After a five month interruption, service on the Chicago Transit Authority’s five mile long Yellow Line resumed today (October 3Oth). Part of the 90-year old embankment had collapsed back in May, probably due to a nearby construction project.
To celebrate this, the CTA ran a ceremonial train at about 8:00 am, made up of new “L” cars 5713-5714, the final pair of 5000-series cars received. I did not get to see this train as I arrived in Skokie about an hour later. Various dignitaries, including the mayor of Skokie, were to be on it.
However, besides some 5000s, the CTA also ran a pair of 2400s on the Yellow Line for a while. Nearly 40 years old now, these are considered historic cars. A pair of them are already out at the Illinois Railway Museum.
When the 4000s were finally retired from service in 1973, they were about 50 years old. At the time, that seemed really old. Now 40 years is not too shabby either, but when you are of a certain age, having lived through the 1970s, it’s the nostalgia that seems a bit strange. It will get even worse, since 1990s nostalgia is just around the corner.
I had thought perhaps they would wait until after the AM rush hour to run the ceremonial train, but, as CTA’s Graham Garfield explained to me, there are only three sets of cars on the line then anyway, so it’s not like they would have got in the way of anything.
The weather, fortunately, was sunny all day, with temps in the mid-50s, so we got some good shots of what was going on.
We have written about the Yellow Line before. On February 3rd, our post Skokie Swift: The “True Gen” covered the origins of the line, and included several pictures of the CTA’s 1920s-era 4000-series “L” cars in operation there. We also featured some images of the old Niles Center line (predecessor of the Skokie Swift/Yellow Line) in our post More Chicago Rapid Transit Photos on September 21.
Photos of the Niles Center branch in action are somewhat rare, since it only operated for 23 years. By comparison, the North Shore Line used these tracks for about 38 years, and the Skokie Swift went into operation 51 years ago.
I have some history with this line, since my Dad and I rode it on the very first day of operation in April 1964. Back then, service was provided by high-speed versions of the CTA’s single car units in the 1-50 series, which were then less than five years old.
The emphasis was completely on speed. All intermediate stops that had been served by the old Niles Center branch were eliminated, and these cars could shake, rattle, and roll at speeds of at least 60 miles per hour. The total trip between Dempster and Howard only took about six minutes or so, at an average speed of at least 45 mph end to end.
I can assure you it was quite a thrilling ride!
In the years since, things have slowed down a bit, and one additional station has been added at Oakton. Still, the ride takes only about 8 and a half minutes, as you can see from the back window video we shot today. This will give you a good look at the 1200 feet of right-of-way that had to be redone. You can tell where it is, since the new fill is pure white, and there are CTA personnel walking around inspecting things.
Ordinarily, I would try to smooth out some of the shakiness in the video, but I think that leaving it this way does give you more of the exciting feel of riding the Yellow Line.
In the five months since service was disrupted, CTA has been offering replacement bus service. But to entice riders back, they are offering free rides for one week, and free parking in the Dempster lot for the rest of this year.
It is a smart strategy and appears to be working. The parking lot was already full by the time I got there.
Kudos to CTA for a job well done.
-David Sadowski
CERA Bulletin 146 Gets a Rave Review
Railfan and Raiload magazine reviews Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: The PCC Car Era, 1936-1958 in their November issue. I am one of the co-authors of that book.
You can read their glowing review, filled with superlatives, here. This is reproduced with the permission of Railfan and Railroad.
We’ve been getting requests to make prints available from some of the many great photographs we have posted to The Trolley Dodger. So, we have decided to offer 5″ x 7″ and 8.5″ x 11″ color and black-and-white prints to you at very reasonable prices. These are suitable for matting and framing.
One of our customers says that our work is “Simply stupendous!” We hope you will agree.
These are high resolution digital prints on glossy paper, made on a professional grade Epson model 1430 printer. Each print comes with descriptive information on the back, and will be shipped in the USA via First Class Mail. Shipping within the United States is included in these prices.
Prints will be made full-frame unless otherwise indicated, and may have white borders since most original images are not directly proportional to these print sizes. Prices for other sizes are available upon request. The largest size we can make is 13″ x 44″.
All prints will be shipped in manila envelopes with cardboard inserts to prevent them from being bent.
Many, but not all, the images posted to The Trolley Dodger are available. We can only make prints for those images that we either have rights to or are in the public domain. It is not our intention to deprive others of the profit from their copyrighted work. Let us know what you are interested in and we can discuss this.
Each image on our web site has a unique identifying number. If you hover your mouse over the image, you should be able to see this number. If you click on the image to bring up a larger version of it, that is the last part of the URL (like “misc783,” for example).
While the images we post to the Internet have a “watermark” on them, this will not appear on the prints we make for you, which also use higher resolution.
There is a shipping surcharge for orders sent outside the United States— $5 USD for Canada, and $10 USD elsewhere. There are payment buttons for these surcharges at the bottom of this page.
All proceeds from the sale of these prints go towards supporting our research efforts and historic preservation. With your support, we can continue to bring you more of these fine images in the future. These payment buttons have been added to our Online Store.
8.5″ x 11″ Color or Black-and-White Prints Price: $7.50 each
5″ x 7″ Color or Black-and-White Prints Price: $3.75 each
We Thank Our Readers
Since this blog began just over nine months ago, we have had more than 85,000 page views from 25,000 individuals. We’ve just gone over 10,000 page views this month for the third time this year. We are well on our way to a total of over 100,000 page views by the end of this year.
We thank you for your support and encouragement.
Northbound at Oakton.
CTA has added extra signage to promote safety.
Southbound at Oakton.
2400s going into the turnback track at Dempster.
CTA historic cars 2455-2456 ready to head south.
2400s interior. This class of cars has been retired from service now.
A Red Line train prepares to enter Howard station for its run south.
Howard Yard is a busy place, with lots of trains coming and going.
Two Yellow Line trains pass each other. Besides the 2400s, I saw 5519-5520 and 5521-5522 running.
2400s at Howard.
A northbound Red Line train approaches Howard.
A southbound Red Line train.
A northbound Purple Line train approaches Howard. They used to be called the “Evanston Express.”
Yellow Line train 5521-5522 enters the pocket track south of Howard.
Comings and goings at Howard.
A Yellow Line train prepares to head north from the pocket, while a Purple Line train approaches.
One of the last AM Purple Line Express trains enters the station. It will continue to Linden over the Evanston branch.
Our Yellow Line train is finally ready to head back to Skokie.
5000s at Dempster.
Going into the turnback track.
Stopping at the pedestrian crossing.
5500s ready to head south from Dempster.
Northbound at Main Street in Skokie.
A southbound train of 5000s approaches Kostner at speed, having just gone around the Oakton curve.
A northbound train at Kostner.
From 1925 to 1948, Chicago Rapid Transit Company trains terminated at this arch, which supports high tension lines. The North Shore Line station was originally situated in front of the arch, with tracks on the sides. The track layout was reconfigured in 1964 for Skokie Swift service a year after the North Shore Line quit.
The old Insull-era North Shore Line station has been moved to a slightly different location, but has been preserved.
CTA 7208 southbound on Clark at Van Buren, a view from the Loop “L”, on August 15, 1956. (John F. Bromley Photo, M. D. McCarter Collection)
We recently presented four installments of Chicago PCC pictures from the collections of George Trapp. Today we offer another batch made up of our own recent acquisitions for your enjoyment.
