diff --git a/lib/galaxy/datatypes/images.py b/lib/galaxy/datatypes/images.py
index 2d45aefce1a..f4b01f8d59b 100644
--- a/lib/galaxy/datatypes/images.py
+++ b/lib/galaxy/datatypes/images.py
@@ -252,14 +252,17 @@ class Bam( data.Binary ):
             index_file = dataset.metadata.spec['bam_index'].param.new_file( dataset = dataset )
         tmp_dir = tempfile.gettempdir()
         tmpf1 = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(dir=tmp_dir)
+        tmpf1bai = '%s.bai' % tmpf1.name
         try:
             subprocess.check_call(['cd', tmp_dir], shell=True)
             subprocess.check_call('cp %s %s' % (dataset.file_name, tmpf1.name), shell=True)
             subprocess.check_call('samtools index %s' % tmpf1.name, shell=True)
-            subprocess.check_call('cp %s.bai %s' % (tmpf1.name, index_file.file_name), shell=True)
+            subprocess.check_call('cp %s %s' % (tmpf1bai, index_file.file_name), shell=True)
         except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
             sys.stderr.write('There was a problem creating the index for the BAM file\n')
         tmpf1.close()
+        if os.path.exists(tmpf1bai):
+            os.remove(tmpf1bai)
         dataset.metadata.bam_index = index_file
     def set_peek( self, dataset ):
         if not dataset.dataset.purged:
diff --git a/tool-data/sam_fa_indices.loc.sample b/tool-data/sam_fa_indices.loc.sample
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..245a6c8b051
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tool-data/sam_fa_indices.loc.sample
@@ -0,0 +1,27 @@
+#This is a sample file distributed with Galaxy that enables tools
+#to use a directory of Samtools indexed sequences data files.  You will need
+#to create these data files and then create a sam_fa_indices.loc file 
+#similar to this one (store it in this directory ) that points to 
+#the directories in which those files are stored.  The sam_fa_indices.loc 
+#file has this format (white space characters are TAB characters):
+#
+#<index>	<seq>	<location>
+#
+#So, for example, if you had hg18 indexed stored in 
+#/depot/data2/galaxy/sam/, 
+#then the sam_fa_indices.loc entry would look like this:
+#
+#hg18	/depot/data2/galaxy/sam/hg18.fa
+#
+#and your /depot/data2/galaxy/sam/ directory
+#would contain hg18.fa and hg18.fa.fai files:
+#
+#-rw-r--r--  1 james    universe 830134 2005-09-13 10:12 hg18.fa
+#-rw-r--r--  1 james    universe 527388 2005-09-13 10:12 hg18.fa.fai
+#
+#Your sam_fa_indices.loc file should include an entry per line for 
+#each index set you have stored.  The file in the path does actually
+#exist, but it should never be directly used. Instead, the name serves
+#as a prefix for the index file.  For example:
+#
+#hg18	/depot/data2/galaxy/sam/hg18.fa
diff --git a/tool_conf.xml.sample b/tool_conf.xml.sample
index ce0e35ab935..9ea1f52ebef 100644
--- a/tool_conf.xml.sample
+++ b/tool_conf.xml.sample
@@ -331,9 +331,13 @@
    <tool file="metag_tools/megablast_xml_parser.xml" />
    <tool file="metag_tools/blat_wrapper.xml" />
    <tool file="metag_tools/mapping_to_ucsc.xml" />
-   <tool file="sr_mapping/bwa_wrapper.xml" />
    </section>
   <section name="Tracks" id="tracks">
    <tool file="visualization/genetrack.xml" />
   </section>
+  <section name="SAM Tools" id="samtools">
+   <tool file="samtools/sam_to_bam.xml" />
+   <tool file="samtools/sam_merge.xml" />
+   <tool file="samtools/sam_pileup.xml" />
+  </section>
 </toolbox>
diff --git a/tools/samtools/sam_merge.py b/tools/samtools/sam_merge.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..6f6c7db926c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/samtools/sam_merge.py
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+#! /usr/bin/python
+
+import os, sys
+
+def stop_err( msg ):
+    sys.stderr.write( msg )
+    sys.exit()
+
+def __main__():
+    infile =  sys.argv[1]
+    outfile = sys.argv[2]
+    if len( sys.argv ) < 3:
+        stop_err( 'No files to merge' )
