How many of you model the Rock?
I model a regional Rock Island Line set in 1996!
It covers the region held by the I & M Raillink (now IC&E) and the Iowa Interstate in that year. (When I want to get “real” I can use IMRL and IAIS locos/rolling stock on the layout).
The use of the RI’s 1980 loco roster works very well for a regional road in 1996. The roster is patterned on the IMRL and IAIS rosters, but altered to fit what a reduced sized Rock Island might have had at that date. For example, IAIS uses GP38x, my RI their blue scheme GP38-2s and GP40(-2)s. The IMRL ran SD40s, my RI SD40-2s. Etc.
So I have a lot of RI blue (GP38-2, GP40-2, SW1500, etc.) on the layout. However, the current owners wanted some of the older paint schemes to remain as part of the RI heritage, so SD40-2s are still red and yellow, GP9s have gone back to striped maroon, etc.
My RI still even runs a Rocket between Chicago and the Quad Cities, as AMTRAK does not. So the Rock Island Lines is STILL the road to ride in 1996 !!!
[:D]
Wow, sounds like a neat layout!
My brother Murray models Rock Island as a connecting road but not
to any prototype as has blue red and maroon.he has everything from S-2 to
DD-35a.he has S-2 GP-7 GP-38 SD-35 C-628 ect.
May the Lord be with the Raegan family
as with the nation.
David brown
I model the Rock but in a kinda different way.[:D]
Jeremy
I really liked RI. I remember seeing RI and SP lash-ups down here in El Paso Texas during the late seventies. Just seeing different paint schemes and real true weathering on those diesels!! I was hoping SP and RI would have merged. I’m an SP fan, but all do respect, I really miss seeing ‘THE ROCK’ or those yellow and red cabooses. when I add a track exchange line to my layout, it will be RI. With heavy weathering!!!
I love the The Rock and I’m for anybody who models it! I only have a R.I. covered hopper and I treat like it was royalty. That means NO GRAFFITI OR U.P. NUMBERS!!!
im wanting some of those blue GP38’s. they will look good as run threw power on my layout.