The collection consists of brochures and research reports promoting industrial development along the right-of-way of the Great Northern Railway. The materials, prepared under the auspices of the company's Industrial and Agricultural Development Department, were produced for distribution to investors and to corporate executives.

The bulk of the material dates (primarily) from 1955 to 1961, and consists of mimeographed reports, capsule summaries of resources and business conditions in sixty-nine cities and towns in nine states from Lake Superior to the Pacific Coast. These reports were prepared by Industrial and Agricultural Development, in cooperation with local chambers of commerce and community booster groups; the objective was to entice corporations to locate factories and industrial facilities along the right-of-way, thereby enhancing both local prosperity and Great Northern freight revenues. The reports are of particular interest to the researcher in that they provide a considerable amount of comparable, contemporary data relating to resources and business conditions in each of the communities concerned.

The reports typically contain Great Northern system and air-distance maps, local and statewide population statistics, and information about the climate. They usually examine statewide and local labor conditions, and include a discussion of labor legislation, union wage rates, and worker productivity. The reports describe the utilities available in each locale, including electrical power, water, fuel oil, natural gas, and sewage disposal systems. The various modes of transportation serving the area are discussed; state and local agricultural production, and forest and mineral resources are considered; and information about the structure and financial condition of local government is also presented. State-levied corporate and non-corporate taxes are discussed; local educational and recreational facilities are described, as is the housing market. A business directory of corporations already located in the community is included as well. The heart of each report is a map and narrative description of the available industrial sites in the community.

The collection also includes "Great Resources," a series of twenty-eight illustrated promotional brochures circa 1955 to 1967. These too were produced by the Industrial and Agricultural Development Department in order to attract business investment along the Great Northern. Unlike the research reports, however, "Great Resources" rarely focuses upon individual communities. Instead, the brochures discuss the natural resources (soil, water, timber, power, minerals, and the labor supply) of the states served by the Great Northern, and the opportunities which they afford for industrial expansion. "Great Resources" typically includes feature articles on topics such as soybean production and processing, hydroelectric dams, the coal mining industry, the St. Lawrence Seaway, the Red River Valley, and the University of Washington. Occasionally states, regions, and larger cities are treated as well.

Black and white matted prints of equipment, rails, industrial properties, industrial processes, and commercial venues along the Great Northern system, especially those served by Great Northern directly.