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[5], Some times identified as "Kelly Pace and Prisoners", Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, TIMELINE OF MUSICAL STYLES & GUITAR HISTORY, "Treasury of Library of Congress Field Recordings - Various Artists : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards", "Rock Island Line [Naxos] - Leadbelly : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards", "The John and Ruby Lomax 1939 Southern States Recording Trip", "From "Mule-een" to New Orleans: Just What Was Lead Belly Saying? New Budd bilevels that were near copies of the 1961 Milwaukee Road cars arrived in 1978. The Golden Rocket was scheduled to closely match the Santa Fe's transit time end-to-end and was to have its own dedicated trainsets, one purchased by the Rock Island, the other by Southern Pacific. In Iowa, the C&RI's incorporators created (on February 5, 1853) the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad Company (M&M), to run from Davenport to Council Bluffs, and on November 20, 1855, the first train to operate in Iowa steamed from Davenport to Muscatine. The Directed Service Order enabled one-time suitors, via KCT management, to basically test operate portions of the Rock Island that had once interested them. Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar! [3][4], The M&M was acquired by the C&RI on July 9, 1866, to form the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company. 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. The RTA bought it in 1982. During most of the ensuing merger process, Rock Island operated at a financial loss. On this route, the Rock Island's train was marketed as a "low-altitude" crossing of the Continental Divide. The Rock Island's cars were delivered and found their way into the Golden State's fleet soon after delivery. It hired a new president and CEO, John W. Ingram, a former Federal Railway Administration (FRA) official. In competition with the Santa Fe Chiefs, 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. LaSalle Street Station was torn down and replaced with the Chicago Stock Exchange building, with a smaller commuter station located one block south of the old station. As the Rocky Mountain Rocket was downgraded due to nonrail competition, the route traveled by the train was gradually shortened from 1966 onward. All Lonnie's A & B-sides between 1955-67, including his very first hit 'Rock Island Line'. The Rock Island did not concede to the Santa Fe's dominance in the Chicago–Los Angeles travel market and re-equipped the train with new streamlined equipment in 1948. Main lines that had seen little or no maintenance in years were pulled from the mud. As the Rock Island's set of streamlined passenger cars was being finished, the Southern Pacific abruptly withdrew its purchase. The steamboat was overcome by a fire, which also destroyed a span of the bridge. Rock Island Line is a dark, extremely well written novel. Get your ticket at the station for the Rock Island Line, Many artists subsequently recorded it, often changing the verses and adjusting the lyrics. Operating funds were disbursed to all commuter operators, and the Rock Island was to be provided with new equipment to replace the tired 2700 series and Capone cars. Additionally, the ICC attached conditions for both labor and operating concessions that the UP deemed excessive. When the Milwaukee Road purchased new Budd Company stainless-steel, bilevel cars in 1961, the Rock Island elected to add to a subsequent order and took delivery of its first bilevel equipment in 1964. "It flew up the English charts. To provide the power for these cars, several former Union Pacific EMD E8 and EMD E9 diesels were rebuilt with head end power and added to the commuter pool. In common with most American railroad companies, the Rock Island once operated an extensive passenger service. Despite the fact that Rock Island management had been able to move 80% of pre-strike tonnage, at the behest of the Carter Administration, the ICC declared a transportation emergency, finding that the Rock Island would not be able to move the 1979 grain harvest to market. Henry Crown was ultimately proven correct, as both he and other bondholders who had purchased Rock Island debt for cents on the dollar during the low ebb in prices did especially well. (1) From WITH HIS HOT AND BLUE GUITAR (LP-1220) - … (Those totals may or may not include the former Burlington-Rock Island Railroad.). It was first released by Lead Belly in 1942. The RTA gradually rebuilt the track and added more new equipment to the service, leaving the property in better shape than it was in the Rock Island's heyday, albeit with less track. The first recorded performance of "Rock Island Line" was by inmates of the Arkansas Cummins State Farm prison in 1934.[1]. [5], Lonnie Donegan's recording, released as a single in late 1955, signaled the start of the UK skiffle craze. Story, and George Jones (vocals) at Cummins State Farm, Camp #1, near Varner, Arkansas, on May 21, 1939. The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road Overtures were made from fellow Midwest granger line Chicago and North Western and granger turned transcon Milwaukee Road. In 1965, Rock Island earned its last profit. [2], The earliest known version of "Rock Island Line" was written in 1929 by Clarence Wilson, a member of the Rock Island Colored Booster Quartet, a singing group made up of employees of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad at the Biddle Shops freight yard in Little Rock, Arkansas. Cars and locomotives were gathered in 'ghost trains' that appeared on otherwise defunct Rock Island lines and accumulated at major terminals and shops and prepared for sale. As a result, by 1974, the Rock Island was no longer the attractive bride it had once been in the 1950s. The track program of 1978 helped with main-line timekeeping, although the Rock Island's management decreed that the two trains were not to delay freight traffic on the route. Track rebuild projects covered the system. Crown declared that the Rock Island was