In 1951, the Rock Island’s passenger trains were completely Dieselized while it still used both steam and Diesels for hauling its freight trains. At least, that’s the implication of this cover (which is the back cover), which shows multiple Diesels on the right representing the Rockets and a steam locomotive and Diesel in freight covers on the left representing “America’s Most Modern Freight Service.”

Click image to download a 21.0-MB PDF of this 36-page timetable.

In fact, this timetable shows numerous local trains, such as Horton Kansas to Fairbury Nebraska or Billings to Ponca City, Oklahoma. I suspect that many of these were still pulled by steam locomotives in 1951.

This particular timetable cover was adopted around 1945, replacing one that pictured a single Diesel representing the Rockets and a single steam locomotive representing freight that was probably first used in 1937 when the Rockets were first introduced.

The front cover of this timetable shows what looks like a Heywood-Wakefield Sleepy Hollow seat, which was “always available on the streamlined Rockets.” Like the seats in an ad in the 1953 Missouri Pacific timetable shown here a few years before, the Rocket seats didn’t include leg rest. While they might have been comfortable for short trips, they were inadequate for overnight trips.