Train Ride Through North Dakota Prairie - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

Train Ride Through North Dakota Prairie

Long gone are the days when people got around by passenger train, now many of us rely on cars or even airplanes for transportation.

This week Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway is giving employees, their families and their friends the opportunity to take a ride on a train, and enjoy the scenery.

"I worked mostly on freight from Mandan to Dickinson," Wes Eisenmann said.

Wes Eisenmann knows this area west of Bismarck all too well, after all he did work for B-N-S-F railway for 38 years.

"I worked this stretch on the freight for BNSF made hundreds and hundreds of trips from Mandan to Dickinson," Eisenmann said.

Thanks to a family member working for the railway now, he's one of hundreds on this train enjoying the ride.

"The employee special is in 9 cities, Mandan is our last city that we're in and what we do is offer train rides for our employees and their families and friends," Amy McBeth,Public Affairs Director for BNSF said.

While these employees and their families and friends relax and enjoy the scenery.

Other's are a little bit noisier.

"It's really fun, like the drinks are good, the food is good, the scenery is awesome," 10-year-old Jace Nordsben said.

A group of YMCA kids is also along for the ride, and for many they may have seen parts of the North Dakota prairie before, but not by train.

"I think it is amazing we get cool beverages, we get snacks and it's my first train ride and it's awesome," 11-year-old Brad Treiber said.

And letting these young conductors ride along, is all part of BNSF giving back.

"When we do these rides it's a nice chance for us to also support groups in the community that are support in the places where our employees live and work and certainly the YMCA fits that perfectly," McBeth said.

While the ride may only last a few hours, the memory that these kids, along with families and friends of BNSF employees take away, is something they'll remember... forever.

The train has been to 9 cities including Minot, Mandan is the last city on the tour.