The Great Northern Railway

by Hidy, Ralph W.

• ISBN13: 9780816644292
• ISBN10: 0816644292
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2004-03-01
• Publisher: Univ of Minnesota Pr

Summary

In the sprawling Northwest, from the upper Mississippi River valley to Puget Sound, no railroad shaped the landscape and society like the Great Northern Railway Company. This is the complete history of that enterprise, from 1856, when the first charter was granted, through the era of James J. Hill-known as the Empire Builder-to its maturation and eventual merger in 1970, when the eight-thousand-mile Great Northern was incorporated into the massive Burlington Northern.The Great Northern Railway highlights the changes brought on by economic, political, social, and technological advances, including world wars, increased competition from other modes of transportation, and tighter government restrictions. The first part of the book (1856-1916) examines the railway's early strategies and philosophy, relations with employees, and vigorous campaigns to develop the service area. The second part of the history (1916-1970) offers an assessment of a dramatic period of transition for the railroad-international conflicts, the Great Depression, the rise of motor vehicles, increasing labor costs, and stronger unions.Illustrated with more than two hundred maps, period photographs, and drawings, the volume also includes appendixes listing the original track-laying history, track removals, ruling grades on main freight routes, and main line ruling grades from Minneapolis to Seattle.Ralph W. Hidy and Muriel E. Hidy were professors of business history at Harvard Business School.Roy V. Scott is professor of history at Mississippi State University.Don L. Hofsommer is professor of history at St. Cloud State University.

Author Biography

Don L. Hofsommer is professor of history at St. Cloud State University.

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xii
Introduction	p. xiii
List of Abbreviations	p. xv
1856 To 1916
The First Ten Miles	p. 2
Frustrated by Finance	p. 5
The Branch Line Comes First	p. 5
Main Line West	p. 9
Growing Pains	p. 11
Settlers for the Land	p. 14
Freight Traffic	p. 16
Northern Pacific Interlude	p. 18
Completing the Main Line	p. 20
The St. Vincent Extension	p. 22
Legislation and Litigation	p. 25
Conflict in Hard Times	p. 25
Laws and Lawsuits	p. 26
The Associates Gain Control	p. 28
Negotiating a Bond Purchase	p. 28
Completing Rail Links	p. 31
Eliminating Potential Competition	p. 32
Tag Ends of a Long-Tailed Kite	p. 34
The Manitoba	p. 36
Men and Organization	p. 36
Construction and Relations with Other Railroads	p. 39
Terminals in the Twin Cities	p. 45
Financial Management	p. 46
Consolidations and Adjustments	p. 49
The Canadian Pacific	p. 49
Strengthening Credit	p. 51
Boston Investors	p. 53
From Butte to Buffalo	p. 54
Systematizing Administration	p. 54
The Long March to Montana	p. 56
Eastward to Buffalo	p. 61
Tensions in Finance	p. 66
A New Problem	p. 66
Dissension, 1887-1889	p. 67
On to Puget Sound	p. 72
New Dress	p. 72
Engineering Challenges	p. 74
"Head of the Rake"	p. 75
Sterling Bonds of 1890	p. 78
Building the Transcontinental	p. 79
Creating an Empire	p. 85
Expansion in Minnesota	p. 85
Control of the Northern Pacific and the Burlington	p. 88
Jockeying for Position in the Northwest	p. 93
Continuing Skirmishes with the Canadian Pacific	p. 96
Developing the Northwest	p. 99
Organization and Development Improving and Strengthening Agriculture	p. 103
Men and Mallets	p. 108
Men and Organization	p. 108
First Years as a Transcontinental	p. 108
Fleshing Out	p. 109
Traffic Generation and the Oregon Lands	p. 115
Motive Power, Rolling Stock, and the Rates	p. 117
Locals, Limiteds, and Liners	p. 121
Expansion and Improvements	p. 121
Of Things Nautical	p. 121
Advertising, Glacier Park, and Rocky	p. 124
Express, Mail, and Silk	p. 125
Pricing the Service	p. 126
Corporate Structure and Finance	p. 130
Early Experience	p. 130
Consolidating Properties	p. 133
Finances of a Maturing Railroad	p. 135
"Leading the Band"	p. 136
Basic Principles	p. 136
Union-Management Relations, 1883-1893	p. 137
The ARU Strike and Its Aftermath	p. 139
Toward Parity with Competitors, 1900-1916	p. 143
1916 To 1970
Introduction	p. 148
World War I and the USRA	p. 148
The Heritage	p. 148
The GN under Federal Control	p. 151
Return to Private Operation	p. 152
Of Good News and Bad	p. 155
Preparing for Control	p. 155
Frustrations and Realities	p. 157
Fighting Recession	p. 158
Resuming Course--with a Difference	p. 159
Polishing the Operation	p. 162
Upgrading Plant and Equipment	p. 162
Reducing Costs	p. 165
Conquering the Cascades	p. 166
Building Freight Traffic	p. 171
Passenger Business and Change	p. 172
The St. Paul Union Depot	p. 173
Highway Competition	p. 174
Upgrading Transcontinental Travel	p. 178
Advertising and Promotion	p. 181
Expansion and Development	p. 182
More Branch Lines	p. 182
Lure of California	p. 184
Frustrations in Colonizing	p. 187
Agricultural Diversification and Irrigation	p. 188
Northern Montana: Special Problems	p. 190
An Attempted Merger	p. 191
Corporate Health	p. 195
Growth in Funded Debt	p. 195
Performance	p. 198
The Tangled Ways of Finance	p. 199
Setting the Course	p. 199
Financial Management	p. 200
Over the Hurdle	p. 203
Controlling Expense	p. 205
Traffic and Profits in Adversity	p. 207
The Passenger Department	p. 208
Truck Competition	p. 210
Developmental Programs and Federal Stimulants	p. 213
Survival	p. 215
The Pressures of War--Again	p. 216
Gavin's Preparations	p. 216
Mobilization	p. 218
Cooperation under Regulation	p. 220
Performance and Financial Policy	p. 226
Labor-Management Relations in Depression and War	p. 230
Cooperation in Hard Times	p. 230
War and Prosperity	p. 232
Prosperity Under Stress	p. 238
Expectations and Realities	p. 238
Maximizing Efficiency	p. 240
The Operating and Financial Record	p. 245
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