Great Northern Railway — Corporate Overview

Great Northern Railway (GN — 1889-1970) was the northernmost of the U.S. transcontinental Class I railroads, built without federal land-grant subsidy by the legendary “Empire Builder” James J. Hill. Chartered in 1889 as the successor to Hill’s St. Paul, Minneapolis & Manitoba Railway, the Great Northern reached Puget Sound in 1893, connecting St. Paul MN across Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, and Washington to Seattle WA and Everett WA — the shortest northern transcontinental route.

The Great Northern’s flagship passenger train, the Empire Builder (introduced 1929), named for Hill himself, ran daily between Chicago and Seattle/Portland via the GN mainline west of St. Paul. Major mechanical shop and yard complexes included the Dale Street Shops (St. Paul MN), Havre Shops (Havre MT), Interbay Yard (Seattle WA), and Delta Yard (Everett WA). On March 2, 1970, the Great Northern merged with the Northern Pacific Railway, the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad, and the Spokane, Portland & Seattle Railway to form Burlington Northern Railroad; that carrier merged with the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe in 1995 to form BNSF Railway, today one of the two largest U.S. Class I freight railroads.

Documented ACM Footprint

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) that Great Northern Railway — and its successor Burlington Northern and BNSF carriers — exposed the railroad workforce to asbestos through the following documented pathways:

  • Steam locomotive era: allegedly asbestos block boiler lagging, asbestos-cement smokebox insulation, and asbestos rope firebox packing on GN heavy transcontinental steam power (through 1950s dieselization)
  • Diesel-electric locomotive era: allegedly asbestos-fabric traction motor winding insulation, asbestos arc chute plates in traction control cabinets, and asbestos exhaust manifold gaskets on Alco, EMD, and GE locomotives
  • Electric locomotive: allegedly asbestos-fabric arc chute insulation and traction motor lagging on the Cascade Tunnel electrified segment through the Washington Cascades
  • Passenger car: allegedly asbestos-cement body insulation panels, asbestos-fabric heating duct lagging, and Vapor Clarkson steam generators on the Empire Builder and Western Star named-train equipment
  • Freight car: allegedly asbestos brake shoe friction paired with WABCO / New York Air Brake / Symington-Gould brake components
  • Roundhouse / shop: allegedly asbestos pipe covering on shop steam mains, asbestos-fabric arc chute plates in shop switchgear, and asbestos-block bay lagging at Dale Street (St. Paul), Havre MT, Interbay (Seattle), and Delta Yard (Everett) shop complexes
  • FELA note: Railroad workers may pursue Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) claims for occupational asbestos exposure — a broader remedy than state workers’ compensation.

Workers Allegedly Exposed

  • Locomotive machinists, boilermakers, pipefitters, and electricians at Dale Street Shops (St. Paul MN), Havre Shops (Havre MT), Interbay Yard (Seattle WA), and Delta Yard (Everett WA)
  • Diesel-service and roundhouse workers servicing EMD, GE, and Alco locomotives across the GN system
  • Railroad car repairmen (carmen) replacing asbestos brake shoes at GN freight yards
  • Locomotive engineers, firemen, conductors, brakemen, and yard switchmen on Great Northern freight and passenger trains
  • Shop electricians (IBEW) working on allegedly asbestos-containing arc chutes in electric locomotive and diesel traction cabinets and yard switchgear
  • Insulators (HFIAW) applying and stripping asbestos pipe covering on shop steam distribution and passenger-car heating systems
  • Cascade Tunnel electrification workers — signal maintainers and catenary workers on the Washington Cascades electrified segment

If You Worked for the Great Northern Railway

If you or a family member worked for the Great Northern Railway — or its successor Burlington Northern Railroad or BNSF Railway — at any shop, yard, roundhouse, terminal, or locomotive-service facility during the asbestos era and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, or another asbestos-related disease, you may have legal rights under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) — a broader remedy for railroad workers than state workers’ compensation.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956

Plants by State

Great Northern Railway operated shops, yards, roundhouses, and terminals across multiple U.S. states. Detailed premises information is available on the following state jobsite pages: