I think you’re on to it. Now I remember that a former RI employee said that what he understood is that the Amtrak payment was based on losses incurred in the prior two or three years, and apparently the Rock Island had just gotten rid of some trains, trimming its annual loss from, for example, 4X to 1X. So its payment would have been 4X but its actual loss if it kept running the two Rockets would have been 1X, so it actually saved money to keep running the trains. Someone who knows when Rock Island pulled off trains might be able to confirm this.
The Rock Island’s physical decay did not help some segments survive.
Cedar Rapids to Burlington hosted the preferred passenger routing from the Twin Cities to St. Louis, but CB&Q and later BN had their own slightly longer route. Not much freight interchange there.
The line declined. As the Rock Island collapsed, it became important again. The line from Keokuk to Des Moines was dropped and trackage rights to Burlington secured. Long trains of heavy tank cars containing corn sweetner smashed 1912 rails and toothpick ties deepy into the mud and cinders. Wrecks resulted.
This did not last long.
Shortly after the Rock Island’s collapse, there was a study done saying the line from Burlington to West Liberty was viable. This was based largely on wallboard from US Gypsum in Sperry, IA. The only problem was the track was not even reliable at 10 MPH. Corn and bean fields now hold this right of way of the Rocket Zephyr.
Does anybody know of other segments that may have survived had they been in better shape?
“The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road. Rock Island Line is the road to ride.The Rock Island Line is a mighty good road.If you want to ride you gotta ride it like you find it, Get your ticket at the station for the Rock Island Line”
Sorry guys, I couldn’t resist putting at least part of the song in here.
The farmland is still good south of Cedar Rapids. It is too close to the Mississippi for rail to compete for grain.
Inbound fertilizer was mentioned in the viabilty study as a revenue source. Potash was probably the commodity. The area’s proximity to the river has other fertilizers delivered by truck from river terminals.
How were the decisions on Amtrak routing made? If the UP had the capacity for the E-W traffic through the CO/WY area, was the decision to use the DRGW routing based on scenery and the potential for higher ridership because of it?
The RI Burlington - Cedar Rapids line at the end had a bridge out of service south of Mediapolis, IA. IIRC, a derailment damaged or took out a bridge. This also caused the BN to abandon their line from Mediapolis to Washington, IA.