Western Railroad Discussion > Toto Tuesday: Rock Island runaround at Dwight?

I wonder how former Rock Island trainmen feel when they see their old working territory so full of trains an occasional unlucky train has to be parked somewhere because of some reason further down the line. It has to be a bit depressing! Toward the end of the Rock Island as we all knew it, I don't recall ever hearing that it had too many trains... Which leads us to some "what if" questions.

WHAT IF: The political climate in the 1960s ~ 70s had been different, and Rock Island's attempts to stave off bankruptcy had been successful?
WHAT IF: The ROCK had grown out of that near-bankruptcy into a healthy, major player in the 1980s and beyond?
WHAT IF: The ROCK was able to avoid the 1980s ~ 90s merger mania and stood tall against all competitors? Or perhaps a CRI&P/SP merger became a blockbuster western RR?
WHAT IF: The ROCK's Blue & White paint scheme had actually taken hold and became the new corporate identity of a much improved & still beloved version of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific with or without the SP?

What if right now today we could visit the Rock Island at Dwight, Kansas still on its own former GSR main line and watch modern, well maintained power on a train running around another train with equally modern, well maintained power. All of this on CTC-dispatched, deeply ballasted, smooth welded rail! And the runaround is only because The Mighty Fine Line just plain has too much traffic at the moment!

Sigh...

1. UP 3916 leads a westbound manifest around a parked autorack train at Dwight, KS.
Photo date: November 5, 2018.

Thanks for a wistful peek into never-never land!
Lance Garrels
santafe199



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/18 07:10 by santafe199.

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Interesting "what ifs". I think this thread may turn into many, many responses. I agree about the "merger climate" and how it has changed. Yet we still have stand-alones, such as the KCS. There will always be speculation concerning the Rock. Personally, I like the SP/RI idea. Yet both those lines had serious management problems. So, if that merger would have occurred, the merged railroad would have ultimately failed as well, presuming the management culture stayed the same. I think we would have wound up where we are in the West today, BNSF vs. UP. Just my opinion.

BB

 

What if the UP merger hearing hadn't stalled in court for so long and the Rock Island became UP's entry into the Chicago market and conection to all points east?
Could you imagine the countless numbers of doublestacks running across those tracks instead of CNW's? The east coast stackers could run thru Blue Island and over toward South Chicago yard to connect with all those railroads coming in from the east.
Could you imagine the UP having a Rock Island heritage locomotive, somewhat similar to the one Iowa Interstate has?

Ahhh, alas but it wasn't meant to be and thus the Rock got sliced up like meat at the local market.
 

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/13/18 07:51 by Bob3985.

Bob3985 Wrote: > ...  sliced up like meat at the local market ...

...and that's the damnable misery of being a Rock Island fan...

Lance (grandson of a career Rock Island man)

If the Rock Island had survived and prospered things would look much different.  Instead of yellow and gray SD70ACe's you'd likely see these instead :)

Bruce In KC

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Nice pic Lance!!

Bruce,
Excellent graphics and thanks for the thought. Only "IF".

Bob Krieger
Cheyenne, WY

Rock Island and Milwaukee Road died for our sins.

Before they went bankrupt, the "railroad problem" was confined to the Northeast in the eys of Midwestern and Western Congressmen.

After the wholesale abandonments of Rock Island and Milwaukee Road, suddenly it was a problem in their backyards. And so deregulation passed.

Best regards,

Rob L.

Always interesting to play "what if" with railroads past and present. I always found it interesting that despite its failures, there is still a lot of the old Rock trackage that survives, and quite a bit of it ended up in the Union Pacific fold.

Kim Heusel

Great photo Lane.

Ronda Thomas

Posted from Android

KimHeusel Wrote: > ... quite a bit of [the Rock] ended up in the Union Pacific fold ...

Yeahhhh........ Quite a bit of the Midwestern RR world as we knew it before 1982 got sucked up in Uncle Pete's tentacles...   :^/

Lance