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| James J. Hill - the Empire Builder |
When Hill died on May 29, 1916, people across
the nation mourned his loss and recounted many of his remarkable
accomplishments. Hill’s insightful approach to building his transportation
empire included the practical notion that he must help build up the territory
served by his railroad in order to provide the commerce required to make the
railroad a success. It was vertical integration at its finest. His railroad was
among the last to be constructed across the western U.S., but it was arguably
among the most profitable, and certainly among the most impactful on the growth
of the west. The formula for success employed by James J. Hill was to operate
the longest trains, with maximum tonnage, over the straightest tracks, using
the least change in elevation. He helped expedite the growth of ranches, farms,
and whole communities across the Pacific Northwest. A book could be written on
this topic alone. In fact, several such books have been written.
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| Early view of Wellington, Washington, and the Cascade Mountain switchbacks of the Great Northern Railway |
When Hill’s Great
Northern Railway reached the Cascade Mountains of Washington, the railroad met what
was arguably the most formidable obstacle on the entire system. Even crossing
the Rocky Mountains in Montana was easier by comparison. A route through the
Cascades was located, and when the line was completed in 1893, a series of
switchbacks were employed to move trains up and over the steep slopes and high
elevations of this mountain range. By 1900, a tunnel of about 2 miles in length
was constructed to eliminate the switchbacks. Still, there were much greater
efficiencies to be had, and frequent winter snow slides continued to plague the
line. Just a few years after the death of James J. Hill, the men with whom he
had surrounded himself to run the railroad finally helped fulfill one of his
goals – to dig an 8-mile tunnel under the Cascade Mountains and make that
portion of the line much more conducive to safe and efficient operation of the
railroad.
The decade of the
1920s was among the most impactful periods of time in the operation of the GN. Construction
on the new 8-mile Cascade Tunnel was underway by 1926. It was completed in late
1928, and was officially opened to daily operations on January 12, 1929. Then,
just five months later, the railroad inaugurated its new premier passenger
service. The train service itself was called the “Empire Builder,” but
individual Pullman coach cars were named to honor many other “empire builders”
of the northwest.
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| First advertisement for the Empire Builder in the Seattle Times - May 20 1929 |
For weeks prior to the
unveiling of the Empire Builder train, the Great Northern Railway spread the
word that its new varnish would soon be traveling the span between Chicago and
the coast with such speed as to “save a business day.” This was very big news
to many businessmen in those days – very big indeed. The route was structured
so as to operate trains westbound out of Chicago as trains simultaneously
operated eastbound out of Portland and Seattle. The Portland section would meet
up with the Seattle section at Spokane, where they would be consolidated as one
train for the remainder of the trip to Chicago. In the same fashion, the westbound
Empire Builder split at Spokane, with sections continuing to Seattle and
Portland. When you consider the “chicken and the egg” scenario as it applies
here, it is easy to understand that the new service was not inaugurated at all
until complete train sets were positioned at both ends of the route.
This, too, was an advertising opportunity in itself. Just prior to inauguration
of the new service, the trains were put out on static display, and local
citizens were encouraged to come out and see the lovely new passenger cars for
themselves.
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| The actual routing of the Empire Builder has been altered a few times over its first 87 years, but the map above shows (in red) the primary route. |
The basic mainline
route of the Great Northern Railway was between the “Twin Cities” of Minnesota
(Minneapolis and St. Paul) and the coastal cities of Seattle and Portland, with
several vital branches and trunk lines. You’ll notice (if you weren’t already
aware) there is no mention here of Chicago. So the obvious question is: why
would the Great Northern start up a new high-class passenger service that
connected Chicago with the west coast if they didn’t even operate trains in and
out of Chicago? If it’s true that the Twin Cities location was basically the
eastern-most extent of the GN mainline, what’s up with bringing Chicago into
the mix? How did GN trains operate between Chicago and the Twin Cities?
Well, that can be a longer
story than you might imagine, but to be brief, the GN had a “close” business
association with the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad (a.k.a., the
CB&Q, the Burlington, the “Q”, the Burlington Route, etc.). In fact, the
“Burlington” in the company’s name is the same Burlington that paired up with
the “Northern” in the Great Northern and the Northern Pacific names to form
Burlington Northern in 1970. But that’s another story for another time. In any
event, the answer to bridging the apparent gap between Chicago and the Twin
Cities lies in that close business relationship. It was the CB&Q that
actually operated the Empire Builder trains between those points – not just on
the introduction of the new service, but from 1929 until 1970, when the Great
Northern Railway morphed into the Burlington Northern (with the “Q” as one of
those companies that merged together).
So now we’re back to
the inauguration of a new passenger service that will depart Chicago westbound
and two locations – Seattle and Portland – eastbound. From whence will the
first train depart? Chicago? Seattle? Portland? Perhaps simultaneously from all
three? Simple answer: Chicago.
Many enthusiasts of
the Great Northern Railway and/or the Empire Builder passenger service (myself
included) have for many years now considered June 11, 1929, as the start of
this notable train. Aside from a few service setbacks, this passenger train has
operated continuously (if not daily, throughout its entire history) since 1929.
In fact, Amtrak has now been operating a passenger train on this route and
under this name for more years than it was operated under the GN. In 2004, I
participated in a sizable observance of the 75th anniversary of the Empire
Builder train.
As a member and representative of the Great Northern
Railway Historical Society, I designed a commemorative pinback button to share
with train riders and other enthusiasts on that occasion. I also edited and did
the layout for a brochure that Amtrak partnered with and which was included in
a bag of treats presented to everyone riding the Empire Builder on its 75th
anniversary. The date on which we celebrated 75 years of service of the Empire
Builder was June 11, 2004. We were, technically, a day late. [but in our
defense, the brochure I helped to produce did point this out]
Back in 1929, the two Empire Builder train sets from
the west coast did not depart Portland and Seattle until June 11, which was a
Tuesday. However, the westbound Empire Builder departed Chicago on the night of
Monday, June 10. The misapplication of June 11 as the date when the service
began is almost like saying the historic WWII Allied Forces invasion of
Normandy occurred on June 5th, since in fact it was still the evening of the
5th everywhere in the U.S. except the east coast when the invasion was first
reported. I don’t think anyone in their right mind would suggest the history
books be rewritten to say D-Day happened on June 5th. The event itself was on
the northern coast of Normandy, and in the English Channel it was at the break
of day on June 6th.
As for the confusion among us historians and GN
enthusiasts, there is a logical and very supportable distinction about these
competing dates. None of us went completely batty and jumped on the wrong date
arbitrarily. Remember, this was a Great Northern train, and GN territory
didn’t extend any further east than the Twin Cities, corporate headquarters of
the GN. Although the Empire Builder train did depart Chicago on the night of
Monday, June 10, 1929, it did not enter Great Northern territory (and hence
begin operation completely in the hands of Great Northern train crews and other
employees) until it travelled 430 miles and reached St. Paul the next morning.
Throughout its 81-year corporate history, the Great Northern Railway conducted
executive-level business at its corporate headquarters in the city of St. Paul,
Minnesota. Passenger timetables issued to advertise routes and schedules were generally
limited to those train miles where the GN actually operated their own trains.
So despite the arrangements made with the CB&Q to bridge the gap between
Chicago and the Twin Cities (or more precisely, St. Paul), the Empire Builder
train was only operated by the GN between the coast on the west end and St.
Paul on the east end of the line. The GN’s passenger timetable issued to
coincide with the inauguration of the new Empire Builder train service was
issued with an effective date of June 11, 1929. It was about 8 a.m. on the
morning of Tuesday, June 11, 1929, that the first westbound Empire Builder
train arrived in St. Paul from Chicago and actually began operation as an
exclusively GN train. In the meantime, Empire Builder trains departing
eastbound out of Portland and Seattle did not depart until all the hoopla on
the east end of the line died down – it was later in the afternoon of June 11
that these trains began operation.
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| Cover of passenger timetable issued by the GN at the commencement of the Empire Builder service out of St. Paul |
I think it was a defensible position to say the Great
Northern Railway began operation of the Empire Builder train on June 11,
1929, but for the sake of historical accuracy, I would say we have to massage
that a little and say the Empire Builder train has been operating since June
10, 1929. Even longer than most of us ever imagined – by the margin of, well,
just about a business day.
