Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 March 1903 — Big Railroads of Other Days. [ARTICLE]

Big Railroads of Other Days.

The Indianapolis News prints a map showing the Rock Island system of railroads, with its new additions, the Frisco syslem, The Rock Island is how said to be not only one of the largest but the very largest single system in the world, with 20,000 miles of track. And that reminds us that years ago the Illinois Central was reckoned about the Bth wonder of the world because it had 700 miles of track, it being then the largest on earth. And at that same time, the Rook Island extended only from Chicago across Illinois to Rook Island, and was about 150 miles long in all; or not enough to make a respectable “feeder” to the system now; and.it was operated by little dinky locomotive, about as large as Ike Sayler’s wood saw traction engine. They burned wood and had funnel-shaped smoke stack about half as large as the rest of the engine. - The map above mentioned, does not show the Indiana branches of the Friaoo system, that is the Coal Road, of which Jasper county has a branch.