Home > About this website > Website Info > What's New?

What's New?        

This website will always be added-on to. This page shows the most recent additions.

July 26, 2006:

• Added a page on Empire Builder consists, starting with the 1955-1970 Incomparable Great Dome Empire Builder. Consist are currently given for summer consists and the winter consists from 1955 to 1961. More winter consists will be added later. Note: these consists varied a lot over the years. I have done my best to include all these changes using sources as the John F. Strauss GN Pictorial books and GNRHS Empire Builder Reference Sheets, and numerous period GN Public Time Tables. At times these sources contradicted each other. In those circumstances the most logical information was used .

• Added several depots to the Surviving GN Depots of Minnesota pages. Added the Ashby depot, New Germany, New London and St. Hilaire depot as new listings;  Information and photos courtesy of Shane Delaney. Added the Clontarf Depot, Holland Depot, Holloway Depot, Johnson Depot, Maple Plain depot and Sauk Centre depot as new listings; information and photos courtesy of James Burt.

• Added the GN US2 overpass near the Fairchild AFB west of Spokane to the Surviving GN Bridges in Washington page, information and photo courtesy of Leo Harker. This bridge still proudly displays the GN logo.

• Added a photo of St.P&P boxcar 1320 to the Preserved GN Boxcars page, courtesy of Thomas Flagg.

• Added photos of Central Montana Rail GP9 1810, ex GN 658 (courtesy of Bob Ulberg) and CMR 1824, ex GN 672 (courtesy of Eric Drissell to the Still Active GN Road Switchers page.

• Added a photo of Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad NW2 481 (ex GN 136 / 5336) to the Preserved GN Diesels page.

• Added a photo of BNSF Diner-Lounge #28 'Mountain View', ex GN Coach 1209, to the Preserved GN Coaches page, courtesy of Bob Ulberg.

• Also check out the GN in the News section for the latest news on the Great Northern.

May 1, 2006:

• Redid the Surviving GN Depots of Minnesota page. Gave it a different look and added tons of photos, maps and information. It's still a work in progress though. First page is done, the other three are under construction. There is actually an incredible amount of depots left in Minnesota. Expect to see these pages completed with the next update(s).

• Updated the look of the front page (This Month's Feature) and added a news-stream (automatically) showing the latest updates to the GN in the News page. With this the latest six news-posts will always be announced on the front page!

• Added photos of the new shelter placed over GN P-2 2523 at Willmar, MN to the GN P-2 Class 4-8-2 History page. Photos courtesy of Sean Murphy.

• Added photos of St. Croix Valley GP9 1363 (ex GN 676) to the Still Active GN Road Switchers page. Photos courtesy of friend Eric Hopp who had the pleasure of this former GN locomotive pulling his GN coach/diner 1146 on a private trip last November.

• Added J.D. Heiskell & Co. GP9 1886 (ex GN 729) to the Still Active GN Road Switchers page, and updated the GN GP9 diesel roster accordingly.

• Tim Parr sent evidence showing GN RS3 226 in the Simplified Empire Builder paint scheme. Updated the GN RS3 Diesel Roster page accordingly (and some of the other RS3's in the process).

• Added GN 1148, a dinette-lunch counter-dormitory car, to the Preserved GN Dining Cars page. Information courtesy of Tom Cornillie.

• Updated location info (MTM) of GN coach-diner 1146 on the Preserved GN Dining Cars page.

• Added GN 277, a former CGW baggage car, to the Preserved GN Baggage Cars and Express Cars page. Information courtesy of Tom Cornillie.

• Updated information where needed on the Preserved GN Business Cars page and added GN A-26 to the list. The Yreka, CA business car now finally also has a number; A-18.

• Added several drawing sources to the GN Electric Locomotives Prototype Drawings page.

• Updated and checked the Links page for broken links.

• Updated the GN Timeline page, courtesy of Jim Betz: Various dates added - primarily related to items that affected the GN and all other railroads as well ... such as changes to regulations, availability of superior products, etc.

March 9, 2006:

• Added rosters and diagrams for the GN P-1 4-8-2 and, Q-1 and Q-2 2-10-2 steam locomotive classes. Look for an overview of the GN steam roster currently posted on this website here.

