Irving Weber & Iowa City’s Rock Island Railroad.

Without a doubt, when it comes to Iowa City & Johnson County historians, there’s maybe no one more easily recognized than Mr. Iowa City – Irving B. Weber. Born here in 1900, Weber was known for most of his life as “the ice cream man” – spending the majority of his career in the milk and butter business, whole-selling dairy products throughout eastern Iowa and northern Illinois for Sidwell Dairy.

After his retirement, Weber began writing dozens of stories about his hometown, and at age 72, The Iowa City Press Citizen began publishing some of those short stories on a weekly basis. Over the next 25 years (1973-1998), under the banner Irving Weber’s Iowa City, our community’s best-known historian published over 800 of his columns, half of which were then reprinted in nine paperback books distributed by the Iowa City Lions Club. You can read more details here.

Iowa City’s brand new, state-of-the-art Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad Depot – located at 115 Wright Street – opened its doors on September 29, 1898. You can read the details here. A little over two years later – on December 19, 1900 – Irving Weber was born here in Iowa City. And over the next 70 years, 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.

As we discuss elsewhere on this website, here in Iowa City and Johnson County, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (CRI&P) Railroad played a huge part in Our Iowa Heritage. In January 1856, the very first passenger train came rolling into town, and over the next 114 years, not a single day went by without a minimum of two passenger trains pulling up to the Iowa City station.

*A crowd gathers at Iowa City Depot waiting for the football “Rock Island Rocket” – returning the team home to the State University of Iowa – 1913*.

***Here’s a brief overview of the railroad as it impacted Iowa City, Johnson County, and the entire state over a 114 year period (1856-1970)***

In 1982, Irving Weber recorded this short 18-minute video (below), giving us his first-hand perspective on the vital importance of the Rock Island Railroad here in Iowa City & Johnson County. Enjoy this historical & entertaining trip with Irving back to 1982…

This 13-minute video is classic-Irving Weber and offers us his overview on the importance of the Iowa City Rock Island Railroad Depot. Much thanks to the Iowa City Public Library. Enjoy!

Iowa City’s Rock Island Railroad Station – located at 115 Wright Street – replaced the original depot – built in 1855. For Irving Weber’s generation, this building became the transportation hub – The Grand Central Station – for all those living in Iowa City and Johnson County. *You can read more here.*

As we discuss elsewhere, as transportation options across America evolved from trains to automobiles and airplanes, the final two Rock Island passenger trains came through Iowa City on May 31, 1970.

*Irving Weber loved to write about the rich railroad history of Iowa City. On **January 22, 1975**, this article (above) appeared in his Iowa City Press-Citizen column.*

Over the next several years, the once-proud CRI&P plunged into even deeper financial problems, with it all coming to an end in Iowa in the early spring of 1980.

So, after 125 years of continuous service, the last Rock Island freight train – pulled by 15 diesel-powered locomotives – rolled through Iowa City on March 31, 1970.

As you can see from the April 1, 1980 Iowa City Press-Citizen article (above), the Chicago & NorthWestern (C&NW) Railroad took over a large portion of the Rock Island freight system across Iowa, but, sadly, the main CRI&P line running through Iowa City was unclaimed. It would be several years later (1984), when The Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS) would take over this section of the Rock Island line, restoring freight service in and out of Iowa City.

The 1982 Irving Weber video we presented to you earlier, was an off-shoot of the article Requiem for the Rock Island Line in Iowa City that was first published in The Iowa City Press-Citizen on April 9, 1980 – just 9 days after the last Rock Island freight train passed through town. Here, in its entirety, is that classic article…

A few years later, Weber’s popular article was published in one of his classic books: Historical Stories of Iowa City – Volume 3 (see below)…

*Requiem for the Rock Island Line in Iowa City, Irving Weber*

**Here’s a list of other Weber posts written about The Rock Island Railroad…**
*March 29, 1973 – Clues – Iowa City Depot*

*January 22, 1975 – Rock Island Railroad Bridge Over Iowa River – 1860*

*May 7, 1975 – Team and Wagon Over Railroad Bridge*

*May 31, 1978 – Look! Here Comes The Rocky Mountain Limited*

*October 11, 1978 – 1925 Football Train – Vividly Remembered By Fans*

*October 25, 1978 – Where But UI – Home-To-Stadium Football Trains?*

*February 13, 1980 – First Railroad Depot*

*May 30, 1981 – The Mystery of 6-year-old Mary Wright’s Grave*

*June 27, 1981 – Little Mary, Train Wrecks, Brick Houses Revisited*

*August 8, 1981 – The Luxury of Riding On The Rock Island Trains*

*June 10, 1989 – Iowa Citians Scramble To Get Railroad Into Town*

*March 24, 1990 – Iowa City Hears ‘All Aboard’*

*October 13, 1990 – Great Railway Robbery Derails*

***On October 11, 1978 – Irving Weber told his fun story of taking the Rock Island Football Train to Minneapolis in 1925. Read the entire story here.***

***August 8, 1981 – Iowa City historian Irving Weber publishes yet another of his Press-Citizen articles dedicated to the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific (CRI&P) Railroad.***

In closing, allow us to share Irving Weber’s fitting remarks on The Rock Island Railroad, taken from his 1980 newspaper article….

On July 1, 1976, The Iowa City Press-Citizen published a special 76-page Bicentennial edition. In that edition there were articles and pictures related to stories found on this page. You can read more here.