Just Got Traded to a New Team!

When the photo of this locomotive was taken, the new owner of the railroad company was the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN). However, the paint scheme on the locomotive on the front of this post card is that of the Northern Pacific Railway (reporting mark NP), which the BN recently purchased. The Northern Pacific Railroad was an important American transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the Western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest between 1864 and 1970. The Northern Pacific was headquartered in Minnesota, first in Brainerd, then in the state capital of Saint Paul. It had a tumultuous financial history; the N.P. merged with other lines over a century later in 1970 to form the modern Burlington Northern Railroad, which in turn merged with the famous Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to become the renamed BNSF Railway in 1996, operating in the western U.S. It has a long and interesting history, and this website does a very good job of presenting it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Pacific_Railway The locomotive on the front of this post card is a General Electric (GE) U33C model. It was a modification of GE’s U30C locomotive, which began production in September of 1967. The U33C (produced in 1968) was one of GE's most powerful six-motored road-switchers, and one of the last models made by GE using the “old technology” before they developed the more technologically advanced "Dash 7" line. The U33C was General Electric's first six-motored model to sport a noticeably flared rear radiator; needed to handle the unit's 3,300 horsepower using the 7FDL16 prime mover. This model of locomotive sold 275 units by the time GE started to produce Dash 7’s. These two websites can fill you in on the details of the U33C https://rapidotrains.com/ho-scale/diesel-locomotives/u33c-u36c.html and one of my favourites https://www.american-rails.com/38213.html

The post card was published by Railcards.com

Oh, So Popular!!!

The locomotive on the front of this post card is working for the Northern Pacific Railroad in the 1950s. It is a "Consolidation" model of locomotive. I have taken excerpts from this website https://www.american-rails.com/consolidation.html and from this article on the website:

2-8-0 "Consolidation" Locomotives

The article was written (and last revised September 20, 2023) by Adam Burns The first 2-8-0 is said to have appeared on the Pennsylvania Railroad around the end of the Civil War. The history of the Consolidation's origins is interesting; the first prototype actually constructed is said to have been built by the Lehigh & Mahanoy Railroad around 1865, which modified a standard 0-8-0 switcher by adding a front axle to the locomotive. The original designs were not very successful as they were mounted with a rigid front truck assembly instead of one that could freely move to more easily negotiate curves. However, a year later it was perfected by Matthias Baldwin's Baldwin Locomotive Works, which improved the 2-8-0 by making the lead truck/axle self-centering via its mount from the driving wheels. This not only greatly improved stability but also since the lead axle freely swiveled it vastly enhanced the locomotive's ability to negotiate curves. The first Consolidation purchased from a manufacturer was built by Baldwin and delivered to the Lehigh Valley in 1866 for use on the road's stiff grades of its Mount Carmel Branch in Pennsylvania. The 2-8-0 design was a significant technological leap from the 4-4-0 as its heavier frame and larger boiler greatly increased tractive effort and horsepower. In particular, mountain railroads found the design very useful for both of these reasons. The Consolidation, with its two extra driving axles and front pilot truck could not only pull trains that were twice as heavy but also run at speeds fast enough to be used in any type of passenger service. By the 1880s Consolidations had become universally accepted as main line power. The post card was published by the mysterious Railcards.com

If it is a Mikado, shouldn't it be in Japan?

