Augustus Veenendaal 186 pages hardcover
Beginning in 1862 as a small carrier connecting St. Paul and
Minneapolis with outlying towns, the Saint Paul & Pacific Railroad
became the foundation of the vast rail system that would open the entire
Northwest. As a pioneering line in virgin territory, it played a vital
role in the early development of Minnesota's economy. When railroad
tycoon James J. Hill took over the troubled company in 1879, its tracks
were extended into westward lines that eventually, as the Great Northern
Railway, reached the Pacific Ocean.
Written by leading railroad historian Augustus J. Veenendaal Jr.
this finely researched book examines the growth of the fledgling Saint
Paul & Pacific as it struggled to lay track, meet the schedule, and
make the payroll. The railway's leaders and workers took risks of injury
and ruin during these years on the frontier, when everything except
hardship was in short supply. Veenendaal devotes an entire chapter to
the accidents and disasters that befell the new enterprise, including
deadly collisions and derailments. He also chronicles triumphs, such as
the use of the Miller coupler and the refurbishment of the famed
Wm. Crooks, a 4-4-0 woodburning engine that was the first locomotive in Minnesota.
Veenendaal reveals the strategic importance of foreign investment
in American railroads--in particular, Dutch investment. The Saint Paul
& Pacific was one of the first railroads to attract the attention of
Dutch bankers, who would eventually become the second largest group of
foreign investors in American railroads. After James J. Hill bought out
the Dutch interest in the railroad, he reorganized it as the St. Paul,
Minneapolis & Manitoba Railroad. Today, after the megamergers of
recent years, the Burlington Northern Santa Fe system owns the ghost of
the old Saint Paul & Pacific Railroad Company.
