Northern Railway Research Articles

God’s Fools: Four Plays by Thomas Rogers

Reviews 349 God’s Fools: Four Plays. By Thomas Rogers. (Midvale, Utah: Signature Books, 1983. 233 pages.) God’s Fools, a volume of plays by Thomas Rogers, quotes as epigraphs the Bible, Dostoevsky, and the Mormon Doctrine and Covenants — an early indication of the plays’ range and world view. For less discerning readers, the writer’s Preface provides an apologia, a sermonette, and literary criticism which, fortunately, the plays themselves supersede. Huebener recounts the historical events which led to the arrest and death of a young Mormon in Nazi Germany. Like the rest of the volume, this play pits individual conscience against a church which, in turn, is trying to survive a dangerous political situation. Rogers neither romanticizes nor oversimplifies plot dynamics: the Mormon Church “renders unto Hitler” and excommuni­ cates its courageous, idealistic Huebeners. In spite of some stereotyped vil­ lains and a rather superficial trial scene, the play smoothly traverses a com­ pelling plot and crucial issues. The other historical play, Fire in the Bones, dramatizes the infamous Mountain Meadows Massacre through John D. Lee and his complex rela­ tionship to Brigham Young. Like Huebener, Lee acts from conscience to save his soul but to damn his memory, at least temporarily in Mormon history. In spite of the enormity of this material, which calls for genuine dramatic genius, Rogers builds very credible motivation for the massacre, effective scenes of avoiding responsibility, and real pathos for the scapegoat Lee. The playwright wisely employs a circular structure, allowing the play to depart from and return to the firing squad in an ironic affirmation of rebirth, both for Lee and his church. Reunion is a self-proclaimed “classic debate” among real Mormons over relevant, contemporary issues. A typical family gathers for one son’s mis­ sionary farewell, only to discover that their father has cancer and that they have failed as children, lovers, or fathers themselves. Applying amateur psychology and unblushing dei ex machina, the play discusses righteousness judged by worldly success and the relationship between the Mormon Church and the business world. Its candor is both unexpected and refreshing. Journey to Golgotha is at once the least dogmatic and the most religious of the plays, detailing the position of writers and religious dissidents in Russia. By following the dictates of true patriotism, a young man in the Komsomol rejects a paternal figure, thereby finding his real father and Christ. The play enriches a basic spy story with religious ardor, translated Russian poetry, and some of the writer’s strongest characters. “Christ’s fools,” or jurodivy, populate the entire volume — those who journey to Golgotha with courage and their “father’s” ghosts, those for whom religious commitment often costs family, friends, and life itself. Although in subtle ways Rogers affirms the Mormon ethos, he does ask important ques­ tions — never quite point-blank, but never quite along “party lines,” either. Perhaps he identifies with the “church intellectuals” he describes in Reunion. Under the aegis of his religious stance, the writer does weave swift and engag­ 350 Western American Literature ing story lines through a wide variety of subjects;but his characters sometimes lack definition and individuality. Rogers accuses himself of “Maryolatry,” but, except for Golgotha, not only female audiences would find his women stereotyped when not downright ignored. And too often, the writer indulges in jargon lost on a non-Mormon audience, like “being someone’s mouth” or “making points with a Seventy.” Nonetheless, any audience — intellectual or professional, male or female, Mormon or not — will find in these plays ideas worth investigating: the place of the individual in any church, the church in the state, and the state under God. ADEN ROSS, Salt Lake City, Utah A River Runs Through It. By Norman Maclean. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983. 124 pages, $25.00.) Wheels off, the boxcar sits on the gravel outside town. From its faded side, a mountain goat, trademark of the Great Northern Railroad, stares out, a disinterested observer of the rude bar’s clientele. Neal, a self-deluded DavisCup aspirant mollycoddled by his mother, is buying the drinks. Beside him sits Old Rawhide, whilom beauty queen of Wolf Creek (pop. 111). Day after day, she lies...

Guy Frederic Marrian, 3 March 1904 - 24 July 1981

Guy Frederic Marrian was born on 3 March 1904, in London. He was the third child of his mother, Mary Eddington Currie, who had already given birth to two daughters, and the sixth child of his father Frederick York Marrian, who had two sons and a daughter by his first wife, who died. His father, an A.M.I.C.E., was a civil engineer employed by the Great Northern Railway. At the time of Marrian’s birth, his family was in rather straitened circumstances arising from an unwise investment by his father.

Japanese immigrant labor contractors and the northern pacific and the great northern railroad companies, 1898–1907

(1980). Japanese immigrant labor contractors and the northern pacific and the great northern railroad companies, 1898–1907. Labor History: Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 325-350.