• Added more functionality to the GN in the News page in a link to 'Email this Item to a Friend' and a link to a 'Printer Friendly Version' of an article.

February 15, 2006:

• Revamped the GN in the News page. Now in 'blog' format it will allow for easier updating and maintenance. It also allows visitors to register and add their own Great Northern related news items.

• Added photos of the McCanna Depot and the Michigan Depot to the Preserved GN Depots in North Dakota page, courtesy of Bill Gray.

• Added the Sinai depot to the Surviving South Dakota depots page. Information courtesy of Bev Christianson through Bev Tracy.

• Added a photo of GN boxcar 138407, recently repainted by the volunteers at the Minnesote Transportation Museum to the Preserved GN Boxcars page. Photo courtesy of Jon van Niewaal.

• Changed the location of GN caboose X126 and added a photo to the Preserved GN Cabooses in Nebraska page of the caboose now at Fremont, NE taken by its new owner, Dave Varilek.

• Added GN caboose X92 to the Preserved GN Cabooses in Idaho page. Information courtesy of Dr. Daniel W. Hash.

• Changed the location of GN X-125 from Naples, ID to Samuels, ID which turned out to be the correct location after Jack Porzig went looking for it.

• Added new ownership information for GN 1384 'Lewis and Clark Pass' to the Preserved GN Sleeping Cars page.

• Changed the confirmed date to 1918 for use of the 'Gopher State Express' name on the Lines East - Named Passenger Trains page as confirmed by information found in the July 10, 1918 USRA/GN Public Time Tables.

• Mark Johnson recently sighted BNSF GP10 1411 (ex-GN GP7 611) and BNSF GP39E 2740 (ex-GN GP30 3007) in the Fargo, ND area. Updated the Still Active GN Road Switchers page accordingly.

• Updated the Links page.

November 18, 2005:

• Added an overview of all GN passenger name trains to the Passenger Service section, detailing their historic relationship, train numbers, years in service, changes in destinations and/or train numbers. Mind: this is a work in progress meant to be added on to and where necessary corrected. Especially the early trains still need a lot of work. Your comments are most welcome.

• Improved the graphics on the GN Diesel Fleet Timeline page.

• Added photos of freshly repainted GN observation 1292 'Going-to-the-Sun Mountain' to the Preserved GN Observation Cars page, courtesy of Peter Hansen.

• Changed the information on Preserved GN Dome Car 1325 to reflect its recent sale to Canadian National where it joined the business car fleet.

• In the September update I posted a photo of a former GN 1120-1134 series coach to the Preserved GN Coaches page, courtesy of Eric Hopp. Jon Snyder reports NJT 101 is actually ex GN 1133. Changed the information to reflect this.

• Added a photo to the Preserved GN Cabooses in Nebraska page of GN caboose X-126 ready to be moved to Fremont, NE by its new owner, Dave Varilek, who also took the picture.

• Added a photo of former GN SW1500 209 still in service on Progressive Rail in Rosemount, MN to the Still Active GN Switchers page, courtesy of Greg W. Smith.

• Added a photo of GN covered hopper 171306 as BN 460056 to the Still Active GN Covered Hoppers page, courtesy of Robert Ulberg.

• Added a photo of GN flatcar 65715 at the Princeton, MN depot to the Preserved GN Flatcars page.

• Added photos of the Rustad depot to the Surviving Minnesota Depots page.

• Added old photos of the Angus and Warren, MN depots to the GN Depots page, courtesy of Michael Johnson.

• Removed the Homestead depot from the Surviving Montana Depots page as it was razed recently, just like nearby Scobey depot and despite local efforts to save both structures.

September 13, 2005:

• Redid the Steam Locomotive Types page for more direct access to the history, rosters, tender assignments and engine diagrams of a certain type.  Added ability to search on number series. A feature for searching by individual number will be added later (when the roster nears completion :-) ).

• Added a H-2 Class Roster page.

• Added a S-2 Class Tender Assignments page.

• Changed the layout on all pages that use a GN Served States map for navigation making it easier to see what states have links and which do not: example 1, example 2.

