Columbia River Special Astor Medal

Posted on by October 16, 2023
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We’ve previously seen a photo of one of the replicas of an Astor medal that I found on line. I’ve since acquired my own copy of one of these replicas and the photos here are much clearer.


Click image for a 2.3-MB PDF of the front and back of this medal.

The original Astor medals were made in about 1832 for members of the American Fur Company working in the upper Missouri River to give as gifts to Native Americans. Only seven medals are known to exist today; five are in museums and two are in private hands, one of which has sold for more than $200,000. Continue reading →

GN’s Replica Verendrye Tablet

Posted on by September 18, 2023
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In 1743, French explorers from Quebec reached a point near what is now Pierre, South Dakota and buried a lead plate on a hill to claim the land for France. One hundred and seventy years later, three children playing on the hill uncovered the plate. The plate quickly reached South Dakota state historian Doane Robinson, the man who later conceived the idea of sculpting various historic characters on Mount Rushmore.


Click image to download a 730-KB PDF of this replica of the Verendrye tablet.

In 1925, when Great Northern held the Upper Missouri Historical Expedition, the railway made several hundred miniature replicas to hand out to everyone who went on the trip. I previously showed images of this plate, but have since acquired one of my own. Presenting it here gives me a chance to correct several errors in previous posts. Continue reading →

Upper Missouri Historical Expedition Pin

Posted on by September 17, 2023
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Members of Great Northern’s 1925 Upper Missouri Historical Expedition apparently received a pin such as this one to wear during the trip. It probably made it easier to identify who was and who was not a member of the expedition and thus entitled to reboard the train after each event along the way.


Click image to download a 330-KB PDF of this pin.

The back of the pin says it was made by the Western Badge & Novelty Co., John A. (for Apollonarius) Lethert, president, located at 397 Wabasha Avenue in St. Paul. Lethert founded the company in 1904 and it continued to operate until at least 1976. A building at 397 Wabasha no longer exists, but it was very close to the Wabasha Caves, which were apparently used as a casino and tavern during Prohibition.

The New Pullman-Equipped Oriental Limited

Posted on by August 21, 2023
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As we’ve seen in the last few days, Great Northern engaged in a major public relations campaign when it inaugurated the new Oriental Limited, a nearly-all-steel train, in 1924. We’ve previously seen two booklets issued about this train, and this one is a third. Although I’ve nominally dated them all from 1924, the GN continued to use the phrase, “New Oriental Limited” for several years, and it is unlikely that it would have issued all three booklets in the same year.

Click image to download a 16.8-MB PDF of this 30-page booklet whose cover is by Floyd Wilson.

The first booklet I presented has a painting of the train’s rear platform in a station, probably Minneapolis. The painting is signed “Conaughy,” which would be Clarence W. Conaughy (1885-1965), an illustrator who taught at the Minnesota Institute of Arts. The interior of the booklet is mainly text but with a number of mostly small, somewhat dark and muddy black-and-white photos showing the interiors and exteriors of the train. Continue reading →

A Travel Thought for You

Posted on by September 16, 2023
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After putting the New Oriental Limited into service on June 1, 1924, Great Northern sent a variety of promotional letters, cards and brochures to members of the public. We’ve already seen several of these including one claiming outright that it was the “finest trans-continental train in America.”

Click image to download a 378-KB PDF of this brochure.

This is one we haven’t yet seen but, like the others, it came from the Minnesota History Center. “Transcontinental journeys,” says the card, “require more thought and planning.” On such a journey, the “refinements of travel comfort” found on the New Oriental Limited “have their greatest appeal.” This particular card was printed for Great Northern’s agent in Seattle, while previous cards shown here were marked for agents in Detroit, Los Angeles, Portland, and San Francisco.

The Progress of Railroad Transportation

Posted on by August 21, 2023
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In addition to blotters, GN sent out brochures such as this one (which I found at the Minnesota History Center) inviting people to compare the railway’s new Oriental Limited with a vintage 1861 train consisting of the William Crooks, two coaches, and “a sleeping car of 1859, the oldest ‘Pullman’ in existence.”

Click image to download a 378-KB PDF of this brochure.

The 1859 sleeping car doesn’t appear in the photo shown on yesterday’s blotter, which pictured the Crooks, a baggage-coach, and a coach, the same as can be seen at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum today. As of 1859, George Pullman had not yet made a sleeping car from scratch, and there were plenty of other car manufacturers making sleeping cars including Case, Wagner, Woodruff, and others. Continue reading →

A Most Interesting & Historical Free Exhibition

Posted on by August 21, 2023
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When Great Northern introduced its all-steel Oriental Limited in 1924, it sent one of the train sets on an exhibition tour together with the William Crooks and passenger cars that were its contemporaries. This blotter, which is similar to ones made for St. Paul, Minot, and other cities, presents this as an educational opportunity when of course it was really just an advertisement for GN’s new train.

Click image to download a 797-KB PDF of this blotter.

The image in the blotter is based on a Great Northern publicity photo taken in one of the railway’s Twin Cities yards. Other than the removal of the background, the photo has been only slightly edited for use on the blotter. Continue reading →

An Announcement of Extreme Importance

Posted on by August 21, 2023
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“The Great Northern will shortly make an announcement of extreme importance to ticket agents throughout the country,” says this card, which was mailed out to agents in late 1923 or early 1924. “Be on the lookout for it!”

Click image to download a 1.6-MB PDF of this flyer.

Since I found this at the Minnesota History Center when I was looking at documents from around 1924, I’m pretty sure the planned announcement was for the debut of the New Oriental Limited, which began running that year. Other announcements may have been possible, but they weren’t likely to be of extreme importance to ticket agents. Continue reading →

Walter Loos Wildflowers Lunch Menu

Posted on by August 21, 2023
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Here’s a lunch menu that was used on the 1923 Chairman’s Special Western Trip. This menu features a painting of wildflowers by Walter Loos. Another of his paintings was used on a 1924 menu previously featured here. A third Loos painting was used in the 1928 Call of the Mountains booklet.

Click image to download a 403-KB PDF of this menu from the Minnesota History Center.

Loos was born in Switzerland in 1887 and moved to Saskatchewan in 1907. His work as an artist led Great Northern to hire him to paint Glacier Park wildflowers in 1922. In 1924, he moved to California where he lived until 1966. Continue reading →

Trick Falls Breakfast Menu

Posted on by August 21, 2023
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Like yesterday’s, this menu card was used on the Chairman’s Special Western Trip and is specifically for breakfast on Saturday, October 13. The menu offers fruit, cereal, eggs, sausage, griddle cakes, hash brown potatoes, bread, and beverage.

Click image to download a 403-KB PDF of this menu from the Minnesota History Center.

We’ve seen this menu cover on a 1923 a la carte menu folder used in a Great Northern dining car. Great Northern probably figured the chairman only needed cards, not a folder, because the number of selections was smaller.