The grand inauguration of the new Empire Builder train
was an ambitious and in some ways taxing event. Commemoration of this new
passenger service between Chicago and the coastal cities of the Pacific
Northwest occurred during the one-hour special radio broadcast on June 10,
1929. The U.S. Secretary of Commerce, Robert P. Lamont, participated from
Washington, D.C. After a few laudatory words heralding the positive economic
contributions to be made by this new, faster train service, Secretary Lamont
tapped at a specially wired telegraph key, an action that triggered a large
gong in Chicago. The sound of the gong signaled time for the train to pull out
on its inaugural run to the coast.
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| A remarkably serious-looking Commerce Secretary, Robert P. Lamont, as he readies to tap the telegraph key on June 10, 1929 Collection of the Minnesota Historical Society |
The radio broadcast included speeches by several
notable individuals, including a key representative of the railroad: the
vice-president of Operations of the Great Northern, Mr. Charles O. Jenks.
During the ceremonies captured on that Empire Builders radio program, the Old
Timer (actor Harvey Hays) actually boarded the Empire Builder train and rode it
out to Seattle. This must have been a real hoot for fellow passengers, once
they realized who he was. If they did, it probably would have been because they
first recognized his voice rather than his face.
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| The "Old Timer" (actor Harvey Hays) and Miss Chicago Commerce (Bess Mullen) |
Also traveling on that train were some other
dignitaries and representatives of the east, including Miss Chicago Commerce
(Miss Bess Mullen). A small band supplied by the GN was aboard, as was the
singing group that often represented the railroad, the “Great Northern
Quartette.”
In fact, so many fare-paying passengers were
travelling on the first Empire Builder, and so many additional people were
along for the festivities, that not one but two sections of the Empire
Builder train were operated westbound out of Chicago. Onboard the first section
was Operations vice-president C.O. Jenks, but he elected to keep a low profile
so he could concern himself with operating matters. Also on the first section
was W.A. Wilson, assistant general passenger agent of the GN. It fell to Wilson
to marshal the activities and appearances of the Old Timer (Harvey Hays) and
Miss Chicago Commerce (Bess Mullen). The GN’s vice-president, George R. Martin,
represented the railroad onboard the second section. One news report of the day
indicated the crew of the first section to depart consisted of locomotive
engineer Anthony Zinns and conductor Thomas F. Burke. The second section
departed Chicago twenty minutes after the first. It was piloted by engineer M.
Belknap and had John Needham as conductor.
Stops were made at significant stations along the
route and brief photo ops were exploited. Miss Chicago Commerce presented
letters of greeting to the various chambers of commerce in the major cities
where the train stopped – the letters were issued by Frank F. Winans, president
of the Chicago Association of Commerce.
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| Rare view of actor Harvey Hays (The Old Timer) speaking to the throngs of people greeting the first Empire Builder at St. Cloud, MN, on June 11, 1929 Collection of the Minnesota Historical Society |
In St. Cloud, Minnesota, the new Empire Builder
arrived at the railroad station on June 11th at 10:30 a.m., “on-time
to the split fraction of a second.” The St. Cloud Daily Times trumpeted the news that the exciting new train was
welcomed there by over 4,000 local citizens.
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| Collection of the Minnesota Historical Society |
At Minot, North Dakota, the first westbound Empire
Builder train was scheduled to arrive at 8:30 p.m. on the 11th. Three
days prior to this, the Mayor of Minot issued a proclamation heralding the new
train and beseeching as many Minot residents as possible to turn out at the
depot for the big event.
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| When the first westbound Empire Builder arrived in Seattle, someone had the silly idea to bring a billy goat for the photo op. At least nobody was dumb enough to drag some poor mountain goat out from the city zoo instead. |
In Seattle, both Hays and Mullen (and a few select GN
officials) met with members of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce. Hays and Mullen
even participated on the air in Seattle, on a 30-minute program broadcast over
the NBC affiliate KOMO.
The following day, Mullen thought she was free of appearance
obligations, so she went shopping in Portland. She missed an event at which she
was expected, and, to her dismay, it made it into the newspaper that she had
“gone missing.” Ooops. Thus are the perils of newly-acquired “fame.”
If you have never travelled on the Empire Builder
train, you still can. And you certainly should. Check it out here:
https://www.amtrak.com/empire-builder-train
or just call Julie at:
1-800-USA-RAIL.
She’ll set you up.
