Across the Heartland

Step back to September 21, 1995, Santa Fe's last full day of independent operations before its merger with Burlington Northern. Days prior to that milestone, Pentrex set out on an odyssey across America's heartland to document the final chapter of this historic railroad. Two videos resulted which have now been combined on one new DVD, bringing you the full story of this great adventure.

Across the Heartland - Santa Fe's Chillicothe Subdivision
Stretching from the greater Chicago area to Fort Madison, Iowa lies the Chillicothe Sub, a double-tracked ribbon of rail that was home to Santa Fe's hottest trains. We'll take you back to the Chillicothe Sub as it was in 1995, just days before Santa Fe's merger with the Burlington Northern. Flashy Warbonnets leading high-speed trains are seen at favorite spots such as McCook Junction, Streator, and Edelstein Hill—the line's most famous location. There are great scenes at Galesburg and Cameron where Santa Fe and Burlington Northern tracks cross over one another and more drama at Fort Madison where trains are seen crossing the Mississippi River on the railroad's impressive bridge there. From urban sprawl through lush, green croplands, this was Santa Fe action at its very best.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• heartland
• santa
• fe
• merger
• bnsf
• pentrex
• midwest
• subdivision

[skinnyshit8888]

sometimes, I wish the merger never should've happened, even though BNSF is as good as ATSF.

[theup3985]

BN did not buy out the ATSF; it was a pretty even merger, and in fact many called it the "Big New Santa Fe" after the merger. Both RR's were struggling financially and neither could have survived to the present day without the merger. That said, BNSF does tend to favor the "Great Northern" heritage in its current paint scheme. We don't have to like that they merged, but it has created a strong, prosperous railroad.

[BNSF9250]

@ETScott2012 yes you can. warbonnets , and cascade green are much better.

[CptnHardcore09]

@atsfft103 yea BNSF should bring it back for there paint scheme in a H4, 5 or 6 scheme (i lost count at 3)

[atsfft103]

BRING BACK THE WARBONNET

[megatwingo]

Very nice video. Thumbs up! :)

[cweis127]

2:58; That is a K3LA

And is the Chillicothe Sub Santa Fe's Chicago-KC route?

[wackymac28]

@theup3985 well said

[TezJ16]

@TheFlarmo That was a Leslie RS3L horn.

[admydragon]

0:18 - 0:40 damn good.

[lordbemylight]

Cameron would have been a neat place to live and railfan in the 80s/early 90s when the trains had more variety. Today, both railroads there are all BNSF.