Richard-
You ask an interesting question!
If you refer to the Burlington Archives at the Newberry Library in Chicago there is an online inventory of their holdings and you can request material online to be organized for specific dates for personal research. You can also contact them by email or telephone for copies of material you identify but onsite research is much more productive.
In general the collection is strong on financial, organization and legal issues but limited on drawings and other material regarding equipment and facilities. Not to say that I and others haven’t spent months in the past and look forward to years of trips to Chicago to access the collection. There is a disturbing lack of early photographs and drawings and even correspondence for engineering and mechanical items which may be partially explained by loss of historical material because of the Chicago Fire and the Burlington Building Fire.
If you are asking about the Burlington Route Historical Society’s Archives in Baraboo, Wisconsin that is an entirely different situation. In the 40 years the Society has been receiving collections from members and other sources we have never had an accounting of what is held. The Board of Directors has been working on getting more transparency but so far there has been no inventory nor even a general characterization of what material is in the collection. We all can appreciate that the organization and cataloging of the material is a massive undertaking by volunteers but over the last four decades those who received the material must have some inkling of what has been donated.
There are other repositories of interest which vary in their scope and accessibility. A WorldCat Google Search for “Burlington Archives” will give you a list of libraries that hold Burlington information….some of them have interesting documents beyond normal library holdings. The DeGolyer Library is located in the Science Engineering Library of Southern Methodist University and holds CB&Q equipment drawings, photographs and the specification records of the Baldwin Locomotive Works which include Burlington locomotives.
The Denver Public Library Western History has the Otto Perry and other photos which are rich in Burlington Route images.
I and others on this list would be happy to correspond with you directly on research topics and can better steer you to online and other sources once we know the focus of your interests.
Charlie Vlk
From: CBQ@groups.io <CBQ@groups.io> On Behalf Of Richard Wilkens
Sent: Wednesday, July 24, 2019 11:20 AM
To: CBQ@groups.io
Subject: [CBQ] CB&Q Archives Question
Hi all,
Can someone advise exactly what material is at the CB&Q Archives? Is it original railway material such as from the Chief Engineer or Mechanical Department?
Thanks,
Richard Wilkens