+    filenames = sys.argv[3:]
+    cmd1 = 'samtools merge %s %s %s' % (outfile, infile, ' '.join(filenames))
+    try:
+        os.system(cmd1)
+    except Exception, eq:
+        stop_err('Error running SAMtools merge tool\n' + str(eq))
+            
+if __name__ == "__main__" : __main__()
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tools/samtools/sam_merge.xml b/tools/samtools/sam_merge.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..621ef0e6641
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/samtools/sam_merge.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,32 @@
+<tool id="sam_merge" name="Merge BAM Files" version="1.0.0">
+  <description>merges BAM files together</description>
+  <command interpreter="python">
+   sam_merge.py 
+      $input1
+      $output1
+      $input2
+      #for $i in $inputs
+        ${i.input}
+      #end for
+  </command>
+  <inputs>
+    <param name="input1" label="First file" type="data" format="bam" />
+    <param name="input2" label="with file" type="data" format="bam" help="Need to add more files? Use controls below." />
+    <repeat name="inputs" title="Input Files">
+      <param name="input" label="Add file" type="data" format="bam" />
+    </repeat>
+  </inputs>
+  <outputs>
+    <data name="output1" format="bam" />
+  </outputs>
+  <!-- bam files are binary and not sniffable so can't be uploaded without being corrupted, so no tests -->
+  <help>
+
+**What it does**
+
+This tool uses SAMTools_' merge command to merge any number of BAM files together into one BAM file.
+
+.. _SAMTools: http://samtools.sourceforge.net/samtools.shtml
+
+  </help>
+</tool>
diff --git a/tools/samtools/sam_merge_code.py b/tools/samtools/sam_merge_code.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..70ce29f2bb2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/samtools/sam_merge_code.py
@@ -0,0 +1,35 @@
+import sets
+from galaxy.tools.parameters import DataToolParameter
+
+def validate_input( trans, error_map, param_values, page_param_map ):
+    dbkeys = sets.Set()
+    data_param_names = sets.Set()
+    data_params = 0
+    for name, param in page_param_map.iteritems():
+        if isinstance( param, DataToolParameter ):
+            # for each dataset parameter
+            if param_values.get(name, None) != None:
+                dbkeys.add( param_values[name].dbkey )
+                data_params += 1
+                # check meta data
+#                try:
+#                    param = param_values[name]
+#                    startCol = int( param.metadata.startCol )
+#                    endCol = int( param.metadata.endCol )
+#                    chromCol = int( param.metadata.chromCol )
+#                    if param.metadata.strandCol is not None:
+#                        strandCol = int ( param.metadata.strandCol )
+#                    else:
+#                        strandCol = 0
+#                except:
+#                    error_msg = "The attributes of this dataset are not properly set. " + \
+#                    "Click the pencil icon in the history item to set the chrom, start, end and strand columns."
+#                    error_map[name] = error_msg
+            data_param_names.add( name )
+    if len( dbkeys ) > 1:
+        for name in data_param_names:
+            error_map[name] = "All datasets must belong to same genomic build, " \
+                "this dataset is linked to build '%s'" % param_values[name].dbkey
+    if data_params != len(data_param_names):
+        for name in data_param_names:
+            error_map[name] = "A dataset of the appropriate type is required"
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/tools/samtools/sam_pileup.py b/tools/samtools/sam_pileup.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..f84bd90d6e5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/samtools/sam_pileup.py
@@ -0,0 +1,89 @@
+#! /usr/bin/python
+
+"""
+Creates a pileup file from a bam file and a reference.
