Misplaced Pages

#402597

68-630: Like its predecessor, the BRI was jointly owned by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (Rock Island), with each company owning half of the railroad. "It took its new name from the two owning systems and operated 303 miles (488 km) of track in 1930." The Trinity and Brazos Valley Railway (T&BV) was originally chartered on October 9, 1902, its first trackage consisting of an 88-mile (142 km) line from Cleburne, Texas , to Mexia, Texas , which

136-674: A 2-digit code indicating the vehicle's register country . The registered keeper of a vehicle is now indicated by a separate Vehicle Keeper Marking (VKM), usually the name of the owning company or an abbreviation thereof, which must be registered with the Intergovernmental Organisation for International Carriage by Rail (OTIF) and the European Union Agency for Railways (ERA) and which is unique throughout Europe and parts of Asia and Northern Africa. The VKM must be between two and five letters in length and can use any of

204-564: A central role in bringing air brakes to freight service. The railroad had one of the first hump classification yards at its Cicero Avenue Yard in Chicago, allowing an operator in a tower to line switches remotely and allowing around-the-clock classification. The company also tested the twin cylinder car . Reporting mark A reporting mark is a code used to identify owners or lessees of rolling stock and other equipment used on certain rail transport networks. The code typically reflects

272-579: A final freight train on the Leadville-Climax branch in Colorado. On July 1, 1965, Harry Murphy retired from his position as president of the CB&;Q (he remained on the railroad as a director until October), and former Frisco Railway president Louis W. Menk took over as president and CEO. During his presidency, Louis Menk explored ways to reduce costs for the CB&Q's passenger operations and to reshape

340-461: A hyphen. Some examples: When a vehicle is sold it will not normally be transferred to another register. The Czech railways bought large numbers of coaches from ÖBB. The number remained the same but the VKM changed from A-ÖBB to A-ČD. The UIC introduced a uniform numbering system for their members based on a 12-digit number, largely known as UIC number . The third and fourth digit of the number indicated

408-460: A light, powerful diesel engine that could stand the rigors of continuous, unattended daily service. The experiences of developing these engines can be summed up shortly by General Motors Research vice-president Charles Kettering : "I do not recall any trouble with the dip stick." Ralph Budd, accused of gambling on diesel power, chirped that "I knew that the GM people were going to see the program through to

476-466: A massive 6,000-pound flywheel), and it had issues with overheating (even with the best metals of the day, its cylinder heads and liners would warp and melt in a matter of minutes), so it was therefore deemed impractical. Diesel engines of that era were obese, stationary monsters and were best suited for low-speed, continuous operation. It was not reliable for a railroad locomotive; there was no diesel engine suitable for that purpose then. Always innovating,

544-685: A predecessor of the CNW, from which the UP inherited it. Similarly, during the breakup of Conrail , the long-retired marks of the Pennsylvania Railroad (PRR) and New York Central Railroad (NYC) were temporarily brought back and applied to much of Conrail's fleet to signify which cars and locomotives were to go to CSX (all cars labeled NYC) and which to Norfolk Southern (all cars labeled PRR). Some of these cars still retain their temporary NYC marks. Because of its size, this list has been split into subpages based on

612-710: A subsequent public outcry and protest over the program's cancellation, the No. 4960 locomotive pulled the railroad's final excursion train on July 17. The railroad operated a number of streamlined passenger trains known as the Zephyrs which were one of the most famous and largest fleets of streamliners in the United States. The Burlington Zephyr , the first American diesel -electric powered streamlined passenger train, made its noted "dawn-to-dusk" run from Denver, Colorado , to Chicago, Illinois , on May 26, 1934. On November 11, 1934,

680-632: The Sam Houston Zephyr . Listed as a CB&Q train, it ran from Dallas-Fort Worth to Houston. Not to be outdone, Rock Island in cooperation with the BRI inaugurated its own named streamlined passenger train in 1937, the Texas Rocket . The Rocket was replaced in January 1945 by the Twin Star Rocket , listed as a Rock Island train running between Houston and Minneapolis-St. Paul . A major change in

748-616: The Galena and Chicago Union Railroad would bypass their towns in favor of West Chicago on its route; at the time, that was the only line running west from Chicago. The Aurora Branch was built from Aurora, through Batavia, to Turner Junction in what is now West Chicago. The line was built with old strap rail and minimal, if any, grading. Using a leased locomotive and cars, the Aurora Branch ran passenger and freight trains from Aurora to Chicago via its own line from Aurora to Turner Junction and one of

