Everything about Rock Island Line totally explained
The
Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (
CRI&P RR) was a
Class I railroad in the
United States. It was also known as the
Rock Island Line, or, in its final years,
The Rock.
History
Incorporation
Its ancestor, 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. Construction continued on through
La Salle, and
Rock Island 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, to run from
Davenport to
Council Bluffs, and on
November 20,
1855, the first train to operate in Iowa steamed from Davenport to
Muscatine. The Mississippi river bridge between Rock Island and Davenport was completed on
April 22,
1856.
In 1857,
Abraham Lincoln 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.
Major lines included Minneapolis to
Kansas City, Missouri, via
Des Moines, Iowa;
St. Louis, Missouri, to Santa Rosa via Kansas City;
Herington, Kansas, to
Galveston, Texas, via
Fort Worth, Texas, and
Dallas, Texas; and Santa Rosa to Memphis. The heaviest traffic was on the Chicago-to-Rock Island and Rock Island-to-Muscatine lines.
Passenger train service
The Rock Island jointly operated the
Golden State Limited (Chicago—Kansas City—Tucumcari—El Paso—Los Angeles) with the Southern Pacific Railroad (SP) from 1902–1968. The name was shortened to the Golden State after 1948's modernization. Another joint venture with the SP, the Golden Rocket, was planned to enter service in 1948 but instead became "the train that never was," after SP withdrew from the joint train operating agreement. The Golden Rocket's uniquely-colored consist was placed in
Golden State service instead.
The railroad operated a number of trains known as
Rockets serving the Midwest, including the
Rocky Mountain Rocket (Chicago—Omaha—Lincoln—Denver—Colorado Springs), the
Corn Belt Rocket (Chicago—Des Moines—Omaha), the
Twin Star Rocket (Minneapolis—St. Paul—Des Moines—Kansas City—Oklahoma City—Fort Worth—Dallas—Houston), the
Zephyr Rocket (Minneapolis—St. Paul—Burlington—St. Louis) and the
Choctaw Rocket (Memphis—Little Rock—Oklahoma City—Amarillo—Tucumcari).
The Rock Island didn't join
Amtrak on its formation in 1971, and continued to operate its own passenger trains. After concluding that the cost of joining would be the same as operating the two remaining intercity 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. Both trains were discontinued on
December 31,
1978.
Rock Island's Demise
In 1964, the Rock Island selected
Union Pacific to pursue a merger plan to form one large railroad. In the process, Rock Island became the victim of the most complicated merger in the history of the
Interstate Commerce Commission. After more than ten years of studies and court hearings, Union Pacific came to an agreement with Rock Island, subject to many other terms and conditions. However, due to Rock Island paying for the studies, and court related orders, Rock Island track conditions were in disrepair and in bad condition as the Rock Island's funds and money were going to the merger case, rather than maintaining the trackage. After Union Pacific came to the realization of this, they backed out of their merger plans.
On
March 17,
1975, Rock Island entered its third and final bankruptcy.
William M. Gibbons was selected as receiver and trustee by Judge Frank J. McGarr, whom Gibbons practiced law with in the early 1960s. In August 1979, the
Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks (BRAC) walked out on a strike against Rock Island in a dispute over retroactive wages. When no resolution of the strike seemed possible, the ICC ordered the
Kansas City Terminal Railway to take over all operations in September of 1979. Rock Island president
John W. Ingram resigned, and Gibbons took over as president of the bankrupt railroad. On January 24, 1980, Judge McGarr was selected to hear the Rock Island bankruptcy case and ruled that the Rock Island couldn't be successfully reorganized and ordered it to be liquidated and sold making the Rock Island the largest bankruptcy liquidation in US history up until that time. Kansas City Terminal began the process of embargoing in-bound shipments in late February, and the final train operated
March 31. The railroads locomotives, rail cars, and tracks were sold, or dismantled and sold. Gibbons was able to raise $500 million in the liquidation, paying off all the railroads creditors and debts with interest. Gibbons was released from the Rock Island on June 1, 1984 after all the Rock Island's locomotives, rail cars, tracks, and remaining physical plant was sold, or abandoned. Rock Island's holding company, the
Chicago Pacific Corporation, continued on as its railroad/transportation subsidiary was liquidated. Chicago Pacific was purchased by
Maytag in 1985.
Company officers
Presidents of the Rock Island Railroad included:
In popular culture
A song called "Rock Island Line", written and originally performed by blues legend Leadbelly, memorializes the railroad. » Main article: Rock Island Line (song)
The opening 'railroad train' number in Meredith Willson’s The Music Man (1957) is entitled "Rock Island", and suggests by the title and context that the train is indeed a Rock Island train crossing from Rock Island to Davenport, Iowa, also known as "River City".
William Munny is reputed to have dynamited the "Rock Island and Pacific" in 1869, killing "women and children" in the film Unforgiven.
The movie "Rock Island Trail," starring Forrest Tucker is a Republic Studios production pertaining to the building of the Rock Island Railroad across Illinois, the Mississippi River, and Iowa. The world premier of this movie took place on April 27th, 1950 in the Quad Cities. Republic stars including John Wayne, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans took part in a pre-show parade which extended from Silvis, Illinois through Rock Island, Illinois.Further Information
Get more info on 'Rock Island Line'.
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