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Great Northern Railway (U.S.)

From Alfawiki
Great Northern Railway
Company typePrivate
IndustryRailroad
PredecessorSaint Paul and Pacific Railroad
Founded1889
FounderJames Jerome Hill
Defunct1970
FateMerged into Burlington Northern Railroad
Headquarters
Saint Paul, Minnesota
,
United States
Area served
United States, Canada (British Columbia)
Key people
James Jerome Hill (founder), John Frank Stevens (engineer)
ProductsFreight and passenger rail transport

The Great Northern Railway was a prominent Class I railroad in the United States, stretching from Saint Paul, Minnesota all the way to Seattle, Washington. Established by the Canadian-American businessman James Jerome Hill, it originated from the Saint Paul and Pacific Railroad and became recognized as the northernmost transcontinental railroad within the U.S.

In 1970, the Great Northern merged with three additional railroads to create the Burlington Northern Railroad. This entity subsequently joined forces with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1996, resulting in the formation of the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway.

History

Constructed incrementally to develop profitable routes into western regions, Great Northern employed early marketing strategies aimed at attracting immigrants and settlers along its tracks. Promotional campaigns, including contests and incentives, were instrumental in driving business expansion and encouraging land development.

Its roots lie in the financially unstable St. Paul and Pacific Railroad, initially owned by William Crooks. Investor James J. Hill secured $5.5 million from financiers such as John S. Kennedy, Norman Kittson, Donald Smith, 1st Baron Strathcona and Mount Royal, and George Stephen, 1st Baron Mount Stephen to gain control in 1878. Hill rebranded this paper railroad as the Great Northern Railway in 1889 and unified several lines under this name by 1890.

The railway expanded its network with branches extending to the Canada–US border across Minnesota, North Dakota, and Montana, alongside connections to significant mining areas like Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range—acquired in 1898—and Montana’s copper mining districts. These holdings provided Great Northern with a strategic edge in transporting bulk commodities to steel mills in the Midwest.

Among its distinguished leaders was engineer John Frank Stevens (1889–1903), who identified vital mountain passes such as Marias Pass and Stevens Pass for optimal routing. He later directed major infrastructure projects including the Panama Canal. The company adopted a Rocky Mountain goat as its emblem, reflecting its rugged northern heritage.

Locomotive and passenger car maintenance facilities were centralized in St. Paul, while freight car shops operated from St. Cloud starting in 1890. By 1892, a western maintenance facility was established near Spokane in Hillyard—named after James Hill—to support the expanding railway system.

Mainline

The primary route commenced at Saint Paul, Minnesota, following the Mississippi River bluffs westward before crossing to Minneapolis via a multi-piered stone arch bridge situated below Saint Anthony Falls. This bridge ceased railroad operations in 1978 and has since been repurposed for pedestrian use. The line then proceeded northwest through North Dakota and eastern Montana, traversing the Rocky Mountains at Marias Pass. It followed the Flathead and Kootenai Rivers through Idaho en route to Spokane, Washington. The company town of Hillyard in Spokane—named after founder James J. Hill—housed extensive railroad facilities and briefly produced the R Class 2-8-8-2 locomotive in 1927, which was then the largest steam engine worldwide.

From Spokane, the mainline crossed the Cascade Mountains via the Cascade Tunnel beneath Stevens Pass before reaching Seattle in 1893; the final spike was driven at Scenic, Washington. The Great Northern electrified Stevens Pass and briefly owned the electric Spokane and Inland Empire Railway. A tragic avalanche near Wellington, Washington—triggered by heavy snowfall close to the Cascade Tunnel—resulted in the deadliest avalanche disaster recorded in U.S. history with 96 fatalities.

West of Marias Pass, the mainline underwent two relocations to improve operations and accommodate infrastructure projects. The original path over Haskell Pass via Kalispell and Marion was replaced in 1904 by a flatter route passing through Whitefish and Eureka before joining the Kootenai River at Rexford. In the late 1960s, construction of Libby Dam required a new alignment through the Salish Mountains featuring the 7-mile Flathead Tunnel—the second-longest tunnel in America—which opened in 1970. Sections of earlier routes were operated by Watco as Mission Mountain Railroad until BNSF resumed partial control of this segment in 2020.

