Burlington Northern Inc. - 1976 $1,000 Railroad Bond
Inv# RB7495 Bond
$1,000 8% Bond with full page of coupons attached.
Burlington Northern Inc. is one of the largest transportation firms in the United States. Specializing in rail transportation, in the early 1990s it operated more than 25,000 miles of track in 25 states and 2 Canadian provinces, more than any other U.S. railroad company. Founded in the mid-19th century on the wave of the pioneer movement, Burlington played a central role in settling the central and western United States. Despite efforts to diversify, in the 1990s the firm still gained most of its revenues from transporting agricultural and manufactured products, especially coal and grain, to markets and to export terminals throughout the eastern and western United States. Burlington was founded in 1849 in the small town of Aurora, Illinois, and its early fortunes were linked with the burgeoning midwestern railway industry and the growing nearby city of Chicago. In the years from 1845 to 1848, swarms of settlers began to push west, lured by vast tracts of arable land and the promise of gold in California. By 1848 Illinois had already become the largest grain producer in the nation, requiring links with established eastern markets as well as with developing western settlements. The state’s promise was reflected most clearly in Chicago’s explosive growth as a railroad center. In 1847 Chicago had not even a single mile of railroad, but by 1854 it had become the railway capital of the United States. Astutely anticipating Chicago’s ascendancy, Aurora businessmen in 1848 proposed the construction of a railroad to connect with the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, thus linking Aurora not only to the hub of the Midwest but also to the markets of the East. The State of Illinois charter for the Aurora Branch Railroad was signed into law on February 12, 1849, by Governor Augustus French. It authorized 12 miles of track to connect with the Galena Railroad. The Aurora commissioners immediately issued stock, selling more than a quarter of the total issue in nine days, and elected five members to its board of directors with Stephen F. Gale as its president.
A bond is a document of title for a loan. Bonds are issued, not only by businesses, but also by national, state or city governments, or other public bodies, or sometimes by individuals. Bonds are a loan to the company or other body. They are normally repayable within a stated period of time. Bonds earn interest at a fixed rate, which must usually be paid by the undertaking regardless of its financial results. A bondholder is a creditor of the undertaking.
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