Knox County's largest employer recently did something for its local employees that a company spokesman says might be the sort of thing, that believe it or not, they might take for granted.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe is taking its annual "Railway Special" across the Midwest this year, and stopped in Galesburg Sunday and Monday. The railway operator takes some of its old passenger rail cars, refurbishes them, and then takes employees and select other community members on a ride as a way of saying thank you.

The train made a number of trips between Galesburg and Princeton, so that nearly all of the railroad's 1,200 local employees could get a ride if they so choose.

B-N-S-F spokesman Steve Forsberg says it might be hard to believe, but with all their employees, not many of them get the chance to actually ride the rails.  "The reality is the vast majority of people who work at a railroad don't ride trains every day...it's really just the train crews and some management employees that routinely ride the train."

Forsberg says the trains are also used to benefit the community -- Burlington Northern Santa Fe has a national partnership with the "Boys and Girls Clubs" which receives a $25,000 annual donation, with another $50,000 split up between five local clubs in the particular region.

Forsberg says Knox County's Boys and Girls Club was the recipient of $10,000 this year, and allowed the club's kids to get on the train themselves.

W-G-I-L, by way of disclosure, was invited, and accepted, a chance to ride the train.