To see the previous four posts, and another featuring Mr. Trapp’s pictures of historic Chicago buses, just type “George Trapp” in the search window on this page. Links to these should come right up.
Some of these pictures show prewar Chicago PCCs in experimental paint schemes. These were tried out by the Chicago Surface Lines in 1945-46 before settling on the well-known combination of Mercury Green, Croydon Cream, and Swamp Holly Orange for the 600 postwar cars that were on order.
We found this online about the development of Swamp Holly Orange:
Yellow (truck lines) commissioned DuPont to determine what color was most visible from the greatest distance for the fleet. After careful research, DuPont presented a color, dubbed “Swamp Holly Orange.” And so the company named Yellow had an official color—orange—the safest color on the road.
All of the pictures in today’s post are being added to our E-book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story, available through our Online Store.
Over the next few weeks, we will post some of George Trapp’s pictures of red Chicago streetcars, so watch this space.
We also wish to thank the great photographers who took these pictures originally. We have provided attribution for each photo where we have the information. The two pictures taken by John F. Bromley in 1956 are presented with his permission.
He writes:
I was still a teenager with a Voightlander camera and was on a trip with my parents at the time. I recall riding the 36 up to the carhouse, and I think I came back on the 22.
Mr. Bromley is a well known historian and is the author of two books on the Toronto transit system.
Of course, the deluxe hardcover book Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: The PCC Car Era 1936-1958, published in June by Central Electric Railfans’ Association, is the premier volume covering the rise and fall of the modern streetcar in the Windy City. That book contains hundreds of great color photos and is a must-have for anyone who is interested in the subject, or even anyone who is interested in knowing what Chicago’s disparate neighborhoods looked like in a bygone era. While I am proud to be a co-author of that work, B-146 is available directly from the publisher. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Trolley Dodger Press is not affiliated with CERA.
In my humble opinion, B-146 is a fantastic bargain and a great value for the money, and I urge you to get a copy if you have not already done so.
My more recent E-book, available on a data disc in PDF format, is intended as a very unofficial supplement and companion to that noble work. One advantage that an electronic book has over a printed one is that more information can be added to it as things become available. We have already added numerous photos, maps, etc. to it, and the material from the Trapp Collection is a tremendous addition, which we are very grateful to have.
On top of that, we have now added another section of photographs to the book covering Chicago’s rapid transit system as it appeared early in the CTA era. That will give the reader a very clear idea of how badly the system was in need of improvement and modernization, a factor in the process by which CTA ultimately decided to eliminate streetcars.
With the E-book, we are not attempting to duplicate anything covered in B-146, which mainly showcases color photography. But there are still lots of great black-and-white photos that deserve to be seen, and lots of other information which could not be included even in a 448-page book. Chicago once had the largest streetcar system in the world, and chances are it will be a long time, if ever, before anyone has the “last word” about it.
If you have already purchased our E-book, and wish to get an updated copy with the additional information, this can be done at little or no cost to you. We always intended that it would be improved over time and offer an upgrade service to our purchasers on an ongoing basis.
As always, clicking on each photo with your mouse should bring up a larger version of the picture in your browser. You may be able to magnify this if you then see a “+” on your screen.
Finally, if you have any interesting tidbits of information to share about the photos you see here, don’t hesitate to let us know, either by making a comment on this post, or by dropping us a line to:
thetrolleydodger@gmail.com
Thanks.
-David Sadowski
PS- We have just added a couple more pictures to our post Railfan Ephemera (August 26th). One shows the interior of Chicago, Aurora & Elgin car 300 shortly before it was scrapped in 1962. The other is of CA&E car 36 in action.
All of the photos in today’s post are being added to our E-book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story.
CSL 4160 is westbound on Madison near Central Park in this 1947 Surface Lines photo.
CSL 4020 leaves the Madison-Austin loop for a trip eastbound on November 7, 1945. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CSL 4022 at Kedzie and Van Buren on July 22, 1946. (Thomas H. Desnoyers Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
CSL 4027 at Fifth Avenue and Pulaski, the west end of the Madison-Fifth branch line. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CSL 4062 eastbound on Madison at Central Park, with the Garfield Park fieldhouse in the background. This CSL photo most likely dates to September 1946, when this car was new.
A close-up of the preceding photo, showing what appears to be a 1940 Packard.
CTA 4022, with some obvious front end damage, eastbound on the 63rd Street line. There is an ad on the side of the car promoting Hawthorne Race Course, which opened in 1891. One of our readers writes, “I believe that this car is laying over on the wye at 63rd and Central Park waiting to head east to Stony Island. The car was still two man at the time, but being in Everglade Green, I would date it as mid 1952 before the cars were sent to Cottage Grove after being converted to one-man operation.” (R. Alexander Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
CTA 4085 westbound at Fifth Avenue and Pulaski on August 9, 1950. Madison-Fifth was a branch line from route 20. Today, this location is just south of the Eisenhower expressway. Thomas H. Desnoyers Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
CSL 4018 at Madison and Austin on November 2, 1946. (Harold A. Smith Photo)
CTA 7006 at 63rd and Wolcott on January 4, 1951.
CTA 7070 southbound on the then-new State Street bridge over the Chicago River on February 25, 1950.
A “blind side” view of CSL 4051 at Kedzie and Van Buren on May 24, 1939. (CSL Photo)
CSL 4002 is eastbound at Madison and Paulina on July 4, 1941. (M. D. McCarter Collection)
CSL 4010 at Madison and Austin in November 1945. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CTA 4151, still wearing a CSL badge, heads south on the Clark Street bridge over the Chicago River in March 1948. (Harold A. Smith Photo)
Riders are exiting from the middle door in this view of 7101 at State and Roosevelt taken on October 24, 1948. These concrete platforms were called Safety Islands and once dotted the city.
CTA 4165 southbound at Halsted and Congress on shoofly trackage, September 15, 1950. This was the beginnings of construction of the Congress (now Eisenhower) expressway, which opened in this area late in 1955. (Thomas H. Desnoyers Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
The caption on this picture of CTA 7136, taken in August 1954, says it is at the end of the Western Avenue line, but does not say which end. George Trapp writes, “I believe car 7136 is a pull out from Devon Depot slightly north of the Berwyn loop, pull outs did carry passengers.” Another reader says this car is southbound on Western at Winona, which is one block south of Foster (and a few blocks south of the Berwyn loop).
One of our readers thinks that CTA 7217 is likely eastbound on 78th pulling off of Vincennes Avenue in this December 1953 view. They continue, “Since the sun is obviously in the east, this appears to be a route 22 pull-in after the AM rush.” (Harold A. Smith Photo)
A close-up of the last shot. According to William Barber, this is a 1954 Chevrolet model 210.
CSL 4047 is eastbound on Madison near Canal, with the landmark Chicago Daily News building (1928) at rear. (George Krambles Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
Prewar PCC 4013 on private right-of-way near the western end of the 63rd Street route, between Central and Narragansett. I think the car is heading west. This is now a completely built up residential area today. Most likely we are early in the CTA era. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
63rd Place and Austin today. We are facing west.
CSL 4035 at the Madison-Austin loop on November 7, 1945. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CSL 4018 at the Madison-Austin loop in February 1946. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CTA 4400 southbound on Clark at Arthur, August 15, 1956. (John F. Bromley Photo, M. D. McCarter Collection)
Riders are about to board via the rear on postwar PCC 4257, “Another New CTA Streetcar,” southbound at State and Roosevelt in 1948.