• Added a 'Random Page' feature to the front page. Try it; perhaps there are more pages than you thought to this website ;-)

• Added photos of GN boxcars 6294, 11330, 12533, 13067, 19090, 26228, 34502 and 36686 to the Preserved GN Boxcars page.

• Added GN GSC ore car 75203, still in service at the McCloud Railway, to the Preserved GN Ore Cars page, information and photo courtesy of Jeff Moore.

• Added a photo of GN (CB&Q) dome coach 1335 to the Preserved GN Dome Cars page and a photo of a former GN 1120-1134 series coach to the Preserved GN Coaches page, courtesy of Eric Hopp.

• Bob Ulberg contributed two photos of GN coaches 1115 and 1116 at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum. Both cars are looking splendid in GN colors and were added to the Preserved GN Coaches page.

• Updated the Preserved GN Diesels page with a new photo of GN NW5 192 courtesy of Bob Ulberg.

• Added a page on Surviving North Dakota Towers.

• The Sabin, MN depot has been demolished due to its bad condition. Jim Moore, who reported this, also reports the survival of the Rustad, MN depot. Both changes have been made to the Surviving Minnesota Depots page.

• Bill Gray reports of the survival of the McCanna, ND depot, now added to the Surviving North Dakota Depots page.

• Added pictures of the Marcus Highway Overpass to the Surviving Washington Bridges - Dean to Boundary page, courtesy of Art Wriedt and updated the location info for the other bridges on that page.

• Added GN Baldwin S12's #24 & 27 to the Still Active GN Switchers page and updated roster info on the S12 Diesel Roster page.

• Updated the Preserved GN Cabooses in Minnesota page with photos of the GN caboose at Big Lake and X210 at Mountain Lake. Also added a photo of X257 at Grand Marais courtesy of Bob Ulberg. Added updated photos of GN X85 at Callaway and X259 at East Grand Forks.

• Updated the Preserved GN Cabooses in Oklahoma page with new photos of X21 and X247.

• Removed 1912 built GN caboose X302(1) from the Preserved GN Cabooses in Montana page. This caboose was scrapped by the Teton Antique Steam & Gas Museum of Choteau, MT in an amazing display of disrespect for history.

• Removed GN caboose X82 from the Preserved GN Cabooses in Nebraska page. It turns out that this caboose was at one time donated to the Thurston County Historical Museum in Rosalie but never made it there. Parts of this caboose were used to rebuild X85 now located at Callaway, MN. Updated the rest of this page with photos of GN cabooses X617, X31 and the streamlined caboose at Springfield (previously listed under Louisville). Also added several updated photos of X15, X104, X126 and X139.

August 19, 2005:

• Added a Great Northern Timeline listing important dates in GN's existence and beyond courtesy of Jim Betz.

• Populated the Surviving GN Depots in South Dakota page with many photos and additional finds.

• Added a photo of BNSF 8 'Canadian River' business car (former GN A-4(3)) now on display at the J.J. Hill Center in Fort Worth, TX to the Preserved GN Business Cars page.

• GN business car A-3(3) has popped up again. She was spotted by Todd Foy at Colorado Railcar in Fort Lupton, CO on May 21.

• I never expected to find Preserved GN Stock Cars, but here they are: GN 56400 and 56445 at Rollag, MN.

• Another great find at Rollag: 1926 built GN hopper 72377: Preserved GN Hoppers.

• Updated the Preserved GN Cabooses in Texas page with photos taken during my July trip.

• Added photos of WFEX wood reefer 66354 located at Galveston, TX to the Preserved GN Reefers page.

• Added photo to the Still Active GN Cab Units page of ex GN F7A 464A still in active service on the Grand Traverse Dinner Train in Michigan, courtesy of John Blotnick.

• Added photos of absolutely gorgeous DAIR 21 (ex GN GP9 734) and DAIR 3 (ex GN GP20 2019) to the Still Active GN Road Switchers page.

• Updated the Preserved GN Snow Plows page with additional info. Also verified the number of the GN snow dozer at Rusk, TX to be X1683 (as derived from photos taken off its number boards in the headlight).

• Added information on an article by Wayne Sutton and Brian Morgan in N-Scale Railroading making use of GN wheel reports to the GN Wheel Reports page.

