The Quad Cities Rocket was a named passenger train of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. It operated on a route between Chicago and Rock Island, Illinois. It was a remnant of one of the Rock Island's premier trains, the Rocky Mountain Rocket. That train's route had been cut back to Omaha in 1966; after a year without a name, it was renamed The Cornhusker. In 1970, the train took its final form when its western terminus was cut all the way back to Rock Island.

Quad Cities Rocket

Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Illinois
Predecessor	Rocky Mountain Rocket
First service	1970
Last service	December 31, 1978
Former operator(s)	Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad
Route
Termini	Chicago, Illinois Rock Island, Illinois
Distance travelled	181 mi (291 km)
Service frequency	Daily
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map v t e Quad Cities Rocket Legend Chicago–LaSalle Street Englewood Blue Island Joliet Morris Ottawa Peru–LaSalle Bureau Sheffield Geneseo Rock Island

The railroad initially declined to hand passenger operations over to Amtrak and the Quad Cities continued to run as one of the company's two remaining routes (the other being the Peoria Rocket). The State of Illinois subsidized the cost of service, contributing $500,000 in 1977 to offset losses by the railroad (equivalent to $2.24 million in 2021 adjusted for inflation).[1] Trains ran until December 31, 1978 when the Rock Island ended its intercity passenger operations.[2]

References

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