And I thought my train purchases cost a lot of money!

This is fantastic news. In my dreams, Warren Buffett brakes up BNSF. With the brake up, he starts two new railroads, one called Burlington Northern Railroad and the other called the Santa Fe Railway.

Just my take on the deal.........Buffett never did like BN buying the Santa Fe…………….LOL

Swafford

Huh. I posted the same url under the heading "736 buys BN" and it done disappeared.

Pete

Check these web links:

http://online.wsj.com/article/...u=yahoo&mod=yahoo_hs

http://www.thestreet.com/_yaho...m_cat=FREE&cm_ite=NA

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/...477532.html?x=0&.v=5

quote:

This is fantastic news. In my dreams, Warren Buffett brakes up BNSF. With the brake up, he starts two new railroads, one called Burlington Northern Railroad and the other called the Santa Fe Railway.

Maybe he'll change it to the Buffetton Northern??
Joe

...or maybe even 'Buff Fe', and feature passenger excursions with all you can eat dining.

Rick

Warren Buffet? Here come the Greybonnets!

quote:

Huh. I posted the same url under the heading "736 buys BN" and it done disappeared.

Duplicate and identical threads, Pete, so this one (earlier by about 4 minutes or so) stayed and the other was deleted.

With railroad stocks being a little undervalued now, this is probably a wise move. That's one heck of a trainset. It all looks so real!

quote:

...or maybe even 'Buff Fe',

Is that Vegas Style?

Along with the purchase comes a 50 for 1 split of Berhshire Hathaway's class B shares. That would mean the class B shares would be going for around $65 a share based on current share pricing. What an opportunity. The deal still has to be approved by the shareholders, but I think it's time to open up an eTrade account.

quote:

Originally posted by Allan Miller:

quote:

Huh. I posted the same url under the heading "736 buys BN" and it done disappeared.

Duplicate and identical threads, Pete, so this one (earlier by about 4 minutes or so) stayed and the other was deleted.

Thanks, jefe. Good to know it was nothing sinister. (Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean that they're not after you.)

Buffett seems like a pretty alert guy so I'm hoping that the deal works out well.

Pete

Shares are up $21+ to almost $98. I think I'll sit this one out and hope Warren is right. If he is, we'll all see at least some benefit, but the price for a ticket is a little steep for my comfort zone.
Phil

I believe this will set the official color of the BNSF forever.

It is Omaha Orange.

Berkshire Northern Buff Fe
or maybe
2-8-4-Hathaway.

Wyhog :-)

quote:

Shares are up $21+ to almost $98. I think I'll sit this one out and hope Warren is right. If he is, we'll all see at least some benefit, but the price for a ticket is a little steep for my comfort zone.
Phil

Actually, I hope Buffet is wrong. The only thing I've ever seen hauled by BNSF is a mile or more of fully offloaded containers out of the NW.
Or, a mile of double stacked TTUX's up from Mexico.
Or a string of Toyotas and Kia's out of Korea & Japan
He's probably betting on every economy except ours..
Joe

Cool, Now He can strip down the workforce to skeleton crews, gain maximum profits and then sell to a foreign company in tradition with the "American way".

quote:

Actually, I hope Buffet is wrong. The only thing I've ever seen hauled by BNSF is a mile or more of fully offloaded containers from the NW.
He's probably betting on the Chinese economy..

Along with container traffic from west coast ports Buffet would also seem to be betting on retailers of imports like Walmart, domestic energy production, the potential for increasing west coast coal exports, midwestern farmers and grain exports, the US housing market and the northwest forest products industry, shippers like UPS and JB Hunt and a whole lot more.

Buffet is betting on the entire US economy. He is betting for it. I sure hope he is right.

Now that's what I call Christmas Shopping! Just think ... while we were goofing off slogging through the rain at York, Buffett was in Fort Worth shopping for the real the real deal. The "Vision Thing" indeed ..

I want a tour of his layout.

quote:

Originally posted by Kanasket:

quote:

Actually, I hope Buffet is wrong. The only thing I've ever seen hauled by BNSF is a mile or more of fully offloaded containers from the NW.
He's probably betting on the Chinese economy..

Along with container traffic from west coast ports Buffet would also seem to be betting on retailers of imports like Walmart, domestic energy production, the potential for increasing west coast coal exports, midwestern farmers and grain exports, the US housing market and the northwest forest products industry, shippers like UPS and JB Hunt and a whole lot more.

Buffet is betting on the entire US economy. He is betting for it. I sure hope he is right.

In spite of any differences we've had in the past, I completely agree 100% with your assessment here.

Out of pure speculation with the current price / value of railroad stocks at the moment, could there be a 1-2 punch and Mr. Buffett decides to pick up Norfolk Southern or CSX in the near future?

The true transcon end-game has been speculated upon for years.

quote:

Buffet is betting on the entire US economy. He is betting for it. I sure hope he is right.

You can be sure the only thing he's betting on is making money.
Joe

quote:

The true transcon end-game has been speculated upon for years.

But is this [ a true Transcon RR] legal? IF so, surprising this wasn't done back in the 1970's

Now, if he leaves it alone, and let it do its thing, it would be good. Maybe hae did not wnat some sort of Children's fund hurt it as it did CSX.

Mr. Buffet knows all too well that a strong U.S. economy will generate lot's of cash. Given that he understands the story that leading economic indicators provide now, there is a short window of opportunity to "buy-in". Don't be fooled, Berkshire-Hathaway buys up well run companies that have "headroom", i.e. market share to be gained and he doesn't mind paying what they are worth. the goal with BH is long term, solid year over year continued profitability. In some cases that means not being the biggest kid on the block, just the most profitable OVER TIME. Warren Buffet loathes the Wall Street get rich quick set. he believes in long term, conservative growth.