If a picture can be worth 1000 words, as the saying goes, then surely our lead image makes the grade. This is a vintage sepia-toned postcard of the Chicago “L” that recently sold on eBay for more than $125. The winning bid price is pretty far out of my league but clearly demonstrates how much value other people have put on it.
The date given is 1908 and while there are some guesses written on the back as to location, including Ellis or Lake Park, this is clearly an early view of the 63rd St. Lower Yard on the South Side “L”. When the Chicago’s first elevated railroad first opened in 1892, then powered by steam, it did not have a storage yard. Cars were stored on two tracks south of 39th, a rather inconvenient arrangement. Next came the elevated yard at 61st Street, starting in 1893.
According to Graham Garfield’s excellent web site:
In 1905, concurrent with the South Side’s last expansion of their 39th Street power house, the company purchased a large tract of land on the south side of 63rd Street at Calumet Avenue, adjacent to the 61st Street Yard. A large car storage yard was built at surface level and plans were developed for the construction of a shop to handle heavy repairs at a later date. (One was never built.) The 63rd Street Yard also used over head trolley wire for power until 1913. The yard included an interchange track with the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Railroad (later part of the New York Central System, still later a part of Conrail, now owned by CSX). This gave the South Side a second place to take coal deliveries. A number of cars were actually delivered via this spur (including 5000-series cars 5001 and 5002 from Pullman on Chicago’s South Side), as were supplies. The 63rd Yard was connected to the 61st Yard via a long ramp that connected to the elevated main line tracks just north of 63rd Street and descended across the street and down into the yard.
Through-routing of Northwestern and South Side trains began in November 1913 and as a result, some Northwestern Elevated cars were occasionally stored in the 61st/63rd Yards. Overhead trolley operation in the yards was discontinued at that time; apparently, the engineers had determined that the chances of a car getting stranded were not as great as they had feared. By this time, an additional car inspection shop had been built on the two most eastern tracks in the 61st Yard. Constructed of wood, it was long enough to accommodate two 8-car trains side by side, whereas the 61st Shops could only take a few cars on each track.
Although the date given for the postcard is 1908, there is no evidence in the picture of any overhead wire operation as you would expect to have seen between 1905 and 1913. Instead of a conventional trolley pole, they apparently used a pan trolley that was permanently kept in a raised position.
Another clue in the picture is the roller coaster at right. Perhaps this may be an important clue in nailing down when this picture could have been taken.
Although this is a postcard, it still may be a unique photograph. In the early 1900s, you could make prints on postcard paper. Since this postcard appears to have been made as a contact print and does not show any signs of cropping, it may be the only one of its kind.
The Lower 63rd Yard continues to serve a vital function for the Chicago Transit Authority 110 years after it was built, mainly for materials storage and loading purposes.
If any of our eagle-eyed readers can shed any light on this subject, we would appreciate it.
A 2014 view of the ramp leading down to CTA’s 63rd Street Lower Yard. The Jackson Park branch of the “L” veers off to the east at this point.
Another contemporary view of the ramp (background) to 63rd Lower Yard.
CSL 7001 in World’s Fair service in 1934. (George Kanary Collection)
George Kanary sent us another photo of CSL 7001, which we have added to our recent post 7001’s True Colors (October 20th).
I’ve been informed that the O scale brass model of 7001, the subject of that post, once belonged to John H. Eagle (1942-2014), late of Hilliard, Ohio.
We are saddened to hear of his passing. During the last year or so of Mr. Eagle’s life, we had a number of telephone discussions about traction matters. He was also a bus fan, and belonged to various railfan organizations, including CERA.
I am glad that I was able to help John H. Eagle complete his collection of Electric Railway Historical Society bulletins. He had purchased 47 out of 49 titles many years before from a book dealer for $60. It took him many years to track down the final two titles he needed and he was very pleased to have finally put together a complete set.
Recent Correspondence
George Trapp writes:
I wonder if there is any information out there regarding car barn assignments for particular cars and the run numbers used for the PCC routes by each depot. Pullman PCC’s 4062-415X were assigned to Kedzie for Route 20, although the number decreased as patronage fell. These cars were the first cars assigned to Route 22 upon delivery but as newer cars were delivered they were sent to Madison in early 1948.
This from Bill Wasik:
Does anyone know how or when “Railroad Roman” became the near-universal lettering font for trolleys and railcars? Thanks in advance for any info on this subject.
We also got a request a while back from someone who wants to know how many Chicago PCC’s were still in original livery at the end of service.
I don’t know offhand how many of the 26 or so remaining cars were in the original CSL paint scheme of Mercury Green, Croydon Cream, and Swamp Holly Orange. But I do know that 4391, the car at IRM, was not one of them. It had been repainted in the CTA colors with the dark green, and was painted back to the “as delivered” colors many years later (circa 1975) at the Illinois Railway Museum.
As you can see from these 1973 photos showing 4391 being moved from the ERHS site in Downers Grove to IRM, it was still in Mercury Green and Cream at that time.
-David Sadowski
New From Trolley Dodger Records
Here are two new Compact Discs, continuing our efforts to digitize the entire collection of Hi-Fi vintage railroad audio put out in the 1950s and 1960s by the long-gone Railroad Record Club of Hawkins, Wisconsin.
You will find many additional traction and steam recordings in our Online Store. If you can help us track down additional Railroad Record Club LPs, so that we may make them available once again, digitally remastered, please let us know.
RRC #12 and 17 Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range R. R.
Soo Line (Minneapolis, St. Paul & Sault Ste. Marie R. R.)
# of Discs – 1
Price: $14.95
Record #12:
All trackside steam with ricocheting exhausts of air pumps and deep mellow whistles. No. 227 calls in the flag and whistles off, then loses her footing. No. 225 lifts a heavy train of empty ore cars out of the yard at Two Harbors.
Record #17:
Station scene with old-time flavor! The clatter of relays, sounder and the familiar tick of the huge clock on the wall. Side Two is an “on train” recording of steamer No. 2719 with the hiss of air, exhausts and slipping drivers.
Total time – 61:18
RRC #SP-2 and WW Northern Pacific 2626 Memorial Album
Whistles West
# of Discs – 1
Price: $14.95
Record #SP-2:
The 2626, with Timken roller bearings, brings you spine-tingling sounds of steam in action. Superbly recorded in the twilight of its existence this is a must for lovers of steam! Whistles and exhausts of one of the most discussed locomotives of our time.
Record #WW:
A pageant of Western steam locomotives in sound, featuring the Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, Western Pacific, and Santa Fe. Perpetuating a chapter in Western steam railroading, this presentation is an outgrowth of several years of collecting steam and railroad sounds throughout the West by E. P. Ripley. The result is a blending of the best examples of Mr. Ripley’s efforts. (Originally released in 1958)
We’ve been asked to help determine the authentic colors this rare model should be painted in.
An “O” scale streetcar model, probably dating to the 1950s, recently sold for $520 on eBay, even though it is unpainted and needs a motor, wheels, and a trolley pole.
That might seem like quite a lot of money, until you consider that this is an extremely rare brass model of the Chicago Surface Lines 1934 Brill pre-PCC car 7001. This model, made by Kidder, could be the only version that was ever made.
The famous St. Petersburg Tram Collection models are made of urethane, not brass, and so far, they have not issued a 7001 model, although they have made one for the 4001, the other experimental 1934 CSL car, made by Pullman-Standard. The actual 7001 itself, a one-off, was quite influential on the eventual body style chosen for the PCC car starting in 1936. Unfortunately, it was scrapped in 1959.
