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While track capacity is a non-issue, and still likely will not be much of one when the economy recovers, the Rock Island, or at least what I see of it from my hotel (I'll be out there this Wknd), a Holiday Inn Express in Coralville and at which practically every room is "with a view", is maybe a 30mph "bump and grind" railroad.
It will need a lot of work in order to even think about operating a passenger train on any kind of drive competitive schedule. Possibly someone here knows, but I'm not sure what signalling is active at this time. If it is dark, then 59mph will be "as good as it gets".
PullmanCo Member # 1138
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Interesting article. Says a lot about working top level political investment by several States.
Wonder if some other folks are catching that? Top level political investment from multiple States.
Too bad they didn't get service right, though. At one point Iowa had service from no less than: - CRI&P - ASTF - CMStP&P - C&NW - CB&Q
You could get somewhere else from Des Moines.
Ocala Mike Member # 4657
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GBN, isn't Coralville halfway between Iowa City and Cedar Rapids? Do you remember the CRANDIC? Will you be getting out to Amana for a "fine dining" experience?
PullmanCo: Maybe you know which railroad once served Nichols, IA; I believe passenger service too. Are the tracks pulled?
PullmanCo Member # 1138
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Mike: Looking at googlemaps airphotos (as well as the map), those tracks are GONE.
I will check with someone who is an expert on the Rock Island to see if this was their lines.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Mike here's the hotel; be sure to note its proximity to the Rock Island; take a peek at the structure - it does offer "rooms with a view".
TwinStarRocket Member # 2142
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"and the Twin Star Rocket from Minneapolis-St. Paul to Chicago."??? Makes me feel like a fading memory. It was MSP to Dallas-Fort Worth with connections to Houston and (bus) Galveston! And don't forget the Rocky Mountain Rocket to Denver/Colorado Springs and the Golden State to Los Angeles. Rock Island wasn't exactly a local in iowa.
Gilbert B Norman Member # 1541
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Nichols, IA was on the Rock Island's route of the Zephyr Rocket, a Mpls-St Louis train (rode it Jan 62) interchanged to the CB&Q at namesake city Burlington.
The line diverged from the now UP route of the Twin Star Rocket (Spine Line in consultantese) at Manly, thence through Waterloo, Cedar Rapids, West Liberty, Nichols, and on to Burlington.
The line is long abandoned. Through Cedar Rapids along the Cedar River, it has become a nature trail. There was a bridge which X'd the C&NW as an overpass. While the C&NW "had no moolah", the UP did to eliminate the last single track bottleneck over the Cedar River on the Overland Route. However, an electric utility blocked the double tracked bridge project for at least five years after the takeover of the C&NW.
Pardon my reference of material I submitted to another site:
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Thanks for that info about Nichols, IA, Gil. That airport code, CID, on the hotel page brought back memories of a flight on a United DC-6 from O'Hare to what was then called Cedar Rapids (not Eastern Iowa or whatever) back in Sept., 1967 when my 13-month tour in Korea ended. My wife was staying with her parents in West Branch, IA, and they met me at the airport. I remember the plane was practically empty, it was late at night, and we circled the field several times due to a severe thunderstorm preventing us from landing. I also remember telling a not unattractive UA stewardess all about my exploits in Korea during the flight. Guess she was "into" the silver bars on my uniform.
You never told me if you were going to get out to Amana or not. I remember a trip there around the same time; we ate at a "family-style" place, and the food was probably as good as I've had anywhere.
notelvis Member # 3071
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Hooray -
Bring back the Hawkeye! Bring back the Amtrak Blackhawk...... I sure would have liked the rail option back in the 1990's when I was making several trips a year to Dubuque.
Given an acceptable product (ie: not the 30mph bump and grind), Iowans would probably support rail passenger service with their patronage.
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