Title: Milwaukee Road Executive Department Records
Inclusive Dates: 1863-1985

Creator:

• Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad Company.

Call Number: Milwaukee Road Archival Collection 3

Quantity: 11.3 cubic ft. (27 boxes)

Repository:

Milwaukee Public Library, Frank P. Zeidler Room

Archival Location:

Milwaukee Public Library (Map)

Abstract:

This collection consist of records from the Milwaukee Road’s Executive Department. It contains documents such as annual reports, by-laws, staff meeting and stockholder meeting minutes, information on operating results, and other items relating to the Executive Department of the Milwaukee Road.

Note:

To request materials from this collection, create/login to your Special Collections Account.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.mwpl-mrac0003

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

Commonly referred to as the "Milwaukee Road" (or simply "The Road"), the origins of this railroad began in 1847, when the Milwaukee and Waukesha Railroad was incorporated. Three years later its first train operated between Milwaukee and Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, and by 1857, its track reached Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. In February 1874, the name changed to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway as it continued to expand throughout the Midwest. By 1887, it reached into Iowa and South Dakota, as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, and north into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.

In 1905, the Milwaukee Road decided to expand west again, this time to Puget Sound in Washington. The "Lines West" were built between 1906-1909, from the middle of South Dakota to Seattle and Tacoma in Washington. Even though the lines were technological marvels, they were never successful, and were a major contributor to the bankruptcy in 1925. In 1928 the Road reorganized as the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad, but went bankrupt again in 1935 and 1945. In 1977, in financial trouble once more, it reorganized and sold off two-thirds of its trackage. It was acquired by the Soo Line Corp. on February 21, 1985, which operated it as the Milwaukee Road, Inc. until merging it with their own lines on January 1, 1986.

1863-1864	D.M. Hughes
1864-1865	Russell Sage
1865-1887	Alexander Mitchell
1888-1899	Roswell Miller
1899-1917	Albert John Earling
1917-1928	Harry Elmer Byram
1928-1947	Henry Alexander Scandrett
1947-1950	Charles Homer Buford
1950-1957	John P. Kiley
1958-1966	William J. Quinn
1966-1972	Curtiss E. Crippen
1972-1985	Worthington L. Smith

The Executive Department consisted of the President, Vice-Presidents and the Secretary. The Secretary kept track of the Board of Directors and Stockholders meetings, which constitutes a large part of this collection. The records contain Annual Reports from the years 1880, 1882-1883, 1893-1894, 1902- 1903, 1906, 1908, 1910-1911, 1914-1922, 1925, 1930, 1952, and 1954-1955; Chicago Milwaukee Corporation, providing stockholders meetings and reports of the Milwaukee Road’s parent company; Executive Committee Meetings, containing handwritten meeting notes; Great Northern Railway and Pacific Coast Railroad Merger, which includes correspondence about a proposed merger between the aforementioned companies; Mountain States Telephone and Telegram Company, providing correspondence about a contract for wire crossings over Milwaukee Road tracks; and Newsletters from President John P. Kiley, which contain statistical data related to operating results, along with comments about important issues such as safety, equipment and labor relations.

The Executive Department records also contain “Organization for Conducting the Business of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway”, a booklet providing an in-depth look at the organizational structure of the Milwaukee Road and its different departments; Puget Sound Railway records, which has articles of incorporation, a deed, and stockholders and trustees meeting notes from a Milwaukee Road subsidiary; Staff Meetings and Stockholders Meetings, containing meeting minutes and handouts; Stockholders Reports, listing Milwaukee Road operating revenues, expenses and a summary of the Railroad’s activities; Washington Excess Crew Law, containing correspondence related to changing an out-dated law in Washington that required 6 member crews on freight trains; and the World’s Fair in Seattle, which provides correspondence on how the Milwaukee Road dealt with the 1962 World’s Fair.

The collection is in alphabetical order by subject or personal name, then chronologically within each folder.

Milwaukee Road Executive Department Records, 1863-1985, Collection 3. Milwaukee Road Archives, Milwaukee Public Library, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Select materials from the Milwaukee Road have been digitized and are available in this digital collection: Milwaukee Road Archives.

Archival Collections

• Legal Department Records. Milwaukee Road Archival Collection 6.

• Predecessor and Subsidiary Railroads Collection. Milwaukee Road Archival Collection 16.

Publications and Other Items

Annual Report of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Company

A Brief History--The Milwaukee Road

Other Repositories

Additional Milwaukee Road materials are also available at the Milwaukee Road Archives in the St. Louis Mercantile Library located at the University of St. Louis.

