Amboy station facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Amboy Illinois Central Depot
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location in Illinois Show map of Illinois Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	50 S. East Ave., Amboy, Illinois
Area	less than one acre (4,000 m2)
Built	1876
Architect	James Nocquet
Architectural style	Italianate
NRHP reference No.	92001015
Added to NRHP	August 18, 1992

The Amboy station is an old train station in Amboy, Illinois. It's located in Lee County, in the state of Illinois, United States. This building was first built in 1876. It served as the main office for the Illinois Central Railroad and also as a public train station for the new city of Amboy.

A railroad architect named James Nocquet designed the building. He created it after a fire destroyed the first Illinois Central offices on that spot. In 1992, the building was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. It was recognized as the Amboy Illinois Central Depot.

The building is shaped like a rectangle and built in the Italianate style. It was the main office for the Illinois Central Railroad's Northern Division until 1894. After that year, the train line through Amboy became less important. The main office moved to a different place. Today, the old depot is a public museum. The museum area includes the depot, which has old items and displays. It also has other small buildings. There's even a steam locomotive on the property. This train was the last steam engine in the U.S. to be used for regular freight service in 1976. The museum got the locomotive from a company called Northwestern Steel and Wire. It is now on display for everyone to see.

History of the Amboy Station

The Amboy Illinois Central Depot was built in 1876. It was placed right next to the train tracks of the Illinois Central Railroad. In 1854, a law was passed by the U.S. Congress. This law, supported by Stephen A. Douglas, allowed the Illinois Central to become the biggest railroad company in the world. The plan was to build a main train line from East Dubuque to Cairo. There would also be branch lines from Centralia to Chicago. Because of how long the train sections were, the Illinois Central decided to build its main office for a division in Lee County.

The Amboy Depot from its rear facade.

The railroad bought land where Amboy is today. They set up their division headquarters there. They also built shops and maintenance areas. The city of Amboy grew up around the Illinois Central's activities. For the next 20 years, the railroad's northern division was run from this first main office. Train activity kept growing. The original building was made bigger in 1863. But people still said it was too small for the railroad's needs. On November 15, 1875, the main office building and the hotel/depot next to it were destroyed by a fire.

After the fire, the railroad decided to clear away the old building. They chose to build a new combined depot and main office. Hotel services were left to other businesses. The burned area was cleaned up. In 1876, the current Amboy Illinois Central Depot was built. The railroad managed its operations by dividing its lines into "divisions." Each division had control over hundreds of miles of track. The building in Amboy was one of these division headquarters. By the time the Amboy Illinois Central Depot was finished in 1876, the entire 345-mile (555 km) track from Centralia to East Dubuque was part of the Illinois Central Northern Division. This division was run from the Amboy building. The Amboy main office was in charge of 53 different train stations.

Operations at the Amboy headquarters and depot continued this way until 1894. That year, the Illinois Central finished building a new east-west train line from Iowa to Chicago. This new line changed how train traffic flowed. Fewer passenger trains and less cargo went through Amboy. So, the railroad decided to make the track section from Freeport to Centralia (which included Amboy) a smaller sub-division. The main office in Amboy was closed. Most of the train repair and maintenance facilities were moved to Freeport, Illinois, and Clinton, Illinois.

Even after the main office moved, the depot still served the railroad. It was a place where train crews changed shifts. It also remained the train station for the village of Amboy. The second floor was mostly empty after 1894. The first floor handled most of the daily operations. As cars and buses became more popular, Amboy's train needs could be met by the station in Dixon. Passenger train service to Amboy stopped in 1939. The depot then went through a big renovation. Operations inside the building changed again. The northwest part of the first floor became a storage area. The second floor was made into apartments for the station agent and workers from the nearby Green River Ordnance Plant. The station remained the transfer point for all ammunition made at this plant during World War II and the Korean War.

The mid-1980s marked the end of the Amboy Illinois Central Depot's time as an active train building. On June 10, 1984, the Illinois Commerce Commission allowed the Illinois Central Railroad to stop using the train line through Amboy. The railroad announced it planned to tear down the old station. But a group of citizens saved the building. It is now owned by a committee from the Village of Amboy and has been turned into a museum.

Building Design and Style

The Amboy Illinois Central Depot was designed by railroad architect James Nocquet. He used the Italianate style of architecture. Before Nocquet worked for Illinois Central, he was part of an architecture firm in Chicago. In 1871, he started working for the railroad. He stayed with them through the 1870s, which included the time he designed the Amboy depot. The building was made to be a large and modern main office. It also served as a train station for the people of Amboy. The southeast part of the first floor was designed for this public use. This depot section had waiting rooms and ticket counters, just like other stations from that time. The main office part of the building had many windows, letting in lots of light.

The building is shaped like a rectangle. It measures 32 feet (9.8 m) wide by 88 feet (27 m) long. Its outside design shows how important it was to the Illinois Central Railroad. It is built of red brick with lots of limestone details. The depot's size, height, and fancy brick and stone work make it look grand and important.

Amboy Depot Museum

NS&W #76, the last steam locomotive commissioned for regular freight service in the United States.

The Amboy Depot Museum has been open since 2003. The museum covers much of the old rail yard that Illinois Central used to have at Amboy's Northern Division Headquarters. This was for its train line from Cairo to East Dubuque. When this line was finished in 1855, it was the longest train line in the world. The museum has three buildings. The Amboy Illinois Central Depot is the main one. Inside, you can see displays and old items about the history of Amboy and the Illinois Central Railroad. Palmer School is a restored one-room schoolhouse. It was moved to the museum property in the 1990s from its original spot west of Amboy. The third building is the Amboy Illinois Central Freight House. It was moved to the museum in 2003 to save it from being torn down.

The Amboy Illinois Central Depot also has a steam locomotive on display. This train sits on tracks next to the Depot that are not connected to the main line. The locomotive is an 0-8-0 steam engine. It was built in 1929 by Baldwin Locomotive Works as a switcher (a train used to move cars around a yard). Its number was 8376. It was first used by the Grand Trunk Western Railroad. Switcher #8376 was taken out of service near Detroit, Michigan, in 1958 and sold for scrap.

However, a company called Northwestern Steel and Wire in Sterling, Illinois, ended up with 8376 and other steam locomotives. Instead of melting them down, the company fixed them up. They then used them to replace their old trains that worked inside their steel mill. So, 8376 was brought out of storage and put back into service in 1976 as NS&W #76. When it started running again, NS&W #76 was the last steam locomotive engine to be used for regular freight service in the United States. Number 76 ran daily until the mill owner passed away in 1980. It was taken out of service shortly after and was given to the Amboy Depot Commission.

Why This Building is Important

This plaque shows the building is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

The Amboy Illinois Central Depot is an important building for the local area. This is because of its connection to the Illinois Central Railroad. Most of the building's original design, both inside and out, has been kept in good condition. Because it was the main office for the Illinois Central Railroad's Northern Division, the Amboy Illinois Central Depot was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on August 18, 1992.