Great Northern 1943 Annual Report

Perhaps due to wartime shortages, this report is eight pages shorter than the previous three reports. But it follows the tradition started in 1942 in having a centerfold photo display, this time celebrating a half century since the completion of GN’s line to Seattle. The company would continue to include centerfolds in its annual reports through 1958.

Click image to download a 25.8-MB PDF of this 46-page report.

Since completing the Pacific Coast line, the report notes, the company more than doubled the number of miles of rail operations; increased revenues by 1,100 percent; increased ton-miles of freight by 1,600 percent; and increased passenger miles by 1,000 percent. It did so by increasing the number of locomotives by only 120 percent, showing the increased power of the average locomotive.


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