The eBay auction winner contacted us for help in determining what colors the 7001 was painted in, when first delivered to Chicago. This is not as easy a task as you might imagine.
The earliest color photo I have seen of 7001 dates to 1941, by which time the car had been repainted to match the 83 PCC cars delivered to CSL in 1936-37. There are several black and white pictures circulating, but while they tell us how light or dark various parts of the car were painted, they can’t help us figure out colors.
There may not actually be any color photos that show what the 7001 looked like before it was repainted.
There were no true color standards in 1934, such as today’s Pantone Matching System. Complicating matters further, in the 1930s not all black and white films were “panchromatic,” meaning they react the same to different colors. Some were still “orthochromatic” and had exaggerated sensitivity to certain colors.
Kodak did not introduce Kodachrome film until 1935, and it was rarely used to take 35mm slides before 1939.
There were some experimental color films shot during the 1933 season of A Century of Progress (early three-strip Technicolor), and we linked to some of those in an earlier post (February 20th). 7001 wasn’t delivered until 1934, and it was not there for the entire season in any case; during September it spent some time in Cleveland at a trade convention.
While there was a 1934 Brill trade ad, showing an artist’s rendering of 7001 in color, these aren’t the right colors– the body is too dark. Interestingly, the color scheme in the ad looks remarkably similar to the one CSL used on the 1936 PCCs.
Hoping to find a consensus, we reached out to Frank Hicks of the Hicks Car Works blog, author of an excellent article detailing the story behind both the 7001 and 4001. In that article, Mr. Hicks says that the 7001 was originally painted a light green.
We also consulted two expert modelers, who prefer to remain nameless. Here is what the experts have to say:
Frank Hicks:
Interesting question! This is my kind of conundrum. 🙂
I’d be happy to cite my source. “Chicago Surface Lines: An Illustrated History, Third Edition” by Alan Lind, 1986, page 121. To wit: “Everywhere it [7001] went, riders commented favorably on its sleek shape, set off to advantage with a paint scheme of aluminum and two shades of green with orange trim.” I’m not sure what the primary source for this account was, I’m afraid.
I’ve also seen photos of (the painted 7001) model and it has struck me as looking quite plausible, though I’ve never seen a color photo of either 4001 or 7001 in its original livery. I also haven’t seen the illustration you mention. The 4001 had a very simple livery consisting of only two colors while the 7001’s livery evidently featured five colors: roof, lower body, upper body, belt rail and striping. Judging from various photos of the 7001 that show the belt rail alternately as very dark or quite light, I’d guess the belt rail was orange and that we’re seeing – respectively – orthochromatic or panchromatic views. Photos I’ve seen also strongly suggest the roof and front visor were a metallic color, surely silver.
I decided to see if I could find a newspaper account of the 7001’s debut – and I did! I found two mentions within a few minutes of Googling. There’s an article on page 3 of the March 21, 1934 Tribune at http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1934/03/21/ which describes the car’s colors to be “silver and gray.” There’s another account in the July 9, 1934 issue on page 7 (http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1934/07/09/). This article focuses on the newly-delivered 4001 but includes the line “The new car was demonstrated to a party of engineers, car line officials, and newspapermen, beside the streamlined silver and green vehicle recently placed in operation.” Then just a few lines later it refers to the Brill car as “silver and gray.”
So, I don’t know. The 7001 may have been more of a green-grey than a bright Mercury green-like shade. It’s also possible that the 7001’s primary body color was grey, that Lind’s color description was correct but simply left out the gray color, and that the belt rail, striping, and secondary body color were some combination of two shades of green and orange. A third possibility I would forward is that the car was mainly green and that what we’re seeing is a transcription or typesetting error – swapping out the word “green” for the word “gray.” It may be a bit of a stretch but I’ve done my share of poring over old newspapers and accuracy is not a word I’d generally associate with newspaper articles! Either way I haven’t seen any contemporary evidence to support that flyer’s suggestion that the Brill car was, in common with the Pullman car, blue.
Modeler A:
The color is not Mercury Green but I don’t know the name of the shade. It is lighter than Mercury. Brill used the same shade on the first Brilliner delivered to the Atlantic City & Shore then owned by the PRR. That car had narrow gold stripes on it similar to the Raymond Loewy styling of the 1938 Broadway Limited trains. There are color renditions of the Brilliner in (that) shade of green in numerous trade journals of the time.
Modeler B:
As you may recall, Mercury Green seemed to be darker in some photos than in others. Perhaps the Mercury Green color had variations, some lighter and some darker. I recall hearing talk about what was Traction Orange, and the reply was whatever they could get that seemed close to Traction Orange! It was not an exact science so there were variations.
Having looked at Black & White movies of car 7001 in service as well as B&W photos, I can see how one could feel comfortable with a Mercury Green color on the lower body of the car. The paint was probably not called Mercury Green in those days, but it might have been very close in hue.
After I sent Mr. Hicks a copy of the 1934 trade ad, he wrote:
Thanks for forwarding these photos; interesting stuff! Did you say that Transit Journal illustration of the 7001 was from 1934? That’s pretty intriguing to me mainly because the color scheme is extremely similar to the prewar PCC cars, suggesting that perhaps the decision on what color those cars should be was made well before the cars themselves were even ordered. Or who knows, maybe someone at CSL just saw this illustration and thought it would look nice in real life. Neat! And Modeler A’s statement that the green on the 7001 was very similar to that on the Atlantic City demonstrator does make some sense; I wouldn’t be at all surprised. It also looks more toned-down than Mercury green so perhaps that’s where the disagreements in the newspaper over whether the car was grey or green came from.
I replied:
Yes, the Brill illustration was from 1934. By 1935 they were touting the Washington, D. C. pre-PCC cars.
Could be Brill worked up several different color schemes for 7001 and they just happened to pick this particular one for the advertisement, even though the car itself was painted differently.
I know that Brill had a styling department in this period, since they worked as consultants on the 1939-41 modernization program for Lehigh Valley Transit. (See photo below.)
So yes, the original color scheme for the 1936 Chicago PCCs, built by St. Louis Car Company, may have actually originated with Brill, who never actually built any PCC cars.
Modeler A added:
My enlightenment on the topic of color for the 7001 comes from Bob Gibson, Joe Diaz, Jim Konas, Fielding Kunecke, and Bob Konsbruck, all sadly now deceased. These fellows, all older than me, saw the car and rode it in service. Bob Gibson rode it every day, in blue, of course, on his way home from Austin High School. It ran as a PM school tripper on Madison Street, always with the same crew, familiar with the operating characteristics of the car, the hydraulic brakes, for example. Its unfortunate that we cannot get their testimony today but I can carry on their remarks. Joe Diaz, an avid follower of the Pennsylvania RR, included all things Pennsy in his historic trek and he identified the color as identical to the Brilliner demonstrator delivered to the PRR-Atlantic City & Shore. You can take it for what its worth or stay with whatever the news reporter felt like writing that day.
Me:
I would value eyewitness accounts such as you describe over the offhand remarks made in a newspaper article. The people who wrote those articles weren’t fans, while your sources were all sticklers for accuracy.
Modeler B adds:
I would say that the photo (of the Atlantic City Brilliner) showing the two tone green colors adds credence to the attractive rendition as seen on Modeler A’s model of 7001. Using the lighter color green below the belt rail and the darker color green for the thin lines that flow around the car body.
