Three Rock Island EMD E8 locomotives with No. 655 on the lead deadhead extra cars from a football special
on the Quad Cities Rocket at Joliet, IL, November 14, 1971. Photo by George Hamlin.
(Audio-Visual Designs, Earlton, NY, Public domain, via W. Lenheim Collection)
QUAD CITIES ROCKET
The Quad Cities Rocket or Quad City Rocket was a named passenger train of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. It operated on a route between Chicago and Rock Island, Illinois. It was a remnant of one of the Rock Island's premier trains, the Rocky Mountain Rocket. That train's route had been cut back to Omaha in 1966; after a year without a name, it was renamed The Cornhusker. In 1970, the train took its final form when its western terminus was cut all the way back to Rock Island.
The railroad initially declined to hand passenger operations over to Amtrak in 1971 and the Quad Cities continued to run as one of the company's two remaining routes (the other being the Peoria Rocket). That year, a stop was added at Sheffield. The State of Illinois subsidized the cost of service, contributing $500,000 in 1977 to offset losses by the railroad (equivalent to $2.41 million in 2022 adjusted for inflation). Trains ran until December 31, 1978 when the Rock Island ended its intercity passenger operations.
Route of the Quad Cities Rocket.
(Wikipedia, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 4.0; via Wikimedia Commons)
The Quad Cities Rocket traveling eastbound from Geneseo to Sheffield, IL, May 5, 1977. Photo courtesy Mary Jane Rowe. (© Mary Jayne's Railroad Specialties, Inc., Fair use, Title 17, Section 107, via W. Lenheim Collection)
The Quad Cities Rocket led by "Independence" E8 No. 652 at Bue Island, IL, April 16, 1978. Photo courtesy Thomas J. Golden. (© Mary Jayne's Railroad Specialties, Inc., Fair use, Title 17, Section 107, via W. Lenheim Collection)
CRIP E8 No. 655 leads the Quad Cities Rocket into Joliet, IL. Photo by Russ Porter. (© Mary Jayne's Railroad Specialties, Inc., Fair use, Title 17, Section 107, via W. Lenheim Collection)
Quad Cities Rocket Overview
Service type: Inter-city rail
Status: Discontinued
Locale: Illinois
Predecessor: Rocky Mountain Rocket
First service: 1970
Last service: December 31, 1978
Former operator: Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad
Route Termini: Chicago, Illinois / Rock Island, Illinois
Distance traveled: 181 mi (291 km)
Service frequency: Daily
Technical
Track gauge: 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)