I was working freight for Lee Way Motor Freight in 1980. I was stunned when RI shut down. I can remember thinking I would like to work for the railroad. Why didn't RI sell out to another line? The RI trackage laid unused for years in my part of the USA. Guess I answered my own question, nobody wanted it.
Actually the Rock and the UP reached a merger agreement, but the federal government wouldn't allow it. Ironically, the UP ended up with most of the former Rock Island lines after time.
I had thought one of the reasons they let the plant go to hell had to do with waiting for a merger with the Union Pacific. While the ICC held the merger up, the RI let everything go, figuring the Union Pacific, in better financial condition, would be able to fix things up once the merger was finished.
One thing about the 1st freight, it did show that switchers did occasionally get out of the yards and pulled trains. So if you had a train set with a switcher, you were running it authentically.
its funny when union pacific took over us katy men was in charge of rebuiding the entire main line from kansas city to galveston texas. and they put all of us together with prejudice against one another. if you was a mop man you was hated now the rock island men and the katy men and union pacific men could work together but people from the burlington northern couldnt even sit in a bar together without a fight breaking out. lol old times. but great times. godbless those who gave their lives.
One of my first train sets had rock island f unit. I was 8 at the time and being from MA i was like "what the hell railroad is this?" after seeing the paint scheme. Anyways, i instantly fell in love with this railroad. Nothing beats the yellow and red. The RI really couldnt seem to pick a color scheme and stick with it either which is interesting. Would you know anything about that? Also by 1980 were most of their locos in bad shape? Seems kinda stupid not to maintain a RR and tracks
They went to blue paint because it was cheaper than the vermillion that they were used. That's the story I got from a motive power official after the end. All the variations came from management changes, experiments, and shop improvisation (Chicago Red).
I swear Ive had that same experince with ATSF F-units. When I was a kid, thats all I ever saw in pictures or train sets. You've gotta wonder what was so popular with f-units in those train starter sets
sad day when rock island died i grew up in el reno was at the auction at the rail yard thay gave away so much to scrapers it was a shame and the town pretty much died afterward had a couple short oil booms but there gone now last time i was there it is a sleeper town for okc and pretty much a welfare town if it was not the county seat i think there would be a ghost town there too bad it was a good town to grow up in and built by railroad money lot of nice old houses to see there take a look
That first train is really telling of the RI at that time. A mainline freight led by an SW600 switcher, a GP9, a U28b and 2 more EMD SW units plodding along at 15-20mph
thanks for posting the rock islan as a kid I made my parents stop at a crossing just so i could count the locomotives and see what type of cars that was involed. I grew up loving to be a rock island employee but when i got into high school i didnt expect to see the rock island go broke.
My dad was the last Rock employee in Texas. UP absorbed much RI trackage down south, but much was abandoned, also. New Mexico roadbed is gone. The short run from Fort Worth to Dallas is a commuter line.
That's really cool about your dad Tx, my dad was the last qualified engineer on the STL / KC line when he retired off the UP this November.
I consulted the map when I read your post and BNSF runs from Waxahachie, TX to Galveston. UP runs Herington to Bridgeport, TX...and the trackage from Tucumcari, NM to the TX border is still there and in good use (I have a photo of me at the old joint RI / SP depot at Tucumcari), and the map says the track to Santa Rosa is still in service.
@txxxvvvttt yah you can still find traces of Rock Island history on that line between Dallas/ft Worth TRE line there is a bridge underpass at Inwood Rd that still has Rock Island Lines on it but the stupid clearence sign covers most of it now
@txxxvvvttt : Sorry my friend, but I am still working for the UP in Ft. Worth. I am true Rock Island ... the last remaining one working under the provisions of the March 4th, 1980 Miami Accord. Never left Ft. Worth. Have pay stubs from 7 different railroads, starting with the Kansas City Terminal right on up through the UP. Be 70 years old in Sept. and start 53 years of seniority in October ... right off the old Rock Island roster. Have seen service on the "Twin Star", Ft. W. to Waurika.
75% of the Rock Island is still in service. Iowa Interstate runs the original Chicago to Omaha main. UP got most of it through the SP and CNW aquisitions. KYLE runs most of the old High Line Bellville to Denver. BNSF got some of the Texas line. The Memphis Gateway was mostly abandon.
Anyway, Trains Mag put out a map called 'What Ever Happened to the Rock Island" that outlines all this...
I live right by the Rock Island rail yard and they stil use all those cars and locomotives today! Some of them even have brand new paint jobs! The Rock Island Line is a mighty fine line! I say the Rock Island Line is a migty fine line! Remember that song?
Your vids are KICK ASS!! Ever thought of comipling them to CD/DVD to sell? I know, copy rights huh? Also did I see a crossing at the start w/onlt a stop sign and no cross bucks? Keep up the good work. You'll always have fan with me!
