1950 Highlights
Weather in first quarter was unusually severe, damaging both main and branch lines, particularly in North Dakota
Weather increased operating costs and hampered traffic, resulting in a deficit of $5.8 million for the first four months of the year, and $1.6 million at the end of June
Increase in traffic, particularly westbound, due to the war in Korea and an increase of general business activity offset the deficit and produced favorable results for the year
Earnings per share were $7.87 vice $3.93 for 1949, freight revenues increased 12.3 percent over 1949
During most of 1950 box car shortages prevailed and were especially acute during the grain harvest between August and October
Adequate movement westward of empty cars was not maintained in 1950 on account of the failure to receive empty cars from connection due to general car shortage and work stoppages by operating employees on roads in other parts of the country
Passenger traffic was 14.75 percent below 1949, passenger revenues decreased 15.3 percent from 1949
Six freight diesels purchased
One passenger diesel purchased
Two road-switch diesels purchased
Two lightweight sleepers purchased
Two hundred 70-ton ore cars purchased
Three hundred seventy-two 40-foot box cars purchased
Five hundred 50-foot box cars purchased
Line change near Custer, Montana, eliminating Big Horn Tunnel opened
Dividend of $1.50 per share, February 1, 1950
Presidential fact finding board on five-day work week is rejected by conductors' and trainmens' unions, which called a nationwide strike, June 15, 1950
Secretary of the Army seizes the railroads in the name of the U.S. government, August 27, 1950
Presidential Assistant John R. Steelman provides for a wage increase of 23 cents per hour which is not ratified by the operating unions, but later enacted at about twelve cents per hour unilaterally by the U.S. Army in 1952, retroactive to October 1, 1950
Yardmasters granted increase of 23 cents per hour, effective October 1, 1950
Board enacts quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share for 1951, November 9, 1950
Dividend of $0.50 per share, December 20, 1950
President Charles Eugene Denney retires after twelve years in office, December 31, 1950 Northern Pacific assets are worth $867,561,321, December 31, 1950
Board
A. M. Anderson, Chairman, J. P. Morgan, NYC
Francis H. Brownell, NYC
Walter H. McLeod, President, Missoula Mercantile, Missoula
Norton Simon, Chairman, Hunt Foods, LA
Samuel A. Welldon, Director, First National Bank of New York, NYC
Daniel F. Bull, President, Cream of Wheat, Minneapolis
Charles E. Denney, Retired president, NP, NYC
W.E.S. Griswold, Sr., Chairman, W. and J. Sloane, NYC
Philip L. Ray, Chairman, First National Bank of St. Paul, St. Paul
Harry W. Zinmaster, President, Zinmaster Baking, Duluth
Edward Brooks, President, Brooks-Scanlon, Minneapolis
Clarence Francis, Chairman, General Foods, NYC
George P. Jewett, Chairman, Potlatch, Lewiston
Robert S. Macfarlane, President, NP, St. Paul
Leslie F. Miller, President, Russell-Miller Milling, Minneapolis
1951 Highlights
Box car shortages during the first quarter and the beginning of the grain harvest season
Open top car shortage during September and October
Car shortages due in part to general shortage nationally, the grain harvest, and flooding in the vicinity of Kansas City
National Production Authority decreases allocation of steel for car building
Due to heavy military movements passenger revenues increased 21.7 percent over 1950
Six freight diesels purchased
Three road-switcher diesels purchased
Four switcher diesels purchased
One freight B-unit purchased
Five hundred 40-foot box cars purchased
One hundred 70-ton covered hoppers purchased
Fifty 30-foot steel cabooses purchased
One hundred log flats purchased
Cabinet Gorge Line Change begun, realigns 9.6 miles for damn near Noxon, Montana
Bridge 1 (2,667-feet with 240-foot swing span) over Columbia River at Pasco must be raised five feet for new McNary Dam
Robert Stetson Macfarlane elected president of the Northern Pacific, January 1, 1951
