Serving Milwaukee, Chicago, Springfield, St. Louis and intermediate points
Amtrak train numbers: 302-323 and 303-326
Predecessor railroad train numbers: Gulf Mobile and Ohio 2 and 3
The Chicago and Alton Railroad had three major trains on its main line between Chicago and St. Louis, the overnight Midnight Special and the daytime Alton Limited and Abraham Lincoln, all three of which survived the 1947 takeover by the Gulf, Mobile and Ohio Railroad.
Only the two daytime trains managed to make it into the Amtrak era in 1971. Then, beginning in late 1971, Amtrak broke the Chicago barrier by combining the two trains with two previously unnamed Chicago-Milwaukee trains.
The experiment only lasted a couple of years, but in the meantime, the trains had begun running with Amtrak's first new equipment, the Turboliners. The Chicago-St. Louis corridor trains had their names dropped in favor of the umbrella title "Turboliner Service." When individual train names were restored several years later, the Abraham Lincoln name didn't reappear; instead, the train with the morning St. Louis departure and evening St. Louis arrival became the State House.
Condensed historical timetables:
READ DOWN READ UP
(1956) (1972) (1972) (1956)
----- 3:15P Dp Milwaukee Ar 3:00P -----
4:50P 5:10P Chicago 1:30P 2:08P
7:59P 8:21P Springfield 9:57A 10:48A
10:00P 10:35P Ar St. Louis Dp 8:00A 8:58A
The Amtrak Train Names Project