Named Trains: #27 – Land O'Corn

#27 – Land O'Corn

Railroad(s): Illinois Central

Operated: 1941 – 1967

Route(s): Chicago – Waterloo, Iowa

The Land O'Corn is a fantastic train name because it precisely describes the service's route while also evoking a strong sense of regional identity. Any causal observer would likely guess such a train would travel through the Midwest, probably through the cornfields of somewhere like Iowa or Nebraska. Such a guess would be correct. The Illinois Central – whose legacy of well-named trains will be documented later in this series – utilized streamlined, self-propelled Metrorailer trainsets on the line during its World War II and post-war tenure and completed the 275-mile trip in 5.5 hours. Amtrak later operated a different train over much of the same route known as the Black Hawk since the service was largely funded by Illinois, not Iowa. Currently, Illinois is working to return intercity passenger rail to the corridor, which is expected to begin in 2015. A name for the restored service has yet to be determined...

#28 – Minute Man
#29 – Fast Mail
#30 – Lake Shore Limited
#31 – Comet