Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RR) was a Class I railroad
Class I railroad
A Class I railroad in the United States and Mexico, or a Class I rail carrier in Canada, is a large freight railroad company, as classified based on operating revenue.Smaller railroads are classified as Class II and Class III...

 in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.

Incorporation

Its predecessor, the Rock Island and La Salle Railroad Company, was incorporated in Illinois on February 27, 1847, and an amended charter was approved on February 7, 1851, as the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. Construction began October 1, 1851, in Chicago, and the first train was operated on October 10, 1852, between Chicago and Joliet
Joliet, Illinois
Joliet is a city in Will and Kendall Counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, located southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. As of the 2010 census, the city was the fourth-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 147,433. It continues to be Illinois' fastest growing...

. Construction continued on through La Salle
La Salle, Illinois
LaSalle is a city in LaSalle County, Illinois, United States, located at the intersection of Interstates 39 and 80. It is part of the Ottawa–Streator Micropolitan Statistical Area. Originally platted in 1837 over one square mile, the city has grown to...

, and Rock Island
Rock Island, Illinois
Rock Island is the county seat of Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. The population was 40,884 at the 2010 census. Located on the Mississippi River, it is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring Moline, East Moline, and the Iowa cities of Davenport and Bettendorf. The Quad Cities...

 was reached on February 22, 1854, becoming the first railroad to connect Chicago with the Mississippi River.

In Iowa, the C&RI's incorporators created (on February 5, 1853) the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad Company (M&M), to run from Davenport
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...

 to Council Bluffs
Council Bluffs, Iowa
Council Bluffs, known until 1852 as Kanesville, Iowathe historic starting point of the Mormon Trail and eventual northernmost anchor town of the other emigrant trailsis a city in and the county seat of Pottawattamie County, Iowa, United States and is on the east bank of the Missouri River across...

, and on November 20, 1855, the first train to operate in Iowa steamed from Davenport to Muscatine
Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 22,886 in the 2010 census, an increase from 22,697 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Muscatine County...

. The Mississippi river bridge between Rock Island and Davenport was completed on April 22, 1856.

In 1857, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...

 represented the Rock Island in an important lawsuit regarding bridges over navigable rivers. The suit had been brought by the owner of a steamboat which was destroyed by fire after running into the Mississippi river bridge. Lincoln argued that not only was the steamboat at fault in striking the bridge but that bridges across navigable rivers were to the advantage of the country.

The M&M was acquired by the C&RI on July 9, 1866, to form the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company. The railroad expanded through construction and acquisitions in the following decades.

Territory

The Rock Island stretched across Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...

, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

, Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...

, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

 and Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

. The easternmost reach of the system was Chicago, and the system also reached Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....

; west, it reached Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...

, and Santa Rosa, New Mexico
Santa Rosa, New Mexico
Santa Rosa is a city in and the county seat of Guadalupe County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 2,744 at the 2000 census. It lies between Albuquerque and Tucumcari, situated on the Pecos River at the intersection of Interstate 40, U.S. Route 54, and U.S. Route 84...

. Southernmost reaches were to Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

, and Eunice, Louisiana
Eunice, Louisiana
Eunice is a city in Acadia, Evangeline and St. Landry parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The population was 11,499 at the 2000 census.The St...

 while in a northerly direction the Rock Island got as far as Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...

.
Major lines included Minneapolis to Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...

, via Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...

; St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...

 Meta, Missouri
Meta, Missouri
Meta is a city in Osage County, Missouri, United States. The population was 249 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jefferson City, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area and is also the world headquarters of Diamond Pet Foods.-Geography:...

, to Santa Rosa via Kansas City; Herington, Kansas
Herington, Kansas
Herington is a city in Dickinson and Morris counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. Named after its founder, Monroe Davis Herington. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 2,526.-19th century:...

, to Galveston, Texas
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...

, via Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...

, and Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...

; and Santa Rosa to Memphis. The heaviest traffic was on the Chicago-to-Rock Island and Rock Island-to-Muscatine lines.

Intercity passenger train service

In common with most American railroad companies, the Rock Island once operated an extensive passenger service. The primary routes served were: Chicago-Los Angeles, Chicago-Denver, Memphis-Tucumcari
Tucumcari, New Mexico
Tucumcari is a city in and the county seat of Quay County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 5,989 at the 2000 census. Tucumcari was founded in 1901, two years before Quay County was founded.-History:...