Say what you may, these color combinations are exactly what CSL used on the Post War PCCs. Mercury Green below the belt rail, Swamp holly Orange Belt Rail, and Cream colored roof. The colors were always separated by a dark green line of paint. Some people thought that the thin line was Black, but it is a very dark shade of green, not unlike the Green shown on the Atlantic City Brilliner.
In conclusion, we all now seem to agree that the 7001 was indeed first painted in colors like those shown on the model. In turn, this color scheme is remarkably similar to the classic combination of Mercury Green, Croydon Cream, and Swamp Holly Orange that Surface Lines picked for the 600 postwar PCCs.
Therefore, it is one of the ironies of history that J. G. Brill, who never made a single PCC streetcar, due to their refusal to pay royalties on the patents, appears to have played an important role, albeit indirect, in the process of developing the color schemes ultimately used on the entire Chicago PCC fleet– all 683 cars.
And, the more you look at it, that $520 winning bid for the 7001 model starts to look like a real bargain.
-David Sadowski
In this Brill trade ad, which appeared in a 1934 issue of Transit Journal, 7001 looks quite a lot like the PCCs Chicago got in 1936– from the St. Louis Car Company. But it does not appear to have been painted in these colors in 1934. Interestingly, it was later repainted to look a lot more like this.
CSL 7001 at the Brill plant in Philadelphia. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania Photo)
CSL 7001 in World’s Fair service in 1934. (George Kanary Collection)
This 1935 CSL brochure shows experimental pre-PCC car 7001 painted mainly in red, which it never was.
CSL 7001 at Clark and Ridge in 1938. (M. D. McCarter Collection)
A 1950s brass model of 7001.
To the best of our knowledge, this is how 7001 looked as delivered to the Chicago Surface Lines in 1934.
According to Don’s Rail Photos, “Atlantic City and Shore 6891 was built by Brill in July 1938, #23646. It was renumbered 6901 in 1940 and renumbered 201 in 1945. It was scrapped in 1956.” The light green color on this car is said to be an exact match for how 7001 was originally painted. (General Electric Photo)
Now perhaps we know the origins of the famous color combination of Mercury Green, Croydon Cream, and Swamp Holly Orange, used on 600 postwar Chicago PCC cars. (David Sadowski Photo)
Brill stylists worked as consultants on the brilliant 1939-41 modernization of Lehigh Valley Transit’s fleet. Here, ex-Indiana Railroad car 55 is shown at Fairview Shops in Allentown, PA in May 1941, in the process of being converted for service on the Liberty Bell Limited. Notice how the “55” has been crossed out on the side of the car and replaced with “1030.” After the end of LVT interurban service in 1951, this car was sold to the Seashore Trolley Museum, where it remains today.
CSL 7001 as it looked after being repainted circa 1941.
Here’s a real mystery photo for you. This very worn looking city streetcar is definitely lettered for the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin and appears to be at Wheaton Shops. Where did it come from and how did CA&E use it on the interurban? (See answers below.)
Mystery Photo Answers
Opus1100 writes:
Interesting mystery photo. It is CA&E #500 acquired in 1927 to replace standard cars on the Batavia Branch. As you can see from the photo does not appear to have been a success. It was loaned to the North Shore to help alleviate equipment needs during the war. It operated in city service as CN # 361…a brief history of this car can be found in Don Ross rail pictures of North Shore Line city cars. Due to the differences in mechanical equipment it was not popular during use on the North Shore. Another mystery surrounding this car is how it was moved from the CA&E to the North Shore…since it was 3rd rail equipped it could have traveled on the L but as far as I know this has never been confirmed.
As Ed Halstead has noted (see comment below):
The August 2013 issue of “First & Fastest” had a great article “A Secornd Hand Rose” regarding the CA&E 500/NSL 361. Included in the article is a photo of the CA&E 500 loaded on a flat car on its way to the NSL.
The article answers any questions you may have regarding the CA&E 500.
There was one additional car which almost fits into this series. Car 361 was built by St. Louis Car in 1927, just like the 350s, but it had different motors, control, and braking equipment. It was built as 500 for the Chicago Aurora & Elgin. It was used to replace standard interurban cars on the Batavia branch, but it quickly proved to be unsatisfactory. It was retired and placed in storage until June 1942, when it was leased to the North Shore. It was repainted and renumbered and put into Waukegan service. After the war, it was purchased by the North Shore in March 1947. It was quickly retired and scrapped in 1948.
So, the photo showing the car out in Wheaton lettered for CA&E must date to around 1941, probably just prior to it being leased to the North Shore Line. Thanks to everyone who contributed.
If you use the above link to Don Ross’ web site you can see a couple other pictures of car 500/561.
Recent Correspondence
Mike Murray writes:
First off, I want to thank you for your continuing efforts to bring transit history to the web on your blog. I love seeing every new posting.
I hate to be the guy that suggests things but doesn’t do them himself, but I’d love to see a post about the 3rd rail-powered Com Ed line that ran on the city’s north side. John Smatlak has a website dedicated to it, but I’ve never seen much in the way of photos of the line in operation:
I asked George Kanary and Bruce Moffat, but neither had knowledge of any such photos. You seem to have a knack for finding things, or perhaps have a wider circle of friends that are railfans, and thought you might be able to track down more photos than those on the website.
John’s website is pretty thorough, so maybe there isn’t much more to be known about this line, but if there is, I’d love to see more about it.
Thanks again for all that you’re doing.
While I don’t have any such photos myself, perhaps some of our readers might have more information, thanks.
In our post Railfan Ephemera (August 26th), we show a flyer from the early days of the Illinois Railway Museum circa 1959, seeking funds to purchase Chicago, Aurora & Elgin car 309, referred to as the “jewel of the fleet.” We asked Frank Hicks, of the excellent Hicks Car Works blog, why this car in particular was so highly regarded out of all the ones that could have been saved (and it was eventually purchased by IRM, where it remains today).
Here is his reply:
By 1957 the 309 was one of the least-modernized cars in the CA&E fleet. Right up until the end of service it retained its stained-and-varnished mahogany trim, long after most of the cars had seen the entirety of their interiors painted over with some shade of green or tan. Remember too that only cars 309-321 had interior stained glass windows at this time (earlier cars didn’t have double-sash stained glass windows), and most of the Kuhlmans and Jewetts (as well as the 310) had their stained glass windows painted over on the inside.
There were a couple of other Kuhlmans and Jewetts that still had unpainted stained glass windows and trim (318 comes to mind) but the 309 was an older car that hewed more closely to the lines of the original fleet. It was also from a local, and unusual, builder and it had the same electrical equipment as the 1902 fleet, unlike the Kuhlmans and Jewetts which were built with newer equipment. The CA&E didn’t have anything particularly more opulent – no office cars or parlor cars by that time – so why not refer to the 309 as the jewel of the fleet?
More Railfan Ephemera
We recently acquired some items from the early days of Central Electric Railfans’ Association. The seller indicated that some of these were once part of the CERA office files, which were apparently sold off in three different batches during the 1940s and 50s. This story is probably true since one item is a voided out sample fantrip ticket, numbered 0000, and previously unknown. The envelope mailed to a soldier came from a different source. (Please note that Trolley Dodger Press is not affiliated with Central Electric Railfans’ Association.)
These documents shed additional light on the history of that venerable organization and its members. We hope that you will enjoy them. Chances are there are still more additional early documents out there remaining to be discovered.
-David Sadowski
This brochure is for CERA fantrip #9, which included not only the South Shore Line but the Northern Indiana Railway.
