Railroad company histories

So this section of the website is called "Railroad History," right? So where are the railroad histories? Selected histories will be added here as they are researched and written. This part of the History section will also include those tidbits of history that might not be complete histories but describe an event in the history of a specific railroad.

See also: List of Wisconsin railroads.

A buyer for BNSF???

There have been many stories in the past from reputable news sources about Warren Buffett's investments in BNSF Railway stocks.  Today, his holding company, Berkshire Hathaway, cranked it up to 11 and announced plans to purchase the remaining 77.4% that it didn't already own in a deal valued at $26 billion.  Here are a few links to articles with more information:

While the news outlets are all pondering what this means for the company and various BNSF forums are rabidly discussing how this will affect operations, I'm left to wonder if Mr. Buffett is secretly a model railroader at heart and hiding a closet full of Thomas The Tank Engine toys.  Just like the number of licks to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop, the world may never know.

Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad

DME locomotivesDM&E locomotives 4000 City of Dodge Center and 4004 City of St. Lawrence resting between assignments at Davis Junction, Illinois, in 2007.

The Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad was originally formed in 1986 through the purchase of Chicago & North Western branch lines in South Dakota and Minnesota.  It and the Iowa, Chicago & Eastern Railroad, formed the bulk of the rail operations of Cedar American Rail Holdings.  Together, the system grew to be the largest Class II railroad company in North America.  In the late 1990s, DM&E made the bold announcement that it was going to build a new line to Wyoming's Powder River Basin so it could be a third rail carrier to haul coal from the area.  Construction of the line was delayed by many court cases from the communities along the line until 2007.  The DM&E and IC&E were purchased by Canadian Pacific Railway in 2008 with the purchase completed on September 30.  DM&E and IC&E operated their last trains on October 31, 2008.



 

DM&E flag falls

DM&E locomotives at Davis Junction

The news is out, America's largest Class II railroad is officially a fallen flag. The Surface Transportation Board announced its approval today of Canadian Pacific's plan to purchase Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad, Iowa Chicago and Eastern Railroad and Cedar American Rail Holdings. The purchase was first proposed a year ago, and the last day of independent operations for DM&E and IC&E is currently scheduled for October 30, 2008. Already, CP power is showing up more frequently on DM&E/IC&E tracks. Now, how long will it take CP to finish the job DM&E started and get new track built into the Powder River Basin? We're still not sure, but that was one of the reasons that was given a year ago for the purchase in the first place, so my guess is that it won't be too much longer.

DM&E sale may be imminent

Here's something interesting for those in the Midwest. Trains magazine is reporting that the Dakota, Minnesota and Eastern Railroad may be sold by Cedar American Rail Holdings, its current parent company, to raise the funds needed for its Powder River Basin extension. The short list, according to Trains, is now narrowed down to three likely bidders: CN, CP and an undisclosed shortline operator (ed. could this be RailAmerica or maybe Railroad Development Corporation [current owners of Iowa Interstate]?). The bidders have until the end of the week to respond, so we should know more about this transaction next week. The Associated Press has picked up this story now, so check your sources when you look into this one.

First fatal accident on a maglev

Sad news coming out of Germany today. The first fatal accident on a maglev occurred this morning on the Transrapid demonstration system near the Dutch border. The train left the station at 9:30 local time and sped up to about 200 km/h (120 mph) in the short distance of 1 km (0.6 mi) before colliding with a maintenance of way vehicle on the track. Reports so far indicate that 19 of the train's passengers plus two maintenance workers have died in the collision. The system where the accident occurred has been in operation four days per week since 1984, so this is proven technology. So far, analysts are pointing to a failure in communications between the train's operators and the maintenance crew. So this was the first accident, here's hoping we don't see another for an extremely long time.

Today in history: November 8

Santa Fe and Southern Pacific trains meet at the Tehachapi Loop in the 1980sIn 1874, the Southern Pacific was building its line south from San Francisco through California's central valley.  Construction reached Bakersfield and work began on the line that would include the Tehachapi Loop on November 8, 1874.  The line is still one of the busiest mountain passes in California, and is now owned by Union Pacific Railroad.  In this view from the mid 1980s, we see part of a container car, and under it in the background, the head end of the train of which this container car is part and an opposing Southern Pacific freight at the Tehachapi Loop.

UP's latest heritage scheme is out today

UP has put up a press release today to announce that the latest heritage scheme is in honor of Denver & Rio Grande Western. UP 1989 sports a three-color (black, yellow and grey) scheme featuring a profile of mountains on the cab sides and the Rio Grande logo on the nose. The press release includes a few photos, there are bound to be more at the railfan sites soon.