Th locomotive pictured on the front of this post card is of the type commonly called the "Mikado". The wheel arrangement is 2-8-2 in the Whyte classification system. This particular locomotive is shown in the 1940s working on the Northern Pacific Railroad. This website (https://www.american-rails.com/mikado.html) has wonderful details about railroad history, so I have taken the following information from it: Written by Adam Burns. The Mikado type was the workhorse steam locomotive for the railroad industry during the 20th century and prior to the switch to diesel-electric technology. The design is often regarded as the classic American steam locomotive for this very reason. The 2-8-2 design (a blend of the 2-8-0 and 2-6-2 wheel arrangements) offered just the right amount of power, pull, and speed to be used for about any type of service, from passenger trains to freights moving over stiff grades. Additionally, they were built to both standard as well as narrow-gauge applications. The very first locomotive ever operated as a 2-8-2 design is said to have been an experimental built by the Lehigh Valley. The railroad took one of its 2-10-0 Camelbacks and cut it down into a 2-8-2 with the belief that it would reduce flange wear on the rear set of drivers. While the LV went on to become one of the early pioneers of the 2-8-2 the wheel arrangement was mostly shelved within the U.S. railroad industry for the following two decades. Ten years after the LV's first experiment Baldwin Locomotive Works built a fleet of narrow-gauge (three-foot, six-inch) 2-8-2s for the Japan Railways in 1893. It is here where the term Mikado, which refers to a Japanese emperor, is said to have been applied to the 2-8-2 design. The first 2-8-2s employed in standard road service that featured the larger fireboxes and boilers (for increased steam pressure, and thus, more power) is often credited to the Virginian Railway; in 1909 the coal-hauler acquired a fleet of 42 units from Baldwin (#420-461) listed as Class MB that provided tractive efforts greater than 53,000 pounds. Other railroads to use early examples of the 2-8-2 include the Bismark, Washburn & Great Falls Railway which used a few starting in 1903 and the Northern Pacific's initial batch of 1905 (often credited with kicking off interest in 2-8-2s as main line road power).

This post card was published by the company I only know as Railcards.com I have not been able to find any information about them on line at all.

Life after Retirement

The locomotive on the front of this post card belonged to the Northern Pacific Railway. It is seen here at Spokane, Washington waiting to have some maintenance done. It is a 4-4-0 ("American type”) locomotive.

Washington railroads date back to 1851 when the Cascade Portage Railway opened six miles of railroad between Hamilton Island and Stevenson, Washington (the railroad operated until 1907). By 1883 the first of the “Hill” lines reached the Puget Sound with the Northern Pacific Railway opening its main line between Minneapolis and Seattle that year. By: Adam Burns from the website www.american-rails.com The Northern Pacific Railway (NP) is often overshadowed by the Transcontinental Railroad. The latter was completed by the Union Pacific (UP) and Central Pacific (CP) in 1869, running the 42nd parallel between Omaha, Nebraska Territory and Sacramento, California. It offered the West its first efficient means of transportation for greater economic opportunities. For all the Transcontinental Railroad's accolades, the NP carried its own great story. It undertook a similar endeavor to reach the Pacific Northwest but did so without the aid of federal loans. At first, it appeared the railroad would be built without difficulty as noted banker Jay Cooke secured several million dollars in financing. However, fortunes soon turned and the NP slipped into bankruptcy. As Northern Pacific languished it seemed unlikely the project would ever be finished. In time, several individuals stepped forward and oversaw its completion, thus establishing the first through route to the Puget Sound. After 1900, fabled tycoon James J. Hill gained control and the NP joined his so-called "Hill Lines" which included the Great Northern; Chicago, Burlington & Quincy; and subsidiary Spokane, Portland & Seattle. After numerous attempts the four became one in 1970 when Burlington Northern, Inc. (BNI) was formed.

The post card was published by Railcards.com. I know nothing about the publisher.

The Northern Pacific Railway through the Years

The locomotive in the picture on the front of the top post card is that of the very first locomotive of the Northern Pacific Railway. It is the “famous” Minnetonka. It was built in 1870 and used in construction work in Minnesota in 1870 and 1871. It was then shipped to San Francisco by rail and by steamer to the Columbia River for construction service on the west end of the Northern Pacific’s rail line from Kalama to Tacoma, Washington. It weighed 12 tons and cost $6,700 (about $150,000 in today’s dollars).

The front of the middle post card contains a picture of Northern Pacific’s Locomotive Number 13. It was a 4-4-0 “American”-type locomotive. It was built by Schenectady Locomotive Works (long before it was merged into the American Locomotive Company [Alco] in 1901). Four of them (numbers 13 through 16) were built for the Northern Pacific Railway. All four locomotives were still operating in 1935, but soon after they were all scrapped. These two post cards were published by Bob Fremming out of Dallas, Wisconsin. My guess is that they were published in March of 1957 – there is a code in the top-middle of the post card that says, “3-57”.

This third post card has a much more modern steam locomotive picture. It is a 4-8-4 Northern-type of locomotive. It was built by Baldwin in 1943. It was not the first Northern-type locomotive built for the Northern Pacific Railway. That was done by Alco in 1926. You can easily see that this is a coal-burning steam locomotive; just look at that load of coal in the tender!! The picture was part of the Carl H. Sturner Collection. Carl Sturner was the founder of Audio-Visual Designs for the sole purpose of sharing train related audio-visual materials to rail fans. The company is still operating today, but without Mr. Sturner, who died in 1995. This post card was published by Audio-Visual Designs after 1983 – there is a five digit zip code with the 4-digit extension in the address.

Forerunner of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad

The locomotive on the front of this post card is part of Northern Pacific Railway's First North Coast Limited, shortly after the train was put into service in April of 1900.

The North Coast Limited was a named passenger train operated by the Northern Pacific Railway between Chicago and Seattle via Bismarck, North Dakota. It started on April 29, 1900, and continued as a Burlington Northern Railroad train after the merger on March 2, 1970 with Great Northern Railway and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The next year, it ceased operations after the trains which left their originating stations on April 30, 1971, the day before Amtrak began service (May 1, 1971), arrived at their destinations. Our good friends at Wikipedia provide this short history of the Northern Pacific Railway as well as the details above about the North Coast Limited. The Northern Pacific Railway (reporting mark NP) was a transcontinental railroad that operated across the northern tier of the western United States, from Minnesota to the Pacific Northwest. Congress chartered the Northern Pacific Railway Company on July 2, 1864, with the goals of connecting the Great Lakes with Puget Sound on the Pacific, opening vast new lands for farming, ranching, lumbering and mining, and linking Washington and Oregon to the rest of the country. It was given nearly forty million acres (62,000 sq mi; 160,000 km2) of land grants, which it used to raise money in Europe for construction. Construction began in 1870 and the main line opened all the way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific when former President Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in western Montana on September 8, 1883. The Northern Pacific was headquartered in Minnesota, first in Brainerd, then in Saint Paul. It had a tumultuous financial history; the NP merged with other lines in 1970 to form the Burlington Northern Railroad, which in turn merged with the Santa Fe to become the BNSF Railway in 1996.

I have posted other post cards by the publisher of this one: Bob Fremming of Dallas, Wisconsin. I cannot find much information about him on line, but he was a prolific publisher. There are samples of his cards on line at Etsy, Ebay, and other auction sites.

Talk About Complicated!

Last week I wrote about the Chicago, Burlington * Quincy (Burlington Railroad) and how it became part of the Burlington Northern Railway - what is known today as the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF). Today's blog is about one of the sister companies that make up the BNSF.
This passenger train, on the Northern Pacific Railway line, sits peacefully at Seattle's King Street Station waiting to depart to Portland Oregon. The picture does not reflect the turmoil and the complications that the railway had to endure in order for this passenger consist to exist at all.

