BNSF/Fort Worth and Western Executive VIP Train Ride

[ET44C4]

This topic will be about my trip on the special BNSF and FWWR executive train ride. I would like to thank Ken Fitzgerald (Official BNSF Photographer) for the personal invite that made this trip possible for me.

This trip lasted about three hours round trip. Everyone boarded at the Fort Worth, TX Historical Stock Yards. The train traveled on Fort Worth Western trackage from Fort Worth, TX to Cresson, TX. There were multiple trips throughout the week. The train was stored at FWWR's Hodge yard for that week. These first few pictures will show the train arriving at the stockyards. My first location right outside of the stockyards is at an old wooden open deck trestle.

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The next shot shows FWWR #2027 backing the train into the Stockyards.

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Here are a few pictures of the train while sitting at the Stockyards. It will sit at the stockyards for awhile.

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When it was time to board everyone picked their car. I obviously chose BNSF #30 "Glacier View" which as theater seating. I found a very nice seat behind some reserved seating. (They were for the FWWR executives including the General Manager of FWWR)

It took quite awhile for the trip to start. I decided to check out the food at the buffet before the train started moving. I got some very delicious Cajun Chicken Pasta and went back to my seat. That meal was very good! I just had to get some more. The lines were quite crowded so I thought I would go ahead and wait.

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Here are a few pictures of the inside of the "Glacier View".

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The train will soon depart the Stockyards. I will soon explain the adventure of going through each crowded car while the train is going 30 miles per hour...

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The trip finally started. It slowly pulled out of the stockyards. I stayed in my seat for quite awhile before venturing out into the rest of the train.

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Once the train got out of the stockyards I waited for the moment when it would cross the Trinity River. The seats were very comfortable and the view was amazing. There were multiple speed restrictions which limited the speed down to 15 mph.

The train passed multiple industries that FWWR serves. It was interesting to see the line's history with the occasional Searchlight signal. The first part of the trip had a more industrial feel with many roads, highways, and intersections. We continued to travel south where the scenery would soon shift to out in the country.

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The time came when I thought I might walk around a bit. It was time to get my "train legs" and fast! The swaying of the car made me unbalanced. The cramped isles were going to be challenging to walk through while swaying constantly. I continued walking through the "Glacier View" until I came to the next car which was BNSF #29 "Valley View". "Valley View" which is an ex-Santa Fe dining car was full of people. It was difficult moving through the car, but the interior looked very nice. The tables had the original Santa Fe cross logo on them. Here is a picture of the interior.

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I continued to walk through to the next few cars. The two cars I walked through next were BNSF #41 "Flathead River" and #44 "Colorado River". They were ex-Southern Pacific passenger cars. The seats were large and comfortable. The cars had nice large windows with a great view of the passing scenery. Here is a picture of the inside of one of the cars.

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The next two cars I walked through were BNSF #35 "Canyon View," and BNSF #10 "Lake Superior". I believe the other cars were impassible.

I decided to walk back to my seat before we arrived in Cresson. I had to make a quick stop by the buffet to grab some more Cajun Chicken Pasta! When I got back to my car my seat had been taken. Thankfully I found an open seat not to far back from where I was. I sat back ate and relaxed the rest of the way to Cresson.

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The scenery started to change. The train was now passing by farms and fields. It was more enjoyable to see the landscape. You could even see the occasional Turkey Vulture flying close to the train.

When we reached Cresson they had the train go around on a wye. It was a slow operation, but we soon got back to traveling down the FWWR. We were heading back to Fort Worth now. Here are few scenic pictures along with a picture of part of the wye in Cresson.

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The trip was nice and relaxing going back. In the next hour and a half we would be back in Fort Worth.

[goddrauG]

Never heard of the FWWR before. They have a nice paint scheme!

[ET44C4]

The train crossed the Trinity River and would soon be back in the Stockyards. The train would need to go on another wye and back into the Stockyards the same way they came in earlier. As we arrived next to the switch at the wye, a crewman for FWWR came to the "Glacier View" to radio to the engineer if everything was clear. Backing into the stockyards can get a little hairy. The train slowly backed in while the police (not sure if it was BNSF police or FTW police) walked along side the train to get people out of the way. The train reached the end of the Stockyards and stopped.

I waited for most of the people to clear out of the train so I could do one last run through of all the cars' interiors. I got multiple shots of the insides and outsides of the cars. I made my way through "Glacier View" and "Valley View". I walked into the "Canyon View" half dome car and walked up to the dome area. I took a few pictures while the song "The Final Countdown" played quite loudly through the car. I made my way to the kitchen area and I got a group photo of the cooks. (Look at the pictures in the next post)

Overall the trip was excellent. I enjoyed every aspect of it. The view, seating, food, and service was amazing. I'm thankful I was able to go on this trip. It wouldn't have been possible without Ken Fitzgerald so thank you! These next few posts will show some of my pictures that show the interiors of each car.

If you liked this post and would like to see part of the trip back to Fort Worth (Timelapse), check out my video here on "The Texas Railfan" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn1xeoCbDcs

[ET44C4]

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[ET44C4]

Never heard of the FWWR before. They have a nice paint scheme!

Here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Wort ... n_Railroad (About FWWR)

[BoostedFridge]

Thanks for sharing the pics! The interiors of those cars are fantastic.

[ET44C4]

Thanks for sharing the pics! The interiors of those cars are fantastic.

Your welcome! Glad to hear you like them.

[ET44C4]

Notice the pictures of FWWR #2027. Look at this picture of the unit last year.

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