There are six Class I freight railroad companies in the United States: BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Canadian National Railway, CPKC, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Union Pacific Railroad.
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The history of the Class 1 railroad traces back to our country's first common-carrier, the Baltimore & Ohio. During the next century more than 140 such systems came to serve this great country. After World War II a series of mergers, bankruptcies, and takeovers reduced the number to the current seven.
This is an interactive map of the major freight railroads, also known as class I railroads in the United States. They include CSX, Norfolk Southern (NS), Burlington Northern and Santa Fe (BNSF), Union Pacific (UP), Canadian Pacific (CP), Canadian National Railway (CN), and the Kansas City Southern (KCS).
With the merger of Canada Pacific Railway and Kansas City Southern Railway, the Class I railroads will be much closer in size to each other now that the two smallest railroads have combined.
Union Pacific became the safest U.S. Class 1 railroad in employee safety for the third consecutive year. The top-performing railroad had a 0.79 reportable injury rate in 2017, according to Federal Railroad Administration data.
The oldest surviving steam railway locomotive in the world is Puffing Billy, which was built in 1813/14 for Christopher Blackett, owner of Wylam Colliery, near Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
There are six Class I freight railroad companies in the United States: BNSF Railway, CSX Transportation, Canadian National Railway, CPKC, Norfolk Southern Railway, and Union Pacific Railroad. Canadian National also operates in Canada and CPKC operates Canada and Mexico.
The National Rail network of 10,072 route miles (16,116 km) in Great Britain and 189 route miles (303 route km) in Northern Ireland carries over 18,000 passenger and 1,000 freight trains daily.
The Union PacificBig Boy 4014 was introduced in 1941 as the world's largest steam locomotive. Following a ceremonial outing in Nebraska, the Big Boy jumped in to save a stuck freighter on a Nebraska railway. A 2019 restoration of Union Pacific 4014 brought back the only remaining active Big Boy.
The earliest form of railways, horse-drawn wagonways, originated in Germany in the 16th century. Soon wagonways were also built in Britain. However, the first use of steam locomotives was in Britain.
Worst accidents The worst accident was the Quintinshill rail disaster in Scotland in 1915 with 226 dead and 246 injured. Second worst, and the worst in England, was the 1952 Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash, which killed 112 people and injured 340.
Most train companies offer First Class accommodation on some or all of their routes. But they may also have some routes that are Standard Class only. Check with your train company.
The Glacier Express is the world's slowest train, taking more than eight hours to travel between Zermatt and St. Moritz in Switzerland at an average of 18mph. Along the way, it passes over nearly 300 bridges, travels through 91 tunnels and takes in endless stunning Alpine views.
The Glacier Express is the world's slowest train, taking more than eight hours to travel between Zermatt and St. Moritz in Switzerland at an average of 18mph. Along the way, it passes over nearly 300 bridges, travels through 91 tunnels and takes in endless stunning Alpine views.