It started serenely enough in May of 1804 when, commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, Lewis & Clark set off to explore the newly acquired land included in the Louisiana Purchase. Their explorations included territory on which the future Northern Pacific Railway would also travel.
The railroad was approved by congress on July 2, 1884 to build a railroad that would connect Lake Superior with a port on the pacific coast. The original charter included a land grant of 40 million acres.
Unfortunately, the money did not come as quickly as hoped. It was not until 1870 that Jay Cooke brought $100 million dollars to the table. It was enough for the railroad to get started; but, in 1873 his bank went under and the building of the railroad slowed to a standstill. Then, in 1875, after a corporate reorganization, another $40 million in bonds was sold. In 1881 Henry Villard, the owner of a competing railroad purchased the line. He used it to compliment his own line. Finally, after overcoming many more financial and corporate challenges, the final spike was driven to complete the Northern Pacific Railway on September 8, 1883. James Hill, owner of the Great Northern Railway, purchased the company. It was added to his portfolio that also included the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad.
Despite all of the challenges it had to overcome to connect the two sides of the country, the Northern Pacific Railroad survived. It also contributed to the overall health and well-being of the railroad industry in the United States: initiated two designs of very powerful locomotives (rather than use many smaller locomotives linked together). The terrain that the railroad had to traverse energized the engineering creativity that developed in 1926 the 4-8-4 (Whyte classification) "Northern" locomotive. Then, in 1928 they came up with the 2-8-8-4 "Yellowstone" Locomotive.
Other technical wonders of the railroad include the various tunnels and bridges that were needed to complete the line. An 1,100 meter (3,610 feet) tunnel was completed through the Cascade mountains and the 1,175 meter (3,850 feet) tunnel over Mullan Pass are two examples of tunnels they had to bore. Two examples of bridges include the 860 meter (860 feet) long by 70 meter (226 feet) high Marent's Gulch Trestle and the 550 meter (1,800 feet) long by 35 meter (112 feet) high O'Keefe's Canyon Trestle.
By the early 1950s, the Northern Pacific Railroad system traversed over 2,100 kilometers (6,888 miles). The two-tone green color scheme for the North Coast Limited was designed by the famed industrial designer, Raymond Lowey.

Huh?!

The title at the bottom of this post card says, "THRILLING ONE ACT

DRAMA ENTITLED "THE RULER, THE COLLAR AND THE MURPHIES. OR WHY THE SMITHS LEFT HOME AND TRAVELED BY THE NORTHERN PACIFIC RAILWAY." I found this to be a rather enigmatic sentence. I can see the connection between the ruler and the dollar coin; they are there to give perspective to the size of the potatoes. Even having said that, I believe there may have been some "graphic design" liberties being taken regarding the actual sizes of the elements. On the other hand, I have seen some rather large Idaho potatoes. This picture may be legitimate!! No matter. The picture and the phrasing got me to do some research. Here is what I found:
....1) The post card was mailed on May 13, 1910 so I looked up the dollar coin that was circulating in 1910. The coin was 38.1 millimeters (1.5 inches) in diameter - take a look at the ruler and coin; it is accurate! - and 2.4 millimeters thick. It was composed of silver (90%) and copper (10%). The mints in Carson City, Denver, New Orleans, Philadelphia and San Francisco all minted the coin. It is called the Morgan dollar coin because it was designed by George T. Morgan. This website contains lots of information about the history of the dollar coin: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgan_dollar
....2) Who are the Murphies? My research has shown me that the Murphies being referred to on this post card are NOT PEOPLE at all. It turns out that Murphy is slang for potato! Between 1820 and 1930 4.5 million Irish people immigrated into the United States. Between 1820 and 1860 they were 1/3 of all the immigrants and in the 1840s they were half of all immigrants. Murphy was a common name shared amount the Irish immigrants. People started to say that the Irish were as plentiful as potatoes. The next leap in parlance was to simply call the potatoes Murphies.
....3) The logo in the top right-hand corner is that of the Northern Pacific Railroad. The railroad charter was approved by Congress in 1864 and it stretched from the Great Lakes to the Pacific Northwest. It had almost 11,000 kilometers (6,800 miles) of track when in 1883 former US president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the last spike. The route through the Pacific Northwest took the track right into the heart of potato growing farmland. Thus, using the potato on the front of a post card with their logo makes perfectly good sense. In fact, the phrasing at the bottom, not so subtly, suggests that you follow the Smiths' good example and take the train to the land of potato plenty.

The back of the post card is trying to continue the potato theme.

Spud is another nick-name for potato. And, notice that Doctor Spud is on the Scenic Highway through the Land of Fortune? This is the same location through which the Northern Pacific Railroad just happened to have been laid. This is the entire back of the post card:

One last interesting item on the post card. Look again at the top picture of the front of the post card. There is a small dot in the bottom right-hand corner. I could not make it out with my large magnifying glass, so I blew it with my scanner.

This is what it looks like: I have no idea what it is, except, maybe, the printer's mark. If it is the printer's mark, my guess is that the printer's name started with an S.