+
+usage: %prog [options]
+   -i, --input1=i: bam file
+   -o, --output1=o: Output pileup
+   -r, --ref=r: Reference file type
+   -n, --ownFile=n: User-supplied fasta reference file
+   -d, --dbkey=d: dbkey of user-supplied file
+   -x, --indexDir=x: Index directory
+   -b, --bamIndex=b: BAM index file
+
+usage: %prog input1 output1 ref_type refFile ownFile dbkey index_dir bam_index
+"""
+
+import os, sys, tempfile
+from galaxy import eggs
+import pkg_resources; pkg_resources.require( "bx-python" )
+from bx.cookbook import doc_optparse
+
+def stop_err( msg ):
+    sys.stderr.write( msg )
+    sys.exit()
+
+def check_seq_file( dbkey, GALAXY_DATA_INDEX_DIR ):
+    seq_file = "%s/sam_fa_indices.loc" % GALAXY_DATA_INDEX_DIR
+    seq_path = ''
+    for line in open( seq_file ):
+        line = line.rstrip( '\r\n' )
+        if line and not line.startswith( "#" ) and line.startswith( 'index' ):
+            fields = line.split( '\t' )
+            if len( fields ) < 3:
+                continue
+            if fields[1] == dbkey:
+                seq_path = fields[2].strip()
+                break
+    return seq_path
+ 
+def __main__():
+    #Parse Command Line
+    options, args = doc_optparse.parse( __doc__ )
+    seq_path = check_seq_file( options.dbkey, options.indexDir )
+    tmp_dir = tempfile.gettempdir()
+    os.chdir(tmp_dir)
+    tmpf0 = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(dir=tmp_dir)
+    tmpf0bam = '%s.bam' % tmpf0.name
+    tmpf0bambai = '%s.bam.bai' % tmpf0.name
+    tmpf1 = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(dir=tmp_dir)
+    tmpf1fai = '%s.fai' % tmpf1.name
+    cmd1 = None
+    cmd2 = 'cp %s %s; cp %s %s' % (options.input1, tmpf0bam, options.bamIndex, tmpf0bambai)
+    cmd3 = 'samtools pileup -f %s %s > %s 2> /dev/null'
+    if options.ref =='indexed':
+        full_path = "%s.fai" % seq_path 
+        if not os.path.exists( full_path ):
+            stop_err( "No sequences are available for '%s', request them by reporting this error." % options.dbkey )
+        cmd3 = cmd3 % (seq_path, tmpf0bam, options.output1)
+    elif options.ref == 'history':
+        cmd1 = 'cp %s %s; cp %s.fai %s' % (options.ownFile, tmpf1.name, options.ownFile, tmpf1fai)
+        cmd3 = cmd3 % (tmpf1.name, tmpf0bam, options.output1)
+    # index reference if necessary
+    if cmd1:
+        try:
+            os.system(cmd1)
+        except Exception, eq:
+            stop_err('Error moving reference sequence\n' + str(eq))
+    # copy bam index to working directory
+    try:
+        os.system(cmd2)
+    except Exception, eq:
+        stop_err('Error moving files to temp directory\n' + str(eq))
+    # perform pileup command
+    try:
+        os.system(cmd3)
+    except Exception, eq:
+        stop_err('Error running SAMtools merge tool\n' + str(eq))
+    # clean up temp files
+    tmpf1.close()
+    tmpf0.close()
+    if os.path.exists(tmpf0bam):
+        os.remove(tmpf0bam)
+    if os.path.exists(tmpf0bambai):
+        os.remove(tmpf0bambai)
+    if os.path.exists(tmpf1fai):
+        os.remove(tmpf0bambai)
+            
+if __name__ == "__main__" : __main__()
diff --git a/tools/samtools/sam_pileup.xml b/tools/samtools/sam_pileup.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..4054d1f1d56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/samtools/sam_pileup.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,50 @@
+<tool id="sam_pileup" name="SAM Pileup Format" version="1.0.0">
+  <description>generates the pileup format for a provided BAM file</description>
+  <command interpreter="python">
+    sam_pileup.py 
+	    --input1=$input1
+	    --output=$output1
+	    --ref=$refOrHistory.reference
+	    #if $refOrHistory.reference == "history":
+	     --ownFile=$refOrHistory.ownFile
+	    #else:
+	     --ownFile="None"
