Chicago,
Rock Island and Pacific Railroad - (en)
The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RR) (AAR
reporting marks RI) 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. Its
ancestor, the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, was incorporated on
February 7, 1851 and operated its first train on October 10, 1852, between
Chicago and Rock Island, Illinois.
History
Territory
The Rock Island stretched across Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa,
Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The
easternmost reach of the system was Chicago, and the system also reached
Memphis, Tennessee; west, it reached Denver, Colorado, and Santa Rosa, New
Mexico. Southernmost reaches were to Galveston, Texas, and Eunice,
Louisiana while in a northerly direction the Rock Island got as far as
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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.
The system got its start in Chicago and was a major player in the Iowa
railroad industry.
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 did not 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
Once an acquisition target of the Union Pacific Railroad, Rock Island was
victim to the longest and most complicated railroad merger proceedings in
the history of the Interstate Commerce Commission. After a decade of
hearings and studies, the ICC eventually approved the acquisition of Rock
Island by Union Pacific, subject to many other conditions. Rock Island's
track conditions had deteriorated greatly while merger proceedings were
underway, and Union Pacific declined to pursue the merger plans. In 1975,
Rock Island entered receivership for its third and final bankruptcy.
Attempts to reorganize failed, in part due to the US Department of
Transportation reluctance to fund another railroad bailout like Penn
Central-Conrail. In August 1979, the Brotherhood of Railway and Airline
Clerks (BRAC) walked out on strike against the 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 operations
of the Rock Island in September 1979. In mid-January 1980, the bankruptcy
court ruled that the Rock Island could not be successfully reorganized and
ordered its liquidation. Kansas City Terminal began the process of
embargoing inbound shipments in late February, and Rock Island common
carrier railroad operations ceased by March 31, 1980. Segments of the Rock
Island continued to be operated by other railroads, under ICC directed
service orders, while Rock Island trustee William Gibbons began the
process of selling or dismantling the railroad in what was the largest
such liquidation in U.S. railroad history.[citation needed] Rock Island's
holding company, the Chicago Pacific Corporation, continued on as its
railroad/transportation subsidiary was liquidated.
Company officers
Presidents of the Rock Island Railroad included:
James W. Grant, 1850-11-27 - 1851-12-22.
John Bloomfield Jervis, 1851-12-22 - December 1854.
Henry Farnam, December 1854 - June 1863.
Charles W. Durant, June 1863 - August 1866.
John F. Tracy, August 1866 - 1877-04-14.
Hugh Riddle, 1877-04-14 - 1883-06-06.
Ransom Reed Cable, 1883-06-06 - June 1898.
Warren G. Purdy, June 1898 - 1901-12-31.
William Bateman Leeds, 1901-12-31 - 1904-03-26.
Benjamin L. Winchell, 1904-03-26 - December 1909.
Henry U. Mudge, December 1909 - 1915-04-20.
Jacob McGavock Dickinson appointed receiver trustee during bankruptcy,
1915-04-20 - 1917-06-21.
James E. Gorman, 1917-06-22 - 1933-06-07.
Joseph B. Fleming, Frank Orren Lowden and James E. Gorman (until his death
on 1942-03-25) appointed receiver trustees during bankruptcy, 1933-06-07 -
1947-12-31. Aaron Colnon replaced Frank O. Lowden as receiver trustee on
1942-04-19.
John Dow Farrington, 1948-01-01 - 1955.
Downing B. Jenks, 1956-1961.
R. Ellis Johnson, 1961-1964.
Jervis Langdon, Jr., 1965-1970.
William J. Dixon, 1970-1974.
John W. Ingram, 1974 - 1975-03-17.
William J. Gibbons appointed receiver trustee during bankruptcy,
1975-03-17 - 1984-06-01.
