Ever Wonder How the Amtrak Train Turns Around in West Quincy? Here’s Your Answer
Each and every day there are two Amtrak trains that serve the Quincy area with trips to and from Chicago. The Illinois Zephyr leaves Quincy at 6:12 mornings and returns each night at 10:23. The Carl Sandburg departs Quincy each night at 5:30 and arrives in Chicago at 9:58. That train then returns the next morning at 7:35 from Chicago and arrives in Quincy at 12:03 p.m. With both train routes ending in West Quincy, I always wondered how the train actually turns around in West Quincy to prepare for the trip back to Chicago.
My curiosity got the better of me, so I went to the West Quincy train yard as the train was pulling in. Then I watched it reverse itself onto a loop track located basically behind the Ayerco Convenience Store in West Quincy. It then backed its way into the train yard to prepare for its trip to Chicago again.
Mystery solved in case you were wondering too!