Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (Rock Island Line) — Plants in Colorado

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that they were exposed to asbestos while working at Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (Rock Island Line) plants in Colorado. This page documents the Colorado portion of Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (Rock Island Line)’s multi-state operations. For the full corporate summary and plants in other states, see the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (Rock Island Line) manufacturer page.

Premises Description

Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad (“Rock Island Line” or “CRIP” — founded 1852, headquartered Chicago, Illinois; ceased operations 1980 after Interstate Commerce Commission-supervised liquidation, with routes and property absorbed by Southern Pacific, Missouri Pacific, Cotton Belt, and others) was through the 20th century one of the principal U.S. Mid-Continent Class I freight railroads. The Rock Island system spanned Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, Minnesota, Tennessee, Louisiana, and Texas. Rock Island’s flagship shop and yard complexes included the Silvis Shops (Silvis IL — the railroad’s largest locomotive and car-repair facility), Blue Island Yard (Chicago IL), Armourdale / Armour Yard (Kansas City KS), Council Bluffs IA, Cedar Rapids IA, El Reno OK, Little Rock AR, Herington KS, and Dallas / Fort Worth TX — all major regional workplaces through the asbestos era.

Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) that Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad exposed its railroad workforce to asbestos through:

  • Asbestos brake-shoe dust at Rock Island rip tracks, car shops, and locomotive servicing facilities
  • Asbestos locomotive insulation on steam-era boiler lagging and diesel engine-room piping
  • Asbestos pipe covering on shop and roundhouse steam mains
  • Asbestos block insulation on shop boilers at Silvis, Blue Island, and Armourdale
  • Spray-applied asbestos fireproofing on shop structural steel
  • Asbestos ceiling and partition board in shop, roundhouse, and office buildings
  • Asbestos brake dust on freight cars received from interchange partners

Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad has been named as a Premises Defendant in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation under FELA. Successor liability has been asserted through the estate/trustee of the bankrupt CRIP and against successor operating railroads.

Workers Exposed

  • Railroad car repairmen at Silvis Shops, Blue Island, Armourdale, Council Bluffs, and El Reno
  • Locomotive engineers, firemen, and hostlers on Rock Island trains
  • Railroad shop machinists, boilermakers, pipefitters, sheet-metal workers, and electricians
  • Roundhouse and locomotive-servicing workers
  • Rock Island yard switchmen, conductors, and brakemen
  • Shop-building maintenance workers exposed to building asbestos

If You Worked for the Rock Island Line

If you worked for Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railroad — at any Rock Island yard, shop, roundhouse, or facility in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, or elsewhere on the CRIP system during the asbestos era — and have since been diagnosed with mesothelioma, asbestosis, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related illness, you may have legal rights under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA), even though the railroad itself ceased operations in 1980.

Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956