Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records - Predecessor Companies, 1849-1889

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.

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.

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.

Papers are organized in the following series:

Title Box 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

• Names
  • Baker, E. L.
  • Burlington and Missouri River Railroad Company.
  • Chicago and Aurora Railroad Company.
  • Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company.
  • Illinois Central Railroad Company.
  • Joy, James F. (James Frederick), 1810-1896
  • Van Nortwick, John
• Subject
  • Chicago
  • Manuscripts, American -- Illinois -- Chicago
  • Railroads
  • Railroads -- Employees
  • Railroads -- Management
• Geographic CoverageRailroads -- Illinois