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Rock Island began to publish its series of Turquoise sky booklets on Colorado at least as early as 1902 and continued at least through 1930. At 84 pages, this one from 1909 is one of the longest in the series; … Continue reading
Category Archives: CRI&P
In 1909, Seattle — eager to respond to Portland’s Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition of 1905, held a world’s fair to celebrate the 12th anniversary of the discovery of gold in the Yukon. That’s something like a fraternity having a … Continue reading
We’ve previously seen a 1937 Rock Island booklet that asked an “all-important question: Where shall we go this summer?” This booklet from 1898 asked the same “important question” but with a more Victorian flavor: “Whither shall we go to avoid … Continue reading
As the 20th century opened, Burlington’s train #1 was a stiff competitor, offering speed and comfort, if not exclusivity, in the Chicago-Denver corridor. One thing it didn’t have was an evocative name. Despite the Denver Post and William Henry Jackson … Continue reading
As previously noted, in November, 1926, the three sets of railroads competing in the Chicago-Los Angeles market had reduced the schedules of their premiere trains from 68 to 63 hours. Riding any of these trains required a $10 extra fare, … Continue reading
We’ve seen this Maurice Logan painting on the cover of a 1928 Southern Pacific booklet. Today’s booklet has the same cover illustration, but the interior content is very different. For one thing, this one is 32 pages long vs. 16 … Continue reading
“It takes no longer yet you see more” when you travel to California on the Golden State Limited, argues this post-war booklet issued by the Rock Island. While the booklet makes a lengthy argument for this claim, I consider it … Continue reading
In late 1901, Rock Island completed a 264-mile extension from Liberal, Kansas to Santa Rosa, New Mexico. Its goal was to reach coal mines that were opening up in the territory, which wouldn’t become a state until 1912. To that … Continue reading
Like the St. Paul, Burlington, and North Western, the Rock Island was a “granger railroad,” meaning it earned most of its money carrying grains and other farm products to mills and markets. But it was never situated quite as well … Continue reading
Except for the name of the railroad, this could be one of Union Pacific’s tour brochures similar to those shown here a couple of months ago. Unlike UP, Rock Island only went as far west as Colorado, so this brochure … Continue reading