, and Minneapolis-Dallas. The Rock Island ran both Limited and Local service on those routes as well as locals on many other lines on its system. In 1937, the Rock Island introduced Diesel power to its passenger service, with the purchase of six lightweight Rocket
Rock Island Rockets (1937)
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Rockets were lightweight, streamlined Diesel-electric passenger trains built by the Budd Company. These six trains were the first streamlined equipment purchased by the Rock Island, as well as being its first Diesel powered passenger trains...

 streamliners.

In competition with the Santa Fe Chiefs, the Rock Island jointly operated the Golden State Limited (Chicago—Kansas City—Tucumcari—El Paso—Los Angeles) with the Southern Pacific Railroad
Southern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

 (SP) from 1902–1968. On this route, the Rock Island’s train was marketed as a "low altitude" crossing of the Continental Divide
Continental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...

. The Rock Island did not concede to the Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...

’s dominance in the Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

-Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 travel market and re-equipped the train with new streamlined equipment in 1948. At the same time, the "Limited" was dropped from the train’s name and the train was thereafter known as the Golden State. The local run on this line was known as the Imperial.

The 1948 modernization of the Golden State occurred with some controversy. In 1947, both the Rock Island and Southern Pacific jointly advertised the coming of a new entry in the Chicago-Los Angeles travel market. The Golden Rocket was scheduled to closely match the Santa Fe’s transit time end-to-end and was to have its own dedicated trainsets, one purchased by the Rock Island, the other by Southern Pacific. As the Rock Island’s set of streamlined passenger cars was being finished, the Southern Pacific abruptly withdrew its purchase. The Rock Island’s cars were delivered and would find their way into the Golden State’s fleet soon after delivery.

The Golden State was the last first-class train on the Rock Island, retaining its dining car
Dining car
A dining car or restaurant carriage , also diner, is a railroad passenger car that serves meals in the manner of a full-service, sit-down restaurant....

s and sleeping car
Sleeping car
The sleeping car or sleeper is a railway/railroad passenger car that can accommodate all its passengers in beds of one kind or another, primarily for the purpose of making nighttime travel more restful. The first such cars saw sporadic use on American railroads in the 1830s and could be configured...

s until its last run in 1968.

The Rock Island also competed with the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad in the Chicago to Denver market. While the Q fielded its Zephyrs on the route, the Rock Island ran the Rocky Mountain Rocket
Rocky Mountain Rocket
The Rocky Mountain Rocket was a streamlined passenger train of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. Rock Island's train numbers 7 and 8 ran from Chicago's LaSalle Street Station to Denver's Union Station and Colorado Springs, Colorado...

. The RMR split at Limon, Colorado
Limon Railroad Depot
Limon Railroad Depot was a major Union Pacific and Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad station in Limon, Colorado. It has been on the National Register of Historical Places since 2003...

 with half the train diverting to Colorado Springs, an operation known as "The Limon Shuffle". The Rock Island conceded nothing to its rival, even installing ABS signaling on the route west of Lincoln in an effort to maintain transit speed. The train was also re-equipped with streamlined equipment in 1948.

As the Rocky Mountain Rocket was downgraded due to non-rail competition, the route traveled by the train was shortened from the western terminal at Denver, first to Omaha, then to Council Bluffs and the train was renamed The Cornhusker. In 1970, the train was cut to a Chicago to Rock Island run, a run entirely within the confines of the State of Illinois and finally renamed the Quad Cities Rocket.

Other trains operated by the Rock Island as part of its Rocket fleet included the Corn Belt Rocket (Chicago—Des Moines—Omaha), the Twin Star Rocket
Twin Star Rocket
The Twin Star Rocket was a passenger train operated by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. Introduced on January 14, 1945, it was the only new streamlined train permitted to enter service in World War II by the U.S. Government...

(Minneapolis—St. Paul—Des Moines—Kansas City—Oklahoma City—Fort Worth—Dallas—Houston), the Zephyr Rocket
Zephyr Rocket
The Zephyr Rocket is a passenger train operated jointly by Chicago, Burlington & Quincy and Rock Island. Passenger service ended in 1967. It was operated jointly with Rock Island. The route was St. Louis - Burlington - Minneapolis - St. Paul- External link :...

(Minneapolis—St. Paul—Burlington—St. Louis) and the Choctaw Rocket
Choctaw Rocket
The Choctaw Rocket was a named passenger train operated by the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad between Memphis, Tennessee, Little Rock, Oklahoma City, and Amarillo. Initially designated as train No. 51 and train No...

