Quad Cities Rocket

Illinois passenger train

This article is about the historical Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad service. For the proposed Amtrak route, see Quad Cities (train).

Quad Cities RocketOverview

Service type| Inter-city rail
Status| Discontinued
Locale| Illinois
Predecessor| Rocky Mountain Rocket
First service| 1970
Last service| December 31, 1978
Former operator(s)| Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad
Route
Termini| Chicago, Illinois
Rock Island, Illinois
Distance travelled| 181 mi (291 km)
Service frequency| Daily
Technical
Track gauge| 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
| Route map

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Legend

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|  | Chicago

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|  | Englewood
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|  | Blue Island
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|  | Joliet
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|  | Morris
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|  | Ottawa
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|  | Peru–LaSalle
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|  | Bureau
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Peoria Rocket to Peoria

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|  | Sheffield
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|  | Geneseo
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|  | Rock Island
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The Quad Cities 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.[1] The State of Illinois subsidized the cost of service, contributing $500,000 in 1977 to offset losses by the railroad (equivalent to $2.59 million in 2024 adjusted for inflation).[2][3] Trains ran until December 31, 1978 when the Rock Island ended its intercity passenger operations.[4][5]

## References

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1. ^ "Sheffield To Hold Appreciation Day For R.I. Lines". The Dispatch. The Dispatch. July 1, 1971. p. 15. Retrieved 23 August 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ Illinois Rail Plan, Update (Report). Illinois Department of Transportation. 1978. p. 12.
3. ^ "Subsidy runs out for Quad Cities, Peoria Rockets". The Pantagraph. The Pantagraph. February 1, 1977. p. 5. Retrieved 22 August 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ Glischinski, Steve (2007). Regional Railroads of the Midwest. Voyageur Press. p. 77\. ISBN 9781610604956.
5. ^ Schafer & Welsh 1997, p. 141

### Bibliography

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* Schafer, Mike; Welsh, Joe (1997). Classic American Streamliners. Osceola, Wisconsin: MotorBooks International. ISBN 978-0-7603-0377-1.

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Named trains of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad

Rockets|

* Choctaw Rocket
* Corn Belt Rocket
* Des Moines Rocket
* Golden Rocket
* Jet Rocket
* Kansas City Rocket
* Oklahoma Rocket
* Quad Cities Rocket
* Rock Island Rockets
* Rocky Mountain Rocket
* Texas Rocket
* Twin Star Rocket
* Zephyr Rocket

Other named trains|

* Apache
* Arizona Limited
* Californian
* Cherokee
* Chicago-Hot Springs Limited
* Choctaw Limited
* Colorado Express
* Des Moines-Omaha Limited
* Firefly
* Golden State
* Golden State Limited
* Imperial
* Iowa-Nebraska Limited
* Mid-Continent Special
* Rocky Mountain Limited
* Sam Houston Zephyr
* Short Line Express
* Twin Cities Express

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