Greyhound: the puppy years

October 19, 2014 at 4:04AM
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Greyhound through the years

1914: Swedish immigrant Carl Eric Wickman, 27, starts giving rides to ­miners for 15 cents between Hibbing and nearby Alice, Minn.

1915: Wickman partners with Ralph Bogan, who runs a transit service between Hibbing and Duluth. Their Mesaba Transportation Co. makes $8,000 in profits.

1921: With new and sleek gray buses, the nickname "Greyhounds" catches on.

1924: Wickman becomes president of the Northland Transportation Co., ­moving headquarters to Duluth and joining forces with Superior-White Lines.

1925: Great Northern Railroad buys 80 percent of the company for $240,000.

1929: After infusing the firm with capital, Great Northern sells back 90 percent of its stock to what is renamed Northland Greyhound Lines.

1930: The Depression sinks the company into debt; offices move to Chicago.

1936: Greyhound unveils the 1719 Cruiser — luxury coaches with rear engines.

2014: Greyhound, now based in Dallas, has 120,000 employees and transports more than 2.5 billion passengers every year.

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

More from Local

card image

Republicans across the country benefited from favorable tailwinds as President-elect Donald Trump resoundingly defeated Democrat Kamala Harris. But that wasn’t the whole story in Minnesota.

card image