Carlinville to Pontiac -  US Rail Journeys Series 3 Episode 31

'Carlinville to Pontiac' continues our journey through the lush farmland of Illinois and historic towns and cities.

Please click on a thumbnail to see the photographs that go with this podcast:

Carlinville:
The town is the county seat of Macoupin County and has nearly as many historic sites as it does unique and interesting shops, restaurants and attractions.
In the Historic District you'll find the Macoupin County Jail, Million Dollar Courthouse, and the largest collection of Sears & Roebuck mail-order homes in the U.S.
The new Carlinville station dates from the Autumn of 2017 and hosted 8,332 passengers in 2023.

Springfield:
Abraham Lincoln spends a large part of his life here. His memory is celebrated all over the city. Visitors can tour his home from 1837 to 1861 and  stand in the sitting room where he wrote his speeches.
His marble family tomb is at Oak Ridge Cemetery and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum tells about his personal and political life.

The station dates from 1895 and is due to be replaced by a, delayed, new facility in 2025. The station hosts over 140,000 passengers in 2023.
Lincoln:
When the railway company arrives here in 1853 they decide to name the new town after their lawyer - one Abraham Lincoln.

Mr. Lincoln arrives on August 27, 1853, and leads a ceremony by the tracks to mark the founding of the new town. He pays a farmer to bring a wagon-load of watermelons, for the celebrants. Lincoln then cuts into one and "christens" the railroad with the juice.

The current station opens in 1911 and in 2023 a total of 15,557 passengers use the station.
Normal:
Often called Bloomington-Normal, or BN, because the station serves both communities.

The station dating from 1990 was rebuilt to open in 2012. It is a modern facility like some of the others on our route through Illinois. In 2023 it hosts nearly 204,000 passengers.
Pontiac:
We head through vast fields of maize until we reach Pontiac, another city on Route 66. The current station dates from 2017 and in 2023 nearly 13,000 Amtrak passengers use it.

If you enjoy these podcasts please join me in a couple of weeks as we continue our journey on the Texas Eagle from Pontiac to Chicago.
Links:
To visit the Amtrak website please follow this link.

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