Burlington's Lincoln Station - from a vintage postcard; Lincoln, Nebraska

It began as the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad in Nebraska (B&MR) - later becoming the Chicago Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q), commonly called the Burlington. Originated from Chicago. This road has grown into the Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad of today.

CB&Q: Oldest, Largest of the BN Predecessor
From its humble start, it is unlikely that any of the Aurora, Illinois, businessmen founding the Aurora Branch Railroad in 1849 could have envisioned their fledgling corporation evolving into Burlington Lines - largest of BN's constituent companies with nearly 10,000 miles of track extending from the Great Lakes to the Rocky Mountains and from Montana to the Gulf of Mexico. The Aurora Branch was laid with secondhand strap iron spiked to 12 miles of wooden rails, obtained from the Buffalo & Niagara Falls Railroad at a bargain price after the New York legislature outlawed their use. On September 2, 1850, the first train chugged its way over six miles of newly-built line from Batavia to Turner Junction (now West Chicago). Progress over the next decade was rapid. By 1864, the railroad had 400 miles of track - all in Illinois - and adopted the name Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad Co., which properly described its trackage stretching to Burlington, Iowa, and Quincy, Illinois, on the Mississippi River. CB&Q's rapid expansion after the Civil War was based on sound financial management, dominated by John Murray Forbes of Boston, who was in turn assisted by Charles Perkins, president of the company from 1881 to 1901. The railroad eventually reached Denver, its western terminus, and reached east to the Chicago, Kansas City and St. Louis gateways. CB&Q lines also went to Omaha, Nebraska, and St. Joseph, Missouri. Always anxious to employ the latest technology, CB&Q operated the first printing telegraph in 1910, and in 1915 was the first railroad to use train radio. Later, in 1927, the CB&Q was one of the first to utilize centralized traffic control. (source: BNSF)

The Zephyr
Perhaps CB&Q's best known achievement took place in 1934, when the railroad introduced the Zephyr (later known as the Pioneer Zephyr after the road introduced more Zephyr routes), America's first diesel-powered streamlined passenger train. On May 26, the CB&Q staged one of the greatest transportation events ever - a 1,000-mile record-breaking, non-stop run from Denver to the World's Fair in Chicago, reaching speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. The Zephyr was the forerunner of thousands of diesels which, after World War II, replaced steam locomotives on virtually every railroad in the country. (source: BNSF)

You can find more CB&Q related material on this website by visiting:
CHICAGO BURLINGTON & QUINCY #710
HAVELOCK SHOPS
LINCOLN STATION and the HAYMARKET DISTRICT

You may also want to read up more on the CB&Q's legacy at:
BURLINGTON NORTHERN
BURLINGTON NORTHERN SANTA FE

Chicago Burlington & Quincy #710 - displayed at Lincoln Station, Lincoln, Nebraska. The CB&Q has had a long history in the college town, which is carried on by it's successor BNSF today. 6/18/95 - T. Greuter Photo

See More of CHICAGO BURLINGTON & QUINCY #710.

CB&Q 13855 - is a nice dispalay Wooden caboose located at the old Rock Island Depot / RailsWest Museum in Council Bluffs, Iowa. 8/11/01 - T. Greuter Photo ·

CB&Q 14581 - Beatrice, Nebraska 8/3/96 - T. Greuter Photo ·

CB&Q 14581 - Beatrice, Nebraska - T. Greuter Photo ·

Closeup of the push crane displayed in beside #14581 at Beatrice, Nebraska. 8/3/96 - T. Greuter Photo ·

B&MR/GI&WC 5598 - the Burlington & Missouri River was a predecessor of the CB&Q. This stock car can be seen as part of the equipment on display at the Stuhr Museum in Grand Island, Nebraska. June 30, 2001 - T. Greuter Photo ·

CB&Q #165 - an F7A on eastbound freight at LaVergne (Berwyn), Illinois on September, 1965. - © 1965, 1999 Jerry Appleman Photo / Jerry's Railroad PhotoAlbum

