Last June I photographed BNSF 1512 in Seattle and have been wanting to do a bit of research on this units history which dates back to 1957.
The 1512 was originally built as GN 714, one of 10 units numbered 712-722 delivered in the Spring of 1957 equipped with dynamic brakes in the Classic Empire Builder paint scheme. According to the GN Pictorial 2, GN 714 was assigned to the Spokane Division in 1969. When the Big Sky Blue was introduced the 714 got a repaint to blue. Checking my notes I never got to see the 714 before the BN 1970 merger.
After the BN merger the GN 714 was renumbered BN 1787 and assigned to Hillyard until those shops closed. It then went to the ex-NP Parkwater shops in Spokane for maintenance.
On 2-1-74 I noted the 1787 at Seattle’s ex-GN Interbay yard in BN green. I eventually photographed the 1787 at Wenatchee, WA 9-18-82. Note the Parkwater stencil meaning it was probably still assigned to Spokane at this time.
And another photo of the 1787 leading a westbound work train around Trinidad Loop in 1984.
And on 3-12-88 I caught the 1787/1812 (both former GN) westbound on the Crew 8 local between Maple Valley and Renton, WA on former Pacific Coast trackage also once used by the Milwaukee Road. (and GN before the BN merger)
Four years later the 1787 went to MK and was rebuilt into BN GP28M 1512 and returned to service 10-21-92 in BN’s new pinstriped green. I don’t know where it was assigned but like the GN 714, I never saw it as the BN 1512. After the BN merger in 1995 it kept the same number but got BNSF sublettering and I have found photos of it in 2005-2006 in BN green working around the Eola Yard area of Illinois.
In late 2008 the 1512 worked west to Tacoma, WA for repainting into BNSF’s latest scheme at Ceeco. I remember hearing about it being in the area and hoping I could photograph it before it left.
It wasn’t until June 26, 2009 that I finally managed to catch the 1512 in Seattle. It may not look much like the GN 714 anymore but it was still a unit I had been wanting to photograph so I am glad I was finally able to complete that goal.
On Thursday 1-15-09 I photographed the BNSF 8175 on a southbound freight at Everett, WA and did not realize that this was a former BN SD60M as it passed by.
It was built as the BN 9275 2/91 and was used primarily in coal train service. I photographed it at Seattle’s Interbay yard on 6-9-94. It looks like it must have come in for servicing off the coal train seen in the background.
After the 1995 BNSF merger the 9275 was repainted into H2 colors 5/18/01. With the delivery of new BNSF GE’s in the 9200 series to be delivered the 9275 was renumbered 8175 in January of 2008. Seeing it last Thursday with it’s new number and colors I did not recognize the 8175 as once being the BN 9275!
This SD60M is almost 18 years old but it still looks pretty good for its age. Still I wonder how many years it has left.
In January of 1969 EMD produced SD45 522 for the CB&Q. It was one of 15 SD45’s built for the Burlington numbered 516-530 and painted in the green/white scheme.
After the BN merger in 1970 I only noted one CB&Q numbered SD45 in the Seattle area and that was the 522 coming into Interbay on a westbound 7-7-70 in a consist of GN 418/CBQ 522/BN 6434. After that all ex-CBQ SD45’s I would see had BN numbers. The 522 was eventually renumbered BN 6463. First time I saw the 6463 was on train #174 leaving Auburn, WA 11-20-71 at 1:46 PM with 118 cars. Power for #174 that day was 6463/6496/1878/732/724 and GN caboose X139 on the end of the train. The 6463 was still in Burlington colors at that time.
After it was painted BN green I saw it numerous times in the Seattle area. This photo shows it at Interbay yard in Seattle 11-13-78 still with the full Burlington headlight package.
Later on 8-6-79 it was back at Interbay looking pretty much unchanged except for being maybe a little dirtier.
That would be my last photo of the BN 6463. It was retired 15 years after being built 2/84 and returned to the lessor. It found a home on the CNW along with the other returned CB&Q SD45’s and was renumbered CNW 6582 in September of 1984. It was retired in 1994 just before CNW merged with the UP in 1995.
In 1993 MK was contracted for rebuilding a large number of older retired locomotives for Southern Pacific. The ex-BN 6463 was in this group. It came out of the program classed as an SD40M-2 in October of 1994 with 3000 HP but it still looked like an SD45 and was now numbered SP 8668.
In 1996 Southern Pacific was merged in the the Union Pacific. The SP 8668 was at Seattle Argo yard on 1-17-00 when I photographed it. Hard to believe this started out as a Burlington SD45!
On 6/12/03 SP 8668 was renumbered to UP 2744. It is also now classed as an SD40-2 and currently is in UP colors and still in service! From CB&Q 522 in 1969 to UP 2744 in 2008 this SD45 has certainly hung on for quite sometime!
This first update of BN Survivors (and the premerger partners) is for the BNSF SW1500 3450.
BNSF 3450 was built as the GN 204, part of an order of 10 SW1500’s for the Great Northern in October of 1967. Delivered in Big Sky Blue the first 5 units (200-204) were assigned to Spokane, WA and the other 5 to Minneapolis.
After the BN merger in 1970 the 204 was renumbered BN 304 and continued to be assigned on the ex-GN at Hillyard in Spokane.
On a trip through Spokane on Aug 4, 1971 I stopped at Hillyard where I noted the BN 304 was already painted BN green along with the other 4 GN built SW1500’s 300-303. Not surprising as Hillyard had a paint booth in the shops so the power assigned there would be some of the first to be repainted. After Hillyard closed the 300-303 stayed in Spokane being assigned to the ex-NP Parkwater shops while the 304 moved west to Seattle staying assigned to an ex-GN shop, at Interbay so I saw and photographed it a number of times.
This photo of the 304 was taken on 7-19-78 at Interbay.
Note how some of the original GN blue is showing through. There was very little change for the 304 until after the BNSF merger in 1995. The 304 was renumbered without being repainted to BNSF 3450 in April 1998 and continued to call Seattle home. A popular assignment seemed to be Job 120 working the garbage transfer at Rabanco south of downtown. Here the 3450 still in BN green switches at Rabanco 8-12-98.
The 3450 was repainted H1 in February 2002. Here it leads Job 120 bringing a garbage transfer to Interbay a few months after being repainted on 4-20-00.
Kind of ironic that an ex-GN locomotive delivered in Big Sky Blue would later be painted in the older GN colors of orange and green. Three days previous Job 120 was at the same location of Galer St just south of Interbay on 4-17-00 and was led by SW1500’s 3450/3453, both being ex-GN SW1500’s. The 3450 the 204 and the 3453 the former GN 207.
On 3-29-00 a rear end roster shows how the paint appeared on the rear of the H1 SW1500.
The 3450 went into storage at Interbay for awhile but last report has it back in service north of the border at New Westminster, BC on a line which happens to be former GN territory.
As a side note Athearn has announced they will be producing an HO GN SW1500 due in early March 2009 with the 204 to be one of the numbers released. Sounds like it will be a nice looking model.