s E-NEWSLETTER OF THE CHICAGO, ROCK ISLAND AND PACIFIC RAILROAD ISSUE NUMBER 29 FEBRUARY 2021 Cover: Rock Island Extended Vision Caboose # 17000 photographed at Eagle Grove, Iowa, in July 1981 by Dean Hearn. THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 2 CONTENTS 1. ANNOUNCEMENTS PAGE 3 2. NEW PRODUCTS PAGE 5 3. ERIC HOPP PHOTOS OF ROCK ISLAND COMMUTER CAR 2604. PAGE 9 4. DEAN HEARN ROCK ISLAND PHOTOS PAGE 12 5. BILL SCHULTZ RECALLS DELAYING PRR PERISHABLES TRAIN PAGE 14 6. RICHARD GILL AND THE THREE ARS. PAGE 15 7. DEAN SCHIRF'S TRAIN OF THOUGHT PAGE 17 8. L. A. REED - ROCK ISLAND POSTCARD COLLECTION PAGE 23 9. ELDON DEPOT MUSEUM BY KEN VANDEVOORT PAGE 25 10. "PETTICOAT JUNCTION" AND THE ROCK ISLAND BY MARK PAGE 30 BAKER 11. HO SCALE ROCK ISLAND CABOOSE 17772 BY MIKE PAGE 33 ARMSTRONG 12. ROCK ISLAND FANS AND PHOTO SECTION PAGE 36 13 WANTED PAGE 42 14. OBITUARIES PAGE 45 THIS ISSUE - 51 PAGES THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 3 1. ANNOUNCEMENTS: SCHEDULE FOR FUTURE IOWA CHAPTER NRHS SLIDE SHOWS Thank you to everyone that tuned in for our February slideshow. We set a new record for live viewers during Sunday's program. We also greatly appreciate Harold Ziehr who kindly made the Anglund collection available for use in this slideshow. Please also note this slideshow as well as all previous shows have been archived on the Iowa Chapter YouTube channel for viewing at any time. As we look further down the road, we will be looking for people to submit material for future shows. Thanks to advances in technology, no one would be required to travel to Iowa and present a show. Shows can be pre-recorded or presented live, according to the preference of the presenter. I would be happy to do more than one per month if there is sufficient interest. Please send an email to [email protected] if you are interested in presenting. Here is the current schedule of programs: March 14, 2021 - Rick Burn (2PM CST show) April 18, 2021 - Sam Bolte May 16, 2021 - Dave Kroeger June 13, 2021 - George Davison June 27, 2021 - Iowa Chapter Archives July 18, 2021 - Bradley Grefe August 14, 2021 - Larry Anglund collection September 19, 2021 - Duane Rapp October 17, 2021 - Keith Graber November 14, 2021 - Chris Lastovich December 12, 2021 - OPEN January 16, 2022 - Russell Lyon Please reach out if you have any interest in providing a future show. Here are the ground rules for a presentation: THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 4 1 - We need to know the sources for all images. Photos provided by the photographer, purchased or otherwise acquired legally are all fine. Please do not submit anyone else's photos and claim them as your own. 2 - Notes are needed about the photos. Dates taken, train IDs, locations are all great. Anything relevant that can help fill in the backstory as I will be giving as much detail as time allows when presenting. 3 - Full shows should be 80-150 images in length. We are trying to fill about an hour of time, and this amount of photos with some descriptions works really well for the given time frame. Don't worry if you have a smaller amount of material, we can pair your program with another presenter to accommodate shorter programs. 4 - We need 100% digital content for these shows. As much as it would be great, there is no way presently to project traditional slides to a PC screen. Ideally a show would be burned to CD or USB and mailed/delivered to my address. I can also attempt to meet anyone that is nearby to Marion and execute a handoff if that works better. Ultimately, we are trying to provide a meeting experience when meeting in person is not possible. I know many railfan groups have not met in person for quite some time, and we are going to do our best to fill in that void. Please share this email with anyone who is interested and we will hopefully make this a successful venture. Thank you Thomas A Hogan, Treasurer Iowa Chapter NRHS 3088 Newcastle Rd Marion, IA 52302 (319) 431-1181 THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 5 2. NEW PRODUCTS: NEW AB6 BODY TO FIT PROTO E UNIT UNDERFRAME I have successfully created an AB6 body shell using SLA process (AKA stereo lithography) which rivals injection molded plastic. These are made to fit a Proto E unit underframe (with only minor modification due to the attached pilot on the body shell.) These are ordered in small batches with a pre-order price of $89.00 each, which includes postage and handling. I have attached one of the design images. This model depicts the 750 in its final configuration, as outfitted for suburban service, complete with