Great Northern Railway (U.S.)

Great Northern Railway
GN system map, c. 1918; dotted lines represent nearby railroads.
The Empire Builder traveling through Glacier Park Montana. (1947)
Overview
HeadquartersRailroad and Bank Building
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Founders
Reporting markGN
Locale
Dates of operation1889–1970
SuccessorBurlington Northern Railroad
Technical
Track gauge4 ft 8+12 in (1,435 mm)
Length8,368 miles (13,467 km)
GN's 4-8-4 S-2 "Northern" class locomotive #2584 and nearby sculpture, U.S.–Canada Friendship in Havre, Montana

The Great Northern Railway (reporting mark GN) was an American Class I railroad. Running from Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington, it was the creation of 19th-century railroad entrepreneur James J. Hill and was developed from the Saint Paul & Pacific Railroad. The Great Northern's route was the northernmost transcontinental railroad route in the U.S.

In 1970, the Great Northern Railway merged with three other railroads to form the Burlington Northern Railroad, which merged in 1996 with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway to form the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway.