BNSF celebrates America’s 250th birthday with patriotic locomotives
By SUSAN GREEN
Staff writer
Bisesquicentennial, sestercentennial, semiquincentennial or quarter millennium – no matter how you say it, there’s no better way for our railroad to say “Happy 250th Birthday, America,” than rolling out special locomotives in red, white and blue. In advance of the nation’s upcoming July 4 celebration, BNSF announced three commemorative units numbered 250, 1776 and 2026.
“Few institutions are woven into the fabric of America quite like the railroad, and BNSF is honored to celebrate our nation’s 250th anniversary with these specially painted locomotives,” said Katie Farmer, BNSF Railway president and CEO. “For nearly two centuries, railroaders have helped shape the American story, connecting communities, powering economic growth and strengthening the nation we call home. These locomotives pay tribute not only to our country’s heritage, but also to the men and women of Team BNSF who carry that legacy forward today.”
Many railroads celebrated America’s bicentennial 50 years ago, including BNSF predecessors Burlington Northern and Santa Fe, with a unique paint scheme on several locomotives.
“Railroads have a rich heritage and many of the successes of America – past, present and future – are thanks to railroads, so it was appropriate that we make this the year to debut these special units,” said Jim Tylick, assistant vice president of passenger operations.
Tylick is project coordinator between BNSF and Mid-America Car, Inc., the company that applied the new paint scheme to three of our newest ES44ACH locomotives. The process to repaint the units began months ago and the project was a well-kept secret.
To keep the element of surprise, all the switching at Mid-America Car, Inc. was done in the middle of the night. “Luckily, we have a night crew, so I asked them to make sure switching was done after midnight,” said Jordan Blanc with Mid-America. “Otherwise we kept the locomotive being painted inside all the time and the doors closed as much as possible.”
While Tylick’s role was to ensure that the design, color and timeline requirements were satisfied, he was also the conduit for his son Oliver, 16, a railfan and budding artist, to propose his concepts to BNSF. The younger Tylick’s renderings of a patriotic paint scheme were adopted by BNSF.
“My son loves history and trains,” Tylick said. “He reviewed how railroads 50 years ago celebrated America’s Bicentennial and wanted to utilize some of the themes from our Santa Fe and BN predecessors while also making it a more modern look, with banners across the sides of the locomotive.”
The first three words from the preamble to the U.S. Constitution, “We the People,” are displayed on the locomotives, as is the number “250.” The words “Freedom” and “Liberty” are displayed high on the radiator cab as a reminder of what makes us proud to be Americans. BNSF’s “swoosh” logo is also dominant on the sides, along with stars and striping.
What makes these units so special is that their red, white and blue livery is the first time BNSF has ever done a commemorative paint scheme outside of the traditional orange since being founded in 1995.
“BNSF painted 10 GE ES44AC locomotives to celebrate our 25th year anniversary in 2020,” said Tylick. “Those had logos of our major predecessor railroads that make up BNSF and was painted in the classic BNSF orange.”
Changing the paint scheme from orange and black to the official U.S. colors first required sanding and then priming the unit in gray. Areas like the cab windows were covered and detailed masking applied for precise lines. Then the units were spray-painted one layer at a time, starting with white, then red and finishing with blue, followed by a varnish. Decals, like the stars and banners, were applied then peeled off. Each locomotive required about 750 hours of work and about 60 gallons of primer, paint and clearcoat.
Working on this project was exciting and special, Blanc said. “It was stressful from time to time, making a 2D picture on a piece of paper turn into a 3D locomotive,” he said. “There are always a couple little hiccups that come along with a project like this, but that’s part of the fun – figuring out the solution.”
These three historic locomotives will travel BNSF’s 32,500-mile rail network for special events, while joining the rest of the BNSF fleet to deliver the nation’s freight for the customers and communities we serve across the supply chain.
Did You Know?
Everyone knows the colors of the U.S. flag are red, white and blue. But did you know the colors represent specific values: red symbolizes hardiness and valor, white symbolizes purity and innocence, and blue signifies vigilance, perseverance and justice.