Crossing the continental divide at Marias Pass—the lowest Rocky Mountain crossing south of Canada—the railway formed Glacier National Park’s southern border. To promote tourism, Great Northern constructed stations and lodges at park entrances as well as within Glacier National Park itself. Many of these buildings are now recognized on the National Register of Historic Places due to their architectural merit and scenic settings.

In 1931, Great Northern developed an "Inside Gateway," an inland route through California designed to compete with Southern Pacific’s Oregon-California corridor. This route connected with Western Pacific at Bieber, California; Western Pacific linked onward to Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe at Stockton. Together these railroads effectively challenged Southern Pacific for traffic between California and the Pacific Northwest. With its terminus at Superior, Wisconsin, Great Northern capitalized on a shorter ocean-to-Atlantic shipping distance via Duluth compared to routes passing through Chicago.

Branch lines in Fraser Valley, British Columbia, Canada

From 1891 to 1917, the Great Northern Railway (GNR) established multiple branch routes in Canada, connecting key locations such as New Westminster, Victoria (via ferry), and Vancouver. The earliest segment, constructed between 1891 and 1893, linked Seattle to New Westminster by crossing at Blaine and ending at Brownsville. In 1903, GNR extended its track from Cloverdale to Port Guichon (present-day Ladner, BC), incorporating ferry connections to Victoria and Vancouver Island. By 1909, the railway had expanded from Cloverdale to Huntingdon, and the route from Blaine to New Westminster was redirected through White Rock and Annieville. Following the construction of a bridge over the Fraser River between Brownsville and New Westminster, GNR pushed its line further into Vancouver. Between 1910 and 1913, the company excavated the Grandview Cut to gain access to False Creek; the excavated earth was used to fill part of False Creek where Union Station opened in 1915 as the terminal point in Vancouver. Despite these developments, GNR contended with competition from Northern Pacific and Canadian Pacific’s joint service, which ended at Pacific Station in Vancouver and offered direct steamship links to Victoria—giving those lines a strategic advantage over GNR’s offerings.

Settlements

Great Northern actively encouraged colonization along its railway corridors in North Dakota and Montana, focusing on attracting German and Scandinavian settlers. Unlike many railroads that relied on land grants, GNR acquired land directly from the federal government and resold it straight to farmers. The company maintained offices in Europe to promote these properties and provided affordable transportation for immigrant families through specially designed colonist cars. This approach accelerated settlement in North Dakota’s Red River Valley between 1871 and 1890, enabling extensive "bonanza" farming operations that played a crucial role in driving economic development throughout the region.

Later history

During World War II, the U.S. Army shifted its Military Railway Service headquarters to Fort Snelling, Minnesota, working closely alongside commercial railroads such as Great Northern Railway. GNR sponsored military units including the 704th Grand Railroad Division and the 732nd Railroad Operating Battalion (ROB), which supported Patton’s 3rd Armored Division during its advance into Germany; many officers were former employees of GNR.

On March 2, 1970, Great Northern merged with Northern Pacific Railway, Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and Spokane, Portland and Seattle Railway to create Burlington Northern Railroad (BN). Burlington Northern operated independently until merging with Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway in 1996, forming Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF), which greatly expanded its industry presence and market reach internationally.

Passenger service

Great Northern operated numerous passenger trains with the Empire Builder as its premier service—named after James J. Hill, known as the "Empire Builder." Presently, Amtrak continues running the Empire Builder along what was once Great Northern’s Northern Transcontinental route north of St. Paul. Additionally, GN provided commuter rail service in Minneapolis connecting Great Northern Depot with Hutchinson.