June 3, 2005:

• Added a new page on GN Wheel Reports made possible by contributions from Wayne Sutton and Brian Morgan. Expect to see more files added in the future.

• Former GN heater car 12 (ex GN F3B 430C) has finally arrived at her new home at the Portola Railroad Museum. Changed the Preserved GN Diesels and Preserved GN Heater Cars pages to reflect this change.

• Added a photo of RRV&W GP20C 2051 (ex GN 2034) to the Still Active GN Road Switchers page, courtesy of Ben Tretter.

• Added a photo of BNSF GP10 1408 (ex GN GP7 608) to the Still Active GN Road Switchers page, courtesy of Jan Kohl/Castle Graphics.

• Added information and photos of ex BN SD7 6009 (ex GN SD7 559) to the Still Active GN Freight Units page, courtesy of Zach Pumphery.

• Added post-BN disposition information to the GN SD7 Diesel Roster page.

• Added a photo of GN Dome Coach 1331 to the Preserved GN Dome Cars page, now in Alaska on lease with ???, courtesy of Sheldon Perry.

• Added a photo of GN Rider Storage Mail 475 to the Preserved GN RPO & Mail Cars page, recently spotted in Tigard, OR by Robert Ulberg.

• Added new photos of GN Caboose X259 now approaching the completion of its restoration to the Preserved GN Cabooses in Minnesota page, courtesy of Gus Lightfoot.

• Added photos and information of newfound surviving caboose GN X304 at Yelm, WA to the Preserved GN Cabooses in Washington page, courtesy of Jack Porzig, Lindsay Korst and Robert Ulberg.

• Added information and photo of newfound preserved caboose GN X105 at Aurora, IL to the Preserved GN Cabooses in Illinois page, courtesy of Kevin A. Sadowski.

• Removed Geyserville listing from the Preserved GN Cabooses in California page. Caboose turns out to be ex-NP.

• Added the Greenbush depot to the Surviving GN Depots in Minnesota page, information courtesy of Allen Anderson.

• Added a link to the new Pueblo Railway Foundation website to the Links and GN 2649 Express Box Car listing.

April 19, 2005:

• Gave the October 2004 Trip Report its own page (from "Last Month's Feature") and added many photos to supplement the text.

• Added the Foreston depot, now located in Milaca,  to the Surviving Minnesota Depots page. Info courtesy of Ted Larson.

• Tom Hancock identified the 'mystery depot' near Perella as the Lignite depot. Changed its listing on the Surviving North Dakota Depots page.

• Added a photo to the Surviving GN Water towers page of the Troy, MT water tower of which the top part is now in use as a concession stand in City Park. Photo courtesy of the City of Troy.

• Changed Indiana Northeastern 1770 to the correct GN number (697) and added another Still Active GN GP9 (693)  operating on the IN as #1602. Information and photos of IN 1602 courtesy of John Holman.

• Brian Frierdich reported sightings this month of BNSF 6100 (ex GN SD9 573) and GCFX 3093 (ex GN SDP40 323) for which their respective listings have been updated on the Still Active GN Diesels pages.

• Added a photo of GCFX 3093 (ex GN SDP40 323) to the Surviving GN Passenger Diesels page, courtesy of Stuart Lodge.

• Added a photo of GN RPO 42 located at the California State Railroad Museum to the Preserved GN RPO's page, courtesy of Keith Brownfield.

• Added a photo of FLNX 3 (ex GN 1175 'Oberlin Glacier') in presidential colors to the Preserved GN Sleeping Cars page.

• Added GN observation 1083 'Twin Cities' to the Preserved GN Observation Cars page. Car is currently for sale at BNSF after being retired in 2003 as BN B9 Track Geometry Car.

• Deleted GN Baggage Dorm 1201 from the Preserved GN Baggage Cars page as she was reportedly scrapped by Naparano Iron & Steel in recent years.

• Added a photo of GN rider/storage 475 to the Preserved GN RPO & Mail Cars page courtesy of Stuart Spencer.

• Updated history for GN baggage cars 265 and 429 on the Preserved GN Baggage Cars page.

• Added photos of an unidentified GN business car located on the Yreka Western to the Preserved GN Business Cars page. Identification as business car courtesy of Bill Killion.