You can see a CERA fantrip picture from the Northern Indiana Railway, possibly taken on this same excursion or a similar one from a year later, here: http://cera-chicago.org/Blog/3319067
The itinerary for CERA fantrip #6, which included a trip over the CA&E Mt. Carmel branch using Chicago Rapid Transit cars. You can see a picture taken on that trip here: http://cera-chicago.org/Blog/3318973 The same photo is also reproduced on page 42 of Trolley Sparks Special #1, published by CERA in 2013 to commemorate their 75th anniversary.
A sample ticket for CERA fantrip #6.
CERA mailed out a copy of Trolley Sparks issue #12 to a soldier in this envelope in June 1945. The first 11 issues were put out by Barney Neuberger independently of CERA.
Help Support The Trolley Dodger
This is our 87th post, and we are gradually creating a body of work and an online resource for the benefit of all railfans, everywhere. To date, we received more than 80,000 page views from nearly 24,000 individuals.
You can help us continue our original transit research by checking out the fine products in our Online Store. You can make a donation there as well.
As we have said before, “If you buy here, we will be here.”
4051 at the Imlay loop at the outer end of route 56 – Milwaukee, during the 1940-41 experiment with door arrangement. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
This is our fourth and last blog post featuring Chicago PCC pictures from the collections of George Trapp. To see the previous three posts, and another featuring Mr. Trapp’s pictures of historic Chicago buses, just type “George Trapp” in the search window on this page. Links to these various posts should come up.
Since this is our 86th post, you can also use the search window to find other topics that interest you.
Today’s photos are mostly comprised of the 83 prewar Chicago PCCs delivered in 1936-37 and retired in 1956. Of these, all were scrapped except for car 4021, which is preserved on static display at the Illinois Railway Museum.
In addition, there are pictures of the two 1934 experimental pre-PCC cars (4001 and 7001), plus the PCC Model B. That car was built by Pullman-Standard and was tested in Chicago during 1934. It later went to Brooklyn, where its brakes failed and it was involved in an accident with a truck. Although the body damage was repaired, the car never ran again and was eventually scrapped in the 1950s.
Both 4001 and 7001 were taken out of service in the 1940s and were used as sheds at South Shops. 7001 was scrapped in 1959, but the aluminum body shell of 4001 is now at IRM.
Interestingly, we have several early photos of PCC 7002, the first prewar car delivered to Chicago Surface Lines in 1936. In addition, there are various photos of car 4051 taken circa 1940-41 when it was tested on route 56 – Milwaukee Avenue, with an experimental door arrangement that was adopted for use on the 600 postwar cars. The design for these cars was finalized by 1941 but they were not ordered until 1945 due to outbreak of World War II.
Thanks to Mr. Trapp’s generosity, we now have at least another 150 additional images of Chicago PCC streetcars. Nearly all of these are previously unknown to me. Mr. Trapp has been collecting these type of pictures for nearly the last 50 years, and has let us borrow some of them so that we might feature them here and add them to our electronic book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story, available through our Online Store.
In the near future, we will post some of Mr. Trapp’s red car pictures of Chicago streetcars, so watch this space.
We also wish to thank the great photographers who took these pictures originally. We have provided attribution for each photo where we have the information.
Of course, the deluxe hardcover book Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: The PCC Car Era 1936-1958, published in June by Central Electric Railfans’ Association, is the premier volume covering the rise and fall of the modern streetcar in the Windy City. That book contains hundreds of great color photos and is a must-have for anyone who is interested in the subject, or even anyone who is interested in knowing what Chicago’s disparate neighborhoods looked like in a bygone era. While I am proud to be a co-author of that work, B-146 is available directly from the publisher. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Trolley Dodger Press is not affiliated with CERA.
In my humble opinion, B-146 is a fantastic bargain and a great value for the money, and I urge you to get a copy if you have not already done so.
My more recent E-book, available on a data disc in PDF format, is intended as a very unofficial supplement and companion to that noble work. One advantage that an electronic book has over a printed one is that more information can be added to it as things become available. We have already added numerous photos, maps, etc. to it, and the material from the Trapp Collection is a tremendous addition, which we are very grateful to have.
On top of that, we are adding another section of photographs to the book covering Chicago’s rapid transit system as it appeared early in the CTA era. That will give the reader a very clear idea of how badly the system was in need of improvement and modernization, a factor in the process by which CTA ultimately decided to eliminate streetcars.
With the E-book, we are not attempting to duplicate anything covered in B-146, which mainly showcases color photography. But there are still lots of great black-and-white photos that deserve to be seen, and lots of other information which could not be included even in a 448-page book. Chicago once had the largest streetcar system in the world, and chances are it will be a long time, if ever, before anyone has the “last word” about it.
If you have already purchased our E-book, and wish to get an updated copy with the additional information, this can be done at little or no cost to you. We always intended that it would be improved over time and offer an upgrade service to our purchasers on an ongoing basis.
As always, clicking on each photo with your mouse should bring up a larger version of the picture in your browser. You may be able to magnify this if you then see a “+” on your screen.
Finally, if you have any interesting tidbits of information to share about the photos you see here, don’t hesitate to let us know, either by making a comment on this post, or by dropping us a line to:
thetrolleydodger@gmail.com
Thanks.
-David Sadowski
PS- One of the photos in today’s post features the old Lindy Theatre. For more information, go here.
I think it’s a safe guess that the Lindy was named after Charles Lindbergh (1902-1974), who became an international celebrity with his 1927 solo flight from New York to Paris.
The marquee in this circa-1937 photo advertises the film Hell’s Angels (1930) starring Jean Harlow. She died from kidney failure on June 7, 1937 aged 26, which may explain why the film was being revived here.
Dick Tracy is also mentioned on the marquee, and this would have been the 1937 Republic serial starring Ralph Byrd.
Thanks to the generosity of George Trapp, all of the photos in today’s post are being added to our E-book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story.
4051 with experimental door arrangement (1940-41), stopped at Washington and Clark, on route 56 – Milwaukee. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 4051 southbound at Milwaukee and Thomas, during the 1940-41 door experiment that led to the configuration used on the postwar cars. Note the West Chicago Street Railway Company building at left. Perhaps the photographer wanted to contrast the old with the new. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
Milwaukee and Thomas as it appears today.
CSL 4051 at Kedzie Station circa 1940-41. (CSL Photo)
4051 on route 56 – Milwaukee. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4050, in experimental garb, at Madison and Austin circa 1945-46. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CTA 4050, with advertising signs on its side, at Kedzie Station (car house). John Marshall High School, located at 3250 West Adams, is visible in the background. (CTA Photo)
4041 eastbound on Madison. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4038 at Madison and Austin. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 4021, the only prewar Chicago PCC saved, prepares to leave the Madison and Austin loop on August 27, 1940. This car is now at the Illinois Railway Museum. (Chicago Surface Lines Photo, Chicago Historical Society)
CSL 4006 in charter service, possibly on Western. (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
4018 in experimental colors, circa 1945-46, at Madison and Austin. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 4005, eastbound on Madison. Perhaps it is July 4th. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 4030 at the Madison-Austin loop. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 7007 on Madison along Garfield Park in 1937. (St. Louis Car Company Photo)
PCC 7026, fitted with experimental roof-mounted forced air ventilation, of a type that was used in Boston, but did not find favor in Chicago. (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
CSL 7002 at Kedzie Station (car house) as new. (CSL Photo)
Prewar car 7004 and postwar 7148 rub shoulders at Devon Station (car barn) circa 1955. (Charlie Preston Photo)
Prewar car 7002, as new, at South Shops. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 7002, possibly on a 1936 inspection trip prior to being put into service. Note the 1934 Ford. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
A builder’s photo of CSL PCC 7002, the first car delivered in 1936.
CSL 7002 at the St. Louis Car Company plant.
The interior of PCC 7002 as delivered. (St. Louis Car Company Photo)
The interior of PCC 7002. (St. Louis Car Company Photo)
CSL 4001 at South Shops. (CSL Photo)
CSL 4001 at the Vincennes and 80th loop. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 7001 on Schreiber alongside Devon Station (car barn). (CSL Photo)
CSL 7001 at Clark and North Avenues, with the Chicago Historical Society building at rear (now the Chicago History Museum). (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 7001 at the Brill plant in Philadelphia. (Historical Society of Pennsylvania Photo)
CSL 4001 may be on non-revenue trackage at the north end of South Shops. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
Red car 5549 and a couple of PCCs are on Clark and Armitage. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
Red car 967 and a postwar PCC are at Lawrence and Clark. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CTA salt spreader AA90, flanked by prewar and postwar PCCs. This work car, originally #1504, was scrapped on September 27, 1956.
CSL cars 5324 and 4008 on 64th just west of Stony Island in the 1940s. This was the east end of the 63rd Street line. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CSL cars 4008 and 6202 on 64th just west of Stony Island in the 1940s. This was the east end of the 63rd Street line. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
There were three experimental streetcars built during the development of the PCC car, the CSL 4001 and 7001 and this car, the PCC Model B, shown here being tested in Chicago. The destination sign says South Chicago and 93rd. (Railway Negative Exchange Photo)
Red Pullman 225, with a postwar PCC follwing behind, on a circa 1956-57 fantrip on State Street. That looks like a 1953 Cadillac at left. The building at rear with the flags is Marshall Field’s. (Railway Negative Exchange Photo)
CSL 7018 eastbound on the west end of Madison, where the street was wider and diagonal parking was allowed. (Heier Industrial Photo)
Postwar PCC 7102 southbound on Clark along Lincoln Park. (Heier Industrial Photo)
A mid-1940s lineup of cars at Kedzie Station (car house) includes prewar PCC 7019 (in “tiger stripes”), some “Sedans,” and other red cars. (Robert V. Mehlenbeck Photo, Joe L. Diaz Collection)
The general consensus is this PCC, towed northbound at Kedzie and Harrison in 1947, may be going to West Shops for repairs. Note that the Kedzie “L” station on the Garfield Park line also served Chicago, Aurora & Elgin interurban trains. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
Red Pullman 144 (or, perhaps, 225 masquerading as 144) on a fantrip, followed by postwar PCC 7236. Maurice Klebolt of the Illini Railroad Club promised fans that 144 would be used on a December 1956 fantrip, and 225 was substituted instead, with a piece of red olicloth used to change its number to 144. (Charlie Preston Photo)
Big Pullman 225 is shown here on an October 21, 1956 fantrip, followed by postwar PCC 4406. By this time, red cars ddi not run in regular service, and PCCs were only used on weekdays on routes like Clark-Wentworth. Car 225 is preserved at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine.
In this view of Kedzie Station (car house), CSL Peter Witt “Sedan” 3368, at left, was built by Cummings Car Company in 1929. At right we see prewar PCC 4006. When delivered in 1936-37, the first 83 PCCs were not enough to run the busy Madison route. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
Prewar PCC 4016, circa 1951, may very well be the first of the one-man conversions. The rear door here is completely blocked off, but soon the City of Chicago insisted on the addition of a rear emergency exit door. This was only a year after the terrible accident where a PCC collided with a gas truck and 33 people were killed. Notice how the middle door (for exit only) has been narrowed to try and keep people from sneaking on without paying. The location is Kedzie Station (car house). (Chicago Transit Authority Photo)
Andre Kristopans writes, “The last shot is indeed looking east on Madison from the Madison station of the Logan Square L. The big building in the background is in the triangle of Ogden-Ashland-Madison and later had the Turtle Wax Turtle on top of it.” This is apparently a different Lindy Theatre than the one the Cinema Treasures web site says was located at 3437 West Odgen Avenue between 1930 and 1950. Must have been two Lindy Theatres. The various films advertised on the marquee, and the automobiles, date this picture to circa 1937. The prewar PCC, heading east, may be car 4012. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
Although signed for Clark-Wentworth, this shot of 4160 is actually on Madison in Garfield Park. (CSL Photo) George Trapp says he got this picture from the late Robert Gibson.
This is the third of four installments featuring Chicago PCC pictures from the collections of George Trapp. You can find Part One of the Chicago PCC series here, and Part Two here. We also posted some of Mr. Trapp’s photos of historic Chicago buses here.
Thanks to Mr. Trapp’s generosity, we now have at least another 150 additional images of Chicago PCC streetcars. Nearly all of these are previously unknown to me. Mr. Trapp has been collecting these type of pictures for nearly the last 50 years, and has let us borrow some of them so that we might feature them here and add them to our electronic book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story, available through our Online Store.
The fourth and final batch of Mr. Trapp’s PCC pictures will feature both the prewar Chicago PCCs and the experimental cars that preceded them. We will have those posted in the next few days, so check this space.
We also wish to thank the great photographers who took these pictures originally. We have provided attribution for each photo where we have the information.
Of course, the deluxe hardcover book Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: The PCC Car Era 1936-1958, published in June by Central Electric Railfans’ Association, is the premier volume covering the rise and fall of the modern streetcar in the Windy City. That book contains hundreds of great color photos and is a must-have for anyone who is interested in the subject, or even anyone who is interested in knowing what Chicago’s disparate neighborhoods looked like in a bygone era. While I am proud to be a co-author of that work, B-146 is available directly from the publisher. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Trolley Dodger Press is not affiliated with CERA.
In my humble opinion, B-146 is a fantastic bargain and a great value for the money, and I urge you to get a copy if you have not already done so.
My more recent E-book, available on a data disc in PDF format, is intended as a very unofficial supplement and companion to that noble work. One advantage that an electronic book has over a printed one is that more information can be added to it as things become available. We have already added numerous photos, maps, etc. to it, and the material from the Trapp Collection is a tremendous addition, which we are very grateful to have.
On top of that, we are adding another section of photographs to the book covering Chicago’s rapid transit system as it appeared early in the CTA era. That will give the reader a very clear idea of how badly the system was in need of improvement and modernization, a factor in the process by which CTA ultimately decided to eliminate streetcars.
With the E-book, we are not attempting to duplicate anything covered in B-146, which mainly showcases color photography. But there are still lots of great black-and-white photos that deserve to be seen, and lots of other information which could not be included even in a 448-page book. Chicago once had the largest streetcar system in the world, and chances are it will be a long time, if ever, before anyone has the “last word” about it.
If you have already purchased our E-book, and wish to get an updated copy with the additional information, this can be done at little or no cost to you. We always intended that it would be improved over time and offer an upgrade service to our purchasers on an ongoing basis.
As always, clicking on each photo with your mouse should bring up a larger version of the picture in your browser. You may be able to magnify this if you then see a “+” on your screen.
Chicago’s postwar PCCs were built by Pullman-Standard (310 cars) and the St. Louis Car Company (290 cars). You can readily tell which ones are which, since the Pullmans are more squarish in appearance, especially the windows, and the St. Louies have more curved lines.
