Iowa Stories: Chicago, Rock Island, & Pacific Railroad Company History with H. Roger Grant

The Rock Island Railroad Takes Shape: The Iowa Main Line Experience. In the 1850s and 1860s Iowans became infected with “railroad fever,” a condition that sparked several trans-state projects. The Mississippi & Missouri Railroad seemed the most promising. It did succeed, but only after rival Chicago & North Western reached the Omaha Gateway. The M&M, which served Davenport, Iowa City, and Des Moines, soon became part of the rapidly expanding Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific system, and remains today as the Iowa Interstate Railroad. H. Roger Grant, Kathryn and Calhoun Lemon Professor of History at Clemson University and Albia, Iowa, native, is the author of 36 academic books, most of which involve railroads and transportation. His latest work, “A Mighty Fine Road: A History of the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Company,” appeared last October from Indiana University Press. His current book project is a study of railroad station agents. Download the cover of the Rock Island book from the IUP website.