The BN Expediter is our quarterly magazine and is included with membership in the Friends of the Burlington Northern Railroad.
(printed format ISSN 3067-0802, online format ISSN 3067-0810)
The October 2026 issue (36 pages) contains:
- The FOBNR 2026 Gillette-Alliance Convention Report, by John Parker:
This year we held a mini-meet instead of a full convention, hence it was mostly railfanning. The article chronicles our visit to Gillette, Wyoming, a tour of the Black Thunder coal mine, railfanning the Powder River Basin, and then over to western Nebraska to railfan Crawford Hill and the Alliance area, along with a guided tour of BNSF’s Aliance yard. A few photos of the activities are included. - The FOBNR Freight Cars:
The HO scale FBNX covered hopper car on Greg McComas’ Michigan Interstate RR “Clair Sub” model railroad. Includes a description of his pike and several photos of the cars at various locations. - MRL Local Trains, November 2022, by Tom Hillebrant:
When Montana Rail Link announced an early departure from their lease agreement with Burlington Northern Santa Fe, two photographers set out to capture images of MRL local trains working both on mainlines and on branch lines before it would be too late. Over the course of four days, they encountered no fewer than five local trains handling talc, merchandise, grain, coal, and gasoline behind MRL’s well maintained fleet of first and second generation locomotives. - Right of Way, BNSF’s Barstow Subdivision, Savanna-Galesburg, Illinois, by Dan Bilka, Ben Hucker and Dave Poplawski:
A north-to-south traversal of the subdivision, with descriptions and photos of the interesting locations (trackage, structures, etc.) and trains along the line. - Burlington Northern Well Represented at American 250 Locomotive Celebration:
In August 2026, the North Carolina Transportation Museum at Spencer, NC hosted a star-spangled cast of modern, high-power locomotives from all six North American Class 1 railroads, all decorated in special schemes commemorating America’s semi-quincentennial. In addition, a host of semi-quincentennial decorated locomotives from numerous regional and shortline railroads and museums attended, and these were joined by three special guest locomotives in the schemes they once were as Bicentennial units 50 years earlier. Underneath several of these red white and blue locomotives, however, you may have found a coat of Cascade Green. This article highlights two former BN locomotives that participated in the event.
Available for purchase on January 1, 2027
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Tom Hillebrant, Managing Editor
The BN Expediter
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New Ellenton, SC 29809