Northern Pacific Boom Drives Tacoma Payroll
A massive increase in rail car production provides a $100,000 monthly injection into the local economy.
The story, cleaned up
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Business is booming in the Northern Pacific railway shops and yards here, and the payroll this month, met yesterday, caused a distribution of over $100,000. The shops at South Tacoma are preparing to produce a new line of box cars this season that will be nearly five miles long. The company has been ordered to prepare to build 700 new cars, which will provide employment to many new men.
“The shops at South Tacoma are getting ready to put out a new line of box cars this season which will be nearly five miles long.”
The South Tacoma industrial corridor was once the lifeblood of the city's economy, anchoring the working class. This story captures the immense scale of regional manufacturing that defined Tacoma's growth at the turn of the century.
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