(Memphis—Little Rock—Oklahoma City—Amarillo—Tucumcari).

The Rock Island did not join Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...

 on its formation in 1971, and continued to operate its own passenger trains. The government assessed the "Railpax" entrance fee based upon passenger miles operated in 1970. After concluding that the cost of joining would be greater than operating the two remaining intercity (and now intrastate) roundtrips (the Chicago-Peoria Peoria Rocket and the Chicago-Rock Island Quad Cities Rocket), the railroad decided to "perform a public service for the state of Illinois" and continue intercity passenger operations. To help manage the service, the Rock Island hired National Association of Railroad Passengers
National Association of Railroad Passengers
The National Association of Railroad Passengers "is the largest national membership advocacy organization for train and rail transit passengers" according to the association's website.- Early history :...

 founder Anthony Haswell as Managing Director of Passenger Services.

The last two trains plied the Rock Island’s Illinois Division as the track quality declined from 1971 through 1977. The transit times that were once a fairly speedy 2½ hours in the 1950s had softened to a 4½ hour run by 1975. Despite this, the State of Illinois continued to subsidize the service to keep it running. The track program of 1978 helped with main line timekeeping, although the Rock Island’s management decreed that the two trains (down to two coaches and a beat-up EMD E8
EMD E8
The EMD E8 was a , A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive manufactured by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. The cab version, or E8A, was manufactured from August, 1949 to December, 1953, and 449 were produced – 446 for U.S., and 3 for Canada...

 for power, were not to delay freight traffic on the route. Eventually, with the trains frequently running with as many paying passengers as coaches in the train, the state withdrew the subsidy and the two trains made their final runs on December 31, 1978.

Chicago commuter passenger train service

The Rock Island also operated an extensive
Rock Island District
The Rock Island District is a commuter rail line operated by Metra from Chicago, Illinois, United States, southwest to Joliet. While Metra does not specifically refer to any of its lines by a particular color, the timetable accents for the Rock Island District line are printed in "Rocket Red"...

 commuter train service in the Chicago area. The primary route ran from LaSalle Street Station
LaSalle Street Station
LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 S. LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, serving Metra's Rock Island District. It was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968 and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until 1978. The...

 to Joliet along the main line, and a spur line, known as the "Suburban Line" to Blue Island. The main line trains supplanted the long-distance services that did not stop at the numerous stations on that route. The Suburban Line served the Beverly Hills area of Chicago as a branch leaving the main line at Gresham and heading due west, paralleling the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad
Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad
The Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad is a terminal railroad in the Chicago area, formerly giving various other companies access to Grand Central Station...

 passenger line before turning south. The Suburban Line made stops every four blocks along the way before rejoining the Main Line at Western Avenue Junction in Blue Island.

From the 1920s on, the suburban services were operated using Pacific-type 4-6-2
4-6-2
4-6-2, in the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents the wheel arrangement of four leading wheels on two axles , six powered and coupled driving wheels on three axles, and two trailing wheels on one axle .These locomotives are also known as Pacifics...

 locomotives and specially-designed light-heavyweight coaches that, with their late 1920s build dates, became known as the “Capone
Capone
Kiam Akasi Holley better known as Capone, is an American rapper of the hardcore hip hop duo Capone-N-Noreaga, who hails from the Queensbridge houses in Queens, New York. He is also of Haitian descent....

” cars. The suburban service became well known in the diesel era, as the steam power was replaced, first with new EMD FP7
EMD FP7
The EMD FP7 was a , B-B dual-service passenger and freight-hauling diesel locomotive produced between June 1949 and December 1953 by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division and General Motors Diesel. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La Grange, Illinois plant, excepting locomotives destined for...

’s and ALCO RS-3
ALCO RS-3
The ALCO RS-3 is a 1,600 hp , B-B road switcher railroad locomotive. It was manufactured by American Locomotive Company and Montreal Locomotive Works from May 1950 to August 1956, and 1,418 were produced — 1,265 for American railroads, 98 for Canadian railroads, 48 for Brazilian and 7...

