Santa Fe Depot (Galesburg, Illinois)

Galesburg
Former ATSF and Amtrak passenger rail station
The station in September 1985
Location	N. Broad Street at BNSF Railway tracks Galesburg, Illinois
Owned by	Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (1888–1971) Amtrak (1971–1996) (depot) Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway (1887–1996) BNSF Railway (1996–) (tracks)
Line(s)	BNSF Railway Chillicothe Subdivision
Platforms	1 side platform, 1 island platform
Tracks	2
Construction
Structure type	at-grade
Parking	yes
History
Opened	1888
Closed	1996
Rebuilt	1966
Services
Former services   Preceding station   Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe   Following station Fort Madison toward Los Angeles Super Chief Chillicothe toward Chicago Dearborn Station El Capitan Fort Madison toward Dallas or Galveston Texas Chief Fort Madison toward Oklahoma City or Dallas Chicagoan/Kansas Cityan Amtrak Fort Madison toward Los Angeles Southwest Chief Chillicothe toward Chicago

Galesburg Santa Fe Station was a railway station in the west central Illinois town of Galesburg. The station was along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway's main line and served trains such as the Super Chief and El Captain. After Amtrak took over intercity rail in the United States, it was served by trains such as the Lone Star (1971–1979) and the Southwest Chief (1971–1996).

Although train service ended in 1996 and it has been demolished since, the site is still used if derailments cause trains to use the Chillicothe Subdivision instead of the Mendota Subdivision.

The first railroad to arrive in Galesburg was the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in December 1854. The railroad served passengers at a large depot at South and Seminary streets. Galesburg was also a major junction for the CB&Q, since it was the point where many branch lines crossed the Chicago—Denver main line. Also in Galesburg was the railroad's roundhouse and hump yard, the latter still used with BNSF.

The Santa Fe Railway was originally planned to bypass Galesburg 10 to 12 miles to the southeast. The railway was trying to build on the straightest line possible between Kansas City and Chicago—Galesburg was not on this line. Led by Clark E. Carr, the townspeople tried to persuade the railway to build through Galesburg. A guaranty—signed by many citizens of Galesburg—was telegraphed to the Santa Fe's headquarters in Boston. It offered 20 acres of land for a depot, as well as the right-of-way through town. To save money, the railroad used the right of way closely following the Cedar Fork Valley.