BNSF Variety

Shot between 2007 and 2020, we take you to venues, mostly in the West, to see a wide variety of diesel power and scenic locations. We begin with an Amtrak segment on BNSF’s Raton Pass line – which features some semaphore shots made in 2020. These were the last ones on the line, and may be gone by the time you read this. We see both trains 3 and 4, the Southwest Chief on two different days of operation. So this is an interesting way to start our show.

Next we move into Colorado to Palmer Lake south of Colorado Springs. This is the Joint line of the BNSF and the Union Pacific. We see 3 different BNSF trains including some with distributed power on the rear. Next we move over to the front range west of Denver and see a Union Pacific Train, and a BNSF descending the grade. These have distributed power helpers as well. Staying in Colorado we head to Fort Collins where we see some street running. We see a Union Pacific local train, as well as two BNSF trains heading north. It’s interesting to see the trains mix with the city traffic and pedestrians.

Next we venture to the Powder River basin for coal train action. This is mainly shot not far from Gillette, but a bit south of there. We see a parade of loaded and empty trains, mostly with distributed power helpers. There is also some older power on a ballast train, and a local train. You will also see some oil well pumps bobbing in the foreground of some scenes. This is all shot in fine weather as well.

Now we move to further north and west to the Wind River Canyon region. This scenic area follows the Wind River and the canyon is very scenic. We see some foreign power as well as some older units, besides the usual modern wide-cabs. Most trains are manifest mixed freights. This area is not seen too often.

Our final segment is one of the longer segments feature the Montana Rail Link trackage. We begin with an MRL local train, then see mostly BNSF trains using the MRL to get to the Pacific NW parts of Portland and Seattle. Most of the footage is shot west of Helen in the helper district over Mullan Pass. Most trains are BNSF with helpers, or distributed power or both. A couple of MRL trains are seen, including one that has manned helpers cut in mid-train. Trains are working hard, and the scenery is great, with many shots around Austin Creek trestle, and Austin, among others.