Against All Odds: Volume III: The History of Burlington Northern Railroad’s Innovative Intermodal Business: 3Q 1993 – Post BNSF Merger Paperback – June 28, 2023

This is Volume III of the story about how the selfless people of Burlington Northern (BN) Railroad’s Intermodal Business Unit (IBU) were able to, Against All Odds, overcome multiple attempts to neutralize, or essentially kill, the Intermodal business between 1981 and 1995. Their collective efforts transformed it from being an “illegitimate step-child” of a railroad that couldn’t decide what it wanted to be to a business that, Against all Odds, drove significant gains in BN shareholder value. Their efforts helped to ultimately drive BN’s extraordinarily successful 1995 merger with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway and help make Intermodal transportation the foundation piece it has become for the U.S. railroad industry and the global supply chain.Volume II covered the period between 1989 and the second quarter of 1993. This Volume begins during the third quarter of 1993. It includes challenges associated with continued BN Railroad mission uncertainty, the constant intra-company battles between those advocating a bulk vs. hybrid-company future. It explains the turnaround of Intermodal Business Unit performance - what it entailed, the obstacles that were overcome and the value it generated for BN shareholders. It also explains the value of BN's investment in SD70M-AC locomotives, steps leading to the BN-Santa Fe merger and the role the IBU played in it, the departures of Bill Greenwood and most of the IBU leadership team, the Santa Fe merger and what became of BN’s Intermodal Business vision post-merger. It includes an assessment of “what might have been” and a number of lessons that can be learned from the history of BN’s Innovative Intermodal business based on the experiences of former participants. Read more