1878 Rand McNally Railroad Map of U.S. and the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy R.R.

This is an 1878 Rand McNally railroad map of the United States featuring the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad. The Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy (CBQ) is highlighted in Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri. Thinner lines trace connecting railroads, including the 'Burlington and Missouri River Railroad', and the 'Burlington, Cedar Rapids, and Northern Railroad'. Other important connections include the Union Pacific, Kansas Pacific, 'Denver and Rio Grande', and the 'Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe' railroads. An inset map in the lower right depicts the western United States and its own expanding railroad network.

The Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad

The Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad, commonly known as the Burlington Route, was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. The Burlington Route into existence on February 14, 1855, out of a reorganization of the Chicago and Southwestern Railroad. The railroad continued expanding, acquiring trackage, equipment, locomotives, and cars. The Burlington Route entered stock exchange in 1862 and has, up to the present, paid dividends and never run into debt or defaulted on a loan, making it the only Class I U.S. railroad to accomplish this feat. Burlington was purchased by the Great Northern Railway and the Northern Pacific Railway over the course of a few years, and by 1900 the two railroads owned nearly all of Burlington's stock. The three railroads operated independently until March 2, 1970, when the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and the Spokane, Portland, and Seattle Railway merged to form the Burlington Northern. The Burlington Northern merged with the Santa Fe Railroad in 1996 to form the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway.

Publication History and Census

This map was designed by Emil Heubach, engraved by Frank Roehb, published by Rand McNally, and distributed by the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad in 1878. We note two cataloged examples, at Yale University and the University of Washington.