twin external oil heat exchangers, exposed, enlarged radiator sections on the roof, and extra cooling fans on the rear roof for the Cummins engine/generator set below. Please feel free to mention the availability of this product in a future issue. Tom Brandt Locomotive Engineer (retired) Rock Island Lines - Metra [email protected] (815) 483-4000 Cellular (voice and text) THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 6 JELSMA GRAPHICS ROCK ISLAND JACKET Jelsma Graphics has Rock Island jacket for sale they run from $89.95 to $199.95 We custom make each jacket http://www.jelsma.com/html/logopics_r.html see have caps shirts jacket and a lot more Denny Jelsma 904-716-0436 I grew up in Pella Iowa and love the rock. THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 7 STILL AVAILABLE 1925 ROCK ISLAND (CRI&P and CRI&G) GENERAL ROSTER BOOK 1925 ROCK ISLAND (CRI&P AND CRI&G) GENERAL ROSTER BOOK. 300-PAGE BOUND VOLUME reprint. THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 8 *Individual numbers* and detailed statistics shown for each type of equipment as follows: Steam Locomotives, Motor cars, Passenger cars, Freight cars, MofW equipment, Stations, Shops, Engine houses, Turntables, Coaling stations, Stock yards, Junctions/Interchanges, Personnel ...and MUCH MORE. A wealth of fascinating information. You will not be disappointed! 300 pages: $12 + $3.50 media mail; $5.50 first class; $8.00 priority postage (lower 48).== Please email to <[email protected]> for simple ordering info and/or request to see sample pages. THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 9 3. ERIC HOPP PHOTOS OF MINNESOTA MUSEUM OF TRANSPORTATION'S MAINTENANCE PROGRAM ON ROCK ISLAND COMMUTER CAR 2604. The Minnesota Transportation Museum has taken advantage of the covid shutdowns to do extended maintenance on Rock Island commuter car 2604. Work includes replacement of a worn wheel set and pedestal liner, rebuilding vestibule steps to address rust damage, repainting the interior, and window work to make the latches more reliable. Some photos will follow in multiple emails - mostly of the portions I worked on. Photos and text by Eric Hopp THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 10 THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 11 THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 12 4. DEAN HEARN ROCK ISLAND PHOTOS THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 13 THE ROCK ISLAND REPORTER, FEBRUARY 2021 PAGE 14 5. BILL SCHULTZ RECALLS DELAYING PRR PERISHABLES TRAIN AT WASHINGTON HEIGHTS During the summer of 1959, I was a vacation relief operator at the Interlocking tower in Washington Heights, IL on the RI main line out of Chicago. One morning I was waiting for train number 501, the Peoria Rocket, to pass through the interlocking at Washington Heights. It was due around 10:05 AM. About 9:50 AM with no other traffic in sight I lined the signals for the Rocket. As luck would have it a Pennsylvania perishable train off the Panhandle line showed up at the red block. The engineer blew his whistle. I looked at the clock and realized the Rocket was due in about ten minutes. I did not have the luxury of changing the signal since once you set them up the only way to change them was a train to clear the interlocking.There was an emergency override available which required you to break a seal on a locked switch. I did not consider that an option since the regular operator who trained me warned me that to break that seal would result in a formal investigation and lots of questions, Furthermore, the worst thing an operator could do was drop a red signal on a speeding passenger train. I decided to wait for the Rocket. In the meantime the Pennsy engineer was getting more and more impatient and kept blowing his horn. As luck would have it this was the morning the Rocket chose to be late. I never found out why but it was now 10:15 AM. The Rocket was 10 minutes late and showing no signs of arriving anytime soon. I continued to fret and the Pennsy engineer continued to toot. Finally at 10:30 AM the Rocket sailed through the interlocking at about 60 MPH. I breathed a big sigh of relief and gave the Pennsy a clear signal. As the lead engine passed the tower the fireman stuck his hand out the window and gave me the universal one fingered salute. I made the appropriate notes on the OS sheet and thought the matter was closed. Not so. About 30 minutes later the phone rang. It was the Pennsy trainmaster wanting to know why I had delayed his perishable train. I tried to explain the late Rocket but he was in no mood for logical explanations.