SECTION 10

#1732851411403

816-828: The Mississippi River at both Burlington and Quincy, giving the railroad through connections with the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad (B&MR) in Iowa and the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad (H&StJ) in Missouri. In 1860 the H&;SJ carried the mail to the Pony Express upon reaching the Missouri River at St. Joseph, Missouri . In 1862 The first Railway Post Office was inaugurated on

884-643: The TTX Company (formerly Trailer Train Company) is named for its original reporting mark of TTX. In another example, the reporting mark for state-funded Amtrak services in California is CDTX (whereas the usual Amtrak mark is AMTK) because the state transportation agency ( Caltrans ) owns the equipment used in these services. This may also apply to commuter rail, for example Metrolink in Southern California uses

952-619: The Trailways Transportation System , and still provides intercity service to this day as Burlington Trailways . 1940 was the final year the CB&Q added steam locomotives to their roster, having completed construction on their O-5A class locomotives at the West Burlington, Iowa shops. With their freight traffic weighing 31 million tons that year, the CB&Q saw no further necessity for any more steam or diesel locomotives to be added to their roster. In 1942, following

1020-641: The Twin Cities , the Burlington Route formed a natural connection between Hill's home town (and headquarters) of St. Paul, Minnesota , and the railroad hub of Chicago. Moreover, Hill was willing to meet Perkins' $ 200-a-share asking price for the Burlington's stock. By 1900, Hill's Great Northern, in conjunction with the Northern Pacific Railway , held nearly 100 percent of Burlington's stock. By 1899,

1088-420: The U.S. Supreme Court . The only major strike in the line's history came in 1888, the Burlington railway strike of 1888 . Unlike most strikes, which were based on unskilled workers, this one was based on the highly skilled well-paid engineers and firemen, a challenge to management prerogatives. A settlement would have been much cheaper, but President Perkins was determined to assert ownership rights and destroy

1156-504: The 26 letters of the Latin alphabet . Diacritical marks may also be used, but they are ignored in data processing (for example, Ö is treated as though it is O ). The VKM is preceded by the code for the country (according to the alphabetical coding system described in Appendix 4 to the 1949 convention and Article 45(4) of the 1968 convention on road traffic), where the vehicle is registered and

1224-558: The AAR, maintains the active reporting marks for the North American rail industry. Under current practice, the first letter must match the initial letter of the railroad name. As it also acts as a Standard Carrier Alpha Code , the reporting mark cannot conflict with codes in use by other nonrail carriers. Marks ending with the letter "X" are assigned to companies or individuals who own railcars, but are not operating railroads; for example,

1292-607: The BRI landscape came in 1950 when the Rock Island partnered with the Fort Worth and Denver Railway to lease the BRI's line section from Teague to Houston, which they called the Joint Texas division. The BRI never lived up to its financial promise, finally succumbing to foreclosure in April 1964. Its assets were purchased by the owning partners, each receiving an uncontested half interest in

1360-640: The Burlington Railroad must be included into a powerful transcontinental system. Though the railroad stretched as far west as Denver and Billings, Montana , it had failed to reach the Pacific Coast during the 1880s and 1890s, when construction was less expensive. Though approached by E. H. Harriman of the Union Pacific Railroad , Perkins felt his railroad was a more natural fit with James J. Hill 's Great Northern Railway . With its river line to

1428-624: The Burlington Route was able to enter the trade markets in 1862. From that year to date, the railroad and its successors have paid dividends continuously, and never run into debt or defaulted on a loan—the only Class I U.S. railroad for which this is true. After extensive trackwork was planned, the Aurora Branch changed its name to the Chicago and Aurora Railroad in June 1852, and to Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy Railroad in 1856, and shortly reached its two other namesake cities, Burlington, Iowa , and Quincy, Illinois . In 1868 CB&Q completed bridges over

SECTION 20

#1732851411403

1496-613: The Burlington by GN and NP, expansion continued. In 1908, the CB&Q purchased both the Colorado and Southern Railway and the Fort Worth and Denver Railway , giving it access south to Dallas and the Gulf of Mexico ports in Houston and Galveston . It also extended its reach south in the Mississippi Valley region by opening up a new line from Concord, Illinois , south to Paducah, Kentucky . It

1564-661: The Burlington included: The California Zephyr is still operated daily by Amtrak as trains Five (westbound) and Six (eastbound). Another Amtrak train, the Illinois Zephyr , is a modern descendant of the Kansas City Zephyr and the American Royal Zephyr services. Multiple locomotives from the Burlington have been preserved, including two Zephyr power units, thirty-five steam locomotives , and thirty-four diesel locomotives . Originally, 5632 (O-5B 4-8-4)

