The Illinois Central Railroad, sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, was a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico. Another line connected Chicago west to Sioux City, Iowa (1870), while smaller branches reached Omaha, Nebraska (1899) from Fort Dodge, Iowa, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota (1877), from Cherokee, Iowa. The IC also ran service to Miami, Florida, on trackage owned by other railroads.
The Cardinal is a long-distance passenger train operated by Amtrak between New York Penn Station and Chicago Union Station via Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Charlottesville, Charleston, Huntington, Cincinnati, and Indianapolis. Along with the Capitol Limited and Lake Shore Limited, it is one of three trains linking the Northeast and Chicago. Its 1,146-mile (1,844 km) trip between New York and Chicago takes 281⁄4 hours.
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 service provides two daily roundtrips; Saluki being the morning trains and Illini the afternoon trains. The route is coextensive with the far northern leg of the long-distance City of New Orleans.
Central Station was an intercity passenger terminal in downtown Chicago, Illinois, at the southern end of Grant Park near Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue. Owned by the Illinois Central Railroad, it also served other companies via trackage rights. It opened in 1893, replacing Great Central Station, and closed in 1972 when Amtrak rerouted services to Union Station. The station building was demolished in 1974. It is now the site of a redevelopment called Central Station, Chicago.
The Floridian was a train operated by Amtrak from 1971 to 1979 that ran between Chicago and Florida, with two branches south of Jacksonville terminating at Miami and St. Petersburg. For its Nashville to Montgomery segment, its route followed that of several former Louisville & Nashville Railroad (L&N) passenger trains, including the Pan-American and the Humming Bird. Originating in Chicago, the train served Lafayette and Bloomington, Indiana; Louisville and Bowling Green, Kentucky; Nashville, Tennessee; Decatur, Birmingham, Montgomery and Dothan, Alabama; and Thomasville, Valdosta and Waycross, Georgia.
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.
The St. Charles Air Line is a rail line in Chicago, Illinois, partially owned by the BNSF Railway, Union Pacific Railroad (UP), and Canadian National Railway (CN).
Rhinecliff station is an Amtrak intercity rail station located in the Rhinecliff hamlet of Rhinebeck, New York, United States. The station has one low-level island platform, with a wheelchair lift for accessibility. It is served by the Adirondack, Berkshire Flyer, Empire Service, Ethan Allen Express, Lake Shore Limited, and Maple Leaf.
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 James Whitcomb Riley was a passenger train that operated between Chicago, Illinois, and Cincinnati, Ohio, via Indianapolis, Indiana. Originally operated by the New York Central Railroad, it was taken over by Amtrak in 1971. Under Amtrak, it merged with the Chesapeake & Ohio Railway's George Washington to become a Chicago-Washington/Newport News train. In 1977, it was renamed the Cardinal, which remains in operation.
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 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.
Chillicothe was an Amtrak stop in Chillicothe, Illinois; a suburb of Peoria. The station was a stop on the Southwest Chief between Chicago Union Station and Los Angeles Union Station before the opening of the Cameron Connector led to the train being rerouted between Galesburg and Chicago via the BNSF Railway's Mendota Subdivision in 1996.
Lake Geneva station was an Amtrak intercity rail station in Zenda, Wisconsin. Commuter service to Zenda was operated by the Milwaukee Road from 1900 to 1982. Lake Geneva station was added as an infill station on the Lake Country Limited on June 15, 2000, to serve the Lake Geneva resort area. The Lake Country Limited was never successful, and service ended on September 23, 2001. Commuter service with a stop near Zenda was studied in 2001, but found to only be marginally feasible.
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.
The East Dubuque station of East Dubuque, Illinois originally served the Illinois Central Railroad and Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. 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. The depot no longer exists.
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.