’s, with two Fairbanks-Morse
Fairbanks-Morse
Fairbanks Morse and Company was a manufacturing company in the late 19th and early 20th century. Originally a weighing scale manufacturer, it later diversified into pumps, engines, windmills, locomotives and industrial supplies until it was merged in 1958...

 units added later. In 1949, Pullman
Pullman Company
The Pullman Palace Car Company, founded by George Pullman, manufactured railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the early decades of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Pullman developed the sleeping car which carried his name into the 1980s...

-built 2700-series cars arrived as the first air conditioned commuter cars on the line.

In the 1960s, the Rock Island tried to upgrade the suburban service with newer equipment at lower cost. Second-hand Aerotrain
Aerotrain (GM)
The Aerotrain was a streamlined trainset introduced by General Motors Electro-Motive Division in the mid-1950s. Like all of GM's body designs of this mid-century era, this train was first brought to life in GM's Styling Section. Chuck Jordan was in charge of designing the Aerotrain as Chief...

s, while less-than successful in intercity service, were purchased to provide further air conditioned accommodations that had proven popular with the 2700 series cars.

When the Milwaukee Road purchased new Budd Company
Budd Company
The Budd Company is a metal fabricator and major supplier of body components to the automobile industry, and was formerly a manufacturer of stainless steel passenger rail cars during the 20th century....

 stainless steel bilevel cars in 1961, the Rock Island elected to add to a subsequent order and took delivery of its first bilevel equipment in 1964. Power for these new cars was provided by orphaned passenger units: three EMD F7
EMD F7
The EMD F7 was a Diesel-electric locomotive produced between February 1949 and December 1953 by the Electro-Motive Division of General Motors and General Motors Diesel . It succeeded the F3 model in GM-EMD's F-unit sequence, and was replaced in turn by the F9. Final assembly was at GM-EMD's La...

’s, an EMD E6
EMD E6
The EMD E6 was a , A1A-A1A, passenger train locomotive manufactured by Electro-Motive Corporation, and its corporate successor, General Motors Electro-Motive Division, of La Grange, Illinois. The cab version, or E6A, was manufactured from November, 1939 to September, 1942, and 91 were produced...

, and the two EMD AB6
EMD AB6
The EMC AB6 was a type of diesel locomotive built exclusively for the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad by General Motors' Electro-Motive Corporation and delivered in June 1940. Two examples were built, numbered #750 and #751...

’s. The power was rebuilt with head end power
Head end power
Head end power or electric train supply is a rail transport term for the electrical power distribution system on a passenger train. The power source, usually a locomotive at the front or “head” of a train or a generator car, generates all the electricity used for lighting, electrical and other...

 (HEP) to provide HVAC
HVAC
HVAC refers to technology of indoor or automotive environmental comfort. HVAC system design is a major subdiscipline of mechanical engineering, based on the principles of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer...

 and lighting for the new cars. In 1970, another order, this time for Pullman-built bilevel cars arrived to further supplement the fleet. To provide the power for these cars, several former Union Pacific EMD E8
EMD E8
The EMD E8 was a , A1A-A1A passenger train locomotive manufactured by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois. The cab version, or E8A, was manufactured from August, 1949 to December, 1953, and 449 were produced – 446 for U.S., and 3 for Canada...

 and EMD E9
EMD E9
The EMD E9 was a , A1A-A1A passenger train-hauling diesel locomotive built by General Motors' Electro-Motive Division of La Grange, Illinois between April 1954 and January 1964. 100 cab-equipped lead A units were produced, along with 44 cabless booster B units. All were for service within the...

 diesels were rebuilt with HEP and added to the commuter pool.

The commuter service was not exempt from the general decline of the Rock Island through the 1970s. Over time, deferred maintenance took its toll on both track and rolling stock. On the Rock Island, the Capone cars were entering their sixth decade of service and the nearly 30 year old 2700’s suffered from severe corrosion due to the steel used in their construction. LaSalle Street Station
LaSalle Street Station
LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 S. LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, serving Metra's Rock Island District. It was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968 and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until 1978. The...

, the service’s downtown terminal, suffered from neglect and urban decay with the slab roof of the train shed literally falling apart, requiring its removal. By this time, the Rock Island could not afford to replace the clearly worn-out equipment.

In 1976, the entire Chicago commuter rail system began to receive financial support from the State of Illinois through the Regional Transportation Authority. Operating funds were disbursed to all commuter operators and the Rock Island was to be provided with new equipment to replace the tired 2700 series and Capone cars. New Budd bilevels that were near copies of the 1961 Milwaukee Road cars arrived in 1978. New EMD F40PH units arrived in late 1977 and, in Summer, 1978, briefly could be seen hauling Capone cars. The Rock Island’s commuter F and E units were relegated to freight service or the dead line.