Finally, if you have any interesting tidbits of information to share about the photos you see here, don’t hesitate to let us know, either by making a comment on this post, or by dropping us a line to:
thetrolleydodger@gmail.com
Thanks.
-David Sadowski
Thanks to the generosity of George Trapp, all of the photos in today’s post are being added to our E-book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story.
Car 7089 at South Shops.
PCC 7090 at 81st and Halsted.
St. Louis-built 7071 at 81st and Halsted. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
PCC 7096 at 81st and Halsted. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
PCC 7068 at 81st and Halsted on June 9, 1947. (James J. Buckley Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
CSL 7068 on Western. A woman with a very striking 1940s outfit has just gotten off. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
A close-up of the previous picture.
7062 as new at St. Louis Car Company.
A St. Louis Car Company photo of 7062’s interior.
Another St. Louis Car Company photo of a 7062’s interior.
Car 7052 heading north on Clark near Lincoln Park. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
7047 at 81st and Halsted. (James J. Buckley Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
7094 southbound on Wentworth at about 44th. That’s the old Stockyards “L” in the rear. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
7047 at 81st and Halsted.
CSL 7047 at 77th and Vincennes. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 7035 at South Shops in 1947. (CSL Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
A St. Louis Car Company picture of 7035. With some retouching and airbrushing, it was used in the photo that follows.
The result.
4160 northbound at Clark and Illinois in 1948. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4158, a southbound Broadway-State car, at Clark and Armitage in 1949. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4158 entering the Clark-Howard loop on July 15, 1953. (Thomas H. Desnoyers Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
I can’t make out the car number (41xx) but this is a Pullman heading southbound on route 36 on Broadway and Rosemont, with the old Granada Theatre in the background. The Granada, one of the great Chicago movie palaces, was built in 1926 and demolished around 1990. It was located at 6427 N. Sheridan Road and had 3,443 seats. To the right, just out of view, would have been a Chicago Motor Coach bus garage. This picture was taken in 1948. (Ed Frank, Jr. Photo)
4157 southbound on Clark at Lincoln Park. (Chicago Transit Authority Photo)
4157 and 4156 being delivered to South Shops. CSL records indicate the date is January 18, 1947. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
Another view of 4157 and 4156 being delivered to CSL on January 18, 1947. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
4151 northbound at Clark and Webster in 1947. Not sure what a French laundry does. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4109 southbound on Clark and Lincoln Park. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4122 northbound at Clark and Surf in 1947. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4144 southbound on Clark near Irving Park. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4137 is southbound on Clark near 16th, going under the St. Charles Air Line. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
4162 heads south on the Wabash bridge over the Chicago River, most likely in 1948. A new bridge on State Street opened in 1949.
4112 at the Madison-Austin loop in 1948. (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
4132, newly repainted in Everglade Green and Cream, leaves the Madison-Austin loop on June 17, 1951. Note the difference in the roof treatment between this and some other cars in this paint scheme. (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
4112 southbound at Clark and LaSalle in early 1947. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4112 going through track work northbound at Clark and Victoria, most likely in the summer of 1947. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4097 southbound at Clark and North Avenues in the spring of 1947. The building at rear is the Chicago Historical Society, now the Chicago History Museum. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4089 at the Madison-Austin loop on November 17, 1951. Note the unusual off-center placement of the car number. George Trapp says these are the same sort of “fuzzy” numbers that were applied to buses as well. (Thomas H. Desnoyers Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
George Trapp thinks this photo of 4076 is either on Vincennes or the wide part of Clark. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 4076 at 81st and Halsted in October 1946. (William A. Raia Collection)
CSL 4075 at Clark and Granville in late 1946. George Trapp notes, “(This) car has (the) cream standee window band, all cars delivered like this (were) repainted in early 1947 to match later deliveries.” (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4079 westbound on Madison at either Sangamon or Morgan. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4067 on October 8, 1946 at the Pullman plant. It was delivered to CSL on the 24th.
CSL 4067 southbound on route 22. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 4065 southbound at Clark and Pratt. The car at right is a body style known as a “fastback.” (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
4066 crosses the old Milwaukee Road freight tracks near Wrigley Field. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CSL 4062, the first postwar PCC delivered, as new at 77th and Vincennes, most likely in September 1946. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
4065 being delivered at South Shops. The date would be October 19, 1946 according to CSL records. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
A CSL photo of brand new 4062. It was put into “preview” service in the Loop for a few days in September 1946 to introduce the postwar PCCs to Surface Lines riders.
4062 at the Pullman plant on September 3, 1946, just prior to being shipped to Chicago. It arrived there on the 9th.
A CSL photo showing the interior of 4062 as new.
A Surface Lines photo showing a side view of 4062, built by Pullman.
We are pleased to present a previously unknown two-color version of a 1936 Chicago Surface Lines brochure about the new streamlined PCC streetcars. This material has been added to our E-book Chicago’ PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story, available from our Online Store.
Milwaukee Electric Railway (The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Transport Co.) car 1137, westbound on the Rapid Transit Line, 68th Street Bridge, July 22, 1949.
Photo Updates
FYI, we now have an improved version of the TMER&T photo reproduced above, since we have been fortunate enough to acquire the original 1949 4″ x 5″ negative. This has been added to our recent post Traction In Milwaukee.
Three more photos have been added to our post West Towns Streetcars In Black-and-White. One of them shows a West Towns streetcar making the connection with its Chicago Surface Lines counterpart at Lake and Austin.
I was looking at the letters in The Trolley Dodger about the construction of the reversing loop in the Howard Yard in 1949. The letter from the man at CTA public affairs indicated that before skip stop service trains that terminated at Howard were usually yard put-ins. That seems unlikely, at least since the opening of the State Street Subway in 1943, after which most Jackson Park trains terminated at Howard, other than during owl hours.
My question is this: before they built the reversing loop, just how did they reverse trains at Howard that weren’t put-ins? In rush hours, they were 8 car trains. Where did they switch ends?
There is some circa 1975 correspondence between Tom Buck, then Manager of the CTA’s Public Affairs department, and an individual who had asked about a 1949 photo showing the construction of a turnaround loop in the Howard Yard.
The photo is reproduced, along with a brochure detailing the changes brought about by the adoption of A/B “skip-stop” service on the North-South L in 1949.
Previously, there were many trains that terminated at other places such as Wilson.
North Side “L” service used to be more commonly through-routed into Evanston, with Evanston trains running through to Jackson Park on what’s now the Green Line, from 1913 to 1949. In 1949, the CTA instituted a North-South service revision, at which time the suburban portion was divorced into its own line, running as a shuttle to meet the new North-South trunk line at Howard. Thus was the modern Evanston Route, with the shuttle service at all times and downtown rush hour express service, born.
Starting in 1949, there were a lot more trains terminating at Howard, both from the north and the south. Meanwhile, North Shore Line trains continued to pass through via the Skokie Valley and Shore Line Routes.
Around this time, CTA proposed turning over the Evanston/Wilmette service to the North Shore Line, in exchange for having all NSL service terminate at Howard. As CNS&M already wanted to abandon the Shore Line Route, this proposal went nowhere.
Robyer2000 wrote:
I don’t ever like to doubt Graham, but at least after the State Street Subway opened in 1943, few, if any, day time subway trains went past Howard and fewer still terminated at Wilson unless they were putting in there. Consider there were only 455 steel cars that could operate in the subway and alternate daytime trains ran to Kimball, and assume 10 pct. of the cars were needed for spares, