Lake Country Limited

Lake Country Limited

The Lake Country Limited near Janesville in 2000
Overview
Service type	Inter-city rail
Status	Discontinued
Locale	Illinois
First service	April 15, 2000
Last service	September 23, 2001
Current operator(s)	Amtrak
Route
Start	Chicago, Illinois
Stops	2
End	Janesville, Wisconsin
Distance travelled	98 miles (158 km)
Service frequency	Daily
Train number(s)	342,343,344
On-board services
Catering facilities	None
Baggage facilities	Carry-on only
Technical
	Horizon or Amfleet coaches
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Track owner(s)	Metra, WSOR
Route map 0 mi 0 km Chicago 18 mi 29 km Glenview Illinois Wisconsin 67 mi 108 km Lake Geneva 98 mi 158 km Janesville

Route map
0 mi 0 km Chicago 18 mi 29 km Glenview Illinois Wisconsin 67 mi 108 km Lake Geneva 98 mi 158 km Janesville

The Lake Country Limited was a short-lived Amtrak route which connected Chicago, Illinois, with Janesville, Wisconsin. The route was part of Amtrak's Network Growth Strategy, which envisioned an expanded role for mail and express business. The Lake Country Limited would have exchanged goods with a new Chicago—New York train named the Skyline Connection, which in the end never began operation.

Trains originated at Chicago's Union Station and ran north over the tracks of Metra's Milwaukee District/North Line. Northwest of Fox Lake, Illinois, it ran over tracks owned by the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad to a temporary platform outside of Janesville. The poor condition of the Fox Lake–Janesville stretch limited trains to 30 miles per hour (48 km/h).

The initial route was Chicago–Glenview–Janesville; on June 15, 2000 an additional stop was added at Zenda, Wisconsin to serve Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, a popular resort community. The train consisted of one coach car, one engine, and one non-powered control unit.