Gerald, From my understanding, the 1849 date was the beginning of the
Hannibal and St Joseph RR and the Q always touted it as the earliest
of the many rrs that made up their harem.
On Feb 11, 2011, at 8:00 AM, Gerald Edgar wrote:
>
> Two recent exchanges off list gave me the idea to share something a
> few of you may be unaware of; i.e. what & why is the Burlington's
> "birthday"?
>
> For 90 plus years, corporate felt it was 1850 as that was when the
> first track was laid from Turner Jct (now West Chicago) toward
> Aurora. IL and trains operated. Indeed publications were issued and
> other 'collectibles' provided denoting the 50th, 75th & 90th
> anniversary years (1900, 1925 & 1940) The latter year is most
> commonly found in terms of collectibles as Richard Overton, already
> compiling his massive history's of the Burlington was commissioned
> to provide a summary history of the Burlington: "The First 90 Years"
> as a handout to Emps and the public in 1940. The country was pulling
> out of the Depression due to the build up of defense production,
> Zephyrs were a great success, etc. When you think about it, not a
> lot of companies make a big deal out of a 90th Birthday but the
> Burlington did. However in 1946 or "47 when it was learned a
> national Railroad Fair would be celebrated in Chicago in 1949, the
> Burlington reconsidered its 'founding' date by backdating a year to
> 1849 when the Aurora Branch was incorporated*. Thus the 90th
> anniversary promotions and the subsequent centennial promotions
> (special timetables, etc) are only 9, NOT 10, yrs apart! As the late
> Paul Harvey would say; 'now you know the rest of the story'. (this
> change of 'anniversaries' is also noted in Annual Reports as
> milestones are usually noted; especially as former competitors fell
> by the wayside, were absorbed by other roads or went into
> bankruptcy: Milw, Rock, etc) Only a guess but I would think Mgt felt
> it better to be able to say 'the Burlington is a 100 yrs old' in
> press releases etc when so much focus was on RR'ing during the RR
> Fair in "49 than to wait til 1950. It also gave them more of a
> history lead on some competitors. There is a reason, obviously, why
> corporations often tout how many decades they have been in business
> as evidence of their stability and good management!
>
> *The Q could have considered alternate dates based on when other
> components came into existence either by charter, incorporation or
> track laying such as Hannibal & St. Joe, Northern Cross, etc. When
> you are comprised of 206 railroads (some however 'paper' railroads
> wholly conceived & owned by CB&Q from day 1), there are a lot of
> birthdays!
> This year will be birthday 161 or 162 depending on 'charter' (1849)
> vs' track laying/operating (1850) of the Aurora Branch. And
> Burlington is still the first name or at least first initial in
> American RR'ing! (if UP considers themselves bigger aka better
> apparently Warren Buffett who lives in Omaha did not think so!)
>
> Gerald
>
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CBQ/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CBQ/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
CBQ-digest@yahoogroups.com
CBQ-fullfeatured@yahoogroups.com
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
CBQ-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
|