Shawnee (train)

Shawnee

Overview
Predecessor	Seminole
First service	June 3, 1969
Last service	January 2, 1986
Successor	Illini
Former operator(s)	Illinois Central Railroad Amtrak
Route map Legend Dist. Station 0 mi Chicago-Union Chicago-Central 25 mi  40 km  Homewood 57 mi  92 km  Kankakee 115 mi  185 km  Rantoul 129 mi  208 km  Champaign–Urbana 174 mi  280 km  Mattoon 201 mi  323 km  Effingham 254 mi  409 km  Centralia 310 mi  499 km  Carbondale

The Shawnee was a passenger train operated first by then Illinois Central Railroad and then by Amtrak between Chicago, Illinois and Carbondale, Illinois. It operated from 1969 until 1986. The train was one of the few Illinois Central trains Amtrak retained after the end of most private-sector passenger service in the United States on May 1, 1971. The Shawnee operated until January 12, 1986, when budget cuts led to its consolidation with the Illini.

The Shawnee took its name from the Shawnee, an Algonquian-speaking people native to North America who formerly lived in southern Illinois.^[1]:100 The train made its first run on June 3, 1969. It replaced the Seminole, a long-distance train which had operated between Chicago and Jacksonville since 1909.^[2]:20 At the dawn of Amtrak the Shawnee was one of several trains the Illinois Central operated over the Chicago—Carbondale corridor, including the Southern Express, Creole, and Louisiane.^[1]:93 Along with the Panama Limited, also retained from the IC, the Shawnee continued to use Central Station instead of Union Station in downtown Chicago.

References

1. Sanders, Craig (2006). Amtrak in the Heartland. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34705-X. OCLC 61499942.
2. Lind, Alan R. (1986). Limiteds Along the Lakefront: The Illinois Central in Chicago. Park Forest, IL: Transport History Press. OCLC 20171887.

External links

• April 28, 1985 timetable