Access Restrictions

Some of the employee records are restricted; please consult a staff member for more details. There are no access restrictions on the rest of the materials. The collection is open to all in accordance with state law. The public may view the Milwaukee Road Archives by appointment at the Central Library. To request an in-person appointment, create/login to your Special Collections Account. If you have any questions, please contact the Archives and Special Collections Department at mplarchives@milwaukee.gov.

Use Restrictions

The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of libel, privacy, and copyright which may be involved in the use of this collection (Wisconsin Statutes 19.21-19.39).

Acquisition Information

The Milwaukee Road Archives was received by MPL from the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul & Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) formally on January 13, 1981 as stated in the donor’s agreement signed by acting City Librarian, Henry E. Bates, Jr. and President of the Milwaukee Road, W.L. Smith.

Processing Information

Processed by Jay Hyland, Milwaukee Road Archivist, 2005. Materials added in 2015.

Box   1 Folder   1-8	Annual Reports (some years missing), 1880-1918
Box   2 Folder   1-4	Annual Reports (some years missing), 1919-1955
Box   20 Folder   1-2	Annual Reports (some years missing), 1966-1977
Box   2 Folder   5	Appointment Certificates of F.M. Dudley as Resident Agent, 1912, 1918
Box   2 Folder   6	Articles of Association, 1917
	Board of Directors and Executive Committee
Box   2 Folder   7-11	Minutes, 1863-1867
Box   3 Folder   1-11	Minutes, 1868-1879
Box   4 Folder   1-9	Minutes, 1880-1887
Box   5 Folder   1-8	Minutes, 1888-1897
Box   6 Folder   1-10	Minutes, 1898-1907
Box   7 Folder   1-8	Minutes, 1908-1912
Box   8 Folder   1-7	Minutes, 1913-1916
Box   9 Folder   1-9	Minutes, 1917-1919
Box   10 Folder   1-8	Minutes, 1920-May1922
Box   11 Folder   1-10	Minutes, June 1922-1927
Box   12 Folder   1-7	Minutes, 1928-1930
Box   12 Folder   8	By-Laws, 1909, 1945, 1950
	Chicago Milwaukee Corporation
Box   20 Folder   3-6	Stock Certificates, 1979
Box   21 Folder   1-4	Stock Certificates, 1979-1980
Box   22 Folder   1-5	Stock Certificates, 1980
Box   23 Folder   1-4	Stock Certificates, 1980
Box   13 Folder   1-2	Stockholders Meeting, 1972-1973
Box   13 Folder   3-4	Stockholders Reports, 1972-1974
Box   13 Folder   5-10	Executive Committee Meetings, 1983-1985
Box   23 Folder   5	Financing Agreement Between United States of America and Milwaukee Road, 1977
Box   14 Folder   1-2	Great Northern Railway and Pacific Coast Railroad Merger, correspondence, 1950-1958
Box   14 Folder   3	Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company, correspondence, 1916-1921
Box   14 Folder   4-6	Newsletters from President John P. Kiley, 1952-1957
	Northern Tier Pipeline Company
Box   24 Folder   1	Articles of Incorporation and By-Laws, 1975
Box   24 Folder   2	Background, 1975-1977
Box   24 Folder   3-4	General Correspondence, 1977-1980
Box   24 Folder   5	Project Description and Benefits, 1977
Box   14 Folder   7	"Organization for Conducting the Business of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway", 1890
Box   72 Folder   1	Organization Minutes, 1925-1928
	Puget Sound Railway
Box   14 Folder   8-10	Articles of Incorporation, 1905-1908
Box   14 Folder   11	Deed, 1912
Box   14 Folder   12-15	Stockholders and Trustees Meetings, 1909-August 1911
Box   15 Folder   1-10	Stockholders and Trustees Meetings, September 1911-1927
	Scrapbooks
Box   26	Assistant General Manager Circulars, 1952-1964 Physical Description: 1 volume
Box   27	Vice President Circulars, 1949-1959 Physical Description: 2 volumes
Box   16 Folder   1-6	Staff Meetings, 1977-1985
Box   24 Folder   6	Statements (comparative), City Ticket Office and Depot Ticket Office, 1889-1930
	Stockholders Meetings
Box   16 Folder   7-12	1865-1880
Box   17 Folder   1-10	1881-1929
Box   18 Folder   1-10	1955-1972
	Stockholders Reports
Box   18 Folder   11	1969-1970
Box   19 Folder   1-2	1971-1973
Box   24 Folder   7	Trailer Train Study, 1977-1979
Box   19 Folder   3-4	United States Railroad Administration, general circulars, 1918-1920
Box   19 Folder   5-7	Washington Excess Crew Law, correspondence, 1963-1972
Box   19 Folder   8-12	World’s Fair in Seattle, correspondence, 1958-1970