Mattoon station

Mattoon is an Amtrak intercity train station in Mattoon, Illinois, United States. The station is a flag stop on the City of New Orleans route, served only when passengers have tickets to and from the station. It is a regular stop for the Illini and Saluki.

Mattoon, IL
The Mattoon station platform in April 2016. The depot constructed by the Illinois Central Railroad is present on the left.
Location	1718 Broadway Avenue Mattoon, IL 61938 United States
Coordinates	39.4829°N 88.3760°W
Line(s)	CN Champaign Subdivison
Platforms	1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks	2
Other information
Status	Flag stop
Station code	MAT
History
Opened	1855[1]
Rebuilt	1860[1] January 21, 1918[1]
Key dates
December 1977	Station agent eliminated[1]
Passengers
2014	42,872[2]  3.9%
Services
Preceding station Amtrak Following station Effingham toward New Orleans City of New Orleans Champaign–Urbana toward Chicago Effingham toward Carbondale Illini and Saluki
Former services Preceding station Illinois Central Railroad Following station Aetna toward New Orleans Main Line Dorans toward Chicago Coles toward Peoria Peoria – Evansville Newby toward Evansville
Illinois Central Railroad Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Mattoon, Illinois, USA
Built	1918
NRHP reference No.	02000098
Added to NRHP	March 1, 2002
Location
Mattoon, IL Location within Illinois

History

The Mattoon station is housed in the former Illinois Central Railroad Depot. The depot was completed in 1918 and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.[3] At its height, the building housed a power plant, mail room, luggage room, and restaurant, in addition to the main hall where passengers waited to board trains. As many as ten trains a day departed the depot in the 1950s.[4]

During 2010, a $3 million restoration project, paid for from a mix of private, state, and federal funding, was undertaken, replacing paint, flooring, and other interior fixtures.[5]

The depot today

There are no Amtrak employees at the station; the doors unlock and lock automatically before and after the arrival and departure of trains. The station currently serves as a stop for the Illini, Saluki, and City of New Orleans passenger trains [6] The tracks themselves, formerly part of the Illinois Central Railroad, are now owned by the Canadian National Railway (CN).[7] Freight trains run by CN pass through frequently.

References

1. Sanders, Craig (December 28, 1977). "Closing of Ticket Office Will End Era". The Journal Gazette. Mattoon, Illinois. p. 3. Retrieved November 17, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Amtrak Fact Sheet, FY2014, State of Illinois" (PDF). Amtrak. November 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 January 2015. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
3. National Register of Historic Places listings for Coles County, Illinois. www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com
4. Project Depot: History. www.projectdepot.org Archived 2005-09-11 at the Wayback Machine
5. "Renovations complete on eastern Ill. train depot". Chicago Tribune. 17 October 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2010.
6. Great American Stations. Accessed March 27, 2013.
7. Great American Stations. Accessed March 27, 2013.

External links

Media related to Mattoon station at Wikimedia Commons

• Mattoon, IL – Amtrak
• Pictures of the Mattoon station from projectdepot.org.
• Mattoon Amtrak Station (USA Rail Guide -- Train Web)
• National Register nomination
• Mattoon (MAT)--Great American Stations (Amtrak)