<P>This richly illustrated volume tells the story of a legendary railroad whose tracks spanned the Midwest, serving farms and small-town America for more than 140 years. One of the earliest railroads to build westward from Chicago, it was the first to span the Mississippi, advancing the frontier, bringing settlers into the West, and hauling their crops to market. Rock Island’s celebrated Rocket passenger trains also set a standard for speed and service, with suburban runs as familiar to Windy City commuters as the Loop. For most of its existence, the Rock battled competitors much larger and richer than itself and when it finally succumbed, the result was one of the largest business bankruptcies ever. Today, as its engines and stock travel the busy main lines operated by other carriers, the Rock Island Line lives on in the hearts of those whom it employed and served.</P>
Оглавление
Bill Marvel. The Rock Island Line
THE. ROCK ISLAND. LINE
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
CHAPTER ONE. THE BRIDGE
Rock Makes Tracks
Abe Lincoln for the Defense
M&M: Beyond the River
CHAPTER TWO. A BEND IN THE ROAD
Panic and Prosperity
The Great Train Robbery
Across the Wide Missouri
CHAPTER THREE. A ROCKY ROAD
Pyramid Scheme
Rock at War
CHAPTER FOUR. PLANNED PROGRESS
4-8-4s Aplenty
Diesel Oddities
Rock Embattled
Rebuilding the Rock
CHAPTER FIVE. THE ROAD TO RIDE
The Limon Do-Si-Do
Commuterville
CHAPTER SIX. THE ROAD TO RUIN
EPILOGUE: PIECES OF THE ROCK
NOTES
RESOURCES
INDEX
BOOKS IN THE RAILROADS PAST AND PRESENT SERIES:
Отрывок из книги
ROCK ISLAND
George M. Smerk, Editor
.....
Beyond the end of track rolled the waters of the Mississippi, and plans were already in place to cross them. A group of the road’s directors had obtained a charter from the legislature for the Railroad Bridge Company. Farnam was president and chief engineer, and its bonds were guaranteed by the Chicago & Rock Island and the Mississippi & Missouri railroads. The new company would construct the Illinois side of the bridge to mid-channel; M&M would build the Iowa side, with the ever-helpful Antoine LeClair donating the needed land. Construction would occur in three segments: a short span across The Slough, right-of-way across Rock Island, and the main section. The wooden Howe truss superstructure would march across the river to Davenport on six granite piers, the largest anchoring a pivoting center span on the Illinois side.
The eastbound local behind GP7 No. 4517 makes its leisurely way along the banks of the Illinois River at Peru on June 8, 1975. The river, the railroad, and the nearby Illinois and Michigan Canal once made this a thriving port. Bill Marvel
