Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (<a href="/facts/Reporting_mark/Q1N431fq">reporting mark</a> ATSF), often referred to as the Santa Fe or AT&SF, was one of the largest <a href="/facts/Railroad_classes/W95R4cj7">Class 1</a> <a href="/facts/Railroad/9nJQbsDV">railroads</a> in the United States between 1859 and 1996.
The Santa Fe was a pioneer in <a href="/facts/Intermodal_freight_transport/CrPgyURe">intermodal freight transport</a>; at various times, it operated an airline, the short-lived Santa Fe Skyway, and the <a href="/facts/Santa_Fe_Railroad_tugboats/HyWEz12b">Santa Fe Railroad tugboats</a>. Its bus line extended passenger transportation to areas not accessible by rail, and ferryboats on the San Francisco Bay allowed travelers to complete their westward journeys to the Pacific Ocean. The AT&SF was the subject of a popular song, <a href="/facts/Harry_Warren/lsWvubJl">Harry Warren</a> and <a href="/facts/Johnny_Mercer/loo1E8T3">Johnny Mercer</a>'s "<a href="/facts/On_the_Atchison%2c_Topeka_and_the_Santa_Fe/s7xzrAeb">On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe</a>", written for the film <a href="/facts/The_Harvey_Girls/VKEup6Lv">The Harvey Girls</a> (1946).
The railroad officially ceased independent operations on December 31, 1996, when it merged with the <a href="/facts/Burlington_Northern_Railroad/fQ2W9ywe">Burlington Northern Railroad</a> to form the <a href="/facts/BNSF_Railway/feSa972q">Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway</a>.

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway open-in-new

Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway