Chicago and North Western Railway Historical Society Records

Collection

Identifier: RHC-RC-051

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Chicago and North Western Historical Society collection partially documents the activities of the Chicago and North Western Railroad from 1836 to 1989 and includes research materials of H. Roger Grant for various books on railways. It consists of nine series: public relations department files; property records; memorabilia; Chicago and North Western printed material; related publications; the Chicago and North Western Historical Society's publications, North Western Lines; photographs; architectural drawings and maps; and H. Roger Grant’s book research. The bulk of the material covers the years 1935 to 1980. When the deposit for the materials from the historical society ended, the bulk of the collection returned to the historical society. Currently, the H. Roger Grant book research series - which includes Grant’s research for the books he wrote on various railroads - is the only one available at the Regional History Center. Interested researchers of the previous eight series should contact the Chicago and North Western Historical Society.

Dates

created: 1847+
Other: Date acquired: 03/24/1979

Conditions Governing Access

There are no restrictions on access to the collection.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights in the collection are held by the Chicago and Northwestern Historical Society; the literary rights are dedicated to the public.

Biographical or Historical Information

The Chicago and North Western Historical Society was founded in 1973 as the Chicago and North Western Historical, Technical and Modeling Society. A not-for-profit corporation, chartered in the State of Illinois, the group has over 600 members. Governed by a Board of Directors, the society rotates its annual meeting each May to a different site throughout the Midwest and publishes North Western Lines quarterly. The Northern Illinois Regional History Center has been designated as the repository of the society's historical and technical material relating to the Chicago and North Western Railroad. Organized on June 6, 1859, the Chicago and North Western Railroad first legally used its title in 1861. The parent of the organization, the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, incorporated in 1836, was the first railroad west of Chicago, reaching the Mississippi River in 1855. Consolidating with the Chicago and North Western Railroad on June 2, 1864, the firm grew through constructions, purchase and merger to service nine Midwestern states. In 1869, the company assisted in the completion of the first transcontinental railroad, carrying materials to Council Bluffs, Iowa for delivery to the Union Pacific Railroad. Cooperating with this line and the Southern Pacific, an overland route was created, providing connections with the east and the Chicago North Western Railroad with the first train from Chicago to the Pacific Coast. The company has an extensive list of firsts in the industry including: providing the first sleeping cars west of Chicago (1858); introducing cupolas on railroad cabooses (1863); manufacturing railroad postal cars (1865) and putting them into service (1867); using steel rails (1865); operating the first dining car west of Chicago (1869); introducing the Pullman Hotel Car (1877); providing the first regular Pullman train service (1895); and pioneering a railroad safety program (1910). Also, in 1926, they built the world's largest freight yard "Proviso Yard," housing the largest locomotive roundhouse in the United States. Falling under government control, the firm was regulated by the United States Railroad Administration from December 1917 to March 1920. Due to a business recession from 1920-22, a program of reconstruction was begun in 1923 and completed in 1929. The depression, causing rail earnings to recede rapidly, beginning in 1931, saw sources of private capital almost disappearing by 1933-34 and the company filing bankruptcy on June 28, 1935. Operating under the supervision of the courts, the Interstate Commerce Commission approved reorganization of the Chicago and North Western Railroad Company in 1939. It was returned to private management in 1943 and has been employee owned since 1971.

Note written by

Extent

9.25 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement Note

Only the H. Roger Grant book research series is available at the Regional History Center. The entire series for the collection is listed only to provide context for the material that have been returned to the Chicago and North Western Historical Society. It consists of nine series: public relations department files; property records; memorabilia; Chicago and North Western printed material; related publications; the Chicago and North Western Historical Society's publications, North Western Lines; photographs; architectural drawings and maps; and H. Roger Grant’s book research. Only the ninth series is available at the Regional History Center.

Source of Acquisition

Walter Feret

Method of Acquisition

Walter Feret deposited the Chicago and North Western Historical Society Collection in the Northern Illinois Regional History Center on March 24, 1979. In March 2013, the deposit was discontinued and the records documenting the Chicago and North Western Railroad was taken into permanent possession by the Chicago and North Western Historical Society. Interested researchers should contact the Chair of the Archives Subcommittee for the society, Joe Piersen.

Accruals and Additions

Additional records were added to the collection at a later date.

Related Materials

The researcher should be aware that the W.W. Embree and Finch Marshall Railway Collections contain much valuable related material including books, periodicals, and photographs. Also Pioneer Railroad: The Story of the Chicago and North Western System by Robert J. Casey and W.A.A. Douglas (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., 1948) may be useful.