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Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Company Collection

Finding Aid

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Collection Summary

Identifier

MA 33

Title

Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Company Collection

Creator

Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Company

Dates

1913-1918

Extent

1.47 linear feet -- 4 boxes

Language

English

Repository

South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library, Brookings, South Dakota.

Access note

This collection is open to researchers without restrictions. The materials in the Archives do not circulate and may be used in-house only.

Preferred Citation

Name of item. Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Company Collection. MA 33. South Dakota State University Archives and Special Collections, Hilton M. Briggs Library, Brookings, South Dakota.

Abstract

The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMSP&P RR) was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and northwest of the United States. The railroad had lines running through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and the upper peninsula of Michigan. The collection is composed of a compilation of various communications of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad during 1913 to 1918, including regular daily telegraph correspondence as well as way-bill information and communication with shipping customers.

Historical Note

The Milwaukee Road, officially the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (CMSP&P RR) was a Class I railroad that operated in the Midwest and northwest of the United States from 1847 until its acquisition by and merger with the Soo Line railway in 1985–1986. The company went through several official names and faced bankruptcy several times in that period. While the railroad does not exist as a separate entity anymore, it is still commemorated in buildings like the historic Milwaukee Road Depot in Minneapolis, Minnesota and in railroad hardware still maintained by rail fans, such as the Milwaukee Road 261 steam locomotive.

The Milwaukee Road appeared as the Milwaukee and Waukesha Railroad when incorporated in 1847, but soon changed its name to Milwaukee and Mississippi. After three years, the first train ran from Milwaukee to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and the first passenger train ran on February 25, 1851. In 1874 the name was changed to Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul. By 1887, the railroad had lines running through Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, South Dakota, and the upper peninsula of Michigan.

Contents Note

This collection originated from the Madison, S.D. Railway Depot and was then donated to Prairie Village of Madison. The barn in which Prairie Village kept the records burned down but the records were salvaged. The collection provides a variety of different communications and report information, and is an excellent source to view original documentation. However, the collection is not a complete record of all communications and so is not an effective source for researching specific transactions, etc. It is organized into folders each containing a different form of communication used by the railroad company. The beginning of the collection contains all photocopied material. The middle of the collection contains the encapsulated material, and the end of the collection contains the samples of original records.

Because this collection was damaged in a fire all records received were photocopied with only a few original samples retained from each category of the collection. Some unique samples were encapsulated for easier handling and display.

Key Words

Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Company -- Records and correspondence

Container List

View container list on Open Prairie

Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railway Company Collection Container List. MA 33
BoxFolderDescriptionDate(s)
117 Reportsundated
1237 Daily Telegraph Car Report1914
1349 Report1914
14Accident and Injury Report1915
15Bill of Loading Memorandum1915
16Cannon Ball Coal Company Flyerundated
17Cars Departing Station1914-1918
18C.D. Reportundated
19Claim Ticketundated
110Clearance Card1918
111Conductor Connections Report1913-1918
112Conductor Delay Report1913-1917
113Correspondenceundated
114Daily Connections Report (32 Report)1913-1918
115Daily Crop and Car Report1917
116Daily Report of Cars on Hand1918
117Diversion Form1917
118Empty Car Slip1913
119F.C.O. Car Request Formundated
120Foreign Car Disposition1913
121Freight Agent Form1917
122Inner-Company Correspondenceundated
123Load and Empty Report1918
124L.P.T. Car Request1917
125Operator's Order Blankundated
126Report of Car and Engine Failure1914-1918
1275pm Company Coal Report1918
128Telegrams1913-1918
129Telegrams1913-1918
130Telegrams1913-1918
131Telegrams1913-1918
21Telegrams1913-1918
22Telegrams1913-1918
23Train Listundated
24Train Order Formsundated
25Train Register Checkundated
26Unloading Tallyundated
27Way-Bill Correction Form1917
28Work Sheet Madison, SD1913
29Standard Way Billundated
210CM&SP Railroad Samples Encapsulatedundated
211CM&SP Railroad Samples Encapsulatedundated
3132 Report— Sampleundated
3249 Report— Sampleundated
33Cars Departing Station —Sample1913-1918
34Conductor Connection Report —Sampleundated
35Conductor Connection Report— Sampleundated
36Conductor Delay Report— Sampleundated
37Correspondenceundated
38Daily Crop and Car Report— Sample1917
39Diversion Form— Sample1917
310Foreign Car Disposition— Sample1913
311Inner-Company Correspondence —Sample1917
312Load and Empty Report— Sampleundated
313L.P.T. Car Request— Sample1917
314Operator's Order Blank —Sample1914
315Report of Cars Arriving— Sample1917
316Report of Car and Engine Failures—Sampleundated
317Telegrams— Sample1913-1918
318Telegrams— Sample1913-1918
319Telegrams— Sample1913-1918
41Telegrams— Sample1913-1918
42Telegrams— Sample1913-1918
43Telegraphic Report of Accident —Sampleundated
44Train List— Sampleundated
45Train Order Reports —Sampleundated
46Unloading Tally— Sampleundated
47Work Sheet Madison, SD —Sample1913

Administrative Information

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open to researchers without restrictions. The materials in the Archives do not circulate and may be used in-house only.

Researchers conducting extensive research are asked to make an advance appointment to access archival material. Please call or e-mail prior to visiting the collection and indicate as much detail as possible about a particular topic and intended use.

South Dakota State University supports access to the materials, published and unpublished, in its collections. Nonetheless, access to some items may be restricted as a result of their fragile condition or by contractual agreements with donors.

Copyright note

Copyright restrictions apply in different ways to different materials. Many of the documents and other historical materials in the Archives are in the public domain and may be reproduced and used in any way. There are other materials in the Archive carrying a copyright interest and must be used according to the provisions of Title 17 of the U.S. Code. The Archive issues a warning concerning copyright restrictions to every researcher who requests copies of documents. Although the copyright law is under constant redefinition in the courts, it is ultimately the responsibility of the researcher to properly use copyrighted material.

Arranged and Described by

Megan Sikkink, 2003 February 23.