1632-544: The CB&Q created a subsidiary, the Burlington Transportation Company , to operate intercity buses in tandem with its railway network. On January 1, 1932, the CB&Q received a new president; former Great Northern Railroad president Ralph Budd . By which time, the CB&Q was facing a decline in passenger ridership from the Depression, and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was exploring ways to help

1700-749: The CB&Q merged with the Great Northern, Northern Pacific, and the Spokane, Portland and Seattle (SP&S) railroads on March 2, 1970, to form the Burlington Northern Railroad (BN), with Louis Menk serving as the company's first president and CEO (twenty-six years later, the BN and Santa Fe Railroads merged to become the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (BNSF)). Most passenger operations would be assumed in 1971 by Amtrak . Beginning in

1768-741: The CB&Q's commercial passenger operations was completed on September 26, 1952, when the last of the 4-6-2 locomotives that operated for the Chicago-Aurora suburban service were retired; the remaining steam locomotives on the CB&Q were primarily reassigned as freight haulers and yard switchers. The first division on the CB&Q to be fully dieselized was the Casper Division in Wyoming, where EMD GP7 road switchers were delivered in 1951. In 1955, regular performance on class 3 overhauls on steam locomotives were discontinued, and Harry C. Murphy opted for

1836-408: The CB&Q's new steam excursion program, only two of which remained operational by 1961: 2-8-2 No. 4960 and 4-8-4 No. 5632. In 1962, the CB&Q's passenger department began sponsoring the excursion runs by offering ticket discounts to paying customers, and the Burlington began to host several school trains for school students. In 1964, steam excursion operations on the railroad had dwindled, in

1904-505: The CB&Q, completed in 1922. Burlington's rapid expansion after the American Civil War was based upon sound financial management, dominated by John Murray Forbes of Boston and assisted by Charles Elliott Perkins . Perkins was a powerful administrator who eventually forged a system out of previously loosely held affiliates, virtually tripling Burlington's size during his presidency from 1881 to 1901. Ultimately, Perkins believed

1972-475: The G&;CU's two tracks east from there to Chicago. The G&CU required the Aurora Branch to turn over 70 percent of their revenue per ton-mile handled on that railroad; as a result, in the mid-1850s, surveys were ordered to determine the best route for a railroad line to Chicago. The line from Aurora to Chicago was built through the fledgling towns of Naperville , Lisle , Downers Grove , Hinsdale , Berwyn , and

2040-457: The H&StJ to sort mail on the trains way across Missouri. The B&MR continued building west into Nebraska as a separate company, the Burlington & Missouri River Rail Road , founded in 1869. During the summer of 1870 it reached Lincoln , the newly designated capital of Nebraska and by 1872 it reached Kearney, Nebraska . That same year the B&;MR across Iowa was absorbed by the CB&Q. By

2108-671: The Mexia terminal, with a line also added between Waxahachie and Teague . Trackage rights were also soon arranged with other railroads linking the T&;BV with Waxahachie and Dallas , Cleburne and Fort Worth , and Houston and Galveston . With ongoing financial problems resulting from inadequate revenue, the Trinity and Brazos Valley went into receivership in 1914. A series of receivers were appointed including John W. Robbins (1914), L.H. Atwell, Jr, and in 1919, Gen. John A. Hulen. Hulen eventually became

Burlington-Rock Island Railroad - Misplaced Pages Continue

2176-461: The United States' entrance into World War II , the railroad's freight traffic increased to 49 million tons, with Ralph Budd (now named President Roosevelt's federal transportation commissioner) poised to ensure his company would help the war effort. In 1943, the War Production Board authorized EMC (now reincorporated as EMD) to construct sixteen FT locomotives for delivery to the CB&Q

2244-657: The VKM BLS. Example for an "Einheitswagen" delivered in 1957: In the United Kingdom, prior to nationalisation, wagons owned by the major railways were marked with codes of two to four letters, these codes normally being the initials of the railway concerned; for example, wagons of the Great Western Railway were marked "G W"; those of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway were marked "L M S", etc. The codes were agreed between

2312-531: The acquiring company discontinues the name or mark of the acquired company, the discontinued mark is referred to as a "fallen flag" railway. Occasionally, long-disused marks are suddenly revived by the companies which now own them. For example, in recent years, the Union Pacific Railroad has begun to use the mark CMO on newly built covered hoppers, gondolas and five-bay coal hoppers. CMO originally belonged to Chicago, St. Paul, Minneapolis and Omaha Railway ,

