Episode 3 - 290128 Part 3 of 3 in the story of James J. Hill

James J. Hill - Birth of Empire

In this final installment of the James J. Hill trilogy, listeners of Empire Builders were treated to a dramatization of the culmination of Hill’s primary railroad building efforts. As rail lines of the Great Northern Railway were laid across the northern plains of North Dakota and Montana, across the Idaho panhandle and over the sparsely populated areas of Eastern Washington, Hill was known to travel parts of the line to inspect the progress first hand. Stories have been told of occasions when Hill stepped out of his business car, and in bitter cold winter conditions, spelled a track worker or two by driving spikes in their place while they took a break in the warmth and shelter of his rail car.

How true such stories are, I can’t say. But this episode of Empire Builders included the telling of one such event, during which Hill, having arrived on the work scene late at night, even bunked with some of the men, but not before one of the track gang was persuaded to sing a few tunes, including a couple verses of "Casey Jones." This sort of device was used in many Empire Builders episodes to ensure the dramatizations were infused with a little musical variety.

Great Northern Railway track laborers shoveling snow to clear the path for the final rails of the line to be laid. This photograph was taken not far from Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountains in December, 1892 - just a few weeks before the last spike was driven.  Anders Wilse photograph - Author's collection

 

The Old Timer – still called the Pioneer in the early episodes of the series – then came to the microphone to advance the story with a segue into the winter of 1893, when the line finally reached completion from St. Paul to Puget Sound in western Washington. Crews had constructed the rail line from Seattle and Everett, along the shores of Puget Sound, up the foothills of the Cascade Mountains toward Stevens Pass. From the east, the railway had been completed across the northern plains and up over the Cascades, all the while spawning the growth of villages and towns along the line and a variety of commercial and agricultural activity.

Most of the construction of the GN’s transcontinental line grew west out of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, but Hill always had the west coast in his sights as the primary goal. Beyond completion of a transcontinental rail line, Hill even envisioned a steamship line to open trade with the Orient. But that would come a little later. Unlike many of the first of our nation’s transcontinental railroads, which relied heavily on government land grants and then overextended themselves, Hill’s Great Northern Railway was developed with an eye to self-sufficiency. James J. Hill imported high quality Angus beef from Scotland, and bred them on a ranch north of St. Paul. He was known to give prime steers to ranchers along his line with the calculated view of improving the stock being raised for market – for which his Great Northern line would provide necessary transportation. He did the same with helping develop heartier strains of wheat. Thus, the construction of the Great Northern Railway focused mostly on its growth from east to west, rather than being constructed with a more-or-less equal advance from each end. When track construction crews from the west (who battled multiple floods and bridge washouts while forging their way up the west slopes of the Cascade Mountains) finally met up with the crews from the east who had been building the line westward for about three years, it became clear the final spike would be driven at a location just west of the railroad’s summit of Stevens Pass.

With word of the impending completion of the nation’s northern-most transcontinental railroad, newsmen scurried to the scene to report the event. Several other railroads were already completed across the country by this time; much of the earlier luster of such events was lost. Still, James J. Hill and his railroad rose above the pack of those who came before, largely because he was a savvy and successful businessman who made this railroad his personal quest. At least one reporter from the east coast, a man from the New York Times, tried to get to the site of the last spike in time to see it driven. He felt that his timing was adequate, since on board the train with him was the railroad’s own official photographer, C.E. LeMunyon from Great Falls, Montana. This train did not arrive until after nightfall, on January 6, 1893. That night, at about 8pm, crews had completed the line, but for the driving of the last spike. They were not inclined to stand around in the deep snow waiting for the photographer to show up. Using hand-held conductor’s lanterns to illuminate the event, the last spike was driven in place by two superintendents on hand for the occasion – J. D. Farrrell and Cornelius Shields. By the light of the new day, the photographer convinced the men to form together for a reenactment of the auspicious event, and snapped their photo on January 7^th – the next day after the line was actually completed.

GN Superintendents Farrell and Shields pose with their spike mauls in a January 7, 1893, reenactment of the driving of the last spike. This photograph was taken the morning following the actual event, to allow adequate daylight for the photo to be taken. C.E. LeMunyon photograph

 

The last spike was not made of gold. In the radio dramatization, the last spike was said to have been gold-plated steel. In reality, it may not have even been gold-plated. Also telling of the virtually low-key nature of the event – and the narrowly-focused all-business mindset of the Empire Builder himself – James J. Hill was deliberately nowhere to be seen at the completion of the railroad. One account of the time suggested he was nursing a sore shoulder. Other accounts have merely brushed off Hill’s absence from the last spike ceremony by describing him as not being one to stand on ceremony, and also by pointing to Hill’s desire to keep right on building. His notion of creating a transportation empire did not end with the completion of the rail line from Minnesota to the waters of the Pacific.

One of the first Great Northern freight trains to carry a full load of freight from the waters of Puget Sound to the eastern markets.

 

In only a little more than ten years after the completion of the main transcontinental line, Hill had two gigantic steamships built for transoceanic trade with the Orient. But that’s a story for another time.

A rare image of a smiling James J. Hill. Photo was likely taken in 1913 on the occasion of Hill's 75th birthday celebration. Author's collection

 When this episode of Empire Builders drew to a close, the Old Timer shared one of James J. Hill’s most oft-quoted sentiments.

“Most men who have really lived had in some shape their great adventure. This railway has been mine.” 
 -  James J. Hill, at the time of his retirement