St. Louis Minneapolis and St. Paul Short Line...[panel title]. Map of the Chicago Burlington and Quincy Railroad and its Connections [map title]

Chicago: Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad; Evening Journal Print, March 26, 1878. Folding timetable on blue-green paper, 7.375" x 4.25", 24 panels of text and illustrations on one side, black and white lithographic map, 19.75" x 41.5" plus margins, on other. This timetable map highlights the route of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, extending from Chicago through Illinois and Iowa to connect with such western railroads as the Union Pacific, Burlington & Missouri, Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, and the Kansas Pacific. A multitude of other spurs and connections are depicted along the way. Also included is an inset map showing the (truncated) Union Pacific Railroad traversing the Western States and Territories. Four timetables appear on the panels, including one for the "St. Louis, St. Paul and Omaha Express" line on the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad and a "condensed timetable of Louisville, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and Lafayette to Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas, and Nebraska." Appearing on other panels are illustrations of the interiors of Pullman Sleeping Cars and Elegant Dining Cars and advertisements for lands available in Kansas and Nebraska, etc. Most notably, one panel advertises "Gold! Gold! Gold!" to be found in Montana's Black Hills. This gold rush advertisement declares that prospectors taking the "St. Louis, Minneapolis & St. Paul Short Line" to the "Northern Pacific R.R." and "Northwestern Express Stag" will arrive at the Black Hills in 83 hours, the "Quickest time yet!" Interestingly, the "Custer Route" is described as "the Only Route having United States Military Protection" (the Battle of Little Bighorn was less than two years previous). The closing text notes that "the Rich Gold Fields of the Big Horn Mountains" are accessible via the St. Louis & St. Paul Short Line. The Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, formerly known as the Aurora Branch Railroad, was built in 1849, enabling citizens from Aurora and Batavia to travel by rail to Chicago. By 1864, after lines were built connecting Quincy, Chicago, and Burlington, the Aurora Branch was renamed the Chicago, Burlington, & Quincy Railroad by John M. Forbes, who merged several smaller midwestern railroads. The railroad grew until it extended from the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains. In 1901, James J. Hill bought control and sought to combine the railroad with both his Great Northern Railway and J. P. Morgan's Northern Pacific Railway. However, in 1904 the U.S. Supreme Court declared the scheme illegal under the Sherman Antitrust Act. In 1970, the railroad merged with the Northern Pacific Railway and the Great Northern Railway to form the Burlington Northern Railroad. REFERENCES: "Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad Company" at Britannica online; "Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad" at History of Nebraska online. (Inventory #: 873)