jrbernier The winners were the Rock's Chicago to Omaha line, the mentioned 'Spine Line' and the Tucumcari line. Jim
The winners were the Rock's Chicago to Omaha line, the mentioned 'Spine Line' and the Tucumcari line.
Jim
Thanks to Chris / CopCarSS for my avatar.
ndbprrIt also served grain farmers and silos meaning freight traffic was extremely cyclical. Flat out for a couple of months and almost zero at other times. Leading up to its demise and shortly after Trains had several articles about the Rock and its problems
Can't speak to the Rock Island's performance in other areas, but growing up in the Memphis,Tn. area the Rocks presence was definitely not overstated there. They operated what had been a named passenger train into the late 1950's it was "The Choctaw Rocket", It ran from Memphis to Albuquerque on the west. I rode it on several occasions topoints in Arkansaw and Oklahoma City. Over time as itsa role was de-emphasized, it went down to a single diesel( it was the first dieselized passenger train out of Memphis, and a coupe of cars, with one passenger car, its last iteration was with RDC's which if I remember were lettered for another railroad. Western Pacific(?) I forget.
Their freight terminal was just east of the Downtown, and was relatively small with just a few tracks, and never very many cars, they seemed to have very few customers in the area.
After the Memphis Union Station was torn down, The Rock Island moved its passenger termin to a facility on the South Bluff ( it had been the Memphis Terminal for the Iron Mountain & Memphis RR- Name on one of the crossing signals at that point) The line across Arkansaw to Little Rock was relatively straight and parallel to what was US Hwy 70 and the I-40 to the north of it. It had originally been the Choctaw,Oklahoma & Gulf...I think it was about 1900 that it came into the Rock Is. system(?)
Rock Island at least hit the population centers across Iowa, which was reflected in a passenger trade that was healthy for a good long time.
I'm not sure how much of a winner the Chicago-Omaha line was, considering that the C&NW and the Burlington were the major competitors. Rock Island did not have a very good Chicago entry, having an awkward connection with IHB/B&OCT and entering Clearing Yard from the east.
The Rock Island many times built later to a destination, and did not have the best route. The eventual 'Spine Line' from MSP to KC that the UP now owns was one of the better routes, but it did not find it's full potential until late in the Rock's life. There was a lot of duplication in Iowa, and the Rock many times was the odd man out.
Modeling BNSF and Milwaukee Road in SW Wisconsin
A lot of writers seem to have a soft spot in their heart for the Rock Island. Johnny Cash seemed to think it was a mighty fine line. I've read where it went everywhere the Burlington did, but slower (?). Were there some things that The Rock Island Line excelled at?
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