@Yzerfan55 UP runs a lot of the North South lines and various regionals like Iowa Interstate and Iowa Northern operate lines in the Midwest. When you get down South, not positive about the current owners. I would say that 50% of the trackage still sees trains.
Talk about seeing a ghost. I used to love to see Rock Island as she passed through Houston...most of the cabooses I saw they had were the high vision kind.
These truly were the last days. The locomotive lashups, 40 ft box cars, and cabooses bespeak another time. Thanks for another peek and the Rock Island in it's death throes.
that is why almost all of the rock trackage,is still in use today,after the bankcruptcy when they liquidated the property,everyone grab a chunk of it.SP,grab the line that pass el reno,all the way to tucumcari,NM,UP took the rock's spine line,and in 1980 some,i forgot the exact year,what is now IAIS,took their mainline,from blue island to council bluffs IA(omaha,NE)even that line that run up to limon,CO is still in use today,imagine if they had survive another,5 years,it may had been different..
The issue wasn't so much money as it was the way it was to be spent. Henry Crown, the major shareholder wanted the railroad liquidated since the mid '60's. He allowed management to invest in rolling stock and power, but they could not put money in track or signals. The other items could be resold, but money on the ground was money gone.
That's the main reason RI had bad track and inadequate sidings. It was trying to run a 1920's railroad in the 1970's.
@dbmcg2000 i worked with a lot of men on the katy rail road that was from the rock island and they said they was working on the track and the road master told them to go home and he might be able to get some money for their pay. they never recieved any money for their buy outs or even their last pay checks. sad but true. and i worked with one lady named rock island annie who was still working like a man with us on the union pacific. just a bit of history. write anytime. godbless.
Just imagined if there were Government Stimulus money back then, i'm sure the RI would have used it wisely and have those track up to Santa Fe style and a major locomotive rebuilding and repainting and for the frieght cars too and major mgmt restructuring
@BNforever2009 Well, I'm not for subsidies of any kind. Any form of corporate subsidies from the government usually results in disaster, like it has recently and always has before. However, the main problem for the RI was a mix of an idiot major shareholder and too much government regulation.
@LordoftheKaty Let's not forget antiquated union work rules. Rock Island management was trying to implement changes that would have improved services and lowered labor costs while keeping the same number of workers. The unions, being the rigid organizations they were, struck. Management was winning the strike when Carter needlessly stepped in. Rock's management could not meet union demands so they closed up shop. The unions destroyed their own jobs.
that is not hard for me to beleive for i was harrassed by my younger supervisor and was fired and the union din nothing so i am a anti union person now. so you may be right or lordofthe katy
THE ROCK never met an engine hood door that they couldnt leave unopened. air cooling, or just sloppy?
21navyseabee 1 month ago
Love that powder blue scheme with "THE ROCK." Oh, and great music to accompany this video.
ChachaChapati 4 months ago
I was working freight for Lee Way Motor Freight in 1980. I was stunned when RI shut down. I can remember thinking I would like to work for the railroad. Why didn't RI sell out to another line? The RI trackage laid unused for years in my part of the USA. Guess I answered my own question, nobody wanted it.
gonetoworkbbackin5mi 7 months ago
@gonetoworkbbackin5mi
Actually the Rock and the UP reached a merger agreement, but the federal government wouldn't allow it. Ironically, the UP ended up with most of the former Rock Island lines after time.
atsf3768 6 months ago
@gonetoworkbbackin5mi They tried to merge with UP and then Northwestern but by the time an agreement could be reached it was already too late.
htc6600 3 months ago
Great video...anyone know the name of the music used?
Irishmanb4vr6 7 months ago
There are still The ROCK Blue, Black & White freight cars around that have been only partially painted or have the numbers patched over.
AndrewNeilFalconer 11 months ago
I miss watching the rock island roll through oklahoma. i wonder if there had not been a strike would the railroad still be around today?
aquatodabone 1 year ago
man how i wish the Rock Island was still around today
GhostFearMe 1 year ago 2
Good to hear music that's not constantly kicking me in the head.
gebass6 1 year ago
Comment removed
gebass6 1 year ago
I had thought one of the reasons they let the plant go to hell had to do with waiting for a merger with the Union Pacific. While the ICC held the merger up, the RI let everything go, figuring the Union Pacific, in better financial condition, would be able to fix things up once the merger was finished.
lcar4000 1 year ago
One thing about the 1st freight, it did show that switchers did occasionally get out of the yards and pulled trains. So if you had a train set with a switcher, you were running it authentically.
Petemonster62 1 year ago
Don't know if it was intentional or not, but I liked the "Rock's Land" lettering on GP40 644 at the 4:00 mark.
