Talk of Burlington Northern passenger trains inevitably conjures visions of green E units toting bilevel stainless steel coaches at rush hour. But BN has history, albeit brief, with conventional intercity passenger service. This spanned from its March 1970 inception to the May 1, 1971, startup of Amtrak – just days less than 14 months.
Please enjoy this photo gallery of Burlington Northern passenger trains, originally published online in March 2025.
When operations began on Nov. 1, 1970, over Burlington Northern’s new 60-mile line relocation between Libby and Stryker, Mont., train 27, the Western Star, was the first westbound passenger train to emerge from 7-mile Flathead Tunnel. Philip C. Johnson photo
Burlington Northern train 30, the Mainstreeter, bursts forth from the Nimrod Tunnel and crosses the Clark Fork River on Feb. 11, 1971. Philip C. Johnson photo
The last Burlington Northern train 1 departs Chicago Union Station on April 30, 1971. Bud Bulgrin photo
The dome-observation and tail sign read “California Zephyr,” but it really is the successor: a tri-weekly train between Chicago and Ogden, Utah, operated by Burlington Northern and Rio Grande. Here, the eastbound train departs Council Bluffs, Iowa, on April 18, 1970. Consist includes dome-obs, sleeper, dome-coach, dome-buffet diner, two coaches added at Omaha, and two units, one added at Omaha. Jim Seacrest photo
Burlington Northern’s International calls at Edmunds, Wash., on April 26, 1971. The author noted on the print that this was the last train in the Pacific Northwest to regularly carry a round-end observation car. Jerold F. Hilton photo
Train 2 pauses at Omaha on April 30, 1971, the last day of Burlington Northern passenger train operations. Note the “California Zephyr” lettering still appears on the dome-observation. Thomas O. Dutch photo
Two yellow UP sleepers intrude on the otherwise all BN-family color palette of the Empire Builder on the ex-NP Stampede Pass route. J. David Ingles photo
Far from its historic Midwestern habitat, ex-Burlington E8 9970 is ready to leave King Street, Seattle, with Amtrak’s Mount Rainier. Note the unusual GN blue scheme on the first coach. J. David Ingles photo
Train 241, the 5:33 out of Chicago, hurries through Hinsdale, Ill., behind E9 No. 9900 with its loads of commuters. In the mid-1970s the service was operated by BN for the West Suburban Mass Transit District. John C. Illman photo
All through March 2025, Classic Trains editors are celebrating the history and heritage of BN.
