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

Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad

The Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad 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.-Incorporation:...

 during the Rock Islands third and final bankruptcy. He was chosen receiver and trustee March 17, 1975, the day the Rock Island entered receivership for the bankruptcy, and he and 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...

 would be the power to oversee, and liquidate the entire railroad. His last day as the receiver and trustee was June 1, 1984, after all of the Rock Island's locomotives, cars, tracks and trackage rights were sold, dismantled and sold, or abandoned under an 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...

 directed service order. Gibbons was able to raise $500 million in the liquidation, paying off all the railroad's creditors with interest.

At the time, the Rock Island Railroad liquidation was the largest railroad company liquidation in United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

history.

Rock Island

On March 17, 1975, Gibbons was selected as receiver and trustee of the Rock Island railroad, the day it entered receivership. In 1980, when the Rock Island was ordered to be liquidated, Gibbons began the process of selling or abandoning the railroad. Gibbons was released from the Rock Island on June 1, 1984, after all Rock Island's rolling stock, and railroad lines were sold, scrapped, or abandoned.