Remnants of the Rock Island parallel Rt 66 through much of the Texas Panhandle and into New Mexico. The railroad got here, on the west side of Amarillo, first--so 66 was forced to go under the already-established grade.

The Rock Island had a troubled operating history, including 10 years of losses followed by bankruptcy in 1975. In 1980 it simply stopped operating and its track was abandoned. Metal was salvaged, but even today its weathered wooden ties dot the landscape along 66 (and I-40) from Amarillo to Santa Rosa NM.