Welcome to....

Mike Sosalla's Rock Island Photo History Site

A source for photographs of anything Rock Island

I have been a fan of the Rock Island for many years and I have been collecting slides of their motive power for over 40 years. Instead of these images sitting in boxes, I thought I would start a site to feature Rock Island's diesel roster and the various paint schemes and conditions of the them over time. Whether you're a fan of the Rock Island or a modeler, I hope you enjoy the site and find in useful for information and modeling purposes.

Mike Sosalla
South Milwaukee WI

The fine photographers featured on this site: Allen Rider, Alton Lanier, Arnie Burchardt, Bill Bedell, Bill Raia, Bill Wylde, Bob Bullermann, Bob Crisp, Chuck Frey Jr, Chuck Porter, Craig Willett, Davis Street, Dennis Ryan, Dick Wallin, Ed Fulcomer, Ed Kanak, F. Hol Wagner, Fred Matthews, Fred Ziebe, Gary Powell, George LaPray, George Niles, George Thelen, Glen Koshiol, Hugh Blaney, J.David Ingles, J.Harlen Wilson, James Holder, Jeffrey Schroeder, Jim Shepard, John Arbuckle, John Benson, John Dziobko, John Matrow, John Ruesch, John Stubblefeld, John Szwajkart, Karl Henkels, Lee Hastman, Mac Owen, Mark R Lynn, Mike Kiem, Mike Vana, Monty Powell, Owen Leander, Pat Wendt, Paul Hunnell, Paul Strang, Peter Arnold, Ray Kucaba, Ray Mueller, Richard Campbell, Richard Rumbolz, RJ Wilhelm, Rik Anderson, Russ Porter, Steve Eudy, Stuart Sutton, Ted Ellis, Ted Schnepf, Tim Colbert, Tom Baldner, Tom Farence, Warren Calloway, (more editing to come)

Collections shared by: Frank and Todd Novak, Mark R. Lynn, Warren Calloway and Vincent J. Porreca

NONE of what I'm doing here would be possible without the assistance of Paul Hunnell who has shared slides but more so his wealth of information on the Rock Island railroad

The book "Rock Island Diesel Locomotives" by Lou Marre is the bible for Rock Island enthusiasts and has provided much roster info for this site.


UNITS CAN BE VIEWED AT SMALL - MEDIUM - LARGE - or ORIGINAL

Look below pictures for size links - Image sharpest at Original

1084 images as of Jan 3 2019

TO SEE WHAT'S NEW SINCE YOUR LAST VISIT, CLICK ON "recent" IN THE ABOVE TABS