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Special Tour Allowed Some to Enter BNSF Hump Tower
Few people ever get the chance to see inside the Hump Tower on the BNSF rail yard.

The tower is the heart of the organization in directing rail cars to certain tracks and building trains.

Security has been tight since the 9/11 attacks, but a special VIP tour was allowed into the building Friday night.

The tour had a limited number of seats, but Tom Foley of Galesburg was lucky enough to get a ticket.

He told WGIL about the experience.

"Well the VIP tour was just great. For one thing they let us into the places you never get to. So we were literally inside the Hump Tower looking down at these trains as they were fed by gravity. And all the computers, you just couldn't beleive all these computer screens, so it was really fascinating."

The group was also allowed to enter the diesel shop and watch machinists work on engines.

Jim Clayton of the Galesburg Railroad Museum helped organize the tour and hopes they will be able to bring it back next year.
06 25 10 by Newsroom
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