The Robust Navvy: The Railway Construction Worker in Northern New South Wales, 1854-1894

The literature on the railway navvy is not extensive. Overseas works include Thomas Brassey's On Work and Wages, 1873; Edmund W. Bradwin's The Bunkhouse Man, 1928, about navvies in Canada; and Terry Coleman's popular British work, The Railway Navvies, 1965. Four Australian books focus on the lives of Australian railway builders: Donald MacLean's fictionalised biography John Scarlett, Ganger, 1912; Lillian M. Pyke's children's book Camp Kiddies, c. 1920?; Jack Booth's fictionalised biography Vnly the Tracks Remain, 1972; and Patsy Adam Smith's documentary The Desert Railway, 1974. In addition, N. G. Butlin has contributed to the literature: chapter 5 of his Investment in Australian Economic Development, 1964, assesses the impact of late nineteenth century Australian railway construction on capital and labour markets. Thus, secondary sources tell us little about the men who built Australia's railways. Nevertheless, we can piece together something of their lives from old country newspapers, parish registers, government archives on unemployment, migration statistics, bits of sentimental poetry and rebellious folklore, the memories of old timers, and from the derelict remains of the navvies' camps. This article, based on such sources, is about the life and work of the navvies who built the Great Northern Railway and the Tweed-Lismore Railway in northern New South Wales.

Review: The Canadian Northern Railway: Pioneer Road of the Northern Prairies, 1895-1918, by T. D. Regehr

Review: <i>The Canadian Northern Railway: Pioneer Road of the Northern Prairies, 1895-1918</i>, by T. D. Regehr

Introducing GN Electrics

The Great Northern Suburban Electrification (GNSE) authorised in 1971, became a reality in 1978 with the introduction of Class 312 electric multiple units (EMU) on Outer Suburban Services. This event followed 15 months after the changeover from diesel to electric on the Inner Suburban Services operated by Class 313 EMU since November 1976. From the modern conception to completion has taken 6 years and “Introducing Great Northern Electrics” brings fulfilment to electrification proposals first conceived by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) Company in 1903.

Introducing the new Great Northern Electric service

The Great Northern Suburban Electrification, authorised in 1971, became a reality in 1978 with the introduction of Class 312 electric multiple units on Outer Suburban Services from Royston to London, Kings Cross. This event followed 15 months after the changeover from diesel to electric on the Inner Suburban Services operated from Welwyn Garden City and Hertford to Moorgate, London, by Class 313 electric multiple units since November 1976. From its inception to completion has taken 6 years and fulfils electrification proposals first conceived by the Great Northern Railway Company in 1903

The Canadian Northern Railroad: Pioneer Road of the Northern Prairies, 1895-1918

The Canadian Northern Railroad: Pioneer Road of the Northern Prairies, 1895-1918

The Canadian Northern Railway: Pioneer Road of the Northern Prairies, 1895-1918

The Canadian Northern Railway: Pioneer Road of the Northern Prairies, 1895-1918

Businessmen and the Political Economy: The Railroad Rate Controversy of 1905

A T A Denver Chamber of Commerce dinner in May 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt announced that pending railroad legislation should include the policy of extending powers of Interstate Commerce Commission, of giving them power to fix rates and to have rates that they fix go into effect practically immediately.' At nearly same time, James J. Hill, president of Great Northern Railway system and customarily a supporter of Republican party, stated flatly: I can not imagine a greater misfortune than to attempt to fix [future] rates by law . . . to give any power to a commission . . . to fix future rates . . . would arrest progress of commerce of whole country.' Meanwhile, before a Senate committee, fruit growers from California and lumber manufacturers from Mississippi testified heatedly in support of such legislation, while Pittsburgh coal merchants and Pacific coast lumber manufacturers spoke sharply against any legislation of that sort. In Congress, railroad rate issue teamed midwestern Republican senators with southern Democrats in a bitter fight against eastern Republicans. About a political situation as complex as this appears to have been, it is not accurate to label resulting legislation-the Hepburn Act-simply as a progressive reform, nor for that matter, exclusively as a conservative triumph. Revisionist interpretations of Progressive era have sought, with limited success, to explain role of businessmen in major legislative achievements between 1900 and 1917. Gabriel Kolko, Robert Wiebe, and James Weinstein have written accounts in which business interests appear as moving force behind legislation that had traditionally been viewed as work of well-intentioned progressive

The Canadian Northern Railway: Pioneer Road of the Northern Prairies 1895–1918. By T. D. Regehr. Toronto, The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited, 1976. Pp. xiv + 543. $27.50.

The Canadian Northern Railway: Pioneer Road of the Northern Prairies 1895–1918. By T. D. Regehr. Toronto, The Macmillan Company of Canada Limited, 1976. Pp. xiv + 543. $27.50.

The Golden Years of the Great Northern Railway. Part 1

The Golden Years of the Great Northern Railway. Part 1

The flathead tunnel. A geologic, operations and ground support study, Burlington Northern Railroad, Salish Mountains, Montana : Skinner, EH 41F US Bur. Mines, Information Circular, IC 8662, 1974, 98P

Report issued by the U.S. Bureau of Mines discussing the Flathead in Montana. As stated in the introduction, this information circular is a Bureau of Mines review of tunneling practices typical of the late 1960's. The report provides reference to all pertinent data related to the geology, mining operations, and ground support practices for the Flathead Tunnel (p. 2). This report includes maps, tables, illustrations, and photographs.

Serving the Canadian West: Policies and Problems of the Canadian Northern Railway

Serving the Canadian West: Policies and Problems of the Canadian Northern Railway

The A.R.U. in Queensland: Some Oral History

The railway construction era began in Queensland in 1865 and within twenty years unions of employees had been established within the industry. While some, like the Engine Drivers, Firemen and Cleaners, followed the familiar craft organisation pattern, a determined and conscious effort was directed towards the organising of all railway employees, from top to bottom of the department, into an 'all grades' industrial union. By 1886 such a union was functioning under the name of the 'Queensland Railway Employees' Association'. The Q.R.E.A. attempted to embrace a complex range of occupation and status, but a variety of factors, then and later, prevented the com plete realisation of all-grades unionism within the railway service. The policy of victimisation of the leaders of the Q.R.E.A. which was fol lowed by the early railway commissioners, together with the effect of the great strikes of 1890-94 on trade unionism generally, put the Q.R.E.A. out of existence; nevertheless by 1896 it had been reconstituted on the basis of branches at Ipswich and Brisbane. Thereafter, for some years, the union had an up-and-down exis tence, but by 1910 three separate and independent Q.R.E.A.s were in operation, corresponding to the three divisions of the railway system southern, central and northern. Some degree of consolidation was achieved in 1911, with the amalgamation of the central and southern divisional organisations, under the name of the Queensland United Railway Employees' Association, to be followed, in the aftermath of the 1912 general strike, by the inclusion of the northern railway men into a union which, in 1913, underwent a further change of name to Queens land Railway Union. Two years later, trouble between the Council of the Q.R.U. and the Townsville Branch led to the latter's breaking away and forming another all-grades union?the Amalgamated Railway Union ?but by 1916 the errant branch had returned to the fold and organisa tional unity was at last achieved. In September 1920, five State all-grades unions federated into the Australian Railways Union (with Western Australia eventually affiliating with the national body) and from that date, the Q.R.U. became the A.R.U. (Queensland Branch) ,1 It would be no exaggeration to claim that with the obvious excep tion of the A.W.U., from 1920 until the mid-1950s, at least, the A.R.U. in Queensland was the largest (in membership) and most powerful union in the labour movement. Its reputation as a left-wing militant organisation stemmed in part from the philosophical beliefs of its leaders in industrial unionism and workers' control of industry. The views quoted in this paper were recorded on tape during August 1967 and April 1969, when I was fortunate enough to be able to arrange interviews with three former officials of the A.R.U., all of whom had played significant roles in the union's formative years, during its early industrial struggles, and in the labour movement generally.2

Earliest indian human remains found in a Late Stone age site.

THE discovery of human remains from a Late Stone Age site in the village of Sarai Nahar Rai in Uttar Pradesh has provided the earliest available skeletal evidence of man in the Indian subcontinent. This northern Indian site, which is in the district of Pratapgarh, lies about 38 km north of Allahabad city and 33 km south-west of Pratapgarh town, connected by road. It covers about 2,700 m2 (about lat. 25° 48′ north and long. 81° 50′ east) and is about 9 km west of Bishnathganj Railway Station on the Allahabad-Fyzabad line of the Northern Railway. It was discovered in 1968. The eastern sector of the site—about 600 m2—had been badly eroded and there was visible evidence of a cluster of human graves, the only such example to have been reported from the plain of the Ganga.

Flathead Railroad Tunnel

The 7-mile long Flathead Tunnel in northwestern Montana was required in relocation of Great Northern Railway's main line track prior to impounding water by Libby Dam. Approximately 73% of the tunnel required structural steel tunnel sets for temporary support prior to the placement of concrete lining. A sliding floor, large special tunnel equipment, contractor initiated design changes to eliminate special trim and trench excavation, and laser survey alignment methods all contribute to a high speed excavation operation. Elimination of regularly spaced wall and arch contraction joints with waterstop through a value engineering proposal made a continuous lining operation possible. The conveyor placing system delivered concrete up to tunnel springline through form doors while the pump filled the tunnel arch.

