 The annual event introduced by Amtrak is celebrated nationwide, and
this year holds extra meaning as being the 40th anniversary year of
the Amtrak program.For the city of Lincoln, the history of rail
holds a great deal of significance, from the first signing of a
charter for the city, to the implementation of high-speed rail,
scheduled to be completed by the year 2014.
The city of Lincoln came to be as astute city founders recognized
the need for a rail station between Springfield and Bloomington back
in the 1800s.
In 1853 Abraham Lincoln stood in a spot near the Lincoln Depot
and with a cup of watermelon juice christened this fair city.
On Nov. 21, 1860, President-elect Lincoln stood at the end of a
rail car at the Lincoln Depot. En route to Chicago and on to
Washington, D.C., the newly elected president spoke to citizens of a
town that was near and dear to his heart.
A few years afterward, the city of Lincoln draped its depot in
mourning and its citizens stood in grief, watching the funeral train
of their beloved president pass through.
While these are the most noted events concerning the railroad and
the city of Lincoln, they are not the only events.
Rail sustained shipments of coal to the Lincoln gasification
plant and hauled numerous tons of sand and gravel out of Logan
County.
As a primary source of transportation for both people and
freight, the rail system aided in the growth of commerce in the city
and provided a means for its inhabitants to easily traverse between
their home community and larger cities such as Bloomington, Chicago,
Springfield, St. Louis and beyond.
In 1976 it brought President Gerald Ford to Lincoln to the
Abraham Lincoln National Railsplitting Festival. It was also from
the back of a train that Ford did his own re-enactment of the
christening of the city, pouring watermelon juice onto the tracks
from the back of his rail car before leaving town.
And this year, the city of Lincoln is also becoming a part of
history, as Illinois's first high-speed rail corridor from St. Louis
to Chicago will pass through the heart of the county and the city.
Rohlfs spoke about the importance of the rail system to the city,
noting the ease and convenience for those who would come into
Lincoln to attend college, see the sights, visit family or friends,
or spend a day shopping in the downtown shops, as well as those who
need an easy way to travel to some of our larger cities.
On Saturday morning, as Rohlfs and Matson greeted folks coming
into the station and preparing to head out of town, it drove her
point home quite easily.
Among those headed out was Barbara Faust of Bloomington. Faust
said she uses Amtrak quite often to make the trip to Lincoln to
visit her sister who lives here.
On this occasion she was wrapping up a weeklong visit and heading
back home. While waiting, she talked about the city and the places
she and her sister go when she visits.
Another well-known figure in Lincoln, Jackie Bruketa, former
owner of Jackie's Pour House, was on hand, getting ready for a trip
Chicago-way.
Bruketa said she uses the train to make trips to see her back
specialist.
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For John and Nancy Blair of Chicago, the most significant thing
that ever happened via the railways is not going to be printed as
part of our nation's history.
The Blairs were in Lincoln for the weekend, attending the college
graduation of a niece. John Blair said they had come in on Friday
and spent the night at a local motel. They had visited the downtown
area Friday and had eaten at the Blue Dog Inn.
They had also investigated Lincoln via the Internet and
discovered that there was a National Train Day celebration going on
Saturday, so they decided to check it out.
Blair shared that he and his wife, as young singles, had passed
through the city of Lincoln on the train several times.
As a young man, John Blair lived with family in Nokomis, while
Nancy was born and raised in Chicago. The two happened to meet when
she was visiting relatives in Nokomis.
Blair said they were immediately interested in each other, and
they wanted to spend time together in spite of the distance between
them, so they began to date via the train.
"We got to have one, sometimes two dates a month. I would take
the train to Chicago and we would have a date, or she would come
down here and we would have a date," he said.
For the Blairs, one date a month via the railways was good
enough, as the couple have now been married several years. They
reside in Chicago but still come to this region periodically and
have many happy memories of their courtship via the train.
And finally, this weekend's events will go down in local history
as the National Train Day with no trains. Instead, passengers were
transported via bus.
High-speed rail is moving forward in the St. Louis-to-Chicago
corridor. Last fall the laying of new concrete railroad ties and new
welded rail commenced near Alton and made its way north to Elkhart
before construction had to stop for the winter.
The first of April, construction started up again, and for the
last few weeks there has been much going on around the rail line in
Lincoln.
However, Rohlfs said she has received word that train service
will resume this week, which she is looking forward to.
The end of the week, Rohlfs will take the train to Chicago to
attend a large Illinois tourism event at Union Station, one of just
several activities that Main Street will be participating in over
the next few weeks.
[By NILA SMITH]
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