Rock Island Requiem: The Collapse of a Mighty Fine Line

by Gregory L. Schneider

George H. and Constance M. Hilton Book Award

Celebrated in history and song, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad Company—the Rock Island Line—was a powerful Midwestern railroad that once traversed thirteen states with its fast freights and Rocket passenger trains but eventually succumbed to government regulation and a changing economy. Gregory Schneider chronicles the Rock Island's painful decline and along the way reveals some of the key problems within the American railroad industry during the post-World War II era.

Schneider takes readers back to a time when railroads still clung to a storied past to offer new insight into the devastating impact of economic policymaking during the 1960s and 1970s. Schneider recounts the largest railroad liquidation in American history—as well as one of the most successful reorganizations in American business—to depict the demise and ultimate collapse of Rock Island as part of a broader account of hard times in the railroad industry beginning in the 1970s.

Schneider weaves a complex story of how business, politics, government bureaucracy, and individual greed helped to limit the economic possibilities of the railroad industry and catapult the Rock Island Railroad into oblivion. Weakened by a troubled economy, the Rock fell victim to inept management and labor union intransigence; but Schneider also reveals how government regulations and price controls prevented innovation, hindered capital acquisition, and favored other forms of transportation that lie beyond the scope of regulation. Railroads were even hurt by taxation of property and real estate while competitors were able to use government-subsidized highways and airports without having to pay taxes to fund them.

Now that America has gone on to witness the collapse of such mammoth firms as Enron and Lehman Brothers, not to mention the bankruptcy and bailout of General Motors, the story of the Rock provides an instructive lesson in how a major American enterprise was allowed to fall victim to forces often beyond its control—while the bailout of the Penn Central, at the expense of smaller lines like Rock Island, helped initiate the era of "too big to fail."

For economic historians and railroad buffs alike, Rock Island Requiem is a well-researched and informative work—and a mighty good read.

Genres: Business

400 pages, Paperback

First published September 10, 2013

Reviews

[Jay French · Rating 4 out of 5]

Those who are interested in the history of the Rock Island Lines likely would begin their studies with a company-friendly history from the early 1950s called “Iron Road to Empire”. In that book, the author describes the founding of the railroad and on through the growth of the company into the 1950s, where the future looked exceedingly bright. “Rock Island Requiem” could be volume 2 of a complete history of the company, starting at its apex in the postwar 40s and 50s and through its decline and eventual liquidation in the 1980s. Except for a few good years, the Rock was in decline during this time described in this book. Notable were the political and legal machinations of the Rock and a few of its regional competitors, with the biggest issue being the prospective merger of the regional Rock with the national powerhouse Union Pacific. This merger is caught in governmental bureaucracy and legal challenges for many years, eliminating over time the value of the Rock to the UP or any other line. The weakened railroad went bankrupt, but operated in bankruptcy for many years until losses sealed its fate. The post bankruptcy liquidation was quite successful, though, leaving a rail car leasing company that was subsequently purchased by Maytag.

Author Schneider describes the action quite thoroughly throughout the period covered. “Iron Road to Empire” portrayed the early history of the railroad using substantial references to financial terms of mergers and operations. “Rock Island Requiem” similarly relates the later history of the Rock through the use of documentation of governmental and regulatory meetings. This story revolves around lawyers. This could have been extremely dry reading, but the author was able to inject some of the personality of the lawyers involved so that the reader could at times predict what reactions would occur after meetings. There were times when the author repeated anecdotes, but thankfully this didn’t happen often. I feel the author did a reasonable job with dry source material, but I can also imagine a more personality driven take on the decline of the railroad could be quite interesting. Seems like the makings of a miniseries in this story.

There were a couple of takeaways that I had from the book. First, the question at the end of the book is whether the Rock’s unions killed the company, or if the strike that marked the company’s demise was too late to have made a difference. The author describes both sides of that argument well. Union management doesn’t shine in this description, but their actions may well have been too late to matter.

Second, I grew up in Rock Island County not far from the Rock’s Silvis yards. My uncle worked for the Rock most of his career, and lost his job during the bankruptcy. I expected much of the story would take place in Rock Island. I was very wrong. There is barely a mention of the area I’m from – just some talk about the Silvis yards and the Rock Island Rocket passenger train route between Rock Island and Chicago. A majority of the events here happen in courthouses and meeting rooms in Chicago and Washington DC. I did get some small-town enjoyment out of reading where some of the rail segments that were split off of the Rock’s trackage and sold or abandoned began or ended in various nearby small towns in Northwestern Illinois and Eastern Iowa. There are probably not very many books that mention Bureau Junction, Illinois. This is one of them.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Schneider has done the groundwork for someone to write a really compelling story about the demise of this once-great railroad. Unfortunately, according to the appendix, he only conducted one in-person interview; nearly every other source were from transcripts of the Rock Island's bankruptcy hearings and annual reports. And bankruptcy lawyers' public pronouncements are deliberately precise, careful and dull.

If reading court transcripts and boardroom posturing is your thing, this might be worth your while. If you want a history read that will keep your interest to the end, look elsewhere.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took a while for me read this one a non-fiction, yet gripping book about the death of a once great railroad through government malfeasance, over-regulation, mis-management, & competitive skull-duggery. A real life blow by blow account of what led up to the end, & the union knife in the back that polished the Rock Island off. Working the last 20 years for the UP, I recognized a lot of the territory we absorbed from the Rock & later acquisitions.

[M.J. Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Portrayal at the Demise of the Rock Island Line!

Any fan of the Rock Island Line will want this book. It is a documentary of the collapse and liquidation of a "Mighty Fine Line", the Rock Island Railroad. The drama behind the failed merger of the Rock with the Union Pacific Railroad, the strike of 1979-80, the final months of operation and the liquidation and route sales of the Rock by its trustee is covered in detail. This book shows why the Federal government refused to provide funds to keep the Rock in business and the people who managed to keep this line running as long as it did. This book is well-written!