Abandoned Rails: History of Missouri's Rock Island Railroad

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Despite connecting two of the nation's largest railroad-centric cities, the Rock Island's line failed to meet expected revenue, and ultimately was downgraded into secondary status. The Rock Island was a late-comer to the Saint Louis-Kansas City corridor, which had already been previously connected by four other railroads, so the Rock struggled to find its piece of the pie in a saturated market. Moreover, the line itself was costly to maintain, with a number of tunnels and high bridges required to cross Missouri's rugged terrain in and around the Ozark Mountains region.

Passenger service, which at the end consisted of only two twice-daily motor cars, called "doodlebugs" (each of which left Kansas City and Saint Louis, respectively, and met in Eldon), ceased on April 11, 1959. As the financial woes of the Rock Island continued on their downward pace, maintenance of the line suffered.

The Rock Island entered its 3rd and final bankruptcy in 1975.

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Abandoned Rails: History of Missouri's Rock Island Railroad

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MoBikeFed comment: 36 years after the last trail rolled on the Rock Island line, the corridor is finally being converted to become a 217-mile rail trail that will benefit all of the communities along the corridor