Work stoppage terminated when Army directs men to return to work on penalty of discharge, February 8, 1951
Oil discovered on company lands in Williston Basin, North Dakota, April, 1951
Interstate Commerce Commission grants freight rate increase of 1.9 percent becomes effective on commodities (except grains), April 4, 1951
Freight rate increase of 1.9 percent becomes effective on grain products, April 18, 1951
Curve reduction at east end of Bismarck Bridge opened, summer, 1952
Interstate Commerce Commission grants freight rate increase of 5.41 percent, August 2, 1951
1952 Highlights
Oil Development Department established, headquartered in Billings
Rail program laid 18.63 miles of continuous welded rail between Billings and Livingston
Three passenger diesels purchased
Five road-switcher diesels purchased
Three switch diesels purchased
Two hundred fifty gondolas purchased
Two hundred 70-ton ore cars purchased
Two hundred fifty log flats purchased
Wages rise eleven cents per hour due to three cost of living increases between April 1, 1951, and January 1, 1952
One cent per hour wage reduction, April 1, 1952
Interstate Commerce Commission grants freight rate increases on various traffic equal to 13.1 percent, May, 1952
Director Arthur Winston, president, Special Investments, LA, elected May 22, 1952
Two cents per hour wage increase, July 1, 1951
Hoppers Tunnel (553-feet long, concrete lined, constructed 1908) daylighted, August 31, 1952
Cabinet Gorge Change opened September 30, 1952
Severe box car shortage, October, 1952
Two cents per hour wage increase, October 1, 1952
North Coast Limited moved to a faster schedule -- twelve hours faster westbound, nine hours faster eastbound -- November 16, 1952
Mainstreeter added on old North Coast Limited schedule, November 16, 1952
1953 Highlights
Seventeen road-switch diesels purchased
Eight switch diesels purchased
One thousand 50-too steel sheathed box cars purchased
Two hundred fifty 70-ton gondolas purchased
Two dining cars purchased
New rail included 11.99 miles of continuous welded rail between Billings and Livingston, and 1.87 miles in Stampede Tunnel
Construction on Bridge 1 over the Columbia River continued
Board authorizes construction of a hump yard at Pasco
One cent per hour wage reduction, January 1, 1953
1954 Highlights
The Vista Dome equipment for our North Coast Limited was received during the summer and fall of 1954, passenger revenues were off 3.99 percent from 1953, largely due to a falling off in military movements, the 3.99 decrease on the Northern Pacific compares with a decrease of 8.87 percent on U.S. railroads as a whole
Freight revenues declined 5.32 percent from 1953, compared to a 12.88 percent decline for the industry
Director Chares H. Bell, president, General Mills, Minneapolis, elected
Piggy-back service begun
Twenty-eight road diesels purchased
Three road passenger diesels purchased
Four road-switch diesels purchased
One switch diesel purchased
Two hundred 70-ton ore cars purchased
Five hundred 40-foot refrigerator cars purchased
Seven lightweight dome coaches purchased
Seven lightweight dome sleepers purchased
Two lightweight parlor-bar-lounges purchased
Two lightweight coaches purchased
Six lightweight sleepers purchased
New rail laid included 17.71 miles of continuous welded rail
Construction of $5.5 million classification yard begun at Pasco
A 2.3 million pound lift span was floated into place on the Columbia River Bridge at Pasco, August 9, 1954
Director Edward Brooks (President, Brooks-Scanlon) of Minneapolis, on the board for eleven years, died December 8, 1954
1955 Highlights
Freight revenues reached an all-time high, had it not been for the nationwide shortage of box cars, which was especially critical on the Northern pacific during the period of heavy crop movement, even larger improvement would have been recorded
During the next twelve months the company will launch a 11.75 million freight car building program calling for one thousand 50-foot double-door all-steel box cars, two hundred 70-ton ore cars, and one hundred mechanical refrigerators