+	    #end if
+	    --dbkey=${input1.metadata.dbkey}
+        --indexDir=${GALAXY_DATA_INDEX_DIR}
+        --bamIndex=${input1.metadata.bam_index}
+  </command>
+  <inputs>
+    <conditional name="refOrHistory">
+      <param name="reference" type="select" label="Will you select a reference genome from your history or use a built-in index?">
+        <option value="indexed">Use a built-in index</option>
+        <option value="history">Use one from the history</option>
+      </param>
+      <when value="indexed">
+        <param name="input1" type="data" format="bam" label="Select the BAM file to generate the pileup file for">
+           <validator type="unspecified_build" />
+           <validator type="dataset_metadata_in_file" filename="sam_fa_indices.loc" metadata_name="dbkey" metadata_column="1" message="Sequences are not currently available for the specified build." line_startswith="index" />
+        </param>
+      </when>      
+      <when value="history">
+        <param name="input1" type="data" format="sam, bam" label="Select the BAM file to generate the pileup file for" />
+        <param name="ownFile" type="data" format="fasta" metadata_name="dbkey" label="Select a reference genome" />
+      </when>
+    </conditional>	
+  </inputs>
+  <outputs>
+    <data format="tabular" name="output1" />
+  </outputs>
+  <!-- tests are not possible because bam is a non-sniffable binary format and cannot be uploaded without being corrupted -->
+  <help>
+    	
+**What it does**   	
+
+Uses SAMTools_' pileup command to produce a file in the pileup format based on the provided BAM file. 
+
+.. _SAMTools: http://samtools.sourceforge.net/samtools.shtml
+
+  </help>
+</tool>
+
+
diff --git a/tools/samtools/sam_to_bam.py b/tools/samtools/sam_to_bam.py
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..7f7458282ce
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/samtools/sam_to_bam.py
@@ -0,0 +1,85 @@
+#! /usr/bin/python
+
+"""
+Converts SAM data to BAM format.
+
+usage: %prog [options]
+   -i, --input1=i: SAM file to be converted
+   -d, --dbkey=d: dbkey value
+   -r, --ref_file=r: Reference file if choosing from history
+   -o, --output1=o: BAM output
+   -x, --index_dir=x: Index directory
+
+usage: %prog input_file dbkey ref_list output_file
+"""
+
+import os, sys, tempfile
+from galaxy import eggs
+import pkg_resources; pkg_resources.require( "bx-python" )
+from bx.cookbook import doc_optparse
+
+def stop_err( msg ):
+    sys.stderr.write( "%s\n" % msg )
+    sys.exit()
+
+def check_seq_file( dbkey, GALAXY_DATA_INDEX_DIR ):
+    seq_file = "%s/sam_fa_indices.loc" % GALAXY_DATA_INDEX_DIR
+    seq_path = ''
+    for line in open( seq_file ):
+        line = line.rstrip( '\r\n' )
+        if line and not line.startswith( "#" ) and line.startswith( 'index' ):
+            fields = line.split( '\t' )
+            if len( fields ) < 3:
+                continue
+            if fields[1] == dbkey:
+                seq_path = fields[2].strip()
+                break
+    return seq_path
+ 
+def __main__():
+    #Parse Command Line
+    options, args = doc_optparse.parse( __doc__ )
+    seq_path = check_seq_file( options.dbkey, options.index_dir )
+    tmp_dir = tempfile.gettempdir()
+    os.chdir(tmp_dir)
+    tmpf1 = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(dir=tmp_dir)
+    tmpf1fai = '%s.fai' % tmpf1.name
+    tmpf2 = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(dir=tmp_dir)
+    tmpf3 = tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(dir=tmp_dir)
+    tmpf3bam = '%s.bam' % tmpf3.name
+    if options.ref_file == "None":
+        full_path = "%s.fai" % seq_path 
+        if not os.path.exists( full_path ):
+            stop_err( "No sequences are available for '%s', request them by reporting this error." % options.dbkey )
