Correspondence, reports, maps, blueprints, financial documents, advertising materials, photographs, and other items documenting the history of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company (CB&Q), which existed from 1855 to 1970.

Administrative files, advertising copy, press kits, budgets, and subject files relating to the promotion of the railroad. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Financial records (Ledgers, Journals, Construction Accounts, and Miscellaneous Accounts) of the CB&Q Railroad Company. Mostly detailed financial records kept in large ledger books. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Reports and minutes of the engineers and scientists working at the CB&Q’s testing laboratories in Aurora, Illinois. Includes results from their testing a variety of materials and substances for their suitability for use in manufacturing rails, train car parts, and various structures. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Correspondence, reports, circulars, securities, and other miscellaneous materials related to the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad-Iowa (B&MRR-Iowa), incorporated in 1852 and leased to the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company (CB&Q) in 1872. Includes materials related to incorporation, operation, branches to Chariton and Creston, and consolidation with CB&Q. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Incoming and outgoing letters of Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company (CB&Q) executives, members of the board, lawyers, and other employees. Content covers virtually all aspects of railroad management, including financial and legal matters, expansion and acquisition, relations with other railroads and subsidiaries, personnel and policies, construction, rates, and other business matters. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Correspondence between Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company (CB&Q) officers and directors, organized by Boston or Chicago office of origin. Content includes railroad extensions, construction, salaries, financial issues, strikes, and other aspects of company management. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

The General Passenger Traffic Department ensured the quality and reliability of the passenger travelers' experience, and promoting tourism as well as business travel along the routes of the CB&Q. Records include administrative files relating to specific passenger trains, or to railroad operations in general. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Official and unofficial histories of the company, annual reports, in-house newsletters, circulars, scrapbooks, timetables, pamphlets, and research files produced by the CB&Q and its historians. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Correspondence, reports, maps, plats, promotional material, ledgers, legal and financial volumes, contracts, applications, and some drawings pertaining to the examination and sale of lands granted to the CB&Q by Federal land grant acts. Most of the lands were sold for farming, in Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, and Missouri. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Printed maps, manuscript maps, technical blueprints, and drawings produced by the CB&Q and its affiliated lines. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Meeting minutes and scattered subject files relating to the Master Mechanics Association of the CB&Q. The association was formed to make recommendations to the management about construction, maintenance, and repair of all rail cars, equipment, tools, and rail lines. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Materials created and collected by Ralph Budd (1879-1962), who was the president of the CB&Q from 1932 to 1949. Includes correspondence with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, administrative files, and Federal Coordinator of Transportation Files. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Payroll books of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company (CB&Q), organized by division, and including name, type of job, and compensation information. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Photographs, cartoons, drawings, and paintings, and two boxes of audio media of oral histories, interviews, Burlington Route chapter readings by its author, and radio programs. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

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.

Financial materials of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company (CB&Q), primarily papers and oversize volumes concerning stocks and bonds, showing the history of sales and transfers. Forms part of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Company Records.

Papers of Des Moines, Iowa, attorney John Sumner Runnells, partner in the firm Runnells & Walker, including legal case files, and correspondence pertaining to his legal work, political activities on behalf of the Republican Party, role as U.S. District Attorney for Iowa, and procurement of CB&Q railroad passes and Western Union telegraph "stamps" for others.

The LeRoy Blommaert Collection of Chicago Suburban Timetables contains timetables for Chicago suburban railroad lines. The collection highlights the corresponding railroad lines: Burlington Route, Illinois Central, North Shore Line, Rock Island, and South Shore Line.

Vermont native who settled in Princeton, Bureau County, Illinois, in 1846 and practiced law there for over sixty years. Papers include extensive records of Kendall's legal practice, family correspondence, and real estate records.

Photographs, postcards, and memorabilia collected by R. L. Sharick (1892-1971), a former CB&Q employee based in Oregon, Illinois. Sharick had a 61-year career with the railroad, starting as a water boy in 1906 and culminating as a ticket agent / telegrapher in 1968.