Lincoln, IL (LCN)

Ticket Revenue

FY 2011

$332,233

Station Ridership

FY 2011

17,541

Note: Fiscal year is from
October through September.

The Amtrak station in the historic center of Lincoln, IL, is a brick shelter on a platform. Nearby, the Spanish Mission-styled passenger depot constructed in 1911 for the Chicago and Alton Railway (later the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio, now owned in this area by Union Pacific) still stands close to where the city was originally christened by Abraham Lincoln in 1853.

There has been discussion concerning a city purchase of the depot building, which is currently privately owned. The depot itself had been recently occupied by a restaurant but is now occasionally used as a banquet hall.

When railroad management building a new spur between Springfield and Normal in the 1850s needed a full-service rail stop, they sought to create a village to support it, as was often done at the time. In those days, locomotives could only travel about 30 miles before needing wood fuel and water, so this was a logical location for a town. A local lawyer who had done much with railroad litigation, Abraham Lincoln, was hired as their attorney to file the plats, and they asked if they could name the town in his honor. On August 27, 1853 when the railroad officially opened the town lots for sale, Lincoln came to give a speech. He is said to have taken a watermelon from a boy selling them from a wagon, cut it open with his pocket knife, and squeezing juice on the ground, christened the town. A plaque and a sculpture of a cut watermelon commemorate the site today.

This was the only city to be named for Lincoln during his lifetime. Lincoln returned on a whistle-stop campaign tour in 1860, and finally, in 1865, his funeral train stopped in the town overnight before proceeding to Springfield.

As well as being the county seat, the city is home to three colleges: Lincoln College, Lincoln Christian College and Seminary and Heartland Community College. The first, Lincoln College, keeps a collection of Abraham Lincoln-related documents and artifacts housed in a museum which is open to the public. The dome of the Logan County Courthouse is illuminated and is quite visible from Amtrak trains.

Situated on historic Route 66 from 1926 through 1978, this bit of Americana is often combined with the Lincoln theme in the town. In its time, Route 66 was the main corridor of car and truck transportation linking the Midwest, Southwest, and West, and brought economic growth and development to towns large and small along its route. Colorful murals on buildings in the central business district recognize both the rail and highway history of the community.

The phone booth perched atop Lincoln City Hall is a favorite local curiosity. During World War II, people perched in that spot kept watch in the name of Civil Defense. Later, the city erected this phone booth to use for a weather spotting station, with a fully-functional telephone to warn the people below that threatening weather was sighted. A few years ago, the city was going to remove the phone booth as part of roof repair. Public outcry demanded that it be replaced afterward as it is a unique local icon, and it can be seen there today.

Amtrak does not provide ticketing or baggage services at the Lincoln station.

Lincoln is served by nine daily trains.