8th Annual Quad Cities Henry Farnam Dinner
Celebrating Railroads and Railroading
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Friday evening, March 11, 2011
Radisson Quad City Plaza, 111 East 2nd Street, Davenport, Iowa
5:00-6:30 Displays/Cash Bar; 6:30 Dinner; 7:30 Program
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The featured speaker at this year's event will be Henry Posner III, Chairman of the Railroad Development Corporation, an international railway investment and management company, and the Iowa Interstate Railroad (IAIS), a 592-mile (954 km) regional carrier connecting Chicago, the Quad Cities, and Omaha. More information on Mr. Posner can be found here:
http://www.rrdc.com/mgmt_bio_posner.html
Posner will give an illustrated presentation on:
A Bridge to the Future
Iowa Interstate, the Quad Cities, and the U. S. Rail Industry
Iowa Interstate's predecessor, the Rock Island Lines, has a rich history (including the first railroad bridge to cross the Mississippi and Abraham Lincoln defending the railroad). Recent railroad history has been even more dramatic with the transition from regulation and bankruptcy to deregulation and sustainability. From the ashes of the Rock Island, the IAIS was formed at the grassroots level by rail users and state transportation people. The company today stands as an industry success with rebuilt infrastructure, new locomotives, and a broad portfolio of customers, many locating on the line precisely because of its status as an independent railway company. The proposed Amtrak passenger route to the Quad Cities is possible because the IAIS survived as a freight carrier.
Posner's presentation will be preceded by a pictorial history recalling the golden age of passenger rail service in the Quad Cities by Curtis C. Roseman and John Wetzel. The event will also include a variety of railroad-related displays.
Each person registered for the 2011 Farnam Dinner will receive a free pass to the Figge Art Museum exhibition Tracks, which features railroad photographs from the George Eastman House Collection. A raffle will be conducted; prizes will include tickets for railroad excursions to be held in association with the July 2011 Train Festival in Rock Island.
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2011 Henry Farnam Dinner
Registration Information
Dinner and program $40 per person; $375.00 for a reserved table of ten
Register online at: www.riveraction.org
or contact the Farnam Committee:
Curtis or Libby Roseman 309 764 6122 or croseman@usc.edu
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2011 Henry Farnam Dinner Supporters:
River Action
Figge Art Museum
Train Festival 2011
Dispatch/Rock Island Argus
City of Rock Island
Chippiannock Cemetery Heritage Foundation
Quad Cities Convention and Visitors Bureau