 Du Quoin, IL | Illini / Saluki | Effingham, IL  | Carbondale, IL | City of New Orleans |
Centralia is an unstaffed Amtrak station located in Southern Illinois. The station is a stop on all three trains that pass through it, the Illini, Saluki and City of New Orleans (at times it was just a flag stop on the City of New Orleans, although Amtrak has abolished these). Centralia is a railroad town, literally named Centralia for its founder, the Illinois Central Railroad. There are still shops and freight yards used by the Canadian National Railroad just south of town. The freight yard even includes a turntable that is visible from passing Amtrak trains. A historic 2500-Class Steam Locomotive (one of two remaining) is displayed in Fairview Park, a 20-minute walk west of the station. The station used to also be a station stop also on the River Cities a section of the City of New Orleans that was combined or divided in Carbondale from 1984 to 1993, with the River Cities running about 15 minutes before or after the City of New Orleans. In Centralia the line switched off the mainline to the west to reach St. Louis.
The station consists of a single not very accessible brick platform basically at track level (not modern low-level platform accessible level) with a tactile warning strip. The platform begins at the grade-crossing of Broadway, in the middle of Downtown Centralia and runs south.
Just north of the Broadway crossing, two one-way parallel street pairs, McCord Street for westbound traffic and Noleman Street for Eastbound traffic cross over the railroad lines in an underpass for Noleman Street, and an overpass for McCord Street (no pedestrians on the overpass). This means you can watch a bunch of westbound traffic from the platform crossing over, but no eastbound traffic.
The opposite southern end of the platform located is just before the Centralia Recreation Center. This platform can accommodate about six cars. The platform is along the eastern side of the two track CN railroad line. A couple wooden crossings allow a train to potentially stop and safely open two doors on the other track.
There is a third track (that shares the grade-crossing of Broadway) that has an interchange switch with the CN tracks just south of the station. This is part of a join-line used by both BNSF and Norfolk Sothern. This line arrives at the CN Line (after passing a railroad yard, just visible from passing trains) before following the CN line for a few blocks south of the Amtrak station, crossing the CN line at a grade before curving to the East and switching onto two different lines, one is Norfolk Southern, the other BNSF. The line heading northeast of town is BNSF but Norfolk Southern also uses it with an interchange yard just north of town.
Just set back from the platform, with a bunch of gravel around their concrete pads, are three black benches with Centralia engraved in the backs, bricks closing off areas designed for plantings are between these benches (and along the southern end of the platform). Sadly, the plantings are no longer tended too and just dirt and dead weeds.
In the middle of the platform is a small plaza. Here there is a Thank You For riding Amtrak information panel under text for Centralia. All three of its panels have been vandalized, the glass and information missing (when I visited in July 2025). There is another (empty) information board with a Mobile-lift just chilling and exposed next to it. The concrete in front of the plaza has been engraved in two places with text that says Centralia, Ill just before the brick platform begins, and by the door into the depot is an engraving of the shape of Illinois in a circle.
This plaza continues back about 30 feet to a small brick station building that was built locally by the Centralia Chamber of Commerce. This depot opened in 2003 replacing what was just a shelter. The building is designed to evoke memories of railroad stations in the past with its brick exterior and a stone facing the platform with Centralia engraved in it. Inside is a small (not very historic) looking waiting room with florescent lights, blue painted walls, and linoleum flooring. There is a single historic railroad station wooden bench, no hostile architecture for waiting passengers, along with two single stall bathrooms and two water fountains (with nice, cold water).
The building has heat but not Air Conditioning. A table had historic railroad photographs but by 2024 appears to be vandalized and is missing a lot of photos. A couple photos of steam locomotives line the walls. There are two normal Amtrak information panels (no schedules posted as of 2024). There is also a Centralia Railroaders Wall of Honor including the names of people who contributed to the water tower restoration project. The room has a surprising number of outlets along the walls. As of 2025 the depot is open from 6:00am to 10:00pm, passengers using the City of New Orleans that stops at 12:25am to New Orleans, and 4:08am to Chicago. Just outside the door into the building is a Dr. Pepper soda machine (one seems to be found at all stations along this line in Southern Illinois).
The depot stretches all the way back to some grass and to Oak Street. There is parking in municipal lots on either side of the station depot. A sign that says Long Term parking is attached the depot directing passengers to park along the larger parking lot south of the depot.
The water tower honor wall in the depot honors a wooden water tower that was built in 2004 in honor of Centralia's railroad past and its Bicentennial. This water tower is just across Oak Street from the station with an odd little brick building with i's for information as shutters and as sealed door. In this little plaza, is a little signage display with 1853 on one piece of metal, Centralia, and 1976 next to it. I believe it is an abandoned US Bicentennial Project from 1976.
Photos 1-80: July 4, 2025
