Burlington and Missouri River Railroad, 1882

The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad (B&MR) or sometimes (B&M) was an American railroad company incorporated in

Iowa Iowa () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wiscon ...

in 1852, with

headquarters Headquarters (commonly referred to as HQ) denotes the location where most, if not all, of the important functions of an organization are coordinated. In the United States, the corporate headquarters represents the entity at the center or the to ...

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest ...

. It was developed to build a railroad across the state of Iowa and began operations in 1856. It was acquired by the

Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad was a railroad that operated in the Midwestern United States. Commonly referred to as the Burlington Route, the Burlington, or as the Q, it operated extensive trackage in the states of Colorado, Illin ...

in 1872, and kept serving as its subsidiary.

History

Burlington and Missouri River Railroad locomotive (1886)

Burlington Missouri River Railroad Burlington stock certificate

Burlington Missouri River Railroad Burlington world

The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad was incorporated in Burlington,

in 1852. It commenced operations on January 1, 1856 with only a few miles of track. In 1857 it connected to Ottumwa, followed by

Murray Murray may refer to: Businesses * Murray (bicycle company), an American manufacturer of low-cost bicycles * Murrays, an Australian bus company * Murray International Trust, a Scottish investment trust * D. & W. Murray Limited, an Australian who ...

in 1868. It finally reached the Missouri River in November 1859. It used wood-burning locomotives and wooden passenger cars. After the

(CB&Q) finished a bridge crossing the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest Drainage system (geomorphology), drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson B ...

at Burlington, it connected to the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad. By 1868 the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad operated 13 locomotives and 429 cars, mostly freight, with net earnings of $299,850 in 1867. After the interest on loans, this meant a total

net profit In business and accounting, net income (also total comprehensive income, net earnings, net profit, bottom line, sales profit, or credit sales) is an entity's income minus cost of goods sold, expenses, depreciation and amortization, interest, ...

of $6,749. A sub-branch of the railroad was founded in

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

in 1869, with rails first entering the state in 1870 via

Plattsmouth Plattsmouth is a city and county seat of Cass County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 6,502 at the 2010 census. History The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed the mouth of the Platte River, just north of what is now Main Street ...

. That summer, the railroad reached

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

, the recently designated state capital. It later continued to lay rails westward and eventually joining with the

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

on September 3, 1872 at Kearney; this had the effect of linking traffic from southern Nebraska to the rest of the continent. That same year it began advertising "millions of acres of cheap land" as an incentive to prospective settlers to Iowa and Nebraska. The Burlington and Missouri River Railroad was acquired by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1872. At the time, it had begun laying tracks to

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

; this line was finished by the CB&Q ten years later. After being acquired by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad served as its subsidiary, operating several lines in the

Black Hills The Black Hills ( lkt, Ȟe Sápa; chy, Moʼȯhta-voʼhonáaeva; hid, awaxaawi shiibisha) is an isolated mountain range rising from the Great Plains of North America in western South Dakota and extending into Wyoming, United States. Black ...

, including those acquired when Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad took over the

Black Hills and Fort Pierre Railroad The Black Hills and Fort Pierre Railroad (BH&FP) was a narrow gauge Railroads in Omaha Railroads in Omaha, Nebraska, have been integral to the growth and development of the city, the state of Nebraska, the Western United States and the entire United States. The convergence of many railroad forces upon the city was by happenstance a ...

History

References

Further reading