A small note about my sister's town of residence
The Register-Mail, Galesburg's hometown newspaper, had an article about Amtrak-related events. Galesburg, as you may remember from the previous entry, is a town where my sister lives and studies. A lot of what the article said was something I already knew. But what caught my attention was a couple of paragraph towards the end:
.Every two years, Boy Scouts from Indianapolis arrive [in Galesburg] in two or three 15-passenger vans, spend some time here, then ride Amtrak to the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. []Jerry Wood, tourism associate for the Galesburg Convention & Visitors Bureau] said Scout leaders told her it is more economical to drive to Galesburg, rather than Chicago, when such things as parking fees are considered.
“We’re a hub,” Wood said. “They come here from Minnesota, they come from Ohio.”
She said some passengers have hours here while waiting to change trains. A man from New Mexico who rode Amtrak here recently walked from the depot to the Welcome Center on the city’s east side. Wood said he told her he needed the exercise after the long train ride. The man had a four- or five-hour layover before heading back west.
During 2011, 111,520 passengers boarded the two state-supported Amtrak routes in Galesburg. Wood said many of the city’s out-of-state visitors end up in Galesburg because of the long-distance Southwest Chief and California Zephyr Amtrak trains.
“Amtrak is very viable around here,” she said.
Galesburg may be small, but it sat at intersection of several major railroads for... pretty much as long as the railroad technology existed. The town doesn't get nearly as many passenger trains as it used to. But it still gets more than most Illinois towns. Today, four trains stop at the station - the state-based Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr and the long-distance California Zephyr and Southwest Chief. They follow the same route between Chicago and Galesburg, but they go off in separate directions once they leave the station. Burlington Trailways buses that run between between Indianapolis and Quad Cities stop at the station during the evenings.
I kind of assumed that there isn't a whole lot of transferring and layovers going on in Galesburg these days. I guess I was wrong.
It's fascinating how some rail traditions endure.
.Every two years, Boy Scouts from Indianapolis arrive [in Galesburg] in two or three 15-passenger vans, spend some time here, then ride Amtrak to the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. []Jerry Wood, tourism associate for the Galesburg Convention & Visitors Bureau] said Scout leaders told her it is more economical to drive to Galesburg, rather than Chicago, when such things as parking fees are considered.
“We’re a hub,” Wood said. “They come here from Minnesota, they come from Ohio.”
She said some passengers have hours here while waiting to change trains. A man from New Mexico who rode Amtrak here recently walked from the depot to the Welcome Center on the city’s east side. Wood said he told her he needed the exercise after the long train ride. The man had a four- or five-hour layover before heading back west.
During 2011, 111,520 passengers boarded the two state-supported Amtrak routes in Galesburg. Wood said many of the city’s out-of-state visitors end up in Galesburg because of the long-distance Southwest Chief and California Zephyr Amtrak trains.
“Amtrak is very viable around here,” she said.
Galesburg may be small, but it sat at intersection of several major railroads for... pretty much as long as the railroad technology existed. The town doesn't get nearly as many passenger trains as it used to. But it still gets more than most Illinois towns. Today, four trains stop at the station - the state-based Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr and the long-distance California Zephyr and Southwest Chief. They follow the same route between Chicago and Galesburg, but they go off in separate directions once they leave the station. Burlington Trailways buses that run between between Indianapolis and Quad Cities stop at the station during the evenings.
I kind of assumed that there isn't a whole lot of transferring and layovers going on in Galesburg these days. I guess I was wrong.
It's fascinating how some rail traditions endure.