The history of one of this year’s Top 100 champions is part of the history of the United States. BNSF Railway Company goes back more than 150 years, and today’s BNSF is a product of merger or acquisition of more than 390 different railway lines.

BNSF (formerly the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway) is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, with 32,000 miles of lines in 28 states and two Canadian provinces, with strong partnerships with short line and connecting railroads giving them access to greater North America. The railway boasts more than 40,000 employees and 6,700 locomotives, with an average of 220,000 freight cars moving on the rails any given time.

Today, BNSF Railway plays a vital role for people around the world every day of the year – magazines are published on paper delivered by BNSF trains, medicines are carried for distribution to hospitals and pharmacies, produce is shipped from farms to markets, 10 percent of America’s electricity output comes from coal hauled by BNSF; 10 percent of new cars in America move on BNSF lines; enough lumber to build half a million homes; more than 5 million truck containers – the list is endless.

Military staffing at BNSF is managed by John H. Wesley III. He and BNSF are committed to recruiting those with military experience and, as testament, were the voted No. 1 Military Friendly Employer® in 2007, and No. 2 in 2008 by G.I. Jobs magazine.

It is estimated that BNSF has about 8,000 to 10,000 veteran employees, about 20 percent of the work force, and has employed more than 75 veterans this year: 17 percent of all hires in 2009. Overall, BNSF has hired more than 3,090 veterans since 2005.

From operations managers to mechanics to track maintenance workers, BNSF is looking for employees with a variety of skills and experiences to work on its railway.