UP 7400?

BNSF's stance is that they would rather worry about their own Current corporate image than that of the past. Shippers don't care about the ATSF. it's good to know your roots, but if your interest is the customer first and not the public, meh. It's about who you pitch to. They and CSX have a similar policy on their business trains: Use a state-of-the-art engine to make you look like a state-of-the-art company over F units from 60 years ago. Doesn't make them wrong, its just a different pitch.

 

Units of the Past

Your right, but BN had Executive F's, Santa Fe gave them away to the Ill. Railway Museum. So I say Bravo to the Union Pacific for remembering and honoring their heritage and the communities they serve.

 

On the other hand, Rose told the editor of Trains in the November issue that "Yeah, we shoulda called it the Santa Fe."
And CSX CEO has gone on record that CSX is a horrible name too.

 

I still say the stupidest thing CSX did was ditch the cat that had three generations in love with her, and well on her way to being four.

 

Undoubtedly.

In both cases it was the Railroad equivalent of changing the name of Coca-cola.

Marketing and name recognition is important even to a freight railroad and the Santa Fe Warbonnet and Cross and Chessie are pretty much the undisputed most well known Railroad icons.


A competent marketing department would have never let these things happen.

Apparently Chessie is still the Mascot of CSX.
Not that it matters one bit.

 

Union Pacific E9's

Hi well Uncle Pete still got E9 949 E9 951 E9B 963 still going its a pitty that BNSF hasn't any BN covered wagons still going l fill sorry for you MR BN jeffrey northern844@hotmail.com

 

You don't increase your freight revenues if you don't get more customers and customers come via name recognition and name recognition means marketing.

 

Exactly. The question then, and there's no right answer, is how do you do it?

UP chose to go with their history at the forfront. Not only in railroads, but also in engines. They've made a big splash with the public, that's for sure. But hwo does it translate into business? That they are willing to acknowledge organizations like Komen and Boy Scouts means something, ccertainly does more than the pink lid yogurts who claim most of the money people thinkare going to Awareness, but does it make a difference to the shippers? And does it do more than the Heritage, because they have meaning to other organizations, whereas 3985 only reaches train nuts and train historians? (If you havent noticed, I am trying to get us back to the UP topic... wink wink nudge nudge)

BNSF and CSX made a different choice. They wanted to create their own names, their own identities. What they seem to have leanred that while this is good in theory, they had too much gold in Santa Fe and Chessie that they threw away. Even if Chessie is still the CSX mascot, no one's seen her outside of the C&O Tech. Hist. in years that I know of. And if they wait too much longer, people will forget who Chessie was.
Now, COnrail couldn't have kept Penn Central because so many would have said "Eww, not them." versus "Hmm, let's give this Conrail guy a try."

Which is what I think we've already stated, I just felt like doing a summary.

 

Why then Does CSX sponser Wait Wait Don't Tell Me on NPR? Why do they run ads touting their fuel economy? Good service is of course important, but so is the marketing department. Especially when you're discussing a company as big as a Class 1.

And lets not forget that it isn't just marketing for getting new shippers. Its marketing to get new stockholders and to make locals aware of and happy with the company. So that when push comes to shove and you need the locals on your side. You might actually have it.

I realize railroads don't make consumer products so marketing and PR are a different task than say Proctor & Gamble partake in, but to just brush it aside is wrong as well.

I consider these engines to be the same as a brewery/factory tour or any other community activity.

And BNSF does participate in such things. There's a reason you can count on them to have at MINIMUM a GEVO trotted out to events like the former Fullerton Railroad Days and Portland's National Train Day. And to participate in getting 3751 going. And when they need to, they contracted out 4449. So they do do these things.

 

I would have to say it does. How many current and former Boy Scouts run companies that need rail shipments? Just about everyone knows or knows of someone who's been effected by Breast Cancer. A large visible display supporting both organizations is a HUGE marketing ploy. People would recognize that UP supports them and will remember it. Same with the Heritage units and Steam. The average person (non-railfan, possible SHIPPER) sees a really good looking unit that shows the company is proud of it's past and is looking to the future, "Building America." The steam units are big and obivous and is in the local paper where ever it goes. Shippers read that and see it, then when looking for rail shippers and the picture of the steam engine with UNION PACIFIC all over it is in the back of their memory.