Why the Great Northern Railway Matters
Reflections on how the newly completed transcontinental link will change the economy of Seattle and the Pacific Northwest.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A new transcontinental line has its western terminus in our city, and there is general rejoicing over a new railroad completed to the Pacific ocean. There were no competing railroads between the Rocky mountains and the Pacific ocean before the Great Northern reached Puget Sound, while the lines connecting the Missouri and Mississippi with the mountains were more than twice that number. The Great Northern, over whose completion both Seattle and St. Paul rejoice, divided the wide belt separating the Northern Pacific with its Canadian rival, and will take more or less traffic from them both while developing its own exclusive field. It is said to be the shortest route to the Pacific and to occupy the only belt across the continent capable of supporting a continuous settlement.
“It is said to be the shortest route to the Pacific and to occupy the only belt across the continent capable of supporting a continuous settlement.”
The arrival of the Great Northern marked the beginning of Seattle’s modern era as a major logistical hub. Today, while the trains still rumble through, the city’s economic life has shifted from transcontinental freight to global tech logistics, yet the focus on being the 'gateway' to the Pacific remains a constant in Seattle's civic narrative.
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