The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad, popularly known as the Rock Island Line or simply the Rock, was an American Class I freight and passenger railroad headquartered in Chicago that operated from 1852 until 1980. Its predecessor, the Rock Island and La Salle Railroad Company, was incorporated in Illinois in 1847, and the line became the first railroad to connect Chicago with the Mississippi River when it reached Rock Island in 1854. At its peak the railroad operated more than 7,000 miles of road across fourteen states from Colorado and New Mexico to Louisiana and Tennessee. Facing declining traffic and failed merger negotiations, the company entered bankruptcy in 1975 and ceased operations entirely when its final train reached Denver on March 31, 1980.
Facts
Company Type Headquarters Company Type
Company Type (category) FAQs
Why was Abraham Lincoln involved in a court case about the Rock Island Railroad?
A steamboat crash into the railroad's Mississippi River bridge in 1856 led to court cases, in one of which Lincoln represented the Rock Island.
On May 6, 1856, the steamboat Effie Afton ran into the Rock Island's Mississippi River bridge. The steamboat was overcome by fire, which also destroyed a span of the bridge. The accident caused a series of court cases. In one of them Abraham Lincoln, then a lawyer, represented the Rock Island. He argued that the steamboat was at fault in striking the bridge, and that bridges across navigable rivers were to the advantage of the country.
Connections
Operates In
Source Wikipedia: Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
In the Other Atlases
Located In
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject is located.
Sources
1. Wikidata: Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
Wikidata Q498404, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source 2. Wikipedia: Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad
Introduction
was an American Class I railroad
Infobox: hq_city
Chicago, Illinois
Operates In: Railroad Industry, Lead
The original Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad (CRI&P RW, sometimes called Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railway) (reporting marks CRI&P, RI, ROCK) was an American Class I railroad.
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