Railroad Giant Declares Bankruptcy
The Northern Pacific Railroad has been placed into receivership, signaling a major shift in Northwest transit and land development.
The story, cleaned up
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The Northern Pacific Railroad has been placed in the hands of a receiver, following a petition filed by the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company in the district courts. The primary cause cited for the move was the company's inability to dispose of its securities readily, a decline in travel, and a shortage of freight shipments. The receivership is expected to halt the aggressive paralleling of roads in the Northwest, effectively ending the era of rapid, speculative rail expansion in the region.
“The placing of the road in the hands of a receiver will, it is said, have a tendency to put a stop to the paralleling of roads in the Northwest.”
The collapse of the Northern Pacific was a shock that rippled through Seattle's early economy, mirroring the volatility of speculative infrastructure. Today, the land-use decisions made by these early rail giants continue to define the corridors and industrial geography of modern Seattle.
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