The City of New Orleans is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak on an overnight schedule between Chicago and New Orleans. The train is a successor to the Illinois Central Railroad's Panama Limited.
The Illinois Central Railroad, sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. A line also connected Chicago west to Sioux City, Iowa (1870). There was a significant branch to Omaha, Nebraska (1899), west of Fort Dodge, Iowa, and another branch reaching Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1877), starting from Cherokee, Iowa. The IC also serviced Miami, Florida, on trackage owned by other railroads
The Illinois Service, branded Amtrak Illinois, comprises three passenger rail routes operated by Amtrak in the American state of Illinois. The Illinois Service is funded primarily by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) and falls under the broader Amtrak Midwest brand.
The Illini and Saluki are a pair of passenger trains operated by Amtrak along a 310-mile (500 km) route between Chicago and Carbondale, Illinois. They are part of Amtrak's Illinois Service and are primarily funded by the state of Illinois. The route is coextensive with the far northern leg of the long-distance City of New Orleans. The Illini has operated since 1973; a previous version operated in 1971–1972 between Chicago and Champaign. The Saluki debuted in 2006.
The Denver Zephyr was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Denver, Colorado. In peak years it ran to Colorado Springs. It operated from 1936 to 1973. The Denver Zephyr continued operating after the Burlington Northern Railroad merger in 1970. BN conveyed the train to Amtrak in 1971; Amtrak merged it with the Denver–Oakland City of San Francisco to form the San Francisco Zephyr and dropped the "Denver" name in 1973.
The Black Hawk was an Amtrak passenger train service that operated from 1974 to 1981 between Chicago, Illinois, and Dubuque, Iowa, via Rockford, Illinois. The original Black Hawk operated over the Illinois Central route, now the Canadian National's Chicago Central/Iowa Zone. From 2010 to 2014, plans called for the restored route to follow the same corridor; however, the state government could not come to an agreement with the railroad. Instead, the route would follow Metra's Milwaukee District / West Line from Union Station to Big Timber Road, then the Union Pacific Railroad to Rockford. Restored service to Rockford was planned to begin in 2015, but was put on hold by Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner. An extension to Dubuque was to open at a later date. The Rockford service was later funded in 2019 with the support of Governor J.B. Pritzker. In July 2023, Pritzker announced that two round trips a day between Chicago and Rockford would begin by 2027, with the service operated by Metra as Rockford Intercity Passenger Rail rather than by Amtrak.
Amfleet is a fleet of single-level intercity railroad passenger cars built by the Budd Company for American company Amtrak in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Budd based the Amfleet design on its earlier Metroliner electric multiple unit. An initial order for 57 cars in 1973 to supplement the Metroliners on the Northeast Corridor grew to two orders totaling 642 cars, sufficient to reequip all the services on the Northeast Corridor and many other routes around the United States. The first 492 cars, known as Amfleet I and completed between 1975 and 1977, were designed for short-distance service. A second order of 150 cars, known as Amfleet II and completed between 1980 and 1983, were designed for long-distance service. They were the last intercity passenger cars built by Budd.
The Blue Water is a higher-speed passenger train service operated by Amtrak as part of its Michigan Services. The 319-mile (513 km) route runs from Chicago, Illinois, to Port Huron in Michigan's Blue Water Area, for which the train is named. Major stops are in Kalamazoo, Battle Creek, East Lansing, and Flint.
The Twin Zephyrs, also known as the Twin Cities Zephyrs, were a pair of streamlined passenger trains on the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q), running between Chicago and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul in Minnesota. It was the second Zephyr service introduced by CB&Q after the record-setting Denver–Chicago "dawn to dusk dash" of the Pioneer Zephyr trainset.
Galesburg is an Amtrak intercity train station in Galesburg, Illinois, United States. The station was originally built in 1984, after the razing of the large depot just south of the current site. It is located north of the large BNSF Classification yard. Just south the Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg diverge via the Quincy main line which bypasses the yard on the east side. The California Zephyr and the Southwest Chief continue to the southwest side of Galesburg near Knox College.
