Based on the recent post about CSX, and some discussion between CaTTwoman and myself, I figured I would ask this question:
What is your favourite Class 1 Railroad?
A Class 1 Railroad is the largest class of railroad, and covers the biggest lines only. The cutoff for what makes a Class 1/2/3 railroad changes over time due to market changes and inflation, so I will not go into the specifics here.
My favourite Class 1 is BNSF, as they are consistently work hand-in-hand with Amtrak and BNSF has some rich history with the lines that merged to form BNSF (i.e. Northern Pacific, Great Northern, Santa Fe, and the Burlington Route.)
Plus, BNSF has a program for railfans that encorages railfans to work with law enforcement and for law enforcement to work with railfans to keep an eye out for vandals, track issues, and busted equipment. The prgram is free for all interested, and I am a card carrying member myself.
There are 7 current Class 1's in the US and Canada: (Some lists also have Amtrak, as well, but this poll is freight lines only)
BNSF
Canadian National
Canadian Pacific
CSX
Kansas City Southern
Norfolk Southern
Union Pacific
If you would like, an explaination as to why the Class 1 that you voted for, would be appreciated. If you would like you could rank the Class Ones as well, or just your favourite(s) and least favourite.
My overall favourite is BNSF, with Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern tied for second (I just can't rate any of those four above each other).
I am not too big of a fan of Kansas City Southern, although I do appreciate their outreach to the public via their Holiday Trains.
Dead last in my ranking is CSX. I am sure that most here have read of some of the problems we have had personally with CSX, so retyping them would be redundant.