Rock Island E8A 661 sits near the throat of LaSalle Street Station with bilevels commuter cars that will eventually go to Joliet.

The Rock Lives! Buried deep in the Lange-Stegmann Company grain facility in Saint Louis, Missouri, on October 3rd, 2014, was a real "WABAC Machine" moment - a string with eight (ex) Rock Is... (more)

Rock Island commuter train waiting to depart Joliet Union Station

The Borax brush sprayer is almost to the telephone pole on the Rock Island at Pleasant Hill, Mo. Aug. 28, 1965. Such work trains could disburse over 100,000 gallons of herbicides in a day. Then... (more)

Would you say it was high time to run the brush sprayer? Note the barely-visible pole line crossarm, adjacent to the two Rock Island GP-7s 1347-1337. Borax contractor brush sprayer was eastboun... (more)

Rock Island rebuilt motor car 9090 into a self-propelled weed sprayer; note the booms on the side that swing out. It was photographed with its tank car of herbicide at Topeka, Kansas

A westbound Cotton Belt freight has just cleared the bridge over the Mississippi River after it departed Memphis, Tenn. on Aug. 25, 1962 as Rock Island Train 32 with Alco RS3 472 prepares to cross... (more)

Three Geeps hustle Rock Island tonnage westbound over Union Pacific traffic rights at North Topeka, Kansas as Santa Fe’s local from Atchison with a Fairbanks-Morse road-switcher also arrives tow... (more)

“Can you hear me now?” Rock Island GP40 371 and GP35 318 follow a rural “grapevine” phone line near Mayetta, Kansas northward toward St. Joseph, Mo. July 3, 1965.

Rock Island Train 18, "Twin Star Rocket," barrels eastward out of North Topeka, Ks. on time on Union Pacific track en route to Kansas City where it will return to home rails. Operating from Hous... (more)

Led by an F and two E units, Rock Island's "Golden State Limited" rushes into Topeka, Kansas where it will cross the Kansas River and enter Union Pacific trackage rights for the run to Kansas City... (more)

Is the camera aimed the wrong direction? Rock Island U25B 231 was on the point of Train 4, "Golden State," standing at North Topeka, Ks. station as westbound mail Train 39 with two F units approa... (more)

With E8 653 and a passenger Geep, Rock Island's mail Train 39 "Imperial" with one coach leaves Topeka, Ks. on a dreary Nov. 5, 1966. At Tucumcari, N.M., Rock Island will hand the train over to SP... (more)

We were watching the rip track being switched when what to our wondering eyes should appear, but engineer Santa! Remains are GP40s 370 and 360.

RI switch power Liberal, KS