In todays video, we go galivanting all over the Midwest, following ATSF 552 and 554, two of the very last B40-8W's still in their original paint. Official Discord Server: / discord Merch Shop: okieprint.com/SPR/shop/home
It’s because EMD overbuilt their locomotives, and the 50yr old SD’s and Geeps are inherently simpler than the Dash-8’s, so there’s less stuff that can fail.
That highway shot was the best. Clouds in the back, pieces of history in front. I think BNSF should paint some heritage locomotives with Santa Fe paint schemes.
@@beeble2003ain’t it the other way around cuz I never see the Santa fe blue or BN green but I always see at least one warbonnet most every time I’m railfanning
@@TheArizonaRailfan Must just be how it is in your area. I'm pretty sure there are a lot more blues and greens on the network as a whole than warbonnets, but they're mostly Geeps and SD40s, so they're not going to travel far from home.
@@beeble2003 I live right along the Phoenix sub and see the occasional Warbonnet tugging along behind an H2 or H3, but never a Freightbonnet, or H1/H4 for that matter. I did see a pair of BN green SD40-2s once in Glendale, that's about it.
I was conductor on a CSX train years ago and I asked the Old Head Engineer which engine he liked best. He said a B40-8, he said it wouldn't quit loading. I liked any thing GE and I liked the soft ride also of the B40-8, that's all we had then of the modern GE's.
Love the Santa Fe content... However being from central Massachusetts originally I would like to thank you for the Providence and Worcester shot at the end... Stay safe, Tim
Up here in Minnesota, there are two warbonnet that have been coupled together for over a year now working various different locals and road freights in the Twin Cities area. BNSF 558 and 542
I was very fortunate to catch 3 B40-8Ws in recent years: BNSF #539, BNSF #529, and ex-AOK #578 (BNSF #578) in Belen, NM and El Paso, TX. I also caught some AZER B39-8 and B40-8s in Lordsburg, NM.
W BNSF for redoing the lettering on 552 instead on repainting it into H4, 11:39 btw this was the same lash up on MCHIGAL on august 12th, it had an SD75I as well which hardly ever come to Chicago so I’m glad I caught it
Back in late April of this year, I had the honor of seeing 552 on BNSF H-GALTUL. I knew they were rare, but I didn’t know how rare they became now. Gonna be sad when they disappear
Providence and Worcester has some former ATSF B40-8Ws of the former superfleet out here they have no longer atsf paint but they are still kickin here today and look quite good in p&ws brown white and orange
BNSF 549 still wears Santa Fe colors. Its been sitting at Murray Yard in North Kansas City, Missouri for a few years now. I don't think it'll see service again in Santa Fe colors if even.
Those are some great shots! I’ve never seen a Warbonnet dash 8 or 9 before, but I do remember spotting a BNSF own fakebonnet pass by TVRM earlier this spring. I believe it was 736. Even still, I’d to see a Warbonnet in service one day, and whatever of the dash 8s still in service for that matter, who knows.
wow great video man. its sad ill never see a warbonnet dash 8 before they go away. I always wanted to see one for my grandpa. he never saw them but wanted to really bad
I hope to one day catch a glimpse of an ATSF B40-8W before they're gone for good. They're nowhere near where I live (SD75I's and SD75M's dominate this area), and the ones that reside where I grew up are all painted H3.
Yet another Incredibly Interesting and Not Covered Subject. You’re Right about Not Many exist in Operation most of which on Short(er) Regular Runs. Thanks! 👍🙏
Fyi, BNSF Chicago division conductor here, engine 554 is currently being used as yard power in Eola/Aurora yard. I was on it a couple of times last week.
Being close to West Quincy, Missouri and railfan the man Ive seen 552 many times! I just love seeing it and look for it! Takes me back to those days of that paint scheme!! Thanks for the vid
It’s still kinda of a letdown BNSF retired all the C40-8Ws back in 2014, and most of which are still in storage rotting away to an uncertain fate. (likely scrap) we need one of those preserved, but I’m satisfied they donated 537 which is a big win! I was about to ask why they only partially repainted 552 when they could have just done the whole thing, until I quickly remembered it wasn’t necessary. I do know 524 is gonna be scrapped eventually, although I thought 555 was already gone considering how rough it looks now.
@@zacharycalgher3978 Let's hope those donations pull though. :) After all... it would be an even more amazing win for die hard Santa Fe fans such as myself. X3
Very nice video! Here in Washington State, we used to have two Dash 8s, but were retired in the late 2010s. They were BNSF 505 (B40-8W) and my favorite BNSF 563 (B40-8) with an awesome RS3L.
Two of these, 558 (Fake Bonnet) and 542 (War Bonnet), are MU’d together without any other additional power and are regularly running between the Twin Cities and Superior. Would be a great catch for your videos if your in the area.
The send set 560-583 weren't even supposed to be built even. Santa Fe wanted B40-8B units like they'd gotten with the 60Ms and 60Bs however GE stated that they'd be able to get 23 more wide cab units for what they're looking to spend just for the first 8 booster units. So they canceled all the booster units and grabbed 23 more cab units. The second group even had the gullwing style of cab roof like the C40-8Ws they got for the York coal mine service.
Found your channel a while back and have been enjoying your content. SE IA was my old stomping grounds so appreciate the coverage. BTW,,, it was mentioned earlier, but will repeat in case you missed it, Ottumwa is locally pronounced "uh-TUM-wa". Keep up the great work!