2380-615: The company had rostered 1,205 locomotives, 936 passenger cars and 40,720 freight cars. In 1901, a rebuffed Harriman tried to gain an indirect influence over the Burlington by launching a stock raid on the Northern Pacific. Though Hill managed to fend off this attack on his nascent system, it led to the creation of the Northern Securities Company , and later, the Northern Securities Co. v. United States ruling by

2448-938: The end of that year it operated 255 miles of railroad. Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad ( reporting mark CBQ ) was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States . Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route , the Burlington , CB&Q , or as the Q , it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado , Illinois , Iowa , Missouri , Nebraska , Wisconsin , Wyoming , and also in Texas through subsidiaries Colorado and Southern Railway , Fort Worth and Denver Railway , and Burlington-Rock Island Railroad . Its primary connections included Chicago , Minneapolis–Saint Paul , St. Louis , Kansas City , and Denver . Because of this extensive trackage in

2516-448: The first letter of the reporting mark: A railway vehicle must be registered in the relevant state's National Vehicle Register (NVR), as part of which process it will be assigned a 12-digit European Vehicle Number (EVN). The EVN schema is essentially the same as that used by the earlier UIC numbering systems for tractive vehicles and wagons , except that it replaces the 2-digit vehicle owner's code (see § Europe 1964 to 2005 ) with

2584-458: The first president of the BRI when the T&BV was reorganized. Hulen had begun improvements on the Trinity and Brazos while he was receiver, and this trend was continued after the reorganization. The two parent companies rotated their management of the BRI in 5 year intervals; the Rock Island started first and controlled the BRI until 1935. Soon after the reorganization an abandonment of the original right of way between Mexia and Cleburne began and

2652-507: The following year, by which time, the road's freight traffic peaked 57 million tons. After World War II ended, the CB&Q began ordering additional diesel locomotives from EMD, as part of a $ 140-million program to dieselize their roster. August 31, 1949, was Ralph Budd's final day as president of the railroad before he would retire during that year's Chicago Railroad Fair , and Harry C. Murphy succeeded him in September. Dieselisation of

2720-643: The former Burlington-Rock Island Railroad ). In 1970, it merged with the Northern Pacific Railway and the Great Northern Railway to form the Burlington Northern Railroad . The earliest predecessor of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the Aurora Branch Railroad , was chartered by act of the Illinois General Assembly on October 2, 1848. The charter was obtained by citizens of Aurora and Batavia, Illinois , who were concerned that

2788-534: The last commercial steam assignment for the railroad at Herrin Junction on January 27, 1959 (the only major U.S. railroads to operate revenue steam after this date were Union Pacific, Illinois Central , Nickel Plate Road , Norfolk and Western , Grand Trunk Western , Duluth, Missabe and Iron Range , and Lake Superior and Ishpeming ). CB&Q subsidiary Colorado and Southern eventually ended their commercial steam operations on October 11, 1962, when 2-8-0 No. 641 pulled

Burlington-Rock Island Railroad - Misplaced Pages Continue

2856-476: The midwest and mountain states, the railroad used the advertising slogans "Everywhere West", "Way of the Zephyrs ", and "The Way West". In 1967, it reported 19,565 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 723 million passenger miles; corresponding totals for C&S were 1,100 and 10 and for FW&D were 1,466 and 13. At the end of the year, CB&Q operated 8,538 route-miles, C&S operated 708, and FW&D operated 1,362 (these totals may or may not include

2924-409: The name or identifying number of the owner, lessee, or operator of the equipment, similar to IATA airline designators . In North America , the mark, which consists of an alphabetic code of two to four letters, is stenciled on each piece of equipment, along with a one- to six-digit number. This information is used to uniquely identify every such rail car or locomotive, thus allowing it to be tracked by

2992-444: The owner of a reporting mark is taken over by another company, the old mark becomes the property of the new company. For example, when the Union Pacific Railroad (mark UP) acquired the Chicago and North Western Railway (mark CNW) in 1995, it retained the CNW mark rather than immediately repaint all acquired equipment. Some companies own several marks that are used to identify different classes of cars, such as boxcars or gondolas. If

3060-405: The owner, or more precisely the keeper of the vehicle. Thus each UIC member got a two-digit owner code . With the introduction of national vehicle registers this code became a country code. Some vehicles had to be renumbered as a consequence. The Swiss company BLS Lötschbergbahn had the owner code 63. When their vehicles were registered, they got numbers with the country code 85 for Switzerland and