• Added photos of GN dining car 1154 'Lake Michigan' and Ranch Car 1241 'Running Crane Lake' to the Preserved GN Dining Cars page.

• Added a photo of GN boxcar 138660 to the Preserved GN Boxcars page showing the car after a successful restoration and repaint in Big Sky Blue at the Minnesota Transportation Museum. Photo courtesy of Jon Van Niewaal.

• Added photo of GN gondola 78511 still in GN paint to the Still Active GN Gondolas page courtesy of Robert Ulberg.

• Added all California caboose photos of my 2004 GN Finding Trip to the Preserved GN Cabooses in California page plus added a photo of ex-GN caboose MR 031 courtesy of Robert Ulberg.

• Added all Oregon caboose photos of the second part of my 2004 GN Finding Trip to the Preserved GN Cabooses in Oregon page.

• Overhauled the GN books pages and added now direct links to purchase available books to support the restoration of GN 1291 'St. Nicholas Mountain'.

• Corrected broken links on the Links page and added some new ones.

January 28, 2005:

• Added a photo of BNSF 3547 (ex GN SW1200 #31) to the Still Active GN Switchers page, courtesy of Bob Ulberg.

• Added a photo of MRL 290 (ex GN SDP40 #321) to the Still Active GN Passenger Units page, courtesy of Mike Ray, and added a listing of GCFX 3093 (ex GN SDP40 #323) which was recently confirmed to still be operating.

• I was finally able to verify the existence of GN SDP45 #333 (BN 6599) which has been added to the Still Active GN Passenger Units (although she's currently stored).

• Added a photo of CSX SD40M-2 8485 (rebuilt ex GN SD45 #422) to the Still Active GN Freight Units page, courtesy of Dean Heacock.

• Added a photo of BNSF 2815 (ex GN GP30 #3016 to the Still Active GN Road Switchers page, courtesy of Bob Lehmuth.

• Listed GN wrecking crane X1745 on the new Preserved GN Wrecking Cranes page. Thanks, Bob Ulberg, for alerting me to this one.

• Added GN B1(2) instruction car to the Preserved GN Instruction Cars page. Photos and information courtesy of Mike Smith and Ken Middleton.

• Added photos of GN boxcars 5921 to the GN 40' Boxcars page, and 37201 and 138174 to the GN 50' Boxcars page. Clyde King photos courtesy of Rob Sarberenyi.

• Added photos of BN caboose 12567 (ex GN X154) to the Still Active GN Cabooses page, courtesy of Mark Johnson. Added a photo of MRL 1006 (ex GN X99) courtesy of Robert Ulberg. Moved surviving GN X124 and GN X132 to the Still Active GN Cabooses page.

• Added a photo of GN caboose X12 at Puyallup, WA courtesy of Anne Porzig and a photo of GN caboose X351 at Wilkeson, WA courtesy of Robert Ulberg to the Preserved GN Cabooses in Washington page.

• Bob Ulberg also sent an updated photo of POTB SD9 6114 (ex GN 587) which can be found on the Still Active GN Freight Units page.

• Added newfound GN caboose X125 now located near Naples to the Preserved GN Cabooses in Idaho page. Information and photos courtesy of Greg Pascut.

• Greg Pascut also sent photos of a newfound unidentified GN baggage car located in Sandpoint, ID. Added to the Preserved GN Baggage Cars page.

• Updated the Surviving North Dakota Depots page. Added the many depots that I found on my 2003 trip and added several new photos and location information, including maps. Added a photo of the Ellendale depot courtesy of Bob Prueher and photos of the Hatton depot courtesy of Lindsay Korst.

• Updated the Surviving Iowa Depots page. Added photos of the sole surviving Sioux Center depot.

• Updated the GN in the News page with newly announced private railcar trips onboard former GN sleeping car 'Skykomish River' and the release of the 'Railroad Classics' DVD.

• Added 'Railroad Classics' DVD to the GN Videos and DVD's page.

• Added a number-reference for GN cabooses rebuilt by Burlington Northern on the BN Rebuilt ex-GN Cabooses page.

• Removed all 'Back' buttons on the individual pages as these are replaced by the (yellow) 'Back' button at the bottom of the screen. Also overhauled all pages to present a more uniform image.