The Texas Chief was a passenger train operated by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway between Chicago, Illinois, and Galveston, Texas. It was the first Santa Fe "Chief" outside the Chicago–Los Angeles routes. The Santa Fe conveyed the Texas Chief to Amtrak in 1971, which renamed it the Lone Star in 1974. The train was discontinued in 1979.
The Land O'Corn was a streamlined passenger train operated by the Illinois Central Railroad between Chicago, Illinois, and Waterloo, Iowa, from 1941 until 1967. Its inception was due in no small part to John W. Rath of Ackley, IA and part owner of the Rath Packing Co. of Waterloo, Iowa as well as a member of the Illinois Central's board of directors. It featured a wide range of equipment over its existence, including self-propelled Motorailers and steam locomotives, before finally adopting conventional diesel locomotives and lightweight cars. The Illinois Central discontinued the Land O'Corn in 1967; Amtrak later operated the Black Hawk over part of its route.
Freeport station is a former train station in Freeport, Illinois. It was in use from 1849 to 1971 and 1974 to 1981.
The Galena station of Galena, Illinois was built in 1857 and originally served the Illinois Central Railroad. The two story Italianate structure is included in the Galena Historic District. Over the years, the station hosted the Illinois Central's Hawkeye, Iowan, Land O'Corn, and Sinnissippi trains. These trains connected Galena residents as far as Chicago in the east and as far west as Sioux City, Iowa. Passenger service ceased upon the formation of Amtrak in 1971, but resumed between Chicago and Dubuque in 1974 under the name Black Hawk. Service ceased again in September 30, 1981. Today, the old depot hosts the Galena Visitors Bureau. Restoration of the Black Hawk was planned in the early 2010s, but the portion west of Rockford was indefinitely postponed in 2014.
The Decatur station, also known as the Wabash Railroad Station and Railway Express Agency, is a historic railway station located at 780 East Cerro Gordo Street in Decatur, Illinois. Built in 1901, the station served trains on the Wabash Railroad, the most economically significant railroad through Decatur. Architect Theodore Link designed the Classical Revival building. Service to the station ended in the 1980s, and it has since been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Freeport Subdivision is a railroad line in Illinois which runs from 16th Street in downtown Chicago to Freeport, Illinois. It is owned and operated by the Canadian National Railway (CN). As of 2016 the line is almost exclusively freight-only, with only a small segment within Chicago, between 21st Street in Chinatown and Ashland Avenue in Bridgeport, hosting Amtrak and Metra passenger trains.
The Quad Cities is a planned Amtrak Illinois Service intercity passenger train that will operate between Chicago and Moline in the US state of Illinois. The train will duplicate the route and stations of the Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr between Chicago and Wyanet using track owned by BNSF. On the Wyanet–Moline segment, which will include a station at Geneseo, the train will use track owned by Iowa Interstate Railroad.
Dubuque station was a train station in Dubuque, Iowa. It originally served the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1917, the site was considered for creating a Union station in Dubuque. However, no such plan transpired and each railroad continued to use separate depots. Over the years, the station hosted the Illinois Central's Hawkeye, Iowan, and Land O'Corn trains. Passenger service ceased upon the formation of Amtrak in 1971, but resumed between Chicago and Dubuque in 1974 under the name Black Hawk. Service ceased on September 30, 1981. A proposed revival of the service, since cancelled, was to use the Dubuque Intermodal Transportation Center as its terminal.
Warren is a former Amtrak railroad station in the city of Warren, Jo Daviess County, Illinois, United States. Located at the intersection of Railroad Street and Burnett Avenue in Warren, the station served the Black Hawk from February 13, 1974, to September 30, 1981. The station consisted of one side platform with a depot, which has since been demolished. Prior to Amtrak, the station served trains operated by the Illinois Central Railroad, which began service on January 9, 1854, when service was extended 25 miles (40 km) northwest from Freeport. Service continued until April 30, 1971, when the Hawkeye (Waterloo–Chicago) was discontinued on the day before Amtrak began passenger service.
