Steam on BNSF

crescent · **Joined:** Tue Mar 26, 2013 2:44 pm **Posts:** 12

The thread on the 765 trips in the Chicago area, which will operate over BNSF trackage, has been some cause for wonder. I had purchased a ticket to ride the ATSF 3751 excursion from LA to San Diego this October, and earlier this week I received this cancellation notice from Trains and Travel International, who was selling tickets for private car seats on this trip:

Quote:

SANTA FE 3751 STEAM EXCURSION
LOS ANGELES TO SAN DIEGO
OCTOBER 1, 2016
CANCELLED
BUT THERE IS ALSO SOME GOOD NEWS

On Saturday May 21, 2016 The Central Coast Railroad
Club excursion committee met in the Bay Area to
discuss the ATSF 3751 excursion to San Diego. Chris
Skow , owner of Trains & Travel International is a member
of this club and is on the excursion committee.

***NO MORE STEAM ON ANY BNSF LINES***

At the meeting we were all surprised to learn that BNSF
has just made a major policy change regarding excursion
trains. "NO STEAM ON BNSF" This is a major shift
in their operating policies. This puts a real damper on any
future operations. On the San Diego trip we would have
traveled on the San Diego Northern rails but would have
had to turn the engine on BNSF tracks.

Meanwhile I made several future excursion proposal ideas
at this meeting for the next couple of years using the 3751
and traveling on some rear mileage. All of these proposals
will ensure the operation of excursion trains with steam out
of Los Angeles for a few more years.

OCTOBER 1, 2016 STEAM TO PALMDALE

One of my proposals was to run our charter steam excursion
Los Angeles to Palmdale and return. The committee liked this
proposal and we are now moving forward to receive the
needed approval from Metrolink, as they own the former
Southern Pacific line through Soledad Canyon and on to
Palmdale. We are even going to be requesting a couple of
photo run-bys in the Soledad Canyon area.

This notice suggests that BNSF has implemented a sweeping ban on steam operation. Clearly, with MLW 261 and NKP 765 scheduled to operate over BNSF this year, that isn't the case. What's going on here?

Dennis Storzek · **Posted:** Thu May 26, 2016 3:50 pm

No inside information here, but I do note that in each instance the name Amtrak is mentioned right alongside BNSF. It seems to me that a couple years ago the 261 guys used the good offices of Amtrak to run many places one wouldn't have otherwise expected.

Trevor Heath · **Posted:** Thu May 26, 2016 4:09 pm

I wonder how this affects the folks in Albuquerque?

TH

Finderskeepers · **Posted:** Thu May 26, 2016 4:55 pm

BNSF has issued no such decree, and repeating this jeopardizes any future trips with BNSF.
From Jack Wheelihan
"I know most of you will probably not read/believe this but, it was NOT the 3751 group that put this information out! Also, the BNSF management is NOT "anti-steam"! The trip organizer is the one to blame for all this furor, as he sold out 4 cars worth of tickets, prior to ANY formalized negotiations were finalized. Blame Chris Skow!"