Great Northern in the News

GN dome in the East on the Adirondack

Sat, 20 Oct 2007 19:55:21 -0700

Heads up GN fans in the East - Amtrak is running it's last operational dome car, ex-GN Great Dome "Ocean View" through mid-november on the Adirondack between Albany and Montreal.
Here is a picture on RailPictures.net
It is scheduled to run north on Saturdays, return to Albany on Sundays, up on Monday, back on Tuesday, day off on Wednesday, up on Thursday and back on Fridays.
A rare chance to ride the dome and catch the fall loliage along Lake Champlain!

GNRHS presents the Glacier National Park Centennial Animated Billboard

Thu, 6 Sep 2007 05:56:12 -0700

Glacier Park Centennial Billboard

The Great Northern Railway Historical Society offers for sale to its members the Glacier National Park Centennial Limited Edition Animated Billboard.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Glacier National Park, the Great Northern Railway Historical Society has joined Miller Engineering to produce the Glacier National Park Centennial Limited Edition Animated Billboard.

This is a premium quality sign produced by Miller Engineering and will be the collectors piece depicting the synergy between the Great Northern Railway and Glacier National Park. The dimensions of the billboard are 2 1/8" high x 4 5/16" long and less than 1/16" thick. The controller board is 1 3/4" x 1" x 3/4" high which is connected to the sign with a 16" long flat ribbon wire.

A limited number of billboards will be produced with a distribution date of September 2008. This will be two years prior to the centennial of Glacier National Park.

Preproduction Price $39.95 + shipping before August 1, 2008

Price $45.95 + shipping after August 2, 2008 (If available)

Shipping will be $5.00 per item

All GNRHS members who prepay before August 1, 2008 will be assured of receiving a billboard.

Order online at: www.gnrhs.org or

GNRHS
P.O. Box 3016
Burnsville, MN 55337-8016

For more details see the full announcement at www.gnrhs.org/billboard.htm

To join the Great Northern Railway Historical Society click here

2007 GNRHS Convention to be held at Minot, ND July 15-18

Mon, 2 Apr 2007 06:43:43 -0700

GN Caboose X51

The Great Northern Railway Historical Society convention will be held at Minot, ND from Sunday July 15 through Wednesday July 18. The convention headquarters will be at the Minot Grand International.

GN 2-8-2 3059

This year's convention promises to be a good one with planned visits to Williston to see GN O-1 Class 2-8-2 #3059, the depot, GN caboose X394 and the former Alamo depot. A bit further west convention attendees can admire the hugh lift bridges at Snowden and Fairview as well as North Dakota's only rail-tunnel at Cartwright.

Snowden Liftbridge

Of course Minot, nicknamed "The Magic City", has a lot to offer also, with visits planned to Gavin Yard, the Railroad Museum of Minot (with GN caboose X51) and the famous Gassman Coulee bridge.

As usual, attendees can enjoy the Railfair, hold discussions with former GN employees and enjoy the annual banquet.

Williston depot

More events are planned. To read about those and the ones mentioned above in more detail please visit the GNRHS website here

Of course not everything can be visited during the convention so please look at the following pages to see what else can be found in the area:

Des Lacs Depot

North Dakotans like to reuse abandoned depots for a multitude of purposes. When one goes depot-hunting in North Dakota expect to find several depots in use on farms for storage, but also in use as businesses or preserved in local historical villages.

Please visit the North Dakota Surviving Depots page(s) to see what GN depots still survive in North Dakota and where to find them, and don't be surprised to find them moved for a quite a distance! TIP: Use the Interactive Map in the upper right corner to zoom in on the Minot area!

GN X415 at Rugby, ND

North Dakotans are also proud of their history so expect to find several GN cabooses on display across the state.

Please visit the North Dakota Preserved Cabooses page for more information.

Please also read my 2003 GN Finding Trip report for more ideas for places to visit in North Dakota.

GN 1244 'White Pines Lake' finds a new home

Fri, 16 Mar 2007 11:54:10 -0700

GN 1244 'White Pines Lake'

Former Great Northern Ranch Car 1244 'White Pines Lake' has found a new home at the Depot Conference Center in Columbus, Ohio.

Previously owned by GNRHS member Ralph Day and used at his Biddeford Station in Biddeford, Maine the car was sold last year to Barry Fromm and moved to the Depot Conference Center where it arrived on December 3rd, 2006. The car travelled 1000 miles by rail through Canada and was moved the last 8 miles on highway dollies to its new location.

The folks at the Depot Conference Center have immediately started to restore the car to its former glory and plan to make it available for rental to groups looking for meeting/dining space. Plans are to have the 'White Pines Lake' fully restored by Labor Day weekend when the Depot Conference Center holds its annual event called �Train Festival at The Depot�.

The move was video-taped and made available via YouTube (courtesy of the Depot Conference Center):

More info at The Depot Conference Center

See more surviving GN Ranch Cars here.

New book: The Deschutes River Railroad War

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 08:20:30 -0800

Deschutes River RR War

From Arnica Publishing comes this new and interesting book about the railroad war between James J. Hill and Edward H. Harriman over the construction of the railroad line along the Deschutes River in Oregon, the line known as GN's Inside Gateway.

The book is an interesting and enjoyable read. Although photos of trains are few and far in between the book is a great account of the construction, the railroad war and the men involved, but also features a nice exploration into the geology of the area and railroad construction in general. Many historic photos of the line under construction as well as recent (aerial) photos of the bridges and the railroad line make this a great book to add to ones collection.This is what the publisher has to say about the book: "Tracing the geological and railroad history of the Pacific Northwest, Leon Speroff evokes the Age of the Railroad in his book, The Deschutes River Railroad War. With intricate detail, expert understanding and amusing anecdotes, he brings to life this fascinating true tale of the race to expand railroad service from the Columbia River up the Deschutes River to Bend, Oregon.

When the two railroad barons, James J. Hill of the Great Northern and Edward H. Harriman of the Union Pacific, both set their sights on the Deschutes River Canyon for building a railway to Bend, neither man could have foreseen the massive expenditure of money, time, energy and human lives that characterized their mad rush to the finish.

At the heart of this gripping story is the essence of the American West and the magnates, workers, immigrants and settlers whose impact on the region would usher the age of railroad transportation into the twentieth century."

Click here to go to the publisher's website.

Click here for information on ordering this book.

Hustle Muscle repaint photos

Sun, 3 Dec 2006 16:44:05 -0800

GN SD45 400 'Hustle Muscle'

Andy Inserra photos

GN SD45 400 'Hustle Muscle' recently returned to her home at the Jackson St. Roundhouse with a shining new coat of paint. Made possible by generous donations from many GNRHS members and friends of Hustle Muscle, the famous 'First Production SD45' received a beautiful coat of new paint at the Wisconsin & Southern shops in Horicon, WI.

Huscle Muscle is located at the Minnesota Transportation Museum roundhouse at Jackson St in St. Paul, MN where she can be admired during the Museum's regular opening hours.

Hustle Muscle repaint

Fri, 1 Dec 2006 19:50:07 -0800

I see from a posting on railpictures.net that Hustle Muscle's repaint job is finished - and looks really good.....

See for yourself...link to railpictures.net

GN Caboose X294 arrives at Iron Goat Trail

Tue, 19 Sep 2006 02:52:32 -0700

GN X294 at Iron Goat Trail

August 31st marked the final move of GN caboose X294 to its new home at the Iron Goat Trail. The caboose is now located at the new third trailhead on the trail near Scenic. Work has been going on all summer to complete this trailhead and continues to date. It will be next to Hwy 2 below Stevens Pass to the west of the summit. The trailhead will also serve as a State rest area. It's being constructed in close cooperation between the Iron Goat Trail volunteers and the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Volunteers are still working on completing the exterior painting which they hope to have finished by the end of September.

For more information check out the following links:

- Iron Goat Trail

- WSDOT US2 Iron Goat Interpretive Site website (includes photos of the move to Scenic)

"Hill's Folly" video to air on Minneapolis/St. Paul public TV

Mon, 18 Sep 2006 04:59:03 -0700

Hill's Folly Video

For people in the Minneapolis/St Paul area: Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) will be broadcasting Ray Lowry's video on the Stone Arch Bridge (see this earlier news item).

"Hill's Folly, James J. Hill and the building of the Stone Arch bridge" will be broadcast on Channel 17 on October 15th at 6:00 pm.

The video being broadcast is recut from the original, making it shorter and with a change of narrator. This updated version can already be previewed on google video here.

GN news from the Minnesota Transportation Museum

Fri, 15 Sep 2006 10:31:59 -0700

GN boxcar 13397

Although still waiting for its small lettering, GN boxcar 13397 (at right) really shines in her new coat of Vermillion Red with large Great Northern lettering at her home at the Minnesota Transportation Museum. GN 13397 is the forth boxcar in the museum's collection to receive a fresh coat of paint as part of an ongoing Eagle Scout project.

GN Wrecker Derrick X1735

The 'backyard' at Jackson Street is really starting to look good.

In other news;

Its future uncertain only a couple of months ago, GN derrick X1735 has now arrived at Jackson Street and was put back on its trucks on September 12. A generous donation made the move of this 150-ton derrick from the Arsenal to the Jackson Street roundhouse possible.

X1735 was built in 1914 by Industrial Locomotive Works, construction number 3009. It was originally steam-powered, with its own boiler. Later in life it was converted to diesel power. Its original road number was GN 96014. Later it was renumbered X1735. Finally, after the merger it became BN D158, the number it still wears.

As of 1970, X1735 was stationed in Superior, Wisconsin. At the merger, it was one of three 150-ton derricks on the roster. It was retired in the mid-80's and conveyed to the MTM on 10/27/1985.

With the move of X1735 MTM has now moved all of its equipment out of the Arsenal and has it now located at either the Jackson Street roundhouse or at its tourist train operation at Osceola, Wisconsin.

Click here for opening hours and directions to the Minnesota Transportation Museum.