Leatherneck Nation

Just discovered, Amtrak roundtrip from Quincy to Macomb on a Saturday is $64. Leaves Quincy early Sat morning, returns late afternoon/early eve on Saturday night. Would be perfect for a big group that can't find Hotel rooms in Macomb for a bust weekend.

The Amtrak works even better on the Chicago to Macomb run. The train gets into Macomb at 11:00 AM. And goes back up north at 6:15 PM. That 7-hour time span works perfectly for a 1PM kickoff. The games on Oct 27 and Nov 17 start at 1PM.

People can get on that train at Chicago, La Grange, Naperville, Plano, Mendota, Princeton, Kewanee, and Galesburg. Perfect for fans and alumni who live in the northeastern part of the state.

wiu712 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 10, 2018 9:49 am The Amtrak works even better on the Chicago to Macomb run. The train gets into Macomb at 11:00 AM. And goes back up north at 6:15 PM. That 7-hour time span works perfectly for a 1PM kickoff. The games on Oct 27 and Nov 17 start at 1PM.

People can get on that train at Chicago, La Grange, Naperville, Plano, Mendota, Princeton, Kewanee, and Galesburg. Perfect for fans and alumni who live in the northeastern part of the state.

That's good to know! We have a friend who lives in Chicago that is supposed to come down for a game. He mentioned taking the train, but I thought he was kidding! LOL

Who is responsible for setting the game times anyway? If it is solely up to the teams coming up with an agreeable time, I have no clue why we would ever schedule anything later than a 2pm game in Macomb. Probably TV and media contracts which have to be abided by to muddy up the waters.

GV Dad wrote: ↑Wed Oct 10, 2018 9:53 am

wiu712 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 10, 2018 9:49 am The Amtrak works even better on the Chicago to Macomb run. The train gets into Macomb at 11:00 AM. And goes back up north at 6:15 PM. That 7-hour time span works perfectly for a 1PM kickoff. The games on Oct 27 and Nov 17 start at 1PM.

People can get on that train at Chicago, La Grange, Naperville, Plano, Mendota, Princeton, Kewanee, and Galesburg. Perfect for fans and alumni who live in the northeastern part of the state.

That's good to know! We have a friend who lives in Chicago that is supposed to come down for a game. He mentioned taking the train, but I thought he was kidding! LOL

He'll have to clear it through his boss!! : )

sealhall74 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 10, 2018 10:00 am Who is responsible for setting the game times anyway? If it is solely up to the teams coming up with an agreeable time, I have no clue why we would ever schedule anything later than a 2pm game in Macomb. Probably TV and media contracts which have to be abided by to muddy up the waters.

Yes, those national TV appearances cause some unusual start times.

I believe the kickoff times for games in Macomb are chosen by the university. I suggested in another thread that we need to go back to the traditional 1:00pm kickoff time, except for the early season hot weather games. I believe this would boost attendance...

Bob

I love Amtrak (and I'm really glad we have twice daily train to and from the Chicago area). We generally use it at least a few times a year to head up and back, and Macomb does a "Santa Train" every year (like the Polar Express trains in some cities, but a bit less "themed" and not as expensive) from Quincy to Macomb when they're doing Dickens on the Square. This year it sold out in 2 days (and it's not until the end of November).

Anyway, here's the general schedule for the Carl Sandburg (Chicago to Quincy in the morning, Q to Chi in evening) and Illinois Zephyr (Q to Chi in morning, Chi to Q in evening) routes. Only real downside of Quincy is that the station itself is out on the edge of town. Macomb's is downtown near restaurants and bus service around town. That's not a big deal if you're staying overnight in Quincy, parking at the station, riding up, seeing the game, riding back, then driving back to your hotel or home or whatever though.



The California Zephyr and Southwest Chief routes continue west from Galesburg and don't head south to Macomb/Quincy (my family took the Southwest Chief from Galesburg out to Albuquerque and back one time, which was fun).