Proposed for Savannah, Illinois, where the CRI&P never ran:

From the Freeport (IL) Journal Standard on a Sunday morning in January:

A railroad memory
Rock Island Railroad museum planned for Savanna Depot
By Cara Spoto, The Journal-Standard
Published: Saturday, January 27, 2007 10:58 PM CST



FREEPORT - A symbol of simpler times, the Rock Island Railroad never stopped in Savanna or at the expansive army depot just north of it. But that doesn't matter to railroad man Jack Carson - the railroad is in his blood.

“I've been a railroad man for 30 years, said Carson. It's been my life. I raised a family on a Rock Island Railroad paycheck.

As far as the president of the Rock Island Technical Society (RITS) is concerned, the Savanna Army Depot, with its Midwest location, is the perfect place for a Rock Island Line museum and archive.

The non-profit group of nearly 1,000 railroaders and train enthusiasts is devoted to memorializing the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. Formed in the 1980s, the society has stored all of its various archives and artifacts - from boxcar locks to ticket stubs -- in a cramped Rock Island depot in Fairbury, Neb.

Now, Carson says, it's time to protect those precious pieces by finding a bigger, permanent ho! me for the museum

“Savanna is a long ways away from the Rock Island Railroad, but Savanna is in the center of our membership, Carson said. We probably have a semi-load worth of items at Fairbury and it's hard to get to.

Already approved by the Economic Development Committee of the Jo-Carroll Depot Local Redevelopment Authority, if the society's proposal wins full LRA board approval on Feb. 7, Carson hopes to start moving materials from Nebraska to a building near the depot entrance within two months.

“What we are trying to do is preserve everything we can of the Rock Island Railroad, Carson said.

The railroad's rich history could provide ample opportunity for other enthusiasts visiting the museum. Incorporated in 1851 as the Chicago and Rock Island Railroad, the Rock Island Line stretched across Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.



The railroad also operated a number of passenger trains, known as Rockets, serving the Midwest, including the Rocky Mountain Rocket, the Corn Belt Rocket, the Twin Star Rocket, the Zephyr Rocket and the Choctaw Rocket.

One of the biggest members of the society, Carson says, are railroad modelers. Many rely on the society's photo archive of trains operated by Rock Island's passenger and freight rail companies - both collapsed under a dearth of ridership and complicated mergers in the late 1970s - to accurately recreate the railroad cars and locomotives.

“Model railroaders get ahold of us for color schemes a lot, Carson said. Since Rock Island painted their locomotives various colors, so someone will want to know what an engine was painted in 1960.



Diane Komiskey, the LRA's executive director, said Friday that if approved, the society's presence at would be a source of pride for Savanna residents, still reeling in many ways from the army's departure seven years ago.

“The society plans to bring in out-of-state members to inventory and catalog materials - people who will use area restaurants, lodgings and more, Komiskey said.

As for the museum itself, which should be open by the summer, Carson said it will be a much needed addition.



“The organization has not moved into this area before, but now it is time to get this stuff out into the open, he said, adding that retired railroaders may begin to donate items from their own collection once established.

If the board approves the proposal, the museum and archive will be the latest entity to move into the depot, since Savanna Cellars Winery & Vineyard Inc. bought 30 acres at the site in 2005.

Carson said RITS already has plans to patronize one of the companies at the depot: Cyber Vault Technologies, a storage digitizing service company which set up shop at the site in 2004.



“We want to digitize this stuff before we lose it, said Carson.

Bob -

Subsequent discussions on the RITSLIST have divulged that this is NOT a done deal. It is hard to understand, with all of the many miles of the Rock Island (it served 14 states at one time) that a location "on line" could not be found. Still, there is precedent. The Illinois Central Historical Society has its archives/storage in an ex-Nickel Plate Road freight depot in Paxton, Illinois (although the ex-mainline of the IC is just a stones throw away.)

This may provide some interesting discussions amongst members of the Rock Island Technical Society. Time will tell.

Les

Canton, Oho has never had a professional football team in the NFL.

Cooperstown, NY has never had a professional baseball team in the National or American leagues.