not capable of operating profitably, much less paying its outstanding debts. The Rio Grande would have an option to purchase the Denver-Kansas City line. In 1964, its last profitable year,[6][7] the Rock Island selected UP to pursue a merger plan to form one large "super" railroad stretching from Chicago to the West Coast. One of these recordings was studied and imitated phrase by phrase, by a young English singer of American folk songs [referring to Lonnie Donegan], who subsequently recorded it for an English company. Its predecessor, the Rock Island and La Salle Railroad Company', was incorporated in Illinois on February 27, 1847, and an amended charter was approved on February 7, 1851, as the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad. Rock Island timetables are “Rocket Red” for the Rock Island… Now set free and adrift, both operationally and financially, the Rock Island assessed its options. Incredibly, the Rock Island refused this, and the UP routed more Omaha traffic over the Chicago and North Western. The beginning of the most popular version of the song tells the story of a train operator who smuggles pig iron through a toll gate by claiming all he had on board was livestock, but this episode was a later addition not present in the traditional, 1929 version. - Performance Note: "Rock Island Line" performed by Joe Green, Joe Battle, John Denny, Willie "Little Life" Johnson, C. A. Gibbons was able to raise more than $500 million in the liquidation, paying off all the railroad's creditors, bondholders and all other debts in full at face value with interest. Rock Island began to take on a ramshackle appearance and derailments occurred with increasing frequency. The Rock Island conceded nothing to its rival, even installing ABS signaling on the route west of Lincoln in an effort to maintain transit speed. According to Ingram,"by the end of the sixth week, the Rock Island was handling about 30 percent of its prestrike tonnage with 5 percent of the prestrike onboard train operating personnel. Its purchase of the Choctaw, Oklahoma and Gulf Railroad gave it the beginnings of a transcontinental route along the thirty-fifth parallel and the beginnings of a route to the Gulf of Mexico at New Orleans. In 1937, the Rock Island introduced diesel power to its passenger service, with the purchase of six lightweight Rocket streamliners. [10], Ironically, through the mega mergers of the 1990s the Union Pacific railroad ultimately ended up owning and operating more of the Rock Island than it would have acquired in its attempted 1964 merger. With only $300 of cash on hand, on March 17, 1975, Rock Island entered its third bankruptcy under Chapter 77 of the Federal Bankruptcy Act. Still more traffic flowed on the strikebound Rock Island. Donegan had synthesized American Southern Blues with simple acoustic instruments: acoustic guitar, washtub bass and washboard rhythm. Comments: 5. The Ingram administration estimated that the Rock Island could be rebuilt and re-equipped at a cost of $100 million and sought financing for the plan. Lincoln argued that not only was the steamboat at fault in striking the bridge, but that bridges across navigable rivers were to the advantage of the country. The song Rock Island Line was written by Clarence Wilson and was first performed by Rock Island Colored Booster Quartet. The song's chorus includes: The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road The new style was called 'Skiffle' .... and referred to music from people with little money for instruments. Rail and tie replacement programs attacked the maintenance backlog. 86 tracks across three CDs (slimline) in a slipcase box, many appearing on CD for the first time. The lyrics to this version are largely different to the version that later evolved and became famous, with verses describing people and activities associated with the yard. 2,880 were here. The Rock operated service on the line until it went bankrupt. After concluding that the cost of joining would be greater than remaining in the passenger business, the railroad decided to "perform a public service for the state of Illinois" and continue intercity passenger operations. The front line operating employees had not had an increase in pay since the existing contracts expired yet remained on the job during extensive contract negotiations. The Acoustic Music organization makes this comment about Donegan's version. The only option for the Rock Island to grow revenues and absorb costs was to merge with another, perhaps more prosperous railroad. The Rock Island offered to open the books to show the precarious financial condition of the road in an effort to get the BRAC in line with the other unions that had already signed agreements. The Rock Island was known as "one railroad too many" in the plains states, basically serving the same territory as the Burlington, only over a longer route. Second-hand Aerotrains, while less than successful in intercity service, were purchased to provide further air-conditioned accommodations that had proven popular with the 2700 series cars. On April 18, 2020, work completed on painting one of their GP38 locomotives, RILX 4310, into the famous "The Rock" paint scheme. 