Leadership

In 1919, when Budd took over the helm at Great Northern, he was the youngest railway president in the country. Budd pioneered new projects including the 1926-1928 Cascade Mountains tunnel project, which cost $25 million and eliminated the need for six shorter tunnels. Budd led the expansion of the Great Northern system from Klamath Falls, Oregon, to California, establishing a new all-rail route from the Pacific Northwest to San Francisco.