Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records - Photographs, Artwork, and Audiovisual

Deposit of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Company, 1943, with subsequent additions, 1948-onward. Ownership transferred to Newberry Library by Burlington Northern Company, 1975.

The Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records are open for research in the Special Collections Reading Room; 1 box at a time (Priority III).

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.

Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records, The Newberry Library, Chicago.

Martha Briggs, Alison Hinderliter, Lisa Janssen, Kelly Kress, Emma Martin, Andrew Olofsson, and Pamela Olson, 2014.

Primarily photographs, but also some original cartoons, drawings, and paintings, and two boxes of audio media of oral histories, interviews, Burlington Route chapter readings by its author, and radio programs. Photographs depict the railroad company in a variety of ways: as documentary shots showing life along the railroad; as records of the men and women who worked for the railroad; and as images used by the railroad’s advertising department to promote the railroad to the public. The artwork is mostly original editorial cartoons collected by the company, although there is some original artwork used to design the Burlington Zephyr brochures, and other miscellaneous paintings. Audio recordings consist of blue transcription discs created by R.C. Overton, historian for the CB&Q, and transcripts of radio programs promoting the Burlington Zephyr.

Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

This finding aid describes additions to the original deposit of records inventoried in the Guide to the Burlington Archives in the Newberry Library, 1851-1901 (Chicago: Newberry Library, 1949).

Papers are organized in the following series:

Title Box Series A-5-1: Granger Country Photographs, 1947-1948 Boxes 1-39 Series A-5-2: Executives / Employees Photographs, 1852-1970 Boxes 40-48; +1-+2; Flat File Drawer 3 Series A-5-3: Advertising Photographs, 1850s-1972 Boxes 49-92; +3-+11 Series A-5-4: Aurora Laboratory Photographs, 1898-1905 Box 93 Series A-5-5: Miscellaneous Photographs, 1898-1965 Boxes 94 Series A-5-6: Artwork, 1888-1975 Boxes 94; +12 Series A-5-7: Audiovisual, 1934-1961 Boxes 94; +13

• Names
  • Adams, Ansel, 1902-1984
  • Bubley, Esther
  • Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company.
  • Hedrich-Blessing (Firm).
  • Lee, Russell, 1903-1986
• Subject
  • Accidents
  • Advertising -- Railroads -- United States
  • Burlington Zephyr (Express train)
  • Century of Progress International Exposition (1933-1934 : Chicago, Ill.)
  • Chicago
  • Dude ranches
  • Manuscripts, American -- Illinois -- Chicago
  • Middle West -- Description and travel
  • National parks and reserves
  • Photographers -- West (U.S.)
  • Railroad travel -- West (U.S.)
  • Railroads
  • Tourism -- West (U.S.)
  • Vacations
• Geographic Coverage
  • Mississippi River Valley
  • West (U.S.) -- Description and travel