A little past 1 p.m. on a perfect May Day, 1965, the Rocky Mountain Rocket turns its back on the Rockies and heads east out of Denver behind two 2250-hp E8As. Though there are only five cars in the consist, this train still offers the traveler full dining service and choice of coach or sleeper accommodations. In a little over an hour and a half, #8 will pause at Limon out on the eastern plains to hook up with the Colorado Springs section. And by tomorrow morning, when it pulls into it Chicago’s LaSalle Street Station, the consist will have expanded to a respectable 16 cars.
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The Rock Island was an also-ran in the markets it served competing the likes of the Santa Fe Super Chief and Burlington Denver Zephyr, but it did its best to put on a good show.
