Lemont Station
The oldest stations in the Metra system are the Lemont and Lockport depots on the Heritage Corridor line.
They were built by the Chicago and Alton Railroad in 1859 as the railroad made its way north from Joliet toward Chicago. Both are built of Joliet-Lemont limestone, bedrock that was encountered when the Illinois & Michigan Canal was being built in the 1830s and 1840s. It was also used in the construction of more than 30 other still-standing buildings in the Lemont downtown district as well as the famous Chicago Water Tower, the Joliet penitentiary and Holy Name Cathedral.
Both stations witnessed the sad passing of Lincoln’s funeral train in 1865 – part of a 12-day, 1,600-mile journey from Washington D.C. through Chicago to Springfield.
Metra acquired the station in 1987, when it bought the commuter assets of then-owner Illinois Central Gulf (ICG retained ownership of the tracks, however, later selling them to CN, which still owns them).