This article was originally published in the Fall 2025 Sounder.
Cover artwork for the “Great Big Baked Potato” song. NRM Collection, 2024.023.001
As passenger trains in North America developed into the 20th century, each railway sought to provide amenities to encourage the public to ride their passenger train over the others. Dining was one such focus; railways prided themselves on excellent service with stupendous food cooked fresh on board. Regional specialties or ingredients were key. For the Northern Pacific, their biggest dining claim to fame was a rather large spud.
In 1908, the Northern Pacific Railway named Hazen Titus as their Superintendent of Dining Cars. To familiarize himself with the route and what it had to offer, Titus began making trips across the NP system. On one of his trips through Washington aboard the North Coast Limited, he overheard two Yakima Valley farmers lamenting about the lack of market for the immense potatoes they were growing.
Titus broached the conversation and learned that these potatoes often weighed between 2 to 5 pounds. Potatoes of this size were difficult to cook, and customers passed them up for smaller potatoes. As a result, most were sold at a loss for cheap animal feed. Realizing that large spuds at a low cost could be a boon for the NP, Titus ordered several bushels. Taking them with him to the main commissary in Seattle, he set about with one goal: develop them into a special dish.
Souvenir “Great Big Baked Potato” letter opener. NRM Collection, 2025.002.002
Initial results proved the farmers right; cooking the whole spud required heating the potato for so long that the outside turned into a burnt mess! Eventual refinements brought about using two-pound potatoes and a metal kebob to distribute low heat evenly through the whole potato. Terming their creation, “The Great Big Baked Potato”, the NP placed these large potatoes for sale. Served with a pad of butter, a large spoon, and priced at 10¢ (roughly $3.50 today), their popularity quickly took off.
Souvenir “Great Big Baked Potato” letter opener. NRM Collection, 2025.002.002
So popular were the spuds that the Northern Pacific began advertising themselves as “The Route of the Great Big Baked Potato.” The roof of the Seattle Commissary even installed a 40-foot baked potato advertisement, complete with lighted pad and twinkling potato “eyes.” Capitalizing on their success, Titus had postcards and souvenirs made, developed a “Great Big Baked Potato Booster Club”, and even commissioned a song!
