The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad was begun in 1847 as the Rock Island and LaSalle in Chicago, Illinois. It has the historic distinction of being the first railroad robbed by Jesse James. The Rock, as it was commonly known, was famous for it's fast freight service and passenger trains running between Chicago and the Western United States. The viewer will see many examples of both of these types of service, including Chicago area commuter service beginning in the 1950s. A June 1973 steam fan trip with the Southern Railroad's Mikado #4501 is featured running in Chicago and further West. The time coverage in this program continues up to the late 1970s, when despite a new paint image the Railroad declared bankruptcy. The Rock passed into history on March 31,1980 having reached 14 stated with over 7500 miles of track.
Search for Narrow Gauge Mikados
In the late 1960's the Denver & Rio Grande Western Railroad ceased it's narrow gauge operations. The most significant steam locomotive class used by this 3 foot railroad was the K Series Mikado. Since the end of operations many of these locomotives have been put back into service on tourist lines. During this program the viewer will see over a dozen of these locomotives, from 4 Classes, running on three different railroads. From the forest scenes of the Huckleberry Railroad in Michigan, to the sheer rock cliffs of the Durango & Silverton Railroad and the Cumbres & Toltec Railroad in the high mountains of Colorado, the scenery is breath taking. These locomotives are shown hauling passenger and freight trains, performing work train duties and being serviced before their daily runs.
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Show chapter search Total time - 52 minutes