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. A spur of the Rock Island Railroad that ran beside a small hotel in Eldon, Missouri owned by the grandmother of Mrs. Paul (Ruth) Henning also inspired the popular television show "Petticoat Junction" in the early 1960s. Expenditures on track maintenance were cut, passenger service was reduced as fast as the ICC would allow, and locomotives received only basic maintenance to keep them running. The first recorded performance of "Rock Island Line" was by inmates of the Arkansas Cummins State Farm prison in 1934. The Suburban Line made stops every four blocks along the way before rejoining the main line at Western Avenue Junction in Blue Island. The Rock Island Line Lyrics: Now this here's a story about the Rock Island Line / Well the Rock Island Line she runs down into New Orleans / … [5] Major lines included Minneapolis to Kansas City, Missouri, via Des Moines, Iowa; St. Louis, Missouri Meta, 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 new style captivated an entire generation of post-war youth in England. He simply initiated the shutdown and liquidation of the Rock Island, which was what Henry Crown had advocated for from the very beginning. LaSalle Street Station, the service's downtown terminal, suffered from neglect and urban decay with the slab roof of the train shed literally falling apart, requiring its removal. I had liked Driftless so much that I wanted to read more of David Rhodes' books, so I chose Rock Island Line because the two books shared a central character, July Montgomery. However, the FRA-backed loans that Ingram sought were thwarted by the lobbying efforts of competing railroads, which considered a healthy Rock Island as a threat. In 2017, a new startup company that owns the rights to the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific name began operating in the southern United States. [3], The first audio recording of the song was made by folklorist and musicologist John A. Lomax at the Tucker, Arkansas prison farm on September 29, 1934. In an effort to prop up its future merger mate, UP asked the Rock Island to forsake the Denver gateway in favor of increased interchange at Omaha. The Mississippi River bridge between Rock Island and Davenport was completed on April 22, 1856. The Rock Island stretched across Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas. ", "Greatest Hits - The Weavers: Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards", "1956-1960 - Johnny Horton : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards", "Rock Island Line - Johnny Cash : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards", "Looking for a Home - Odetta : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards", "Family Dance - Dan Zanes : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards", "Bandwagon - Eleven Hundred Springs : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards", Oldielyrics.com, Lonnie Donegan's version of "Rock Island Line", A Mighty Good Road: Minnesota Public Radio, Traditional Music and Spoken Word Catalog, The Midnight Special and Other Southern Prison Songs, Folkways: The Original Vision (Woody and LeadBelly), Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out. This accident caused a series of court cases. With the 1980 end of the Rock Island, the RTA purchased the suburban territory and remaining Rock Island commuter equipment from the estate, while the Chicago and North Western Railway took over operations for a year before the RTA began operating it directly in 1981. The Rock Island also operated an extensive commuter train service in the Chicago area. (Printed in U.S.A.) Label: By arrangement with [l=Share Records] Electronically enhanced for Stereo Rock Island Line has a different A side label. This traditional tune Rock Island Line has been covered by Leadbelly, Lennon and McCartney and many others. The last two trains plied the Rock Island's Illinois Division as the track quality declined from 1971 through 1977. It was sung a cappella. Nevertheless, new and rebuilt locomotives arrived on the property in gleaming powder blue and white to replace some of the tired, filthy power. ROCK ISLAND LINE (JS-6101), a modest Johnny Cash collection, is typical of the label's reissue LPs. The Suburban Line served the Beverly Hills area of Chicago as a branch leaving the main line at Gresham and heading due west, paralleling the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal Railroad passenger line before turning south. As for available overhead traffic, in 1958, no less than six Class I carriers were serving as eastern connections for the Union Pacific at Omaha, all seeking a slice of the flood of western traffic that UP interchanged there. The Brotherhood of Railway and Airline Clerks (BRAC) held firm to their demand that pay increases be back dated to the expiration date of the previous agreement. Huddie [Lead Belly] sang and performed this song, finally settling on a format where he portrayed, in song, a train engineer asking the depot agent to let his train start out on the main line. (April 27, 2021) - Metra will be hiring more than 100 workers in a variety of occupations in the coming months to prepare for an expected increase in ridership and to fill some positions that were left vacant during the depths of the pandemic. "Rock Island Line" is an American folk song. Union Pacific unilaterally walked away from the deal, ending the merger case. Creditors, such as Henry Crown, advocated for the shutdown and liquidation of the property. [9] The ICC issued a Directed Service Order authorizing the Kansas City Terminal Railway to take over operations. By this time, the Rock Island could not afford to replace the clearly worn-out equipment. The Rock Island ground to a halt. "Rock Island Line" is an American folk song. The record sold in the hundreds of thousands in the U.S. and England, and this Arkansas Negro convict song, as adapted by Lead Belly, was published as a personal copyright, words and music, by someone whose contact with the Rock Island Line was entirely through the grooves of a phonograph record. Ran into the Golden State occurred with some controversy status prices Island introduced diesel power its. Inc., Long Island City, 1, new York purchased the SUN Reissues brand. ) of the merger... It was first performed by Rock Island property back to viable operating condition to be prohibitive way gain. They could Midwest rail network had been agreed to Long Island City, 1 new! 1979, the Illinois Division as the Golden State occurred with some controversy Pacific had been paid, the! Paul—Des Moines—Kansas City—Oklahoma City—Fort Worth—Dallas—Houston ), the route, the Southern abruptly... 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Of their GP38 locomotives, rail cars, equipment, tracks, and estate... Recording Trip a dark, extremely well written novel the merger with Union Pacific seemingly so,...

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