Never one of the truly
prestige passenger carriers, the Rock Island (officially, Chicago, Rock
Island and Pacific) was a solid bread and butter line that, famous in the
world of folk songs, served its riders and communities well. It ran very
view star quality trains, but provided solid comfort and its Rocky Mountain
Rocket, between Chicago's Lasalle Street Station and Denver/Colorado Springs,
and Golden State Ltd., between Chicago and LA, with a little help from the
SP, offered all the amenities. Until the late 60s its silky race course
across Iowa hosted some of the fastest trains in the land at speeds that
would make today's corridors proud. And, its Jet Rockets between Chicago
and Peoria didn't slouch on design, marketing and a fast ride. It's fair
to say that the Rock finally ran out of gas, probably hurt more by its passenger
business than most lines, but unlike some of its counterparts and partners
(eg., the Southern Pacific), it seldom alienated its riders to shut down
the passenger business.
It was also
important in my life. After riding it to a church conference in the Midwest from
my New Jersey home when I was in high school, I decided to attend
Grinnell College, where the conference was held, with thoughts of the
Rock Island and easy connects from the New York Central, Pennsy and Nickel
Plate not irrelevant (and all taken advantage while I was an undergrad and,
later, when I worked on the college admissions staff). I met my wife of almost 50
years, a fellow Grinnell student, in one of its dining cars, and later
was given a free ride by an accommodating Des Moines ticket agent back to
visit her as part of a cross-country hitch hike immediately after the Kennedy assassination.
Though the night train through Grinnell was not scheduled to stop I was booked
as a casket and was helped off the train as it slowed to 2-3 mph, the normal
privilege for those who returned home to unscheduled stations in boxes.
Alas, now I wish I
had taken more photos and grabbed more paper, but here's what I have, from
roughly 1960 to the early 80s, taken mainly in and around Grinnell, Iowa,
the Southwest and then at the remnants of the once bustling LaSalle Street
Station, where I would change trains from the New York Central to the Rock
Island or hotfoot it to and from Union Station and the Pennsy -- having been
robbed at the Englewood Station, where one could grab the Pennsy east. As
you can see, consists became shorter and shorter and express and mail cars
more common as the company tried to balance its books. Though it survives
in name -- the Rock Island District -- as part of Chicago's METRA system,
the Rock Island, like its midwestern competitors the Milwaukee Road and Chicago
and North Western, is long gone.
Train #7, the Cornhusker
Train
#18, the Twin Star Rocket, From Minneapolis to Fort Worth,
and Train #10, Corn Belt Rocket from Omaha to Chicago, at Des
Moines, mid-60s.
Train #10, the Corn Belte Rocket, near Grinnell, late
1960s.
Photos of Train # 7, formerly the Rocky Mountain Rocket,
now the Cornhusker, in and near Grinnell, late 1960s
The Corn Belt Rocket, near Grinnell, late 1960s
Grinnell Depot, 1968 and 1982. It is now a restaurant.
The Rock Island ran football specials from the Chicago
area, Des Moines and other Iowa points to Iowa City. Here are scenes in Grinnell
and
Iowa City in 1961. My recollection is of a large number
of drunken Iowans who never got to see their Hawkeyes beat the stuffing out
of Notre Dame.
The Rocky Mountain Rocket, near Limon, Colorado in 1965,
shortly before its death . Late 1960s snack lounge
car on the Cornhusker
The Rock Island and Southern Pacific teamed up to run
the Golden State Limited - Sunset Limited train from Chicago to El Paso
and New Orleans - Los Angeles, meeting in El Paso, Texas. On the left and
below is the combined train in Palmdale, California, heading east, and the
two trains waiting to be combined in El Paso. Both photos are from approximately
1967. As a reckless youth I chased the Golden State north of El Paso at speeds
well in excess of 100 mph. These were not Amereica's greatest long-distance
trains, but they look very inviting in these old photos
These photos were taken in the remains of LaSalle Street
Station, Chicago, in 1983, shortly after the main station with its waiting
rooms and restaurant were demolished. For a history and fine photos of the
station see Craig
Bluschke's Vintage Rail Photo site.
See many
more of my train collections by clicking on HOME