The Mendota sub: From Hot to not, Then Hot again
By: Josh Clark 9:05pm 3-11-17
The BNSF Mendota sub runs from Galesburg to Aurora Illinois. Once a major line for the CB&Q and the BN, Is now only but a secondary line for the BNSF. In this article, I will focus on the BN and BNSF timeframes only. First, Ill talk about the present day operations, Then go back to the BN days.
The Mendota sub hosts 8 daily Amtrak trains. The California Zephyr, The Southwest chief, The Carl Sandburg, And the Illinois Zephyr (Which was added about 10 years ago). The Mendota line is infamous for its bountiful amount of coal trains. At one time you could have seen 25 coal trains in a 24hr period! (Estimate). Now, That number has dropped to around 10. Sometimes there will be days where there will be 20 a day, And some days will no coal trains at all! Other Trains on the Mendota include a Daily intermodal train Between Chicago and Toluca, Mexico. (CHCFXE). You could also see sand trains coming from the CN in Chicago. Taconite and grain trains, and some manifests which include but is not limited to: GALCHC, CHCGAL, GALBRC, BRCGAL, CNIGAL, GALCNI, GALCSX, GALNTW*, NTWGAL*, GALGFD*, GFDGAL*, EOLKCK, KCKEOL, GALSUP*, SUPGAL*. You can also expect to see around 4 ethanol trains a day. With a total train count of around 15-30 a day.
Now, Lets flashback to the BN days, Around the 70's, The Mendota line was the main gateway for BN trains going to and from Chicago and Points West. The Mendota line had a little bit of everything! (Coal, Piggyback, manifest, Passenger, You name it!). But the energy crises of the 70's hurt the coal industry badly killing off a majority of the coal trains on the Mendota. And by 1984, BN was considering single tracking the Mendota. So they experimented the single track idea by running the double track line as a single track line for a while. In the end, They decided to stick with the double track setup. Plus, It would have been very pricy to rip the second track out. But, The economy picked back up and coal was king again.
Let's Teleport to 1995, The BN merged with the ATSF in 1995 making the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (Now simply called BNSF). So now, The BNSF has two ways to route trains between Chicago and Galesburg. BNSF Decided to use the Chillicothe sub for hot Z trains and the Mendota for heavy hauls. In 1996, They built a connection between the two lines at Galesburg, So freights on the ATSF could reach the former BN Galesburg yard.
Now in 2017, We can see that BNSF has stuck with The chilli as the primary Hot train line and the Mendota as the slow freight line. But it doesn't come without its flaws, The Chilli still has coal and mixed freight trains, And the Mendota still has intermodal and Amtrak trains. But for the most part, They try to separate them.
Up until around 2012, The Mendota sub rail infrastructure was old, And the PTC deadline was looming. And Galesburg needed to be redone to meet capacity. So, In 2012, The whole Galesburg area got and huge overhaul. A third main was added, Old crossovers were replaced, A passenger main, PTC signals were put in place, A storage area for trains in the yard, And much more stuff. Later in 2014, All the old CB&Q signals were removed from the Mendota sub. The Mendota sub has gotten a much needed makeover.
What if BN single tracked the Mendota? It would be a disaster, With a line that hosts frequent Coal and Amtrak service, It would definatly cause Amtrak delays. And even with 2 tracks in place today, Its not uncommon for amtraks to run on the left track, Due to trains that it would need to pass.
Summary: The Mendota line was once a vital line to the CB&Q and the BN. And to this day, This line serves a unique purpose. Without the Mendota, Running slower trains on the Chillicother would be a disaster and literally impossible. Also, Without the Mendota sub, We would have 8 less Amtrak trains to ride on. Compare this line to the line 50 years ago, You could see that a lot more trains used the line than they do now. But histoy aside, The BNSF Mendota sub, In my opinion, Its greater than its ever been before!
*= Trains take both Mendota and Barstow subs.
The Mendota sub hosts 8 daily Amtrak trains. The California Zephyr, The Southwest chief, The Carl Sandburg, And the Illinois Zephyr (Which was added about 10 years ago). The Mendota line is infamous for its bountiful amount of coal trains. At one time you could have seen 25 coal trains in a 24hr period! (Estimate). Now, That number has dropped to around 10. Sometimes there will be days where there will be 20 a day, And some days will no coal trains at all! Other Trains on the Mendota include a Daily intermodal train Between Chicago and Toluca, Mexico. (CHCFXE). You could also see sand trains coming from the CN in Chicago. Taconite and grain trains, and some manifests which include but is not limited to: GALCHC, CHCGAL, GALBRC, BRCGAL, CNIGAL, GALCNI, GALCSX, GALNTW*, NTWGAL*, GALGFD*, GFDGAL*, EOLKCK, KCKEOL, GALSUP*, SUPGAL*. You can also expect to see around 4 ethanol trains a day. With a total train count of around 15-30 a day.
Now, Lets flashback to the BN days, Around the 70's, The Mendota line was the main gateway for BN trains going to and from Chicago and Points West. The Mendota line had a little bit of everything! (Coal, Piggyback, manifest, Passenger, You name it!). But the energy crises of the 70's hurt the coal industry badly killing off a majority of the coal trains on the Mendota. And by 1984, BN was considering single tracking the Mendota. So they experimented the single track idea by running the double track line as a single track line for a while. In the end, They decided to stick with the double track setup. Plus, It would have been very pricy to rip the second track out. But, The economy picked back up and coal was king again.
Let's Teleport to 1995, The BN merged with the ATSF in 1995 making the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (Now simply called BNSF). So now, The BNSF has two ways to route trains between Chicago and Galesburg. BNSF Decided to use the Chillicothe sub for hot Z trains and the Mendota for heavy hauls. In 1996, They built a connection between the two lines at Galesburg, So freights on the ATSF could reach the former BN Galesburg yard.
Now in 2017, We can see that BNSF has stuck with The chilli as the primary Hot train line and the Mendota as the slow freight line. But it doesn't come without its flaws, The Chilli still has coal and mixed freight trains, And the Mendota still has intermodal and Amtrak trains. But for the most part, They try to separate them.
Up until around 2012, The Mendota sub rail infrastructure was old, And the PTC deadline was looming. And Galesburg needed to be redone to meet capacity. So, In 2012, The whole Galesburg area got and huge overhaul. A third main was added, Old crossovers were replaced, A passenger main, PTC signals were put in place, A storage area for trains in the yard, And much more stuff. Later in 2014, All the old CB&Q signals were removed from the Mendota sub. The Mendota sub has gotten a much needed makeover.
What if BN single tracked the Mendota? It would be a disaster, With a line that hosts frequent Coal and Amtrak service, It would definatly cause Amtrak delays. And even with 2 tracks in place today, Its not uncommon for amtraks to run on the left track, Due to trains that it would need to pass.
Summary: The Mendota line was once a vital line to the CB&Q and the BN. And to this day, This line serves a unique purpose. Without the Mendota, Running slower trains on the Chillicother would be a disaster and literally impossible. Also, Without the Mendota sub, We would have 8 less Amtrak trains to ride on. Compare this line to the line 50 years ago, You could see that a lot more trains used the line than they do now. But histoy aside, The BNSF Mendota sub, In my opinion, Its greater than its ever been before!
*= Trains take both Mendota and Barstow subs.