3128-755: The property. The railroad's tangible assets became part of the Fort Worth and Denver and Rock Island railroads in 1965 and the Burlington-Rock Island Railroad was no more. Rock Island went out of business on March 31, 1980, leaving the Fort Worth and Denver in sole control; it in turn merged into the Burlington Northern system on December 31, 1982. Burlington Northern would merge with the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe in 1996 to form Ft. Worth-based BNSF Railway . In 1940 B-RI reported 78 million net ton-miles of revenue freight and 16 million passenger miles; at

3196-465: The rail industry improve. Ralph Budd subsequently asked for a streamlined stainless-steel train to be built, and this resulted in the railroad introducing the famous Zephyrs . As early as 1897, the railroad invested in alternatives to steam power, namely, internal-combustion engines. The railroad's shops in Aurora had built a three-horsepower distillate motor in that year, but it was not reliable (requiring

3264-406: The railroad it is traveling over, which shares the information with other railroads and customers. In multinational registries, a code indicating the home country may also be included. The Association of American Railroads (AAR) assigns marks to all carriers, under authority granted by the U.S. Surface Transportation Board , Transport Canada , and Mexican Government. Railinc , a subsidiary of

3332-497: The railroad purchased "doodlebug" gas-electric combine cars from Electro-Motive Corporation (EMC) and built their own, sending them out to do the jobs of a steam locomotive and a single car. After the positive results the doodlebug cars created, and after having purchased and used three General Electric steeple-cab switchers powered by distillate engines, Ralph Budd requested the Winton Engine Company to design and construct

3400-566: The railroad's remaining steam fleet to use up their previously-restored mileage throughout the next year. By which time, the majority of the Burlington's steam fleet were relegated to operate east of Lincoln, Nebraska, with only two steam locomotives held for back-up service west of Lincoln. The final division on the CB&Q to be fully dieselized was the Beardstown Division in Southern Illinois, where 2-8-2 locomotive No. 4997 worked

3468-727: The railways and registered with the Railway Clearing House . In India, wagons owned by the Indian Railways are marked with codes of two to four letters, these codes normally being the initials of the railway divisions concerned along with the Hindi abbreviation; for example, trains of the Western Railway zone are marked "WR" and "प रे"; those of the Central Railway zone are marked "CR" and "मध्य", etc. The codes are agreed between

SECTION 50

#1732851411403

3536-609: The reporting mark SCAX because the equipment is owned by the Southern California Regional Rail Authority —which owns the Metrolink system—even though it is operated by Amtrak. This is why the reporting mark for CSX Transportation , which is an operating railroad, is CSXT instead of CSX. Private (non-common carrier) freight car owners in Mexico were issued, up until around 1990, reporting marks ending in two X's, possibly to signify that their cars followed different regulations (such as bans on friction bearing trucks) than their American counterparts and so their viability for interchange service

3604-407: The road's freight operations. Passenger service was markedly reduced, as people had shifted to using private automobiles for transportation. In late 1966, Louis Menk became president of the Northern Pacific, leaving William John Quinn in charge of the CB&Q. As the financial situation of American railroading continued to decline throughout the 1960s, forcing restructuring across the country,

3672-425: The summer of 1955, the CB&Q hosted a series of occasional steam excursion trains per request of railfan clubs, such as the Illinois Railroad Club. Harry C. Murphy was a steam fan who recognized the popularity in steam locomotives, and he authorized additional steam excursion trains to take place on the railroad throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s. Twenty-one steam locomotives of varying classes took part in

3740-433: The system grew. By the early 1900s, the shops at Aurora served the Chicago Division, the shops in Galesburg, Illinois served the Galesburg Division, the shops in Hannibal, Missouri served the St. Louis Division, the shops in West Burlington, Iowa and in Creston, Iowa served the Iowa Division, and the shops in Denver, Colorado served the McCook and Red Cloud Divisions. The latter were the final steam era shops built for

3808-584: The time the Missouri River bridge at Plattsmouth, Nebraska , was completed the B&MR in Nebraska was well on its way to Denver . That same year, the Nebraska B&MR was purchased by the CB&Q, which completed the line to Denver by 1882. Early repair shops for rolling stock were built by the Aurora Branch Railroad in Chicago, but the first true shop site was established at Aurora, Illinois in 1855. These were capable of repairing and building locomotives, freight cars, and passenger cars. Other shop sites were established or inherited from predecessor lines as