RobynWatts 1 year ago
its funny when union pacific took over us katy men was in charge of rebuiding the entire main line from kansas city to galveston texas. and they put all of us together with prejudice against one another. if you was a mop man you was hated now the rock island men and the katy men and union pacific men could work together but people from the burlington northern couldnt even sit in a bar together without a fight breaking out. lol old times. but great times. godbless those who gave their lives.
39tommyboy 1 year ago
One of my first train sets had rock island f unit. I was 8 at the time and being from MA i was like "what the hell railroad is this?" after seeing the paint scheme. Anyways, i instantly fell in love with this railroad. Nothing beats the yellow and red. The RI really couldnt seem to pick a color scheme and stick with it either which is interesting. Would you know anything about that? Also by 1980 were most of their locos in bad shape? Seems kinda stupid not to maintain a RR and tracks
Dhoylandrules84 1 year ago
@Dhoylandrules84
They went to blue paint because it was cheaper than the vermillion that they were used. That's the story I got from a motive power official after the end. All the variations came from management changes, experiments, and shop improvisation (Chicago Red).
dbmcg2000 1 year ago
I swear Ive had that same experince with ATSF F-units. When I was a kid, thats all I ever saw in pictures or train sets. You've gotta wonder what was so popular with f-units in those train starter sets
corvettefan96 1 year ago
sad day when rock island died i grew up in el reno was at the auction at the rail yard thay gave away so much to scrapers it was a shame and the town pretty much died afterward had a couple short oil booms but there gone now last time i was there it is a sleeper town for okc and pretty much a welfare town if it was not the county seat i think there would be a ghost town there too bad it was a good town to grow up in and built by railroad money lot of nice old houses to see there take a look
cougar1972xr7 1 year ago
Fantastic video. Thanks, very sad.
shnimmuc 1 year ago
That first train is really telling of the RI at that time. A mainline freight led by an SW600 switcher, a GP9, a U28b and 2 more EMD SW units plodding along at 15-20mph
troy12n 1 year ago
thanks for posting the rock islan as a kid I made my parents stop at a crossing just so i could count the locomotives and see what type of cars that was involed. I grew up loving to be a rock island employee but when i got into high school i didnt expect to see the rock island go broke.
aquatodabone 1 year ago
I miss the Rock.
macdogq 1 year ago
my uncle would've become the CEO of this railroad if it had stayed around. i'm dead serious, no joking. at least, that's what he said about it.
rockguitarist946 1 year ago
i love this video! What music are you playing on it?
mmmttttdddd 1 year ago
Thank you. It's nice to see ANY video of the Rock. Great job.
youngtoughdubois 1 year ago
My dad was the last Rock employee in Texas. UP absorbed much RI trackage down south, but much was abandoned, also. New Mexico roadbed is gone. The short run from Fort Worth to Dallas is a commuter line.
txxxvvvttt 2 years ago
That's really cool about your dad Tx, my dad was the last qualified engineer on the STL / KC line when he retired off the UP this November.
I consulted the map when I read your post and BNSF runs from Waxahachie, TX to Galveston. UP runs Herington to Bridgeport, TX...and the trackage from Tucumcari, NM to the TX border is still there and in good use (I have a photo of me at the old joint RI / SP depot at Tucumcari), and the map says the track to Santa Rosa is still in service.
retrovetteguy 2 years ago
@txxxvvvttt yah you can still find traces of Rock Island history on that line between Dallas/ft Worth TRE line there is a bridge underpass at Inwood Rd that still has Rock Island Lines on it but the stupid clearence sign covers most of it now
gaycowboy31 2 years ago
@txxxvvvttt : Sorry my friend, but I am still working for the UP in Ft. Worth. I am true Rock Island ... the last remaining one working under the provisions of the March 4th, 1980 Miami Accord. Never left Ft. Worth. Have pay stubs from 7 different railroads, starting with the Kansas City Terminal right on up through the UP. Be 70 years old in Sept. and start 53 years of seniority in October ... right off the old Rock Island roster. Have seen service on the "Twin Star", Ft. W. to Waurika.
doodlejtr 1 year ago
75% of the Rock Island is still in service. Iowa Interstate runs the original Chicago to Omaha main. UP got most of it through the SP and CNW aquisitions. KYLE runs most of the old High Line Bellville to Denver. BNSF got some of the Texas line. The Memphis Gateway was mostly abandon.
Anyway, Trains Mag put out a map called 'What Ever Happened to the Rock Island" that outlines all this...
retrovetteguy 2 years ago
I live right by the Rock Island rail yard and they stil use all those cars and locomotives today! Some of them even have brand new paint jobs! The Rock Island Line is a mighty fine line! I say the Rock Island Line is a migty fine line! Remember that song?
martykean1967 2 years ago
Your vids are KICK ASS!! Ever thought of comipling them to CD/DVD to sell? I know, copy rights huh? Also did I see a crossing at the start w/onlt a stop sign and no cross bucks? Keep up the good work. You'll always have fan with me!
jacooker 2 years ago
What ever happened to rock island?
