Page "Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad" Paragraph 9

Ultimately, Perkins believed the Burlington must be included into a powerful transcontinental system.

Though the Burlington reached as far west as Denver, Colorado, and Billings, Montana, it had failed to reach the Pacific Coast during the cheaper building years of the 1880s and 1890s.

Though approached by E. H. Harriman of the Union Pacific Railroad, Perkins felt the Burlington was a more natural fit with James J. Hill's Great Northern Railway.

With its river line to the Twin Cities, the Burlington formed a natural connection between Hill's home town ( and headquarters ) of St. Paul, Minnesota, and the all-important American railroad hub of Chicago.

Moreover, Hill was willing to meet Perkins ' $ 200-a-share asking price for the Burlington's stock.

By 1900, Hill's Great Northern, in conjunction with the Northern Pacific Railway, held nearly 100 percent of the Burlington's stock.