The Canadian Northern Railway The West's Own Product

The Canadian Northern Railway The West's Own Product

The Norwegian Press in North Dakota

by ODD SVERRE L0VOLL 3 The Norwegian Press in North Dakota * Norwegian-American showed a remarkable vitality journalism and in endurance North Dakota in the showed a remarkable vitality and endurance in the face of keen competition from the established Norwegianlanguage newspapers and periodicals published farther east. At a time when North Dakota was still years away from permanent settlement, the immigrant press flourished in the close-knit Norwegian colonies in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin . Migration to the Red River Valley of northern Dakota Territory was largely from these regions, and the frontiersmen who moved westward continued to subscribe to the papers with which they were familiar. For this reason papers published in St. Paul, Minneapolis, and other cities in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin were widely distributed in the Norwegian settlements in northern Dakota. Although settlement in the upper Red River Valley was a part of the northwestward advance of the frontier, the im- * In preparing this article, a digest of a master's thesis in 1969 at the University of North Dakota, the author made use of numerous interviews with persons involved in the editorial and political policies and events described. He also found useful information in many secondary sources, especially the following: Johs. B. Wist, "Pressen efter borgerkrigen," in Johs. B. Wist, ed., Norsk-ameri kanemes festskrift 191JĻ , 41-203 (Decorah, Iowa, 1914); Juul Dieserud, "Den norske presse i Amerika: En historisk oversigt," in N ordmands-F orbundet , 5:153182 (April, 1912); Olaf M. Norlie, N orwegian- American Papers , 18Ķ7-19JĻ6 (Northfield, Minnesota, 1946) ; and Elwyn B. Robinson, History o/ North Dakota (Lincoln, Nebraska, 1966) . The title of Mr. L0voll's thesis is "History of Norwegian -Language Publications in North Dakota." K.OJB. 78 THE NOBWEGIAN PRESS IN NORTH DAKOTA mediate cause of Norwegian migration into the region was the work of the lawyer and pioneer journalist, Paul HjelmHansen . He visited the valley in 1869 as an agent of the newly created Minnesota board of immigration. His enthusiastic reports describing the excellent opportunities offered by the Red River region, with its fertile and tillable land free under the Homestead Act, attracted the attention of his countrymen, both in older settlements and in Norway itself. The same year marked the beginning of permanent Norwegian colonies in northern Dakota. A large number of the immigrant frontiersmen were already American citizens and acquainted with the institutions and political life of the New World. Their potential strength in territorial politics, on both a local and a regional basis, was therefore realized at an early date - by themselves as well as by groups of native Americans. This fact largely explains the early appearance of a local Norwegian press. The eastern papers circulating in the settlements of the area could not adequately serve the population, although they were to compete for subscribers with local papers during the whole span of their lives. In 1878, the year marking the beginning of immigrant journalism in North Dakota, the Norwegians were only about 8,000 strong. The next year saw the beginning of the "great Dakota land boom," and from then on Norwegian settlement in northern Dakota took on the proportions of a large-scale folk migration. Settlers rushed into the Red River country and later westward along the main line of the Great Northern Railway in the northern part of what became North Dakota in 1889. By 1900, there were almost 75,000 Norwegians in the state - a little over 23 per cent of the total population. In 1910, about 125,000 of the residents were of Norwegian stock, constituting the largest single ethnic group. The immigrant press more than kept pace with the increase in population. In all, Norwegian-language papers persisted for 77 years, from 1878 to 1955. During this period, 79 Odd Sverre Lpvoll more than 50 publishing ventures were attempted. Many of them, to be sure, were short-lived, but their very numbers reveal that the Norwegians in North Dakota were a highly articulate group. Native American politicians were the first to approach the immigrant voter in his own language for a specific objective. Thus Red River Posten (The Red River Post, 1878-1884) in Fargo and Nordstjernen (The North...

World War I as Entrepreneurial Opportunity: Willard Straight and the American International Corporation

In November 1915, fifteen months after the outbreak of war in Europe, a group of New York bankers announced the formation of a new company, the American International Corporation. This was no ordinary venture by any standards. The firm was capitalized at fifty million dollars, and among its directors (representing the major stockholders) were leading officers of the nation's largest banking and industrial interests.' The president was Charles A. Stone of Boston's Stone & Webster Engineering Company, builder of large-scale electrical utility and traction complexes. Willard Straight, formerly an American diplomat in Asia and since 9gog an officer of J. P. Morgan & Company, was vice-president. Other directors of the AIC included Percy Rockefeller of Standard Oil, J. Ogden Armour of the giant meatpacking firm, and Cyrus McCormick of the farm machinery company; also, Hill of the Great Northern Railroad, Lovett of the Union Pacific, Coffin of General Electric, Ryan of the copper industry, Grace of the export and shipping complex, and Vail of the telephone industry.2