Ready for Fire Season in Husum

Fire District 3 in Husum, Wash., near White Salmon received a new brush truck in anticipation for this year’s upcoming fire season. BNSF supported the completion of the new truck with $6,000 from the BNSF Railway Foundation, which helped cover the purchase and installation of the truck’s emergency lighting, radio equipment, and other associated controls.

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Celebrating 100 Years of Innovation

At BNSF Railway, we’re proud our shared history with the Boeing Company helped build the Puget Sound region into what it is today. And we’re proud to be an integral part of one of the most sophisticated supply chain operations in the world – an innovative logistics chain that gets the right parts to the

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Pacific Northwest Hazmat Team Recognized for Excellence

From Bellingham to Vancouver and Spokane, BNSF employees throughout Washington have been recognized as employees of the year. One of the 92 people being honored around the country is Justin Piper, Director – Hazardous Materials. Justin (pictured above), who is based in Vancouver, has been responsible for helping to train thousands of local emergency responders

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Uncovering Art in the Columbia River

In the late 1950s, The Dalles Dam and John Day Dam neared completion, causing water levels to rise and threatening many prehistoric rock carvings. James Lee Hansen, one of the Pacific Northwest’s premier sculptors, made stone copies of the carvings to save them from being lost in the rising Columbia River. Because of grants provided

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Dedication to Environmental Stewardship

Every year a member of Congress and a railroad employee are presented with the John H. Chafee Award to recognize outstanding environmental stewardship in the railroad industry. This year BNSF nominated John Jeffrey for his forward-thinking improvements and safe operations at BNSF’s locomotive fueling facility in Hauser, Idaho. John helped work with government agencies to

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Our Commitment to Safety

Recently, Crosscut ran the article “At Mariners games, it’s baseballs and bomb trains.” Our response to the article, also published on Crosscut, is below: BNSF Railway welcomes serious public discussion of rail safety issues. Unfortunately, Nick Abraham’s piece published April 11 (“At Mariners games, it’s baseballs and bomb trains”) fell short of making a contribution. As a railroad,

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Setting the Record Straight on Coal Dust

It is highly disappointing that the University of Washington is associated with a study that is clearly being funded for and driven by groups opposed to fossil fuels. Opponents of coal exports are using bad science to create a concern over coal dust and advance their cause about coal exports, not because there is any

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Watch How BNSF Employees Are Making Connections in the Pacific Northwest

How much do you know about the thousands of people BNSF employs in the region? This month, BNSF launches Making Connections, a behind-the-scenes look at BNSF employees who contribute to safe, efficient, and technologically advanced rail transportation. Filmed across Washington and Oregon, the new series showcases BNSF employees who stabilize slopes in Puget Sound, volunteer

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Painted Journeys: The Art of John Mix Stanley

Painted Journeys is a nationally touring exhibition organized by the Buffalo Bill Center of the West on view at Tacoma Art Museum through May 1, 2016. John Mix Stanley traveled thousands of miles crisscrossing the western territories in the mid-1800s, venturing as far as the kingdom of Hawaii. The prolific artist is best known for his portraits of American Indians

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Largest Cargo Vessel Points to Freight Future

Last month, the Benjamin Franklin – a vessel the length of two Space Needles — arrived in Seattle, offering a glimpse of Washington’s international trade future. Ships arriving in Seattle typically hold about 10,000 20-foot shipping containers. The Benjamin Franklin holds 18,000 containers that, when laid end-to-end, would stretch from Tacoma to Everett. Mega container ships like this one are the

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Mobile Training Classroom for Emergency Responders

BNSF’s new mobile classroom is making its way around the state for the first time this year. The converted boxcar seats up to 37 people and is expected to host more than 100 emergency response classes in 2016. Thousands of local emergency responders have been trained by BNSF’s Hazardous Materials Safety team. However, some locations – especially more

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New Capital Investments for Washington

BNSF plans to invest nearly $220 million in Washington as part of its 2016 capital expenditure program. These investments will help increase reliability and safety, while also keeping pace with growing demand for rail transport. Over the past three years, BNSF has invested more than $550 million in Washington. Improving rail networks in Washington not

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BNSF Railway Foundation Helps Support Stevenson Park Plaza Project

To help fill a void in downtown Stevenson, Wash., city leaders have partnered with the Stevenson Business Association to create the Stevenson Park Plaza project. The Stevenson Park Plaza, which would be located in front of the Skamania County Courthouse, is envisioned as a new focal point in downtown Stevenson that would promote tourism and

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Supporting STEM education

BNSF granted $5,000 to KidsQuest Children’s Museum in Bellevue, Washington, an interactive museum promoting science, technology, art, and math for children and families. With the help of BNSF’s grant, hundreds of students and families participated in STEM events such as learning about nanotechnology, taking apart machines, and building toy railways.

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