History: tone← Previous revisionRevision as of 22:15, 7 November 2026 Line 57: Line 57: Following the purchase of the Burlington by GN and NP, expansion continued. In 1908, the CB&Q purchased both the [[Colorado and Southern Railway]] and the [[Fort Worth and Denver Railway]], giving it access south to Dallas and the Gulf of Mexico ports in [[Houston]] and [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} It also extended its reach south in the Mississippi Valley region by opening up a new line from [[Concord, Illinois]], south to [[Paducah, Kentucky]]. It was during this period that the Burlington was at its largest, exceeding just over 12,000 route miles in 14 states by the 1920s.{{sfnp|Dorin|1976|p=10}} With the [[World War I|First World War]] having the same effect on the railroad as on all other railroads, during the 1920s, the Burlington Route had an increasingly heavy amount of equipment flooding the yards. With the advent of the [[Great Depression]], the CB&Q held a good portion of this for scrap. Following the purchase of the Burlington by GN and NP, expansion continued. In 1908, the CB&Q purchased both the [[Colorado and Southern Railway]] and the [[Fort Worth and Denver Railway]], giving it access south to Dallas and the Gulf of Mexico ports in [[Houston]] and [[Galveston, Texas|Galveston]].{{Citation needed|date=December 2009}} It also extended its reach south in the Mississippi Valley region by opening up a new line from [[Concord, Illinois]], south to [[Paducah, Kentucky]]. It was during this period that the Burlington was at its largest, exceeding just over 12,000 route miles in 14 states by the 1920s.{{sfnp|Dorin|1976|p=10}} With the [[World War I|First World War]] having the same effect on the railroad as on all other railroads, during the 1920s, the Burlington Route had an increasingly heavy amount of equipment flooding the yards. With the advent of the [[Great Depression]], the CB&Q held a good portion of this for scrap. In 1929, the CB&Q created a subsidiary, the [[Burlington Transportation Company]], to operate intercity buses in tandem with its railway network. On January 1, 1932, the CB&Q received a new president; former Great Northern Railroad president [[Ralph Budd]].{{cite web |title=Biography: Ralph Budd |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/streamliners-rbudd/ |access-date=2012-12-14 |publisher=PBS}} By which time, the CB&Q was facing a decline in passenger ridership from the Depression, and U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] was exploring ways to help the rail industry improve. Ralph Budd subsequently asked for a streamlined stainless-steel train to be built, and this resulted in the railroad introducing the famous ''[[Zephyr (train)#Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad|Zephyrs]]''. As early as 1897, the railroad invested in alternatives to steam power, namely, internal-combustion engines. The railroad's shops in Aurora had built a three-horsepower distillate motor in that year, but it was not reliable (requiring a massive 6,000-pound flywheel), and it had issues with overheating (even with the best metals of the day, its cylinder heads and liners would warp and melt in a matter of minutes), so it was therefore deemed impractical. Diesel engines of that era were obese, stationary monsters and were best suited for low-speed, continuous operation. [[File:The Burlington Zephyr. East Dubuque, Illinois, LOC image.jpg|thumb|220px|right|A ''Zephyr'' arriving at [[East Dubuque, Illinois]]]] In 1929, the CB&Q created a subsidiary, the [[Burlington Transportation Company]], to operate intercity buses in tandem with its railway network. On January 1, 1932, the CB&Q received a new president; former Great Northern Railroad president [[Ralph Budd]].{{cite web |title=Biography: Ralph Budd |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/streamliners-rbudd/ |access-date=2012-12-14 |publisher=PBS}} By which time, the CB&Q was facing a decline in passenger ridership from the Depression, and U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] was exploring ways to help the rail industry improve. Ralph Budd subsequently asked for a streamlined stainless-steel train to be built, and this resulted in the railroad introducing the famous ''[[Zephyr (train)#Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad|Zephyrs]]''. As early as 1897, the railroad invested in alternatives to steam power, namely, internal-combustion engines. The railroad's shops in Aurora had built a three-horsepower distillate motor in that year, but it was not reliable (requiring a massive 6,000-pound flywheel), and it had issues with overheating (even with the best metals of the day, its cylinder heads and liners would warp and melt in a matter of minutes), so it was therefore deemed impractical. Diesel engines of that era were large, cumbersome and impractical, and were best suited for low-speed, continuous operation. [[File:The Burlington Zephyr. East Dubuque, Illinois, LOC image.jpg|thumb|220px|right|A ''Zephyr'' arriving at [[East Dubuque, Illinois]]]] It was not reliable for a railroad locomotive; there was no diesel engine suitable for that purpose then. Always innovating, the railroad purchased "doodlebug" gas-electric combine cars from [[Electro-Motive Diesel|Electro-Motive Corporation]] (EMC) and built their own, sending them out to do the jobs of a steam locomotive and a single car. After the positive results the doodlebug cars created, and after having purchased and used three [[General Electric]] steeple-cab switchers powered by distillate engines, Ralph Budd requested the Winton Engine Company to design and construct a light, powerful diesel engine that could stand the rigors of continuous, unattended daily service.[[File:Burlington locomotive 1967.JPG|thumb|233x233px|Burlington locomotive hauling an express freight {{Circa|1967}}. These locomotives were also used for the Zephyr passenger trains.]] It was not reliable for a railroad locomotive; there was no diesel engine suitable for that purpose then. Always innovating, the railroad purchased "doodlebug" gas-electric combine cars from [[Electro-Motive Diesel|Electro-Motive Corporation]] (EMC) and built their own, sending them out to do the jobs of a steam locomotive and a single car. After the positive results the doodlebug cars created, and after having purchased and used three [[General Electric]] steeple-cab switchers powered by distillate engines, Ralph Budd requested the Winton Engine Company to design and construct a light, powerful diesel engine that could stand the rigors of continuous, unattended daily service.[[File:Burlington locomotive 1967.JPG|thumb|233x233px|Burlington locomotive hauling an express freight {{Circa|1967}}. These locomotives were also used for the Zephyr passenger trains.]]