Chicago Burlington & Quincy # 250 - a GP7 switching at Eola, Illinois on July, 1965. - © 1965, 2003 Jerry Appleman Photo / Jerry's Railroad PhotoAlbum

CB&Q #9140 - an SW1, light at Eola, Illinois on July, 1965. - © 1965, 2001 Jerry Appleman Photo / Jerry's Railroad PhotoAlbum

CB&Q #949 - a GP30 leads Union Pacific GP30s on westbound freight, C-GI, at Highlands (Hinsdale), Illinois in December, 1964. - © 1964, 1996 Jerry Appleman Photo / Jerry's Railroad PhotoAlbum

CB&Q Parlor / Observation "Jupiter" - on the articulated Nebraska Zephyr at Mendota, Illinois on June, 1966. - © 1966, 1998 Jerry Appleman Photo / Jerry's Railroad PhotoAlbum

CB&Q Covered Hopper - A very dirty relic from the past - a CB&Q covered hopper rolls along in a BN train, it's numbers are gone but you can still make out the slogan "Way of the Zephyrs" on the large plate. - T. Greuter Photo

RB&Q 77175 - 50' insulated boxcar in the green paint scheme that would continue on into the BN era. The car has a typical emblem placard on its side. At Lincoln, Nebraska - T. Greuter Photo ·

CB&Q Extended-Height Boxcar - demonstrating the Burlington's final freightcar paint and lettering scheme, is seen departing from Hobson Yard at Lincoln, Nebraska on a chilly winter's day. - T. Greuter Photo ·

Burlington Northern #974037 - once the CB&Q's, now numbered for Burlington Northern, still displays the large logo of it's previous owner - T. Greuter Photo

Burlington Northern #974041 - another CB&Q remnant, these tankcars are probably the most common of the old road still in vintage paint and can be seen rolling into Lincoln, Nebraska - T. Greuter Photo ·

Burlington Northern #576 - look closely and you can make out this engines original owner... "BURLINGTON" is visible under the peeling Burlington Northern green of the hood. 2/8/97 - T. Greuter Photo

Burlington Northern #6184 - Burlington Northern's SD9's like this one were inherited from the CB&Q. This unit is rolling into Hobson Yard on the Omaha run. 4/15/96, Lincoln, Nebraska - T. Greuter Photo

CB&Q Caboose - (formerly CB&Q 13544 / BN 10413) a vintage caboose is reborn at Lincoln, Nebraska as newer power in the form of BN's C30-7's look on. Newly repainted in authentic colors, she was shipped her on a flatcar in pretty sad shape, a victim of a fire. Her future looks brighter now. 1996 - T. Greuter Photo ·

CB&Q Caboose - Same of above. Here the wheelsets were mated to the caboose body at it's new home ... a nearby eating establishment. 1996 - T. Greuter Photo ·

CB&Q/BN/BNSF Overpass - crossing north 48th Street in Lincoln, Nebraska still wears the imprint of its heritage on a concrete support - T. Greuter Photo ·

CB&Q Depot, Brownsville, Nebraska - abandoned and forgotten. 2002 - T. Greuter Photo ·

The Havelock Shops - Originally constructed for the CB&Q system, the Havelock Shops in Lincoln is still a major facility on the modern system. Once heavily involved in steam locomotive construction (#710 being one such example), and later freight car construction, today it primarily is involved in the rebuilding of all types of freight cars.1/96 - T. Greuter Photo ·

See more of CB&Q's HAVELOCK SHOPS.

Hall Tower - Rolling into the Past, a surviving Burlington Northern caboose passes the empty Hall switch tower at 1st and J Streets just east of Hobson Yard. The Tower was demolished in 2000 or 2001 - T. Greuter Photo

The towering smoke stack of this facilitiy built by the CB&Q (with the words "BURLINGTON ROUTE"), dominates the yard complex at Lincoln Station. The landmark no longer stands, being demolished in 2001. 6/29/96 - T. Greuter Photo

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Latest update: Thursday, 13 November, 2003

All photos & text © 2000-2003 T. Greuter / Screaming Eagles , unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved.

Recommended Links:
Burlington Route Historical Society Home Page