With the 1980 end of the Rock Island, the Regional Transportation Authority purchased the suburban territory and remaining Rock Island commuter equipment from the estate. LaSalle Street Station
LaSalle Street Station
LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 S. LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, serving Metra's Rock Island District. It was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968 and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until 1978. The...

 was torn down and replaced with the Chicago Stock Exchange
Chicago Stock Exchange
The Chicago Stock Exchange is a stock exchange in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The exchange is a national securities exchange and self-regulated organization, which operates under the oversight of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission . The Chicago Stock Exchange is the third most active stock...

 building with a small station for commuters retained one block south of the old station. The RTA gradually rebuilt the track and added more new equipment to the service, leaving the property in better shape than it was in the Rock Island’s heyday, albeit with less track. The Rock Island District
Rock Island District
The Rock Island District is a commuter rail line operated by Metra from Chicago, Illinois, United States, southwest to Joliet. While Metra does not specifically refer to any of its lines by a particular color, the timetable accents for the Rock Island District line are printed in "Rocket Red"...

, as the Rock Island’s suburban service is now known, now operates as part of Metra
Metra
Metra is the commuter rail division of the Illinois Regional Transportation Authority. The system serves Chicago and its metropolitan area through 240 stations on 11 different rail lines. Throughout the 21st century, Metra has been the second busiest commuter rail system in the United States by...

, the Chicago Commuter Rail agency.

Rock Island's survival challenge

As the glory years of the Farrington era waned into the late 1950s, the Rock Island found itself once again faced with flat traffic, flat revenues and increasing costs. The property was still in decent shape and the Rock Island made an attractive bride for a rail suitor looking to expand the reach of their current system.

The Rock Island was known as "one railroad too many" in the plains states, basically serving the same territory as the Burlington
Burlington Northern Railroad
The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States-based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1996....

, only over a longer route. The midwest rail network had been built in the late 19th century to serve that era's traffic. The mechanization of grain hauling gave larger reach to large grain elevators, reducing the need for the tight web of track that crisscrossed the plains states such as Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...

. As far as available overhead traffic goes, in 1958 there were no less than six Class I carriers serving as eastern connections for the Union Pacific at Omaha
Omaha
Omaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, Texas...

 all seeking a slice of the flood of western traffic that UP interchanged there. Under the ICC revenue rules in place at the time, the Rock Island sought traffic from Omaha, yet preferred to keep the long haul to Denver, where interchange could be made with the Denver and Rio Grande Western, a connection to the Western Pacific
Western Pacific Railroad
The Western Pacific Railroad was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was formed in 1903 as an attempt to break the near-monopoly the Southern Pacific Railroad had on rail service into northern California...

 for haulage to the west coast.

The only option for the Rock Island to grow revenues and absorb costs was to merge with another, perhaps more prosperous railroad. Overtures were made from fellow midwest granger line Chicago and North Western and granger turned transcon Milwaukee Road. Both of these never advanced much beyond the data gathering and initial study phases. In 1964, the Rock Island selected Union Pacific to pursue a merger plan to form one large "super" railroad stretching from Chicago to the West Coast.

Facing the loss of UP's traffic at the Omaha gateway, virtually every railroad directly and indirectly affected by this combination immediately filed protests asking that the transaction be denied. With these filings began the longest and most complicated merger case in Interstate Commerce Commission
Interstate Commerce Commission
The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...

 history. Faced with failing granger railroads and large Class I railroads seeking to expand, ICC Hearing Examiner Nathan Klitenic, presiding over the case, sought to balance the opposing forces and completely restructure the railroads of the United States west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

.

The UP-RI merger case

After ten years of hearings and tens of thousands of pages of testimony and exhibits produced, now-Administrative Law Judge Nathan Klitenic approved a plan for rail service throughout the west to be covered by four mega-systems: The Chicago-Omaha main would go to the Union Pacific. The Kansas City-Tucumcari Golden State Route would be sold to the Southern Pacific. The Memphis-Amarillo Choctaw Route would be sold to the Santa Fe Railway. The Rio Grande would have an option to purchase the Denver-Kansas City line.

