The Great Northern Railway (AAR reporting mark: GN), running from St. Paul, Minnesota to Seattle, Washington—more than 1700 miles—was the privately-financed creation of the 19th century railroad tycoon James J. Hill.
It crossed the Mississippi River on the Stone Arch Bridge in Minneapolis, near the Saint Anthony Falls, the only waterfall on the Mississippi. The bridge ceased to be used as a railroad bridge in 1978.
In 1970 it became part of the Burlington Northern Railroad in a merger. (At this time, most of the information on this topic that can be found on Wikipedia is in the article titled James J. Hill.)
