The possible return of passenger train traffic between Dubuque and Chicago may soon continue a long tradition of rail service in the Tri-States.

John Plumb, Jr., from Dubuque was arguably the first major promoter of a transcontinental rail link which he hoped would wend and wind its way through Dubuque. This was in the 1830's, about three decades before the Union Pacific transcontinental rail was finished in the 1860's.

The first rail line to approach Dubuque was the Illinois Central, which reached Dunleith (now called East Dubuque) in 1855, and eventually crossed one of the first major Andrew Carnegie projects, the iron (since replaced by steel) bridge to Dubuque.

There were four railroads finally serving Dubuque, starting under various names, but by the mid-20th Century were called the Illinois Central, Milwaukee Road, Burlington and Chicago Great Western. The IC is now the Canadian National, the proposed future route of passenger trains to Chicago. The Milwaukee is now the Iowa Chicago and Eastern (ICE) connecting Dubuque to St. Paul and the Quad Cities. The ICE is expected to be taken over by Canadian Pacific. The Burlington, now the Burlington Northern-Southern Pacific, travels the other side of the Mississippi, connecting East Dubuque to St. Paul and Chicago. The remnants of the Chicago Great Western includes the hike/bike trail between Dubuque and Dyersville.

When the freight railroads dropped passenger train traffic in the 1960's, Dubuque was left with one link to Chicago, an Amtrak train called The Blackhawk, stopping in Galena, Freeport and Rockford. This train stopped running in 1981, as most people chose automobiles to make the run to Chicago.

However, in the late 1990's, Galena interests, led by Janet Fisher, tried to drum up interest for passenger trains again. And in 2003, Freeport officials tried to interest Dubuque in a tourist train between Freeport and Dubuque, but Dubuque nixed the idea. But with high gas prices, clogged highways and a search for other transportation alternatives, the idea of passenger train service bubbled to the top ten ideas in Dubuque's 2005-6 Envision 2010 visioning project.

Dubuque's Envision 2010 Passenger Train committee started meeting in the spring of 2006, inspiring other discussions along the Dubuque-Chicago route. Then Galena's Fisher and others from along the route met in May to discuss the possibilities. Envision 2010 Passenger Train chairman David Overby, along with Mary Lee Hostert, Burton Everist, Bob Krayer and others attended, as did Dubuque Mayor Roy Buol and City Manager Mike VanMilligan. This was followed by a meeting in Lena, Illinois, where the name of the group was determined to be the Blackhawk Area Railroad Coalition (BARC). One of Illinois Senator Dick Durban's staffers was at this meeting, passed this information on to Durban and by July Durban and Illinois Congressman Don Manzullo led a large contingent of officials and train supporters in a meeting in Rockford promising to further BARC's agenda. Overby, Van Milligan and Chandra Ravada attended this meeting. A number of other meetings in Freeport, Rockford and Galena followed over the ensuing months.

The Illinois DOT funded an Amtrak study of the Dubuque-Chicago route, which inspired the Quad Cities to follow suit a few months later, and eventually Iowa City and Des Moines became part of an overall effort to reinstate passenger train service to parts of Iowa now being underserved. There are also efforts underway to also include Waterloo in the service area.

At the federal level Congressman Bruce Braley, who represents Dubuque, Davenport and Waterloo, was appointed to the Transportation Committee and is on the conference committee to reconcile House and Senate versions of new Amtrak legislation, which will include federal dollars for projects such as this one. At the state level, the Iowa legislature, led by Dubuque Representatives Pam Jochum and Pat Murphy, have included support for the Dubuque train project in various legislative actions. In Illinois, the funding for the service has been delayed for the moment as the Illinois Legislature determines how to best pay for the Dubuque and Quad Cities service.

Dubuque's passenger train committee is now headed by David Solberg, with Tom Riley, vice-chair; Penny Roeder, secretary; and Dan Block, treasurer. The committee has signed an agreement with the Dubuque Area Community Foundation to gain non-profit status. Ed Sheppley has taken on the task of developing a railroad museum in Dubuque. ECIA has been a supporter and key source since the beginning. Dubuque officials David Heier and Teri Goodmann have been instrumental in coordinating city efforts. Convention and Visitors Bureau Sue Czesinski has been the point person for promotion and marketing for the group. Many other citizens have taken time to circulate petitions, help out with displays, and other necessary work to keep the project moving forward.

Amtrak has stated that it will take two construction seasons to get the tracks and other infrastructure up to speed before the train can begin running. So, despite some delays in getting up a head of steam, it is still possible to have the first trains running by the autumn of 2010 - and the "vision" of Envision 2010 can become a reality.

(Summary compiled by David Overby, former chairman of the Envision 2010 Passenger Train Committee)