3876-486: The train was put into regularly scheduled service between Lincoln, Nebraska , and Kansas City, Missouri . Although the distinctive, articulated stainless steel trains were well known, and the railroad adopted the "Way of the Zephyrs " advertising slogan, they did not attract passengers back to the rails en masse , and the last one was retired from revenue service with the advent of Amtrak . The Zephyr fleet included: Other named passenger trains which operated on

3944-404: The union threat. The fight dragged on 10 months before the financially and emotionally exhausted strikers finally gave up, and Perkins declared a total victory. However, he had spent heavily on strikebreakers, lawsuits, and police protection, hurting the balance sheets and putting the railroad in a poor position to face the nationwide depression of the Panic of 1893 . Following the purchase of

4012-421: The very end. Actually, I wasn't taking a gamble at all." The manifestation of this gamble was the eight-cylinder Winton 8-201A engine that powered the Burlington Zephyr (built 1934) on its record-breaking run, and it opened the door for developing the long line of diesel engines that has powered Electro-Motive locomotives for the next seventy years. In 1936, the CB&Q would become one of the founding members of

4080-421: The wake of rising operation and maintenance costs and a loss of experienced steam locomotive mechanics; the only factors that kept the CB&Q's steam program going were public demand and Harry Murphy's passion for steam. In the process of reducing operating costs for the railroad, Harry Murphy's successor, Louis Menk, ordered for the CB&Q's steam excursion program to be shut down by August 1, 1966. Despite

4148-438: The west side of Chicago. It was opened in 1864, and passenger and freight service began. Regular commuter train service started in 1864 and remains operational to this day, making it the oldest surviving regular passenger service in Chicago. Both the original Chicago line, and to a much lesser extent, the old Aurora Branch right of way, are still in regular use today by the Burlington's present successor BNSF Railway . The company

SECTION 60

#1732851411403

4216-434: Was during this period that the Burlington was at its largest, exceeding just over 12,000 route miles in 14 states by the 1920s. With the First World War having the same effect on the railroad as on all other railroads, during the 1920s, the Burlington Route had an increasingly heavy amount of equipment flooding the yards. With the advent of the Great Depression , the CB&Q held a good portion of this for scrap. In 1929,

4284-437: Was finished in January 1904. Due to a shortage of operating capital to complete the project, the railroad was acquired in August 1905 by the Colorado and Southern Railway , which later sold a half interest in its investment to the Rock Island. The Colorado and Southern was bought by Burlington in 1908. Due to the influx of funds from these well-heeled financial partners, by 1907 the T&BV line had been extended to Houston from

4352-480: Was impaired. This often resulted in five-letter reporting marks, an option not otherwise allowed by the AAR. Companies owning trailers used in trailer-on-flatcar service are assigned marks ending with the letter "Z", and the National Motor Freight Traffic Association , which maintains the list of Standard Carrier Alpha Codes, assigns marks ending in "U" to owners of intermodal containers . The standard ISO 6346 covers identifiers for intermodal containers. When

4420-404: Was implemented in three stages, the first being the 30-mile (48 km) Cleburne to Hillsboro section (1932), next the 35-mile (56 km) section from Hillsboro to Hubbard (1935), and finally in 1942, the 23 miles (37 km) of track from Hubbard to Mexia. Along with their partner the CB&Q, the BRI inaugurated the first streamlined passenger train service in Texas on October 1, 1936,

4488-427: Was never acted upon, and was repealed by an act of February 14, 1855, which instead reorganized the line as the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The new railroad was formed by the consolidation of the Chicago and Aurora Railroad, the Central Military Tract, the west end of the Peoria & Oquawka, and the Northern Cross Railroad companies. With a steady acquisition of locomotives, cars, equipment, and trackage,

4556-423: Was preserved, but later scrapped. The Burlington was a leader in innovation; among its firsts were use of the printing telegraph (1910), train radio communications (1915), streamlined passenger diesel power (1934) and vista-dome coaches (1945). In 1927, the railroad was one of the first to use Centralized Traffic Control (CTC) and by the end of 1957 had equipped 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of its line. It played

4624-406: Was renamed Chicago and Aurora Railroad on June 22, 1852, and given expanded powers to extend from Aurora to a point north of LaSalle ; this extension, to Mendota, was completed on October 20, 1853. Another amendment, passed February 28, 1854, authorized the company to build east from Aurora to Chicago via Naperville , and changed its name to Chicago and Southwestern Railroad. The latter provision

#402597