Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records - Master Mechanic's Records, 1886-1966

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 first meeting of Master Mechanics of the CB&Q and its proprietary lines was held on March 10, 1886, in Aurora, Illinois. Attendees to the meeting consisted of not just Master Mechanics in the various railway line divisions, but also superintendents, mechanics, engineers, and chemists. The purpose of the initial meeting was to organize an Association and to discuss standards and changes to those standards. The Association would then make recommendations and report those recommendations to the management of the railroad. This and subsequent meetings focused on very specific issues to rail cars, equipment, tools, and rail lines, their maintenance and repair, and the costs involved.

Record group consists of a set of minutes from the Association’s first meeting in 1886 through its 25th meeting in 1895, and a very scattered set of subject files. The minutes provide an in-depth description of the various repairs and improvements needed to keep the rail lines running efficiently, and the subject files offer a glimpse into the correspondence and reporting necessary to keep records of accidents, improvements to facilities, etc.

For blueprints and technical drawings, see Record Group A-6.

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-8-1: Minutes, 1886-1895 Boxes 1-2 Series A-8-2: Subject Files, 1925-1966, bulk 1959-1966 Box 2

• NamesChicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company.
• Subject
  • Chicago
  • Manuscripts, American -- Illinois -- Chicago
  • Railroads
  • Railroads -- Maintenance and repair
  • Railroads -- United States -- Employees