History

• Tom Pennington/Getty Images News/Getty Images
  
  Following its initial construction, the Aurora Branch Railroad grew until it included 400 miles of track in Illinois. In 1864, it had already been renamed the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q). When the citizens of Galesburg raised $60,000 to attract the Santa Fe Railroad in the 1880s, Galesburg's (Burlington's) future as a railroad town was cemented. The population grew to a staggering 20,000 citizens by 1887 as a result of the widespread railroad activity.
  
  

Effects

• The CB&Q was the first railroad to run to Chicago's Union Stockyards.George Marks/Retrofile/Getty Images
  
  The CB&Q provided access to the nationwide rail system for both urban and rural Midwesterners. It allowed people to easily travel coast to coast with the addition of the Santa Fe Railroad to the local transportation options. It also created population booms in strategically located towns like Burlington (Galesburg) and Quincy in Illinois. In fact, multiple rail lines quickly grew out of Burlington that would later be incorporated into the Burlington Northern Railroad. Between the rapid growth of the Santa Fe railroad and the Burlington railroads, the west was quickly criss-crossed with rail routes, ushering in a new era of easy nationwide travel.
  
  

Travel Details

• Sleeping cars and dining cars added luxury to a previously spare transportation method.Ulrik Tofte/Lifesize/Getty Images
  
  Railroad travel in the 1800s could never be considered luxurious until 1857, with the invention of the Pullman sleeper coaches. These cars served as marketing tools for the railroads as they were acquired, because prior to their creation, accommodations were considerably more spartan. Passengers would receive seats in an enclosed car with two wash rooms, one for each gender. They also gained access to the dining cars, where a meal could be had.
  
  The trains of the late 1800s, which marked the growth of the Burlington rail lines, offered three passenger classes. First-class passengers received places in the luxury sleeper cars. They had pull-down beds, a nearby washroom and mahogany trim. Second-class passengers received private seats in an enclosed car. Finally, third-class passengers traveled in an open car with a wooden seat. While the dining car was offered for all train passengers, only the first-class passengers could generally afford it. Other passengers brought food along with them for long journeys.
  
  

Train Operations

• The train's whistle was used as a brake signal for workers at the back of the train.Medioimages/Photodisc/Valueline/Getty Images
  
  Trains were operated differently in the 1800s than they are now. Schedules were based on individual employee's watches, and company schedules provided for a five-minute discrepancy in times from watch to watch.
  
  Right of way and signaling were also important elements, as they are today. Passenger trains had the right of way over freight trains. Freight trains were required to run no more quickly than one mile in three minutes, or 20 miles per hour.
  
  The signal system for the CB&Q railroad was detailed in their company manuals as well. One whistle on the train signaled brakemen to disengage the brakes, two meant to put the brakes on, and three meant the train would back up. In order to operate the brakes, brakemen had to climb on top of the train.