q. Public may not be familiar with us, but every builder is.  Having a nifty railroad name won't do a thing for the railroad or it's customers-present or future.  The railroads are marketing themselves- to their customers.  You can bet that the customers know their names.

[Ulrich]

Yeah..you're probably right.

[jclass]

I like Canadian Pacific Railway, too.  And hope it flourishes.  They seem to have pride in what they are.

One thing I've wondered...  Why have railroad names been so tied to geography while trucking firms haven't?

[cr6479]

how about quality conrail, NYC or LHV

[Anonymous]

Acme Railroad....

[Bob-Fryml]

SAAB - Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget  (Swedish Aeroplane Limited) 

JVC - Victor Company of Japan

ESPN - Entertainment and Sports Programming Network

QVC - Quality, Value, Convenience

STP - Scientifically Treated Petroleum

RCA - Radio Corportion of America

Wow, Scuta, thank you!  I actually learned something new today!  For years I've wondered and now I know:  "STP" means "Scientifically Treated Petroleum."

As for the worst channel on cable television, I always thought the initials "ESPN" stood for the "Enormous Sports Programming Network."  (Just kidding folks!)

[wjstix]

Well what about some old names?? I was hoping when the Denver & Rio Grande Western bought / merged with Southern Pacific, they'd become "Rio Grande Southern".

I'm "ok" with BNSF (I'd just call it "Burlington Route" but anyway) I'd like to have seen the BNSF 'swoosh' in small letters next to the last GN goat herald - the "Big Sky Blue" version that didn't have the RR name in the herald itself.

[CopCarSS]

Acme Railroad....

Isn't Acme the brand that Wile E. Coyote always bought his explosives from?

[Murphy Siding]

Acme Railroad....

Isn't Acme the brand that Wile E. Coyote always bought his explosives from?

He bought everything from them-probably had an *Acme Gold* credit card.

[Anonymous]

Fred's Railroad & Tackle Shop....

[Anonymous]

Central Railroad Company of Otto....

[Ulrich]

Texas Pacific...Central of Georgia... Algoma Central RJ Corman...those are NAMES.

[al-in-chgo]

If I remember rightly, the Radio Corporation of America had changed its name to RCA before GE bought it.  It had been originally created and owned by GE and Westinghouse to oversee the fledgling radio business. was 'liberated' by congress, and became an independent company owning other businesses like NBC radio and television..

Alas, it is no longer independent nowadays, being owned by the French company Thomson.

The color system being replaced by HDTV was developed by RCA in opposition to the CBS system that employed a color wheel and completely incompatible with the b&w tv sets of that time, like 405 lines vs 525, bandwidth, etc.

 Art

Totally , but fun to know:

NBC's three-tone identifier, used in most advertising and often elsewhere, is actually the musical notes G, E (above G), and C (below that G).  Together you have GEC, for General Electric Corporation.  It's been in use since the 1930s that I've heard of, perhaps earlier.  Now you know why the broadcast network (radio before TV) used GEC because General Electric Corporation helped found RCA which created NBC. 

With or without Westinghouse, am I OK on the chronology, Art? Also recall that GE was forced by the fed'l gov't to divest itself of RCA* (and thus NBC). 

* I use the abbreviation, later registry name, casually. 

I don't know when Radio Corp. of America changed its name to RCA, but it must have been quite a long time ago.  The irony, of course, is that GE in some wise was responsible for NBC, had it taken away, and decades later bought NBC back! 

[SimRacin40]

Who cares about names..I'm just glad I see a train when I get the chance. Don't get to railfan as much as I'd like to.