Blackwell & Northern

Company History: The BNR was established in 2000 to takeover operation of a 35 mile line owned by the State of Oklahoma running from the Blackwell Industrial Park in Blackwell, Oklahoma to Hunnewell, Kansas. Connections were with BNSF in Wellington, Kansas. The previous operator of this line had been the South Kansas & Oklahoma Railroad. The BNR’s chop nose GP9 was picked up secondhand from fellow Oklahoma shortline Kiamichi Railroad. The Blackwell Northern lasted just five years before being replaced as operator by the new Blackwell Northern Gateway Railroad.

Successor/Parent History: The BNG runs 35 miles from Blackwell, Okalahoma to Wellington, Kansas. The portion between Hunnewell and Wellington is on BNSF trackage rights. The track is owned by the Blackwell Industrial Authority and the state of Oklahoma. The operating company is a subsidiary of a small shortline holding company called US Rail Partners. The company was launched in 2005 to replace the Blackwell & Northern Railway as operator of the line. Their rebuilt GP9 which was acquired from predecessor Blackwell & Northern earlier belonged to fellow Oklahoma shortline, Kiamichi Railroad.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.