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The Great Northern Railway , running from St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington — more than 1,700 miles (2,736 km) — was the privately-financed creation of the 19th century railroad tycoon James J. Hill and was developed from the St. Paul and Pacific Railroad. The GN route was the most northern transcontintal railroad route in the United States and was north of the Northern Pacific route. The GN was the only privately-funded transcontinental railroad in the United States, refusing federal government subsidies for construction. The GN was the single transcontinental railroad avoiding receivership during the 1893-1897 depression.
The GN was built slowly to prolong exposure for local farmers, cattle drivers, lumberjacks, etc. Contests were held to promote interest in the railroad; J.J. Hill used early promotional incentives like feed and seed donations to farmers getting started along the line. Contests were all-inclusive, from largest farm animals to largest freight carload capacity.
The GN had branches that ran north to the Canadian border in Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana. It also had branches that ran to Superior, Wisconsin and Butte, Montana. The GN eventually grew to a system of over 8,000 track miles.
The GN mainline crossed the Mississippi River on the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis, near the Saint Anthony Falls, the only waterfall on the Mississippi. The bridge ceased to be used as a railroad bridge in 1978 and is now used as a pedestrian river crossing with excellent views of the falls and of the lock system used to grant barges access up the river past the falls. The GN mainline reached the Puget Sound at Seattle in 1893.
In 1931 the GN also developed its "Inside Gateway" route to California that rivaled Southern Pacific's route along the I-5 corridor. The GN route was further east than the SP route and ran south from the Columbia River in Oregon. The GN connected with the Western Pacific at Bieber, California.
In 1970 the GN became part of the Burlington Northern Railroad in a merger. The GN's routes are now owned by BNSF Railway, which uses paint schemes partly inspired by those of the GN.
Passenger service
The Great Northern operated various passenger trains but the Empire Builder was the GN's premier passenger train. The Empire Builder was named in honor of Great Northern's railroad tycoon founder James Hill, who was considered an "Empire Builder".
Named trains
- Empire Builder Chicago-St. Paul-Seattle
- Western Star Chicago-St. Paul-Seattle
- Dakotan St. Paul-Minot
- Winnipeg Limited St. Paul-Winnipeg
- Red River Grand Forks-St. Paul
- Gopher St. Paul-Superior/Duluth
- Badger St. Paul-Superior/Duluth
- Internationals Seattle-Vancouver, B.C.
Unnamed trains
- Great Falls-Shelby RDC
- Seattle-Portland
Amtrak's Empire Builder
Today, Amtrak's Empire Builder uses the line.Further reading
See also
External links
- Great Northern Railway Historical Society
- The Great Northern Empire — Then and Now
- Great Northern Railway Page
- Great Northern Railway Post Office Car No. 42 — photographs and short history of one of six streamlined baggage-mail cars built for the Great Northern by the American Car and Foundry Company in 1950.
- Burlington Northern Adventures: Railroading in the Days of the Caboose, written by former brakeman, conductor and trainmaster William J. Brotherton
- University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Transportation Photographs An ongoing digital collection of photographs depicting various modes of transportation in the Pacific Northwest region and Western United States during the first half of the 20th century. Includes images of the Great Northern Railway.
- University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections – Lee Pickett Photographs Over 900 photographs documenting scenes from Snohomish, King and Chelan Counties in Washington State from the early 1900s to the 1940s. Includes images of the Great Northern Railway.
"Great Northern Railway (US)"