One should check out the "Member Companies" links on the site. Quite impressive.

There won't be any break up or skeleton crew business, just sound, steady and superior performance.

Don't be surprised if they start talking about regional passenger train opportunities.

quote:

Originally posted by Texas Pete:
Buffett seems like a pretty alert guy....... Pete

Ya think?

One aspect of this that makes it a sound deal for Buffett is that it should easily overcome any regulatory hurdles. If you start introducing control of other railroads into the picture, the paradigm quickly changes and it is entirely likely that shippers, other railroads and government regulators would begin to raise objections.

quote:

Originally posted by JC642:
Actually, I hope Buffet is wrong. The only thing I've ever seen hauled by BNSF is a mile or more of fully offloaded containers out of the NW.
Or, a mile of double stacked TTUX's up from Mexico.
Or a string of Toyotas and Kia's out of Korea & Japan
He's probably betting on every economy except ours..
Joe

Sorry, but IMHO this is stinkin' thinkin' at its best. You many have missed the memo, but it's a world economy. We're all tied together, and we all sink or swim together. BNSF will make money off whomever uses their services. You obviously have missed all the BNSF coal drags, tank car trains, grain trains, domestic auto trains, etc. that travel through here. "I hope he's wrong" sounds a lot like the infamous "I hope he fails" uttered by an overweight wright-wang talk show blob after the election. Hoping for failure on economic ventures like this is hoping that our economy fails.

quote:

Originally posted by GG1 4877:
Out of pure speculation with the current price / value of railroad stocks at the moment, could there be a 1-2 punch and Mr. Buffett decides to pick up Norfolk Southern or CSX in the near future?

It's unlikely that the ICC would ever allow that.

quote:

Originally posted by JC642:

quote:

Buffet is betting on the entire US economy. He is betting for it. I sure hope he is right.

You can be sure the only thing he's betting on is making money. Joe

Same thing.

quote:

Originally posted by Kanasket:
I believe this will set the official color of the BNSF forever.

It is Omaha Orange.

Good point.

Flash,

I had a relative that worked in Conrails office (Penn Center, Phila.) he used to say you should see the layout in my basement (for those that don't know Saburban Station & trackage is in/under Penn Center. I might add you should of seen the control panel (the Blue room there).

Its good to be king.

quote:

You can be sure the only thing he's betting on is making money. Joe

Same thing.

Same thing means when most fully loaded containers reverse direction and head west..
Joe

quote:

Originally posted by JC642:

quote:

You can be sure the only thing he's betting on is making money. Joe

Same thing.

Same thing means when most fully loaded containers reverse direction and head west..
Joe

Only about 25% of BNSF traffic is intermodel, and besides that, of course not all intermodel is international.

quote:

Originally posted by Kanasket:

quote:

Actually, I hope Buffet is wrong. The only thing I've ever seen hauled by BNSF is a mile or more of fully offloaded containers from the NW.
He's probably betting on the Chinese economy..

Along with container traffic from west coast ports Buffet would also seem to be betting on retailers of imports like Walmart, domestic energy production, the potential for increasing west coast coal exports, midwestern farmers and grain exports, the US housing market and the northwest forest products industry, shippers like UPS and JB Hunt and a whole lot more.

Buffet is betting on the entire US economy. He is betting for it. I sure hope he is right.

You are correct. Freight Railroads are bellwether industries. Better trucking companies are also bellwethers. Time to evaluate, folks.

quote:

Originally posted by breezinup:

quote:

Originally posted by GG1 4877:
Out of pure speculation with the current price / value of railroad stocks at the moment, could there be a 1-2 punch and Mr. Buffett decides to pick up Norfolk Southern or CSX in the near future?

It's unlikely that the ICC would ever allow that.

ICC's been gone for years. I think you mean the Surface Transportation Board (STB or "SurfBoard").

Now, where does this leave KCS. BNSD uses it to reach Mexico?

I would guess that there will not be any further expansion vis a vis adding an additional railroad. There would be too much hassle with the STB, the SEC, unions and anti-trust watchdogs.

If you do diligence into the "family" of companies, you'll find Union tank car, and other railroad related service companies. While I don't suspect that this will have any problems with regulators, it will garner attention and monitoring. A speculative case might be made that the purchase of BNSF completes a vertical integration: railroad (BNSF), railcar production and leasing (Union Tank Car), Xtra (Trailer leasing). One candidate that may hit the radar screen might be American Car and Foundry.

u never know.......

Buffet to Railroad: You Have Been Warrened!

American Car & Foundry has been isolated legally & financially by Carl Icahn for liability reasons; building and repair shops are closed because of low demand and environmental liabilty. The old AC&F has few, if any, assets to speak of. The company now building railcars is American Railcar Industries, Inc., of which Shippers Car Line is the leasing division, and this company is separated from AC&F. Its main plant is in Paragould, Arkansas.
If you want to see how the economy is doing, check the following:
1. rail carloadings, up or down?
2. production of sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid. Up or down? Sulfuric acid is at the bottom apex of the inverted commodity pyramid, and hydrochloric acid is the next one up. Both are essential for production. Nothing gets produced without these two. No plastics, no fertilizer, no steel, no computers, etc.
3. job creation. Unemployment dropping from 9.8%+ to 6% or less.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mtnhi7,