I am writing my PhD on train scheduling, and performing some analysis on the current BNSF Belen Barstow operations. Sometimes operations in the field differ from what management thinks is actually happening in computer reports. Where can I find a few dedicated BNSF foamers to share with me what they are seeing in the field?

http://www.trainweb.org/brettrw/maps/seligmansub/seligmansub.html is one source I used for some info when I was out there.

It seems you can find a multitude of online forums dedicated to even the most obscure topics, and the Santa Fe transcon ain't obscure or insignificant. To your ends I might suggest:

www.trainorders.com and its "Western board"

http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewforu ... 88338660cc
will give you the Railroad.net BNSF forum..........

If you search Yahoo Groups, you're likely to find a useful group such as

http://finance.groups.yahoo.com/group/BNSF/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ATSF/

Please keep in mind, though, that the RR business operates on its own rules and if it were any other type of business, it would have folded long ago. Bad decisions and incompetence abound in the industry and the main emphasis is on making things look good for the moment on Wall Street, whether it kills the railroad or not. This is usually accomplished by cost cutting. Whether the customers get their goods or not is strictly secondary..

Thanks, that is just what I need.