| Great Northern (steamer) | The important new vessels to reach the Pacific Northwest for regularly scheduled service in 1915 and, indeed, two of the finest coastal passenger steamships ever to fly the American flag, were the Great Northern and Northern Pacific of the Great Northern Pacific Steamship Company. The steamship company was jointly operated by the Great Northern and Northern Pacific Railways and was organized by James J. Hill to compete with the rail passenger traffic of the rival Southern Pacific between Portland and San Francisco. Hill had sought rail routes into California, but having been consistently baulked in his efforts, he was determined that his new steamships should equal or better the schedule of the rival line's crack Shasta Limited and share in the lucrative Panama-Pacific Exposition traffic to San Francisco. The result was the two fastest coastwise vessels ever built. These ships, identical in every respect, created a sensation in the shipping world when they were completed by William Cramp & Sons at Philadelphi |
| Citation: Tacoma Public Library |
| Great Northern (steamer) | The Great Northern achieved a particularly noteworthy war record, operating as an Atlantic troop transport, generally on her own, relying on her great speed to evade enemy submarines, and completing 20 voyages for a total of 72,000 miles, with only one minor mishap. (On Voyage 9 she was rammed by a British merchant steamer, but suffered only minor damages.) She established a record round trip time of 14 days, 4 and one half hours on one European voyage, including the time required at Brest to discharge troops and cargo. On a return voyage she departed in company with the famed Atlantic liner Leviathan and her sister, Northern Pacific, arriving at New York three hours ahead of Leviathan and rune hours ahead of Northern Pacific. Following her distinguished war service, the Great Northern was accorded an honor never before bestowed on an American merchant vessel, being commissioned into the Navy as U. S. S. Columbia and serving as administrative flagship of the Commanderin -Chief, Atlantic Fleet. Gordon Newel |
| Citation: Tacoma Public Library |