March 31, 1980 – A 125-year Iowa City tradition comes to an end when the
last Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (CRI&P) Railroad freight train rolls through town.
Nine days later, on April 9, 1980, Iowa City historian Irving Weber publishes his classic article: Requiem for the Rock Island Line in Iowa City. In it, Weber talks about his long history of interaction with The Rock Island. Born in 1900, only two years after the opening on the new state-of-the-art Rock Island Railroad Depot on Wright Street – Weber, like most kids growing up in the first half of the 20th century, didn’t have one day go by without the influence of the vast American railroad system. Come re-visit Weber’s love of Iowa City’s long-standing Rock Island Railroad heritage.
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