+        cmd1 = "cp %s %s; cp %s %s" % (seq_path, tmpf1.name, full_path, tmpf1fai)
+    else:
+        cmd1 = "cp %s %s; samtools faidx %s 2>/dev/null" % (options.ref_file, tmpf1.name, tmpf1.name) 
+    cmd2 = "samtools view -bt %s -o %s %s 2>/dev/null" % (tmpf1fai, tmpf2.name, options.input1)   
+    cmd3 = "samtools sort %s %s 2>/dev/null" % (tmpf2.name, tmpf3.name)
+    cmd4 = "cp %s %s" % (tmpf3bam, options.output1)
+    # either create index based on fa file or copy provided index to temp directory 
+    try:
+        os.system(cmd1)
+    except Exception, eq:
+        stop_err("Error creating the reference list index.\n" + str(eq))
+    # create original bam file
+    try:
+        os.system(cmd2)
+    except Exception, eq:
+        stop_err("Error running view command.\n" + str(eq))
+    # sort original bam file to produce sorted output bam file
+    try:
+        os.system(cmd3)
+        os.system(cmd4)
+    except Exception, eq:
+        stop_err("Error sorting data and creating output file.\n" + str(eq))
+    # cleanup temp files
+    tmpf1.close()
+    tmpf2.close()
+    tmpf3.close()
+    if os.path.exists(tmpf1fai):
+        os.remove(tmpf1fai)
+    if os.path.exists(tmpf3bam):
+        os.remove(tmpf3bam)
+
+if __name__=="__main__": __main__()
diff --git a/tools/samtools/sam_to_bam.xml b/tools/samtools/sam_to_bam.xml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..e3f7186496b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tools/samtools/sam_to_bam.xml
@@ -0,0 +1,59 @@
+<tool id="sam_to_bam" name="SAM-to-BAM" version="1.0.0">
+  <description>converts SAM format to BAM format</description>
+  <command interpreter="python">
+    sam_to_bam.py 
+        --input1=$source.input1
+        --dbkey=${input1.metadata.dbkey} 
+        #if $source.indexSource == "history":
+         --ref_file=$ref_file
+        #else
+         --ref_file="None"
+        #end if
+        --output1=$output1
+        --index_dir=${GALAXY_DATA_INDEX_DIR}
+  </command>
+  <inputs>
+    <conditional name="source">
+      <param name="indexSource" type="select" label="Choose the source for the reference list">
+        <option value="built_in">Built-in</option>
+        <option value="history">History</option>
+      </param>
+      <when value="built_in">
+        <param name="input1" type="data" format="sam" label="SAM File to Convert">
+           <validator type="unspecified_build" />
+           <validator type="dataset_metadata_in_file" filename="sam_fa_indices.loc" metadata_name="dbkey" metadata_column="1" message="Sequences are not currently available for the specified build." line_startswith="index" />
+        </param>
+      </when>
+      <when value="history">
+        <param name="input1" type="data" format="sam" label="SAM File to Convert" />
+        <param name="ref_file" type="data" format="fasta" label="Choose the reference file" />
+      </when>
+    </conditional>
+  </inputs>
+  <outputs>
+    <data name="output1" format="bam"/>
+  </outputs>
+  <tests>
+    <test>
+      <param name="indexSource" value="history" /> 
+      <param name="input1" value="sam_to_bam_in1.sam" ftype="sam" />
+      <param name="ref_file" value="chrM.fa" ftype="fasta" />
+      <output name="output1" file="sam_to_bam_out1.bam" />
+    </test>
+    <test>
+      <param name="indexSource" value="built_in" />
+      <param name="input1" value="sam_to_bam_in2.sam" ftype="sam" dbkey="chrM" />
+      <param name="ref_file" value="chrM.fa" ftype="fasta" />
+      <output name="output1" file="sam_to_bam_out2.bam" />
+    </test>
+  </tests>
+  <help>
+
+**What it does**
+
+This tool uses the SAMTools_ toolkit to produce a BAM file based on a sorted input SAM file.
+
+.. _SAMTools: http://samtools.sourceforge.net/samtools.shtml
+
+  </help>
+</tool>