Great Northern Railway

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

The Great Northern Railway was born in September 1889 from predecessor Minnesota railroads and built into a major northern transcontinental system under James J. Hill, the famously formidable “Empire Builder.” Its headquarters were in St. Paul, Minnesota, while its rails pushed west from the Twin Cities and Duluth across North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington to Seattle and Everett.

Great Northern was freight muscle, passenger-pageantry machine, and westward-development engine all at once. In 1893, its route reached the Pacific Northwest; in 1896, it established service between Seattle and Asia. The railroad also helped turn Glacier National Park into a destination, promoting the region to travelers with its “See America First” campaign.

Its best-known passenger train, the Empire Builder, began service in 1929 and became a streamlined postwar icon in 1947. Orange, green, gold, domes, lounges, and a route through some seriously dramatic country gave the line a style few railroads could match.

On March 2, 1970, Great Northern merged with Northern Pacific, Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, and Spokane, Portland & Seattle to form Burlington Northern. The corporate name disappeared, but much of the route and its legend endured.

Our Great Northern Railway collection celebrates the railroaders who kept the northern route moving, collectors drawn to its unforgettable colors and heraldry, history fans, and anyone who still hears a little Empire Builder thunder in the distance.