As a CN/Via/GO railfan, I caught a Dash 8 once, at Oshawa GO I caught a former UP C40-8, seeing these old units get put in storage and scrapped is pretty bad, railroads should rebuild the Dash 8 like they are doing with the Dash 9.
First comment in awhile but..i’ve come to say a B40-8W has been preserved! BNSF 537. It’s in H2 but will thankfully be repainted back into ATSF colors. So thank goodness one has been preserved.
Still a good few around Minneapolis and Northtown Yard. I’ve seen them on locals, yard switchers, and even the hump job just in the last year. And that’s just the red & silver ones…
I really enjoy your videos. I saw BNSF 539 (wide cab) between Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska in Nov 2022 and Feb 2023. Two B39-8's (standard cab) numbers 594 and 576 are in the storage line in Lincoln as of Jun 2023.
The town of Ottumwa Iowa is pronounced "O-tum-wa" with the stress on the second syllable. This is so cool to see Iowa and Illinois BNSF represented here!
Gotta whole bunch of BNSF standards cab dash 8, atsf dash 8, 9. Every locomotive you think is rare is sitting on storage tracks in bulk down here in Galveston TX.
Golden windmill back in the late 70s was a bar and grill for a period of time! Since then it has become a historical site! Pretty cool to see the old wooden mechanisms that make the mill work with wind power! Golden is a great railfan spit for catching and watching trains! West Quincy used to be too until 9/11.
We couldn't go past the yard entrances anymore! Still in effect! There used to be a rail station there! You could drive back to the station or even past it and across the yard track that came out on to another road! After the 93 flood which flooded West Quincy for months the demolished the station but we were still allowed to park and watch trains! After 9/11 that all came to an end for security reasons
BNSF 549 is parked in Murray Yard in North Kansas City and still retains its Warbonnet with Santa Fe lettering. We can also anticipate recently preserved 537 to be returned to the Warbonnet scheme in Silvis.
Wish we had power like that on the El Paso Sub! I have to drive 3½ hours to Belen just to see anything interesting! The line only sees about 5-10 trains a day, anyway.
I live on a property on tomah rd crossing in colorado and I seen at least one every now and then. I was fortunate enough to see a bunch of guys sitting at the crossing getting ready to take pictures of the new engines so I got to take my atv down to my fence line right up next to the tracks
One fact that needs to be mentioned (constantly) is the the term "wide cab" does not refer to the width of the cab, but the length. Most rail fans get this wrong. Proof? Look that the measurements of the standard cab versus the wide cab. They are exactly the same width wise, but not length...get it!?!
542 has been working the Monticello sub. NW of Minneapolis all summer. It’s been lashed up with another war bonnet too. I believe that one says bnsf instead of Santa Fe though. If it wasn’t for your videos I probably never would have noticed.
6:45 The train crew treat the FRED the same way as the yard crews did when I worked on the trains years ago ( New Zealand)...didn't take long before the Fred's started failing due the the rough handling
@@SpecificationR Apologies for my late...comment. It seemed to be a culture within the Railways here( New Zealand). Certain staff members just didn't care how they treated equipment .
I just realized that if you watch the music video for Wagon Wheel by Darius Rucker you will se some former BNSF 4-axle dash 8s. The locomotives now belong to the Nashville and Eastern Railroad (reporting mark NERR). The locomotives still wear their BNSF H2 colors, but the logos say N&E. You need to go to 51 seconds into the music video to see the locomotives. Just thought y’all would like to know that.
Well done! Great coverage with some excellent motive power You should definitely try to get back up here to Minnesota within the next few months, because 558 (possibly 542 as well) is slated for scrap within the next 6 months, and 6 months is if we're lucky. If 558 is heading for the torch, it's almost certain 542 will follow, too.
I wish BNSF didn't slaughter their triclops 60ms and B40s. Also, there are still two SD60MACs in Pueblo, Colorado and all were used in BN freight service.
Atleast BNSF donated 537 to RRHMA, so atleast this GE model shouldn’t face the risk of extinction. Besides, I won’t be surprised if RRHMA repaints it back into its original warbonnet scheme
At least we are thankful that RRHMA was able to save 537. :) And hopefully in the near future... we'll see that unit back in her iconic Super Fleet colors. ^^
I’ve got the oil cooler out of the 567 replacing gaskets to stop oil leaks. Hopefully my gaskets come in next week so I can put her back together. Then I will MU her back to the 581 and our set on the AOK in SE Oklahoma will be ready for service again.
9:55 The blue "BNSF" lettering on the cab of 1670 was presumably supposed to go on a Santa Fe yellowbonnet. I guess they either didn't have any white letters in stock or goofed and used the wrong colour. It's only on one side, too (see 10:45).
I saw a fakebonnet a year or two ago, it was 701. Though its been too long since I last saw an ATSF in its original paint. The only good catches I get are the executive mac's that I still see to this day in my area.
interesting. Here in WI we rarely see B Units from BNSF or CN on their trackage (at least what I've seen). Super cool to see them on the road! @@Southern_Plains_Railfan
I managed to see 549 in Murray Yard in Kansas City in early 2022, which I believe is still there in Santa Fe lettered warbonnet paint about a year later.