Named passenger trains

  • Alexandrian: Route between St. Paul and Fargo
  • Badger Express: Connecting St. Paul with Superior/Duluth (later shortened to Badger)
  • Cascadian: Operating from Seattle to Spokane (1909–1959)
  • Dakotan: Service linking St. Paul and Minot
  • Eastern Express: Ran Seattle to St. Paul (1903–1906), succeeded by Fast Mail
  • Empire Builder: Chicago to Seattle/Portland route (since 1929)
  • Fast Mail No. 27: St. Paul to Seattle line (1906–1910), later renamed The Oregonian
  • Glacier Park Limited: Service from St. Paul to Seattle (1915–1929), replaced by the Empire Builder
  • Gopher: Connecting St. Paul with Superior/Duluth
  • Great Northern Express: Kansas City to Seattle route (1909–1918)
  • International: Linking Seattle and Vancouver, B.C.
  • Oregonian: Operated between St. Paul and Seattle (1910–1915), succeeded by the Glacier Park Limited
  • Oriental Limited: Chicago-St. Paul-Seattle line, replaced in 1951 by the Western Star
  • Puget Sound Express: Ran between St. Paul and Seattle (1903–1906), replaced by the Fast Mail
  • Red River Limited: Grand Forks to St. Paul service (later renamed simply Red River)
  • Seattle Express
  • Southeast Express: Route from Seattle to Kansas City (1909–1918)
  • Western Star: Chicago-St. Paul-Seattle-Portland route
  • Winnipeg Limited: Service connecting St. Paul and Winnipeg

Rolling stock

By 1951, the fleet included a total of 844 locomotives: 568 steam engines, 261 diesel-electric units, and 15 fully electric locomotives. Additionally, there were 822 passenger cars alongside 43,897 freight cars in operation.

Paint schemes

Throughout its history, Great Northern employed multiple paint designs but consistently featured Rocky the goat as its iconic symbol.

Preserved steam locomotives

Image Locomotive no. Class Type Built Retired City Location Notes
1 - William Crooks 1 4-4-0 1861 1897 Duluth, Minnesota Lake Superior Railroad Museum Transferred to Minnesota Historical Society in 1962; formerly displayed at Saint Paul Union Depot
1147 F-8 2-8-0 1902 1956 Wenatchee, Washington Lions Locomotive Park Also referred to as "Mission Street Park"
1246 F-8 2-8-0 1907 1953 Snoqualmie, Washington Northwest Railway Museum Acquired in 2023 from the Fred Kepner Collection
1355 H-5 4-6-2 Rebuilt in 1924 1955 Sioux City, Iowa Milwaukee Shops Currently undergoing restoration for operational use
2507 P-2 4-8-2 1923 1957 Wishram, Washington Wishram Depot Displayed under shelter
2523 P-2 4-8-2 1923 1958 Willmar, Minnesota Kandiyohi County Historical Society
2584 S-2 4-8-4 1930 1957 Havre, Montana Havre Depot Largest remaining Great Northern steam locomotive
3059 O-1 2-8-2 1913 1957 Williston, North Dakota Williston Depot

Preserved diesel locomotives

Rails to Trails

Portions of the Great Northern Railway's former corridors have been transformed into trails for pedestrians and cyclists, promoting both recreation and local connectivity. In Minnesota, the Cedar Lake Trail and the 26.5-mile Dakota Rail Trail utilize old rail yards and rights-of-way originally part of the railway. In Kalispell, Montana, the trail follows the historic 1892 Great Northern alignment, running through downtown and past the Kalispell Depot. Some rail segments were dismantled in the early 20th century and as recently as 2021. Washington's Iron Goat Trail traces the Great Northern’s historic pathway through the Cascade Mountains, preserving the company’s heritage. Furthermore, the Spokane and Inland Empire Railroad, which was acquired by James J. Hill in 1929, has been converted into bike trails linking Spokane, Washington, with Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Pullman, Washington.

In popular culture

The Great Northern Railway served as inspiration for the Taggart Transcontinental railroad featured in Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, highlighting its role in American industrial storytelling. The Western music group Riders In The Sky included a tribute to the railway in their 2002 track Great Northern from the album Ridin' The Tweetsie Railroad. Additionally, The Grateful Dead’s song "Jack Straw" references the railway, demonstrating its cultural significance.

See also

References

  • Hofsommer, Don L. "Rivals for California: The Great Northern and the Southern Pacific, 1905-1931." Montana: The Magazine of Western History 38.2 (1988): 58–67.


Further reading

  • Pyle, Joseph G. "James J. Hill." Minnesota History Bulletin 2#5 1918, pp. 295–323.
  • Rae, John B. "The Great Northern's land grant." Journal of Economic History 12.2 (1952): 140-145.

External links

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