Macomb, IL - Thomas C. Carper Station (MAC)

Thomas C. Carper Station
120 East Calhoun Street
Macomb, IL 61455-7321

Station Hours

Annual Ticket Revenue (FY 2023): $1,286,386
Annual Station Ridership (FY 2023): 37,199

• Ownerships
• Routes Served
• Contact
• Local Community Links

• Facility Ownership: BNSF Railway
• Parking Lot Ownership: BNSF Railway
• Platform Ownership: BNSF Railway
• Track Ownership: BNSF Railway

• Carl Sandburg
• Illinois Zephyr

Ismael Cuevas
Regional Contact
governmentaffairschi@amtrak.com
For information about Amtrak fares and schedules, please visit Amtrak.com or call 1-800-USA-RAIL (1-800-872-7245).

• City of Macomb
• Western Illinois University
• Go West Transit

The Macomb depot and platform, known as the Thomas C. Carper Station, overlooks Chandler Park on the northern edge of downtown and is also about one half-mile east of the Western Illinois University (WIU) campus, which extends north to the La Moine River.

Opened in 1913 by the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, and built at a cost of approximately $26,000, the depot is composed of brick trimmed in sandstone. It is topped with a hipped roof whose wide eaves protect passengers from inclement weather. Numerous Go West Transit bus routes serve the station area, providing easy access to various parts of the city. In March 2021, the depot became the new home of the Macomb Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Working with the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), the city made some renovations and upgrades to the station in the 1980s. Local government has also sponsored replacement of the brick surround and driveway with new brick, adding to the charm of an already handsome original station. Over the summer of 2014, the city made improvements to the parking lot. In conjunction with this work, students from WIU volunteered to paint the interior. Residents of the McDonough County Jail painted the exterior and undertook basic carpentry work.

In 2024, the station was renamed in honor of resident Thomas C. Carper by the Illinois House of Representatives in recognition of his contributions through public service to the city of Macomb, the state of Illinois and the nation’s rail infrastructure. Carper served three terms as mayor of Macomb, and he was also a member of the Amtrak Board of Directors from 2008-2024. He was first appointed to the board by President George W. Bush and served as chair from 2009-2013. As of 2024, Carper was the longest-tenured board member in Amtrak’s history.

Macomb, sitting just south of the East Fork of the La Moine River, was founded in 1830 as the county seat of McDonough County, and was named after General Alexander Macomb, an American general in the War of 1812. War veterans were given land grants in Macomb, part of the Military Tract set aside by Congress. The Northern Cross Railroad, a predecessor of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad, built a line through Macomb in 1855, and the town grew as a result.

In 1899 the Western Illinois State Normal School, later Western Illinois University, was founded in Macomb. This city is considered by many to be a good example of a college town. Several U.S. Presidents have visited and made addresses in Macomb including Ulysses S. Grant, Andrew Johnson, Rutherford B. Hayes, William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. Abraham Lincoln and Barack Obama both addressed large audiences in Macomb prior to their election as president.

The Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr are financed primarily through funds made available by the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Station Building (with waiting room)