The visionary plan would not be realized until the mega-mergers of the 1990s with the BNSF Railway
BNSF Railway
The BNSF Railway is a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas. It is one of seven North American Class I railroads and the second largest freight railroad network in North America, second only to the Union Pacific Railroad, its primary...

 and Union Pacific remaining as the two surviving major rail carriers west of the Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

. From the vantage point of the 1974 railroad industry, Klitenic's plan was viewed as an unmanageable and far too radical solution to both the granger railroad issue and the larger issue of the future of rail freight transportation in general.

During most of the ensuing merger process, the Rock Island operated at a financial loss. In 1965, the Rock Island would earn its last profit. With the merger with Union Pacific seemingly so close, the Rock Island cut expenses to conserve cash. Expenditures on track maintenance were cut, passenger service was reduced as fast as the ICC would allow, and locomotives received only basic maintenance to keep them running. Rock Island began to take on a ramshackle appearance and derailments occurred with increasing frequency. In an effort to prop up its future merger mate, UP asked the Rock Island to forsake the Denver gateway in favor of increased interchange at Omaha. Incredibly, the Rock Island refused this and the UP routed more Omaha traffic over the Chicago and North Western.

By the time of the 1974 approval of the merger, the Rock Island was no longer the attractive bride it had once been in the 1950s. The Union Pacific viewed the cost to bring the property back to viable operating condition to be prohibitive. The conditions attached to the agreement for both labor and operating concessions were also viewed as excessive. Union Pacific simply walked away from the process, ending the merger case.

The Rock Island's last attempt to survive

Now set free and adrift, both operationally and financially, the Rock Island assessed their options. Rock Island hired a new president and CEO, John W. Ingram
John W. Ingram
John W. Ingram was the President of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad in its final years, from 1974 to 1979.-Early life and the Rock Island:...

, a former Federal Railway Administration (FRA) official. Ingram quickly sought to improve efficiency and sought FRA loans for the rebuild of the line, but finances caught up with the Rock Island all too quickly. With only $300 of cash on hand, on March 17, 1975, Rock Island entered its third bankruptcy. William M. Gibbons
William M. Gibbons
William M. Gibbons was a lawyer for 28 years, and would become the receiver and trustee of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad during the Rock Islands third and final bankruptcy...

 was selected as receiver and trustee by Judge Frank J. McGarr, with whom Gibbons practiced law in the early 1960s.

With its debts on hold, Rock Island charted a new course as a grain funnel from the mid-West to the port of Galveston, Texas. The Ingram administration estimated that the Rock Island could be rebuilt and re-equipped at a cost of $100 million and sought financing for the plan. Cabooseless grain shuttles were one cost effective way to gain market share and help finance the plan internally.

Nevertheless, new and rebuilt locomotives arrived on the property in gleaming blue and white to replace some of the tired, filthy power. Track rebuild projects covered the system. Main lines that had seen little or no maintenance in years were pulled from the mud. Rail and tie replacement programs attacked the maintenance backlog. However, the FRA-backed loans that Ingram sought were thwarted by the lobbying efforts of competing railroads, who considered a healthy Rock Island as a threat. By 1978, main line track improved in quality. For example, at the end of that summer, the Illinois Division had no slow orders: freight velocity was rising. The sale of the Golden State Route to the Southern Pacific had been agreed to. The Rock Island slowly inched towards a financial break-even point, despite the financial malaise that plagued the late 1970s.

Creditors, such as Henry Crown
Henry Crown
Henry Crown was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Among other things, he founded the Material Service Corporation, which merged with General Dynamics in 1959. At the time of his death, he was a billionaire...

, advocated for the shutdown and liquidation of the property. Crown declared that the Rock Island was not capable of operating profitably, much less paying its outstanding debts. At the same time, Crown invested as much as he could in Rock Island bonds and other debt at bankruptcy-induced junk status prices.

For the previous two years, while the Rock Island invested heavily into its physical plant, the Rock Island brotherhoods had been working under expired labor agreements. The front line operating employees had not had an increase in pay since the existing contracts expired yet remained on the job during extensive contract negotiations. By the summer of 1979, the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen is a labor union founded in Marshall, Michigan, on May 8, 1863, as the Brotherhood of the Footboard. A year later, its name was changed to the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers, sometimes referred to as the Brotherhood of Engineers...

 and the United Transportation Union
United Transportation Union
The United Transportation Union is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. It is a broad-based, transportation labor union representing about 125,000 active and retired railroad, bus, mass transit, and airline workers in the United States....

 had accepted new agreements. The Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks (BRAC) held firm to their demand that pay increases be back dated to the expiration date of the previous agreement.

The Rock Island offered to open the books to show the precarious financial condition of the road in an effort to get the BRAC in line with the other unions that had already signed agreements. Fred J. Kroll, president of the BRAC, declined the offer to audit the books of the Rock Island. Kroll pulled his BRAC clerks off the job in August, 1979. Picket lines went up at every terminal on the Rock Island's system and the operating brotherhoods honored the picket lines. The Rock Island ground to a halt.

The Ingram management team operated as much of the Rock Island as they could. Trains slowly began to move, with more traffic being hauled every week of the strike. President Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...

 issued a back-to-work order that BRAC dismissed. Still more traffic flowed on the strikebound Rock Island. Seeing the trains rolling despite the strike and fearing a Florida East Coast strikebreaking situation, the unions appealed to the FRA and ICC for relief. Despite that Rock Island management had been able to move 80% of pre-strike tonnage, at the behest of the Carter Administration, the ICC declared a transportation emergency declaring that the RI would not be able to move the 1979 grain harvest to market. The ICC issued a Directed Service Order authorizing the Kansas City Terminal Railway
Kansas City Terminal Railway
The Kansas City Terminal Railway is a Class III railroad terminal railroad that serves as a joint operation of the trunk railroads that serve the Kansas City metropolitan area, the country's second largest rail hub. It is presently operated by the Kaw River Railroad.The Railway was created after a...

 to take over operations.

The Directed Service Order enabled one-time suitors, via KCT management, to basically test operate portions of the Rock Island that had once interested them. On January 24, 1980, Judge McGarr elected not to review the Rock Island's final plan of reorganization. Instead, Judge McGarr initiated the shutdown and liquidation of the Rock Island Railroad. Not wanting to preside over an asset sale, Rock Island president John W. Ingram
John W. Ingram
John W. Ingram was the President of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad in its final years, from 1974 to 1979.-Early life and the Rock Island:...

 resigned, and Gibbons took over as president of the bankrupt railroad.

Kansas City Terminal began the process of embargoing in-bound shipments in late February, and the final train battled three days of snow drifts to arrive in Denver on March 31, 1980. Cars and locomotives were gathered in 'ghost trains' that appeared on otherwise defunct Rock Island lines and accumulated at major terminals and shops and prepared for sale.

Legacy

The railroad's locomotives, rail cars, equipment, tracks, and real estate were sold to other railroads or to scrappers. Gibbons was able to raise more than $500 million in the liquidation, paying off all the railroad's creditors, bondholders and all other debts in full at face value with interest. Henry Crown
Henry Crown
Henry Crown was an American industrialist and philanthropist. Among other things, he founded the Material Service Corporation, which merged with General Dynamics in 1959. At the time of his death, he was a billionaire...

 was ultimately proven correct, as both he and other bondholders who had purchased Rock Island debt for cents on the dollar during the low ebb in prices did especially well.

Gibbons was released from the Rock Island on June 1, 1984 as the estate of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad expired. All assets had been sold, all debts had been paid, and the former railroad found itself with a large amount of cash. The name of the company was changed to Chicago Pacific Corporation
Chicago Pacific Corporation
The Chicago Pacific Corporation was a shell corporation created from the remains of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. It managed to use much of the capital made from the liquidation of the Rock Island to acquire non-rail ventures such as The Hoover Company, Pennsylvania...

 to further distance itself from the defunct railroad and their first purchase was the Hoover appliance company. In 1988, the company would be acquired by the Maytag
Maytag
Maytag Corporation is an American home and commercial appliance company, headquartered in Newton, Iowa, that is a division of the Whirlpool Corporation.-Company history:...

 Corporation.

Ironically, through the mega mergers of the 1990s the Union Pacific railroad ultimately ended up owning and operating more of the Rock Island than it would have acquired in its attempted 1964 merger. The one line it currently does not own (or operate regularly, other than detours) is the Chicago to Omaha main line that drove it to merge with the Rock Island in the first place. This line is now owned and prospers under Iowa Interstate Railroad.

Company officers

Presidents of the Rock Island Railroad included:
  • James W. Grant, November 27, 1850 - December 22, 1851.
  • John Bloomfield Jervis
    John B. Jervis
    John Bloomfield Jervis was an American civil engineer. He was America's leading consulting engineer of the antebellum era . Jervis was a pioneer in the development of canals and railroads for the expanding United States...

    , December 22, 1851 - December 1854.
  • Henry Farnam
    Henry Farnam
    Henry Farnam was an American philanthropist and railroad president. He was born in Scipio, New York, and grew up working on his father's farm. By his teenage years, he had begun studying mathematics on his own and in 1820 he gained employment initially as a camp cook on the Erie Canal...

    , December 1854 - June 1863.
  • Charles W. Durant, June 1863 - August 1866.
  • John F. Tracy, August 1866 - April 14, 1877.
  • Hugh Riddle
    Hugh Riddle (1822-1892)
    Hugh Riddle was an American railroad executive.Early in his career he worked for the Erie Railroad, the Buffalo and State Line Railroad, and the Canandaigua and Niagara Falls Railroad. He served as General Superintendent of the Erie Railroad from 1865 to 1869...

    , April 14, 1877 - June 6, 1883.
  • Ransom Reed Cable, June 6, 1883 - June 1898.
  • Warren G. Purdy, June 1898 - December 31, 1901.
  • William Bateman Leeds, December 31, 1901 - March 26, 1904.
  • Benjamin L. Winchell, March 26, 1904 - December 1909.
  • Henry U. Mudge, December 1909 - April 20, 1915.
  • Jacob McGavock Dickinson
    Jacob M. Dickinson
    Jacob McGavock Dickinson was United States Secretary of War under President William Howard Taft from 1909 to 1911. He was succeeded by Henry L. Stimson.-Biography:...

     appointed receiver trustee during bankruptcy, April 20, 1915 - June 21, 1917.
  • James E. Gorman, June 22, 1917 - June 7, 1933.
  • Joseph B. Fleming, Frank Orren Lowden
    Frank Orren Lowden
    Frank Orren Lowden was a Republican Party politician from Illinois, who served as the 25th Governor of Illinois and as a United States Representatives from Illinois...

     (until his death on March 20, 1943) and James E. Gorman (until his death on March 25, 1942) appointed receiver trustees during bankruptcy, June 7, 1933 - December 31, 1947. Aaron Colnon replaced Frank O. Lowden as receiver trustee on April 19, 1943.
  • John Dow Farrington, January 1, 1948 - 1955.
  • Downing B. Jenks, 1956-1961.
  • R. Ellis Johnson, 1961-1964.
  • Jervis Langdon, Jr., 1965-1970.
  • William J. Dixon, 1970-1974.
  • John W. Ingram
    John W. Ingram
    John W. Ingram was the President of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad in its final years, from 1974 to 1979.-Early life and the Rock Island:...

    , 1974 - January 1980.
  • William M. Gibbons
    William M. Gibbons
    William M. Gibbons was a lawyer for 28 years, and would become the receiver and trustee of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad during the Rock Islands third and final bankruptcy...

     appointed receiver trustee during bankruptcy, March 17, 1975 - June 1, 1984.

See also

  • El Comedor
    El Comedor
    El Comedor is former Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad dining car, built in 1947 by Pullman-Standard to plan 7517 for the Golden Rocket, "the train that never was." It was subsequently added to the consist of the Golden State along with its brethren, and stayed with the train for many...

  • Grand Excursion
    Grand Excursion
    The Grand Excursion was a voyage by train and steamboat into the Upper Mississippi River valley, USA that first took place in June 1854. 150 years later, in 2004 the Grand Excursion route was retraced by both riverboats and a steam locomotive....

  • Iowa Interstate Railroad
    Iowa Interstate Railroad
    The Iowa Interstate Railroad is a Class II railroad operating in the central United States. The railroad is owned by Railroad Development Corporation of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.-History:...

  • Joseph E. Sheffield
  • LaSalle Street Station
    LaSalle Street Station
    LaSalle Street Station is a commuter rail terminal at 414 S. LaSalle Street in downtown Chicago, Illinois, serving Metra's Rock Island District. It was a major intercity rail terminal for the New York Central Railroad until 1968 and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad until 1978. The...

  • RailsWest Railroad Museum
    RailsWest Railroad Museum
    RailsWest Railroad Museum is a railroad museum operated by the Historical Society of Pottawattamie County at 16th Avenue and South Main Street and illustrates the history of railroads in Council Bluffs, Iowa.-History:...


External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK