Another Warbonnet Bites the Dust

Arguably, the Santa Fe "Warbonnet" is the most attractive and well-known paint scheme that ever graced a locomotive. With the merger of ATSF and Burlington Northern into the BNSF, ex-Santa Fe Warbonnets have been slowly vanishing. One place you can still spot them is in Fernley's little two-track yard across the street from our house, where a BNSF local operates usually five days a week usually with GP60 locomotives originally delivered in the Warbonnet. The locomotives have to be rotated in and out to be sent back to shops for their 90-day inspections, so we see different units. This morning was another sign of the times, as one of the older units has been repainted into the newer scheme.

( Old and New, Host and Tenant )

Shortly after I took these photos, the BNSF crew arrived (they'd left the train here overnight because they ran out of operating hours yesterday and had to be fetched back to the base at Sparks via van) and set about their daily chores. The ever-changing train scenery here is of course one of the reasons we bought the house.