The collection consists primarily of invoices, vouchers, and other financial and operational records of the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad, dating from 1913 to 1918, with additional undated materials. Records include freight and shipping forms, waybills, unloading tallies, car requests, reports of arriving and departing cars, conductor connection and delay reports, train orders, telegrams, and internal correspondence. Additional materials document coal supplies, car and engine failures, and accident reporting. These records concern railroad transactions, freight handling, train movements, and routine administrative communication. The collection does not contain employee information or personnel records.
The materials provide a sampling of the forms and reporting procedures used to coordinate railroad operations during the early twentieth century, including activities associated with Madison, South Dakota. Although the collection does not provide a comprehensive record of the company's transactions, it supports research into railroad administration, freight transportation, and communication practices.
The collection also documents a preservation effort following a barn fire at Prairie Village in Madison, where the records had been donated and stored. Surviving materials were salvaged, and representative samples were photocopied and encapsulated. These preserved examples retain evidence of the railroad's recordkeeping practices despite the loss and deterioration of portions of the original records.
