While they were a mere shadow of what thetrains had been in their heyday, the Rock Island’sRockets were still unique and interestingtrains right up to the very end in 1978. Limpingalong on worn out track, struggling with agingand failing equipment, the trains were bothloathed and loved. They lost too much moneyto keep, but cost too much in governmentsupport to abandon. So the Rock Island keptthe Rockets rolling through the 70s, well aftermost roads had completely abandonedtheir passenger trains or turned them over toAmtrak.By 1976, only two Rockets remained: the Peoriaand Quad Cities, which connected Chicagowith Peoria and Rock Island respectively.Dining car service ended in 1975 when the lastdiner’s frame gave in. The trains were down toan E8 and a pair of coaches with food servicehandled out of one of the cars. Stoppingthe train to run to a local diner for passengerswhen Chicago hadn’t stocked enoughsandwiches was one of the quirky stories thathelped define the character of these neversay-die trains. Despite all the poor conditionsand average ridership of 17 people per day,the crews of the Rock Island did what theycould.For all their faults, the final years of the Rocketsmake interesting trains for a model railroad.The 652’s Bicentennial paint scheme wascertainly a bright spot and was just one ofa variety of colorful liveries to pull the trainin the end. Short consists make it perfectfor smaller layouts. And the stories told ofthe trains unique service, like stopping thetrain a few blocks from the station to give apassenger a shorter walk home, just add tothe charm. Short and sweet, this Lionel trainincludes everything you need to model theRocket, including a LEGACY E8 652 and a pairof 21” coaches.