(The following story by Wayne Risher appeared on the Memphis Commercial Appeal website on June 12, 2010.)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. —Some companies have a picnic at the ballpark or the zoo to show employees some love for a job well done.
The BNSF Railway brings in a 1950s vintage passenger train to take employees, retirees and families on an old-fashioned excursion into America’s railroading past.
So it was that BNSF engineer Nathan Bowers of Marion, Ark., found himself not driving a freight train, but sitting with his family aboard the BNSF Special as it traversed the Arkansas countryside Thursday afternoon.
“This is neat for them to see,” said Bowers, 29, a nine-year railroad employee. “This is basically what I do every day, the same route.”
Bowers’ stretch of track ranges from Byhalia, Miss., on the southeast to Trumann, Ark., on the northwest. The 15-car BNSF Special covered about half that distance, carrying about 350 employees and family members and special guests from the National Civil Rights Museum.
The museum delegation, which included civil rights icons Frances Hooks, widow of Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks, Maxine Smith and Rev. Samuel Billy Kyles, accepted a $5,000 donation from the BNSF Foundation.
Ryan Shoener, Memphis terminal superintendent, said BNSF values the contributions of the museum and its supporters.
“It’s such a big part of the Memphis community, it represents the diversity of Memphis, and there’s so much good they do for this community,” he said.
The train pulled out of the Tennessee Yards off Shelby Drive precisely when railroad officials said it would, chugging through South Memphis neighborhoods and across the Mississippi River into Arkansas. At Turrell, it reversed course and headed back to southeast Memphis, where BNSF recently completed a $200 million intermodal hub.
“I think it’s pretty cool,” said Bowers’ wife, Wendy, as daughter Mollie, 3, napped and 4-month-old Maggie polished off a bottle of milk. “I’ve always wanted to cross the river on the train.”
The river crossing on the Frisco Bridge also impressed a pair of 9-year-olds eating snacks at another table in the dining car. The Downtown skyline loomed across the water.
“I was amazed,” said Skyler Estes.
“It’s cool,” said Landon Rogers. “You get to see all the stuff outside.”
BNSF hasn’t run passenger trains in decades, but the railroad bought vintage cars and restored them to original condition in 1996, public affairs director Joe Faust said.
The BNSF Special visits markets with larger concentrations of employees.
“It’s our way of saying thank you to our employees for all their hard work and the success of our company,” Faust said.
After four days in Memphis giving rides to some 350-400 employees plus family members and retirees, the train was scheduled to move on to Birmingham, Ala. this weekend.
Faust said passengers were part of a rare event. BNSF operates in 28 states, “and the way our system works, it takes us about 10 years to get around to everyone. It probably won’t be back here for 10 years.”