Greetings Everyone.
The date of 1875 does suprise me a little; it is very early.
I am not sure if the top brass of the ATSF were indeed ex"Q" men in 1875.
WB Strong and others joined the ATSF later (Strong in late 1877?).
But the competitive forces were beginning to stir, largely thanks to that
paragon of virtue, one Jay Gould, at the helm of the UP.
The ATSF at the time were trying to scrape together funds to lay rail further
into Colorado reaching La Junta CO in January 1876.
And the thoughts of California were but a pipe dream, most probably.
Evidently some of the Board had eyes on Salt Lake City!
The discovery of California Gulch (later renamed Leadville!!) had been made but
the boom had died by late 1874. It was the discovery of high grade silver/ lead
ore in 1875 that re-ignited the fever in the following years.
That being said both Forbes of the "Q" and Nickerson of the ATSF were Boston
men and represented well heeled (monied) followers some of whom undoubtedly
held stock in both companies.
It is likely the knew each other reasonably well.
There was talk of both formal and informal alliances in the 1880s as
competitive forces waxed and waned particularly those centred on the Omaha and
Kansas City Gateways and Colorado.
Richard Overton and Julius Grodinsky give some good insights into some of the
relationships between the various RRs in the 1870-1880s. (I forget the titles
but can look them up if anyone is interested).
Regards, Mark Sellars
South Australia
________________________________
From: Rupert & Maureen <gamlenz@ihug.co.nz>
To: CBQ List <CBQ@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 2 August 2011 5:26 PM
Subject: [CBQ] CB&Q + AT&SF
The current "amalgamation" of the CB&Q and AT&SF (plus a couple of other
companies) might have had a precedent in May 1875 when the Engineering News
reported:
It a current topic of talk in railroad circles that the Chicago, Burlington &
Quincy are quietly negotiating to extend their road to California by the
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Road. As the managers of the latter road were
formerly Chicago, Burlington & Quincy men, the "symptoms" are decidedly
favorable to a breaking out in that direction.
Any speculation of what might have resulted if this had been fact and not
rumour? Perhaps an Exposition Flyer or California Zephyr could have been
running 75 years earlier?
Rupert Gamlen
Auckland NZ
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