The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad ( CRI&P RR) (reporting marks RI, ROCK ) was a Class I railroad in the United States. It was also known as the Rock Island Line, or, in its final years, The Rock.
In 1857, Abraham Lincoln represented the Rock Island in an important lawsuit regarding bridges over navigable rivers.
The suit had been brought by the owner of a steamboat which was destroyed by fire after running into the Mississippi river bridge.
Lincoln argued that not only was the steamboat at fault in striking the bridge, but that bridges across navigable rivers were to the advantage of the country.