The initial train route between Quincy and Chicago first opened as a part of three independent railroads in 1855. The portion of track between Quincy and Galesburg was owned by the
Northern Cross Railroad, led by
Nehemiah Bushnell, and was completed in 1854. This connected with the Central Military Tract Road between Galesburg and
Mendota, Illinois. At Mendota, it connected with the
Chicago and Aurora Railroad to complete the route to Chicago. These three railroads eventually merged into the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad. The
Illinois Zephyr is a descendant of the
Kansas City Zephyr and
American Royal Zephyr passenger train routes operated by the
Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad from 1953 until 1968 and 1971, respectively. The state of Illinois intervened in 1971 at the request of Quincy College (now
Quincy University),
Western Illinois University, and residents of western Illinois. This became part of the "
Illinois Service" initiative in 1971 and is partially funded by the
Illinois Department of Transportation. Passenger service was cut back to Quincy on May 1, 1994, after a
major flood in 1993 destroyed the original station at West Quincy. The
Illinois Zephyr and the
Carl Sandburg trainsets continue to cross the
Mississippi River to
layover at the BNSF West Quincy railyard for servicing between runs. On October 30, 2006, a second round trip, the
Carl Sandburg was added as part of the
Midwest Regional Rail Initiative. The train's name honors the famed and
Pulitzer-winning writer
Carl Sandburg, whose
birthplace in
Galesburg, Illinois lies just a few hundred feet from this train's route. The morning westbound/evening eastbound schedule complements the opposite morning eastbound/evening westbound schedule of the
Illinois Zephyr. Starting November 16, 2022, Amtrak began substituting the morning runs of the
Illinois Zephyr (train 380) and
Carl Sandburg (train 381) with
Amtrak Thruway buses due to staffing shortages at Amtrak's Quincy crew base. The suspension lasted until January 17, 2023.
Proposed extension During 2010, Amtrak contacted officials from communities in northeastern Missouri and western Illinois regarding the feasibility of extending the routes from Quincy to the Missouri cities of
Hannibal and
St. Louis. Without any funding, though, no formal planning or studies were done for the extension. Plans for a Hannibal extension were revived in late 2021, when a coalition of political, business, and transportation leaders was formed. A committee will investigate potential station locations in downtown Hannibal (including the Y Men’s Pavilion), discuss surrounding mobility issues (including parking, walkability, and flooding), and work to find funding for planning and studies. The committee, which will be soliciting input from the public, held its first meeting January 2022. The Quincy–Hannibal route appeared in the 2022 Missouri State Freight and Rail Plan as a potential long-term passenger corridor. In 2023 the
Missouri Department of Transportation applied for federal funding to study the route under the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. ==Stations==