Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records - Predecessor Companies
Record Group
Identifier: CB&Q-1&2
Scope and Content of the Collection
Correspondence, circulars, and other papers relating to the earliest incarnations of CB&Q.
Record Group 1 includes correspondence between CB&Q and Illinois Central officials regarding a variety of railroad matters, and also a list of Illinois Central employee regulations dated 1854, one of the earliest examples of personnel regulations. Materials are not limited to these early companies, and also overlap heavily with materials in Record Group 2.
Record Group 2 consists of circulars, statements, letters, and other papers related primarily to the company created on July 9, 1856, when the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad Company merged with the Central Military Tract Railroad Company. There is much overlap with Record Group 1. Also included are some materials, primarily correspondence, pertaining to two executives, E.L. Baker and John Van Nortwick.
Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.
This finding aid supersedes the Guide to the Burlington Archives in the Newberry Library, 1851-1901 (Chicago: Newberry Library, 1949), and incorporates subsequent additions to the company records.
Record Group 1 includes correspondence between CB&Q and Illinois Central officials regarding a variety of railroad matters, and also a list of Illinois Central employee regulations dated 1854, one of the earliest examples of personnel regulations. Materials are not limited to these early companies, and also overlap heavily with materials in Record Group 2.
Record Group 2 consists of circulars, statements, letters, and other papers related primarily to the company created on July 9, 1856, when the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad Company merged with the Central Military Tract Railroad Company. There is much overlap with Record Group 1. Also included are some materials, primarily correspondence, pertaining to two executives, E.L. Baker and John Van Nortwick.
Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.
This finding aid supersedes the Guide to the Burlington Archives in the Newberry Library, 1851-1901 (Chicago: Newberry Library, 1949), and incorporates subsequent additions to the company records.
Dates
- 1849-1889
Creator
- Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company (Organization)
Language
Materials are in English.
Conditions Governing Access
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).
Ownership and Literary Rights
The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records are the physical property of the Newberry Library. Copyright may belong to the authors or their legal heirs or assigns. For permission to publish or reproduce any materials from this collection, contact the Roger and Julie Baskes Department of Special Collections.
History of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Predecessor Companies
The origins of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company began with the Aurora Branch Railroad Company, incorporated in February 12, 1849. Stephen F. Gale of Chicago served as the company's first president, and he along with three Aurora businessmen comprised the board of directors. Service between Chicago and Aurora was inaugurated October 21, 1850, running north from Aurora twelve miles to Turner Junction (now West Chicago) to connect with the Galena and Chicago Union Rail Road, which continued to Chicago. The original Aurora Branch track was built of strap rails: thin strips of iron fixed on to wooden rails. A wood-burning "iron horse" engine, plus a one-passenger coach and two borrowed freight cars comprised the original train.
In 1952 the company changed its name to the Chicago and Aurora Railroad Company, extending the line west to Mendota, Illinois, to connect with the Central Military Tract Railroad. During this time, a group of east coast businessmen, recognizing the potential in railroads, invested in the Chicago and Aurora Branch with the intent of building the line even further west. James F. Joy, John Murray Forbes, and John Woods Brooks were among the first board of directors of the newly formed Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad Company, incorporated February 14, 1855, with lines extending nearly to the Mississippi River through lease agreements with other roads. A year later the road consolidated with the Central Military Tract Railroad and made a slight name change to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Rail Road Company. Over the next ten years, the company acquired existing lines and constructed new track, extending its reach over 300 miles. John Van Nortwick, formerly chief engineer of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, served as president from 1857-1865.
In 1952 the company changed its name to the Chicago and Aurora Railroad Company, extending the line west to Mendota, Illinois, to connect with the Central Military Tract Railroad. During this time, a group of east coast businessmen, recognizing the potential in railroads, invested in the Chicago and Aurora Branch with the intent of building the line even further west. James F. Joy, John Murray Forbes, and John Woods Brooks were among the first board of directors of the newly formed Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad Company, incorporated February 14, 1855, with lines extending nearly to the Mississippi River through lease agreements with other roads. A year later the road consolidated with the Central Military Tract Railroad and made a slight name change to the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Rail Road Company. Over the next ten years, the company acquired existing lines and constructed new track, extending its reach over 300 miles. John Van Nortwick, formerly chief engineer of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, served as president from 1857-1865.
Extent
2.3 Linear Feet (5.5 boxes)
Abstract
Correspondence, circulars, and other documents primarily related to the predecessor companies of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company (CB&Q), spanning the years 1849-1864: the Aurora Branch Railroad, the Chicago and Aurora Railroad Company, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Company, and the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Rail Road Company. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.
Organization
Papers are organized in the following series
- Record Group 1: The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Company, 1854-1889
- Box 1
- Record Group 2: The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Rail Road Company, 1849-1864
- Boxes 2-6
Collection Stack Location
4a 33 12
Provenance
Deposit of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Company, 1943, with subsequent additions, 1948-onward. Ownership transferred to Newberry Library by Burlington Northern Company, 1975.
Processed by
Martha Briggs, Alison Hinderliter, Lisa Janssen, Kelly Kress, Emma Martin, Andrew Olofsson, and Pamela Olson, 2014.
- Baker, E. L.
- Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company
- Chicago and Aurora Railroad Company
- Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company
- Circulars (fliers) -- 1851-1900
- Illinois Central Railroad Company
- Joy, James F. (James Frederick)
- Manuscripts, American -- Illinois -- Chicago
- Railroads -- Employees
- Railroads -- Illinois
- Railroads -- Management
- Van Nortwick, John
Creator
- Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company (Organization)
- Title
- Inventory of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records - Predecessor Companies, 1849-1889CB&Q.1&2
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Alison Hinderliter and Kelly Kress
- Date
- ©2014.
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the The Newberry Library - Modern Manuscripts Repository
Contact:
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org
60 West Walton Street
Chicago Illinois 60610 United States
312-255-3512
reference@newberry.org