John W. Ingram was the President of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific railroad in its final years, from 1974 to 1979.

Early life and the Rock Island

Ingram was Federal Railroad Administration

Federal Railroad Administration

The Federal Railroad Administration is an agency in the United States Department of Transportation. The agency was created by the Department of Transportation Act of 1966...

 Administrator from 1971 to 1974, and took over the Rock Island in 1974, and resigned in November 1979, only several months later on January 24, 1980, the Rock Island was ordered to be liquidated in federal bankruptcy court.

The Rock gets repainted

In 1974, Ingram wanted a new paint design for the Rock Island, this new paint, was Blue

Blue

Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...

, Black

Black

Black is the color of objects that do not emit or reflect light in any part of the visible spectrum; they absorb all such frequencies of light...

 and White

White

White is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...

.
The former colors were Red

Red

Red is any of a number of similar colors evoked by light consisting predominantly of the longest wavelengths of light discernible by the human eye, in the wavelength range of roughly 630–740 nm. Longer wavelengths than this are called infrared , and cannot be seen by the naked eye...

 and Yellow

Yellow

Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...

, and according to an interview with Ingram in 1998, he said that the red and yellow design had been accepted as a way of life for too long, and ordered a new design.

Retirement from the Rock

In September 1979, the Rock Island clerks walked out on strike against the railroad.
The Interstate Commerce Commission

Interstate Commerce Commission

The Interstate Commerce Commission was a regulatory body in the United States created by the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. The agency's original purpose was to regulate railroads to ensure fair rates, to eliminate rate discrimination, and to regulate other aspects of common carriers, including...

 ordered the Kansas City Terminal Railway

Kansas City Terminal Railway

The Kansas City Terminal Railway is a Class III railroad terminal railroad that serves as a joint operation of the trunk railroads that serve the Kansas City metropolitan area, the country's second largest rail hub. It is presently operated by the Kaw River Railroad.The Railway was created after a...

 to take over operations, and Ingram resigned. At that point, William M. Gibbons

William M. Gibbons

William M. Gibbons was a lawyer for 28 years, and would become the receiver and trustee of the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad during the Rock Islands third and final bankruptcy...

, whom was already the receiver and trustee of the railroad, took over as president.
The Rock Island was shut down in March 1980.