Illini and Saluki With Kids: A Trip Plan for Every Stop
Two trains a day each way, double-decker cars with upstairs seats, and a line that runs straight down the middle of Illinois through corn, a railroad museum built inside a depot, and a college town with a children's science museum in an old theater. The Illini and the Saluki are the same route with two names, one morning and one afternoon, and the City of New Orleans adds a third option at night. My dad went to school in Champaign. Below is every stop and what to do when you get off.
By Kelsey Lizee Cecil. Checked against the Illinois Services timetable and each attraction in October 2026. Hours change; read the "know before you go" notes.If you only have one day
- With a toddler: Chicago to Kankakee.An hour south, then the railroad museum inside the depot with a Pullman coach to walk through, the fountain plaza and the river. Home on the afternoon train. Jump to Kankakee.
- Ages 4 to 8: Champaign.The Orpheum Children's Science Museum five minutes from the terminal, a candy shop downtown, and a free bus to the campus Quad. Jump to Champaign.
- The big one: Carbondale and the Shawnee.Ride to the end, rent a car, and climb through Giant City's rock maze and the Garden of the Gods. Two nights. Jump to Carbondale.
Read this before you go
Three things to know. First, the Saluki leaves Chicago in the morning and the Illini in the late afternoon, and the return trips mirror them, so most stops have a morning and an evening option each way; the City of New Orleans adds a night train at the bigger stops. Second, these trains use Superliner double-decker cars, so ask for upstairs. Third, the cafe is downstairs in the lounge car with tables and big windows. Alerts are on the Illini and Saluki page on Amtrak (opens in a new tab).
Tickets, seats, bathrooms, strollers and what to pack are all in our Illini and Saluki parent guide. This page is the fun part: where to get off and what to do when you do.
Stop 1 of 11CHISaluki in the morning, Illini in the afternoon, plus the City of New Orleans at night
Chicago Union Station
The Saluki leaves Chicago in the morning and the Illini in the late afternoon, both with upstairs seats in double-decker cars, and both from Union Station's Great Hall. This is the line to central and southern Illinois: a railroad museum in a depot, a children's science museum in a college town, and the hills of the Shawnee at the end.
Stand in the middle of the Great Hall and look straight up. Then find the gate together.
Right off the platform
- at stopUnion Station: the Great Hall, restrooms, a food court and a staffed counter.
- 5 minThe Chicago Riverwalk and the architecture boats.
- 15 minMaggie Daley Park's giant slides, free.
- 15 minMillennium Park and the Bean.
Half a day between trains
- Riverwalk boat (90 minutes).
- Maggie Daley Park (1 hour).
Make it a full day
Chicago is a weekend. This line is how you leave it for the prairie.
Snack stop: The station food court.
Out the window: Leaving Chicago southbound on the Illinois Central line you pass the lakefront neighborhoods, then the south suburbs, then prairie.
The Illini and Saluki use Superliner double-decker cars; ask for upstairs.
Stop 2 of 11HMWBoth trains, plus Metraour honest take: ride on
Homewood
A suburban stop with a restored depot and a small railroad viewing platform where kids can watch Metra and freight trains. A nice five minutes; not a destination.
The railroad viewing platform beside the depot, built for exactly this.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe restored depot and the viewing platform.
- 5 minDowntown Homewood's cafes and a bakery.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard, or the viewing platform if you are a train family (30 minutes).
Make it a full day
Skip.
Snack stop: A bakery downtown.
Out the window: Suburbs.
Stop 3 of 11KKIBoth trains, plus the City of New Orleans
Kankakee
An 1898 limestone depot with a railroad museum inside: model railroads, a restored 1947 Pullman coach, and a scale model of the town in the 1950s. A plaza with a fountain and a clock tower sits outside, and the Kankakee River is a short walk. Train kids get off here.
Walking through the 1947 Pullman coach inside the museum, then watching the next train come through from the plaza.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe 1898 depot: the Kankakee Railroad Museum inside (check hours; small admission), restrooms and a plaza with a fountain.
- at stopClock Tower Park and the depot plaza, with concerts in summer.
- 10 minThe Kankakee River and the Riverfront path.
- 10 minDowntown Kankakee's Schuyler Avenue and the Majestic theater.
- at stopKankakee River State Park, by car, with a playground and canoe rentals.
Half a day between trains
- Railroad museum (1 hour).
- Plaza fountain and the river path (1 hour).
Make it a full day
Museum, lunch downtown, the river state park by cab for a canoe, and the afternoon train either way. Or the Exploration Station children's museum in Bourbonnais by cab.
Snack stop: A bakery and cafes on Schuyler Avenue.
Out the window: The Kankakee River crossing just south of the station.
The railroad museum's hours vary by season; check before you promise the Pullman.
Stop 4 of 11GLMBoth trainsour honest take: ride on
Gilman
A grain-elevator town stop. Nothing for a family. Ride on.
The grain elevators, which are the skyscrapers of the prairie.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform with a shelter.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard.
Make it a full day
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: Corn and soybeans to the horizon.
Stop 5 of 11RTLBoth trainsour honest take: ride on
Rantoul
The old Chanute Air Force Base town. The aerospace museum closed years ago, and the stop is a platform. Ride on to Champaign, 20 minutes.
None.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform with a shelter.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard.
Make it a full day
Skip.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: The old air base runways.
Stop 6 of 11CHMBoth trains, plus the City of New Orleans
Champaign-Urbana Illinois Terminal
A big modern terminal in downtown Champaign, a few blocks from a children's science museum, a Saturday farmers market, and a bus to the University of Illinois campus with its free natural history museum and a Japanese garden. The best stop on the line for a day with kids.
The Orpheum Children's Science Museum, in an old vaudeville theater, with a dinosaur dig and water tables. Then a bus to the Quad.
Right off the platform
- at stopIllinois Terminal: a big waiting room, restrooms, a staffed counter and the bus hub.
- 5 minOrpheum Children's Science Museum at 346 N Neil St, ages 2 to 10 (admission; limited days).
- 5 minDowntown Champaign's Neil Street: a toy store, a candy shop and cafes.
- at stopThe University of Illinois campus by MTD bus: the Spurlock Museum (free), the Quad, and the Japan House garden.
- at stopCurtis Orchard, by cab, with a pumpkin patch and apple picking in fall.
Half a day between trains
- Orpheum museum (90 minutes).
- Downtown for lunch and the candy shop (1 hour).
Make it a full day
Orpheum in the morning, campus by bus with the Spurlock and the Japan House, dinner downtown, and either the evening train or a night here. Illini game days in fall are a scene.
Snack stop: Downtown Champaign's cafes; the Saturday market at Lincoln Square in Urbana.
Out the window: The campus's buildings on the right southbound.
The Orpheum has limited open days; check the calendar.
Stop 7 of 11MATBoth trains, plus the City of New Orleansour honest take: ride on
Mattoon
A railroad town with a 1917 depot and a downtown a few blocks away. Lincoln's log cabin site is a drive south. A stretch stop.
The depot's old waiting room.
Right off the platform
- at stopThe 1917 depot with a waiting room.
- 5 minDowntown Mattoon's Broadway Avenue.
- at stopLincoln Log Cabin State Historic Site, 10 miles by car, with a living history farm.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard.
Make it a full day
Skip, unless the Lincoln Log Cabin farm is the plan with a car.
Snack stop: A diner downtown.
Out the window: Corn.
Stop 8 of 11EFGBoth trains, plus the City of New Orleansour honest take: ride on
Effingham
A crossroads town with a 1901 depot and a 198-foot cross by the interstate. A stretch stop.
The giant cross, visible from the train.
Right off the platform
- at stopA restored depot.
- 10 minDowntown Effingham and a park.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard.
Make it a full day
Skip.
Snack stop: A cafe downtown.
Out the window: The cross on the horizon.
Stop 9 of 11CENBoth trains, plus the City of New Orleansour honest take: ride on
Centralia, Illinois
A railroad junction town with a 1950s-style depot and a carillon downtown with 65 bells. A stretch stop with a soundtrack.
The carillon, if it is playing.
Right off the platform
- at stopA depot with a waiting room.
- 10 minDowntown Centralia and the carillon tower.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard.
Make it a full day
Skip.
Snack stop: A diner.
Out the window: Oil wells and farms.
Stop 10 of 11DQNBoth trainsour honest take: ride on
Du Quoin
A small town with a fairground and a state fair in late summer. Otherwise a platform.
The Du Quoin State Fair, late August into Labor Day, if your trip lands on it.
Right off the platform
- at stopA platform with a shelter.
- at stopThe Du Quoin State Fairgrounds, a mile away, late August.
Half a day between trains
- Stay aboard.
Make it a full day
Skip, unless it is fair week.
Snack stop: None.
Out the window: The first hills.
Stop 11 of 11CDLBoth trains, plus the City of New Orleans; the end of the line
Carbondale
A college town at the edge of the Shawnee National Forest, with a modern station on the edge of downtown. The forest's cliffs and lakes need a car, but downtown has a park with a playground, a science center and the university's campus lake a bus ride away. The southern end of the line.
Giant City State Park's rock formations, by car, which kids climb through like a maze. In town, the Science Center of Southern Illinois.
Right off the platform
- at stopA modern station with a waiting room, restrooms and a staffed counter.
- 5 minDowntown Carbondale's Illinois Avenue and the town square.
- 10 minThe Science Center of Southern Illinois, small and hands-on (check hours).
- at stopSIU's Campus Lake and the Boat Dock, by bus or cab, with paddle boats.
- at stopGiant City State Park and the Shawnee National Forest, 20 minutes by car.
Half a day between trains
- Downtown and the Science Center (90 minutes).
Make it a full day
Rent a car: Giant City's rock maze, the Garden of the Gods, Little Grassy Lake. Two nights. The trains are the way to get here, not the way to see it.
Snack stop: Downtown's Longbranch Cafe and a bakery.
Out the window: Arriving from the north the land finally rolls, and the Shawnee hills are on the horizon.
The prairie from upstairs
From the upper level of a Superliner the prairie is a different thing: a green ocean with grain elevators for lighthouses, and a sky that goes all the way down. My dad rode this line to college and said it was the most boring train in America. He was wrong, but you have to be upstairs to know it. Sit up there, get off in Kankakee for the Pullman, and let them count elevators.
Next in this series: the City of New Orleans, which rides these tracks at night and keeps going to the Gulf, and the Lincoln Service. Every route is on the Train Trips With Your Kids page.
Illini and Saluki trips with kids: questions parents ask
What is the difference between the Illini and the Saluki?
Nothing except the time of day. Both run Chicago to Carbondale with the same stops; the Saluki is the morning train out of Chicago and the Illini the afternoon one, and they swap on the way back.
How long is Chicago to Champaign on the Illini?
About 2 hours 15 minutes, and about 5.5 hours to Carbondale. Kankakee is about an hour from Chicago.
Are the Illini and Saluki double-decker trains?
Yes, Superliner cars with the seats upstairs and accessible seating and bathrooms downstairs. The lounge car has a cafe with tables on the lower level.
What is the best Illini or Saluki stop for a toddler?
Kankakee. The railroad museum is inside the depot, with a 1947 Pullman coach to walk through, a plaza with a fountain outside, and the river a short walk away. One hour from Chicago.
Do kids pay on the Illini and Saluki?
Kids 2 to 12 pay half the adult fare and one child under 2 rides free on each adult's lap. Tickets are reserved.
Can we take these trains to the Shawnee National Forest?
To Carbondale, yes, which is at the forest's edge. The parks themselves (Giant City, Garden of the Gods) need a car; rent one in Carbondale.
Which stops should we skip with kids?
Homewood, Gilman, Rantoul, Mattoon, Effingham, Centralia and Du Quoin are small-town platforms. The trip is Kankakee, Champaign and Carbondale.
Sources and how I checked
- Amtrak Illinois Services timetable, August 2026, and Amtrak station pages
- Kankakee Railroad Museum, Orpheum Children's Science Museum, Spurlock Museum, Science Center of Southern Illinois: hours and admission as posted October 2026
- Great American Stations and Wikipedia station articles for addresses and station history, cross-checked with Amtrak
- Illinois DNR: Giant City State Park, Kankakee River State Park
Hours, prices and bus routes change. I update this page when they do; if you spot something out of date, tell me.