Yzerfan55 2 years ago
Bankrupt and liquidated in 1980. It's a loooong story. A lot of RI trackage is still in use to this day.
vicodumb 2 years ago
who owns the trackage now?
Yzerfan55 2 years ago
@Yzerfan55 UP runs a lot of the North South lines and various regionals like Iowa Interstate and Iowa Northern operate lines in the Midwest. When you get down South, not positive about the current owners. I would say that 50% of the trackage still sees trains.
vicodumb 2 years ago
You are kidding, aren't you?
DCFBALCO 2 years ago
@DCFBALCO No, I am not, and I did not post the comment above
Yzerfan55 2 years ago
Talk about seeing a ghost. I used to love to see Rock Island as she passed through Houston...most of the cabooses I saw they had were the high vision kind.
Been a long time....
TheLSK 2 years ago
Great show! It's like traveling time...
timotl36 2 years ago
These truly were the last days. The locomotive lashups, 40 ft box cars, and cabooses bespeak another time. Thanks for another peek and the Rock Island in it's death throes.
vicodumb 2 years ago
that is why almost all of the rock trackage,is still in use today,after the bankcruptcy when they liquidated the property,everyone grab a chunk of it.SP,grab the line that pass el reno,all the way to tucumcari,NM,UP took the rock's spine line,and in 1980 some,i forgot the exact year,what is now IAIS,took their mainline,from blue island to council bluffs IA(omaha,NE)even that line that run up to limon,CO is still in use today,imagine if they had survive another,5 years,it may had been different..
fnm9908 2 years ago
The issue wasn't so much money as it was the way it was to be spent. Henry Crown, the major shareholder wanted the railroad liquidated since the mid '60's. He allowed management to invest in rolling stock and power, but they could not put money in track or signals. The other items could be resold, but money on the ground was money gone.
That's the main reason RI had bad track and inadequate sidings. It was trying to run a 1920's railroad in the 1970's.
dbmcg2000 2 years ago 4
Yes, Henry Crown should have been moved off to a retirement center where he could not touch anything.
DCFBALCO 2 years ago
Thats why the locomotives paint was in such bad shape I take it.
Landaux 2 years ago
@dbmcg2000 actually the went broke putting all their money in a failed merger with UP
howardkevinm 1 year ago
@dbmcg2000 i worked with a lot of men on the katy rail road that was from the rock island and they said they was working on the track and the road master told them to go home and he might be able to get some money for their pay. they never recieved any money for their buy outs or even their last pay checks. sad but true. and i worked with one lady named rock island annie who was still working like a man with us on the union pacific. just a bit of history. write anytime. godbless.
39tommyboy 1 year ago
@dbmcg2000 a good way to run it to the ground,which it did.
legsbluetrain 1 year ago
@dbmcg2000 Well that is a dire shame. We could still have the Rock Island today if it were not for that
LordoftheKaty 8 months ago
Just imagined if there were Government Stimulus money back then, i'm sure the RI would have used it wisely and have those track up to Santa Fe style and a major locomotive rebuilding and repainting and for the frieght cars too and major mgmt restructuring
BNforever2009 2 years ago 5
@BNforever2009 Well, I'm not for subsidies of any kind. Any form of corporate subsidies from the government usually results in disaster, like it has recently and always has before. However, the main problem for the RI was a mix of an idiot major shareholder and too much government regulation.
LordoftheKaty 8 months ago 2
@LordoftheKaty Let's not forget antiquated union work rules. Rock Island management was trying to implement changes that would have improved services and lowered labor costs while keeping the same number of workers. The unions, being the rigid organizations they were, struck. Management was winning the strike when Carter needlessly stepped in. Rock's management could not meet union demands so they closed up shop. The unions destroyed their own jobs.
htc6600 8 months ago 2
@htc6600
that is not hard for me to beleive for i was harrassed by my younger supervisor and was fired and the union din nothing so i am a anti union person now. so you may be right or lordofthe katy
aquatodabone 8 months ago
@BNforever2009 There was a "stimulus" of sorts for bankrupt railroads called the 4R Act.
htc6600 8 months ago
@BNforever2009 They did have "stimulus" money in the 4R Act, which R.I. didn't qualify for.
htc6600 3 months ago
Odd as it may sound, they had more business than they could handle at the end. Glad you liked the vid!
dbmcg2000 2 years ago
A wonderful video. Sad to see that railroad in such a deteriorated state, though.
songbilliam 2 years ago