Stewardess-nurses have been added to the North Coast Limited
Two rail diesel cars in service, one for Duluth-Staples, one for Spokane-Lewiston
Piggy-back service expanded with the inauguration of daily over-night service between California and Puget Sound cities in conjunction with Southern Pacific
Piggy-back service between the Twin Cities and Duluth-Superior-Fargo was expanded to include Grand Forks
Thirteen road freight diesels purchased
Forty-seven road-switch diesels purchased
Twelve switch diesels purchased
Five hundred 50-foot double-door box cars purchased
Fifty 50-foot mechanical refrigerators purchased
Twenty Air Slide covered hoppers purchased
Two rail diesel cars purchased
Six buffet-lounge cars purchased
Rail program laid 25.8 miles of continuous welded rail
Unification study of Northern Pacific-Great Northern-Burlington begun
Westbound transcontinental freight service reduced by 24 hours, January 12, 1955
Five-and-a-half-million dollar push button freight classification yard opened in Pasco, June, 1955
Traveller's Rest buffet-lounge cars added to the North Coast Limited, summer, 1955
Director Chares Devens nominated to succeed William A. Parker, August, 1955
1956 Highlights
Centralized Traffic Control extension started from Helena to Livingston, Montana, 122.7 miles
Bozeman-Logan Low Line removed due to CTC upgrades, 15.7 miles, $347,000 yearly in savings
Noxon Line Change under way, 19.5 miles
Eagle Gorge Line Change under way, 13.7 miles
Paradise, Montana Line Change completed, 1.5 miles
Rail program laid 83.2 miles of new rail, including 38.1 miles of continuous welded rail
Eighty diesels purchased
One hundred mechanical refrigerators purchased
One hundred twenty-six fifty-foot steel box cars purchased
Fourteen Air Slide covered hoppers purchased
Ten light weight baggage cars purchased
Five parlor-lounge cars purchased
One rail diesel car purchased
Piggyback service expanded to Twin Cities-Twin Ports, Twin Cities-Billings, Seattle-Portland to Missoula, California-Pacific Northwest with Southern Pacific
J. H. Poor, Vice-President and assistant to President, retired January 1, 1956
Five to six percent increase on interstate freight rates by Interstate Commerce Commission, March 7, 1956
Two-for-one stock split, April 18, 1956
Twelve-and-one-half-cent wage increase, November 1, 1956
Special ten cent dividend declared December 6, 1956
Northwestern Improvement Company, organized 1897, liquidated December 27, 1956
Five percent increase interstate freight rates by Interstate Commerce Commission, December 28, 1956
1957 Highlights
Revenues down to a slowing in general business activity - cuts in defense spending, declines in residential construction, slow movement of 1957 crop to market
Military passenger traffic decreased 26 percent
Heavy grain traffic from 1955 to the beginning of 1957 offset declines in practically all other commodity classifications
Piggy-back tonnage increased to 54,284 tons, up 56.7 percent
Westbound schedule improvements to departure of North Coast Limited from Chicago and better connections in the Twin Cities resulted in increased traffic
Centralized Traffic Control construction begun between Garrison and Missoula, 67.2 miles, will retire 52.66 miles of second main, cost of $963,000, savings expected of $248,000 per year
Rail program laid 88.88 miles of new rail, including 55.08 miles of continuous welded rail
Two thousand mile dial telephone system opened, allowing direct dial from Twin Cities to Seattle
IBM 650 computer installed in Accounting Department to handle payroll
Eighty-one diesels delivered
Eight hundred twenty-four box cars purchased
Two hundred covered hoppers purchased
Two hundred ore cars purchased
One hundred logging flats rebuilt
Fifty Damage Free refrigerator cars purchased
Fifty tank cars purchased
Ten baggage cars purchased
One diner purchased
One dome coach purchased
Five-track diesel maintenance shop opened in Livingston, July, 1957
Wages increased seven cents per hour, November 1, 1957
Interstate Commerce Commission granted freight rate increase of 9.7 percent, August 26, 1957
1958 Highlights
Piggy-back service increased to 72,793 tons, 34.1 percent over 1957, first piggy-back shipment of lumber
Cereal crop sixteen percent above 1957 tonnage
Military passenger traffic decreased 24 percent
Centralized Traffic Control installed in Stampede Tunnel, savings expected to be $46,000 per year
Rail program laid 55-miles of new rail, and 30 miles of welded rail
Fifty-eight diesels purchased
Four hundred fifty box cars purchased
Twenty-eight covered hoppers purchased
Twenty-five mechanical refrigerators purchased
Fifty compartmentalized refrigerators purchased
Two hundred stock cars rebuilt
Ten baggage cars purchased
Four diners purchased
One dome sleeper purchased
Work continued on Garrison-Missoula CTC, expected savings of $248,000 per year, expected completion in summer, 1959
Complete set of six new diners, one Vista Dome sleeper and one Vista Dome coach were placed in North Coast Limited service, January, 1958
Two percent freight rate increased granted by Interstate Commerce Commission, September, 1958
Interstate Commerce Commission petitioned to discontinue passenger service on nine North Dakota branches, as well as Mandan-Glendive, November, 1958
Eastbound transcontinental freight schedules improved by a full day, November 1, 1958
Coach tickets honored in Mainstreeter Pullman sleepers with payment of Pullman charges, November 1, 1958
Wages increased seven cents per hour, November 1, 1958
Director Leslie F. Miller dies, November 29, 1958
Additional freight between Laurel and Twin Cities on 32-hour schedule, attractive to livestock shipments due to no feeding stop, begun December, 1958
Special twenty percent stock dividend, December 24, 1958
1959 Highlights
Decline in traffic due in part to steel strike and grain production beginning in August, 1959
Cereal crop was nineteen percent below 1958 levels, agriculture revenues off 6.56 percent
Piggyback volume increased to 113,222 tons, up 60 percent from 1958
Moving new automobiles from California to the Pacific Northwest with the Southern Pacific
Special low coach fares established between Seattle and Portland, revenues gained twenty percent, coach fares reduced between Seattle-Tacoma and Yakima-Pasco with corresponding results
Rail program laid 30 miles of welded rail
Centralized Traffic Control extension begun between Livingston and Laurel, 95 miles
Four hundred 50-foot double-door box cars purchased
Two hundred eighty-five 40-foot plug-door box car purchased
One hundred twenty-four covered hoppers purchased
Fifty 50-foot mechanical refrigerators purchased
One 40-foot mechanical refrigerator purchased
One hundred 50-foot compartmentalized refrigerators purchased
One hundred 40-foot compartmentalized refrigerators purchased
Round-trip transcontinental coach fares increased five percent, January 1, 1959
Eagle Gorge Line Change expected completion in July, 1959
John W. Haw, director, Agricultural Development Department, retired after 43 years service, November 1, 1959
Wages increased .03 cents per hour, November 1, 1959
Heavy washouts in the Cascades cause $675,000 in damage, November, 1959
All-room Slumbercoaches added to North Coast Limited between Seattle and Chicago, December 1, 1959
Northern Pacific assets are worth $1,005,877,407, December 31, 1959
Board
A. M. Anderson, Member, Morgan Guaranty Trust, NYC Walter H. McLeod, President, Missoula Mercantile, Missoula Norton Simon, Chairman, Hunt Foods, LA Samuel A. Welldon, Retired, NYC Daniel F. Bull, Chairman, Cream of Wheat, Minneapolis Edward B. Stanton, Vice-President, NP, St. Paul Philip L. Ray, Chairman, First National Bank of St. Paul, St. Paul Harry W. Zinmaster, Chairman, Zinmaster Baking, Duluth Clarence Francis, Industrialist, NYC Robert S. Macfarlane, President, NP, St. Paul John F. Smith, Jr., President, Inland Steel, Chicago Donald C. Dayton, President, Dayton, Minneapolis Charles Devens, President, Incorporated Investors, Boston
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Author: J. A. Phillips, III. |