I’ve been collecting Great Northern Railway artifacts and
memorabilia for over forty years. I do have a few areas of this history that
are particularly intriguing to me, and that focus is reflected in both the
types of things I’ve collected and in the subjects I have elected to learn more
about.
One thing you will notice quickly as you see the things I post
is that I have very little interest in or knowledge of the actual railroad
operations. To many, that must seem pretty odd. But right from the start I was
drawn in more to the aspects of advertising and human interest. I’m one of
those people, kind of like George Bailey in “It’s A Wonderful Life,” who thinks
the three most exciting sounds include train whistles. They represent the
opportunity to travel somewhere and have great experiences.
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George Bailey: [George hears a train whistle] “There she blows. You know what the three most exciting sounds in the world are?”
Uncle Billy: “Uh huh. Breakfast is served; lunch is served; dinner... ”
George Bailey: “No no no no. Anchor chains, plane motors and train whistles.”
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Over the years, I have gravitated to the following topics: the
promotion of Glacier National Park; Great Northern passenger train service
(mostly the promotion thereof); advertising art of the Great Northern
(especially the Blackfeet Indian portraits of Winold Reiss); the origin of
place names attributable to the Great Northern Railway; and the topic that has
really grabbed ahold of me the past 8-10 years, the GN’s radio advertising
campaign called “Empire Builders.” At
least through summer of 2016, most of my blogging will be focused on the Empire Builders story. You can find my
blog devoted to that topic here: http://empire-builders-radio.blogspot.com/
My efforts with this blog are driven by two significant
factors: the time I can find to devote to this; and my degree of interest in a
topic (ultimately, I will do whatever I find enjoyable).
Is there a particular topic of Great Northern Railway
history that you want to know more about? Shoot me an email and let me know.
I might very well use your ideas or questions as a topic of a future blog essay.
Did you have a relative who worked for the GN? Please share
their story.
~ WANTED ~
My collection of GN artifacts is fairly extensive, but there are certain items that I’m always on the lookout for. Please contact me if you have any of the following items that you are interested in parting with, or would be willing to photograph or scan for me (as appropriate):
·
Anything related to the Empire Builders radio series, but particularly the following:
o
Copies of original scripts (“continuities”)
o
Tickets or other passes issued to attend a live
broadcast at the NBC studios in NYC or Chicago
o
Vintage press photos showing the performers
and/or technicians
o
Vintage press photos of the “Old Timer’s Tour”
of Glacier Park in July, 1931
o
Actual off-the-air recordings (on original
aluminum discs)
·
Early copies of the Great Northern “Goat”
magazine, from the 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, and early 1950s
·
The Great Northern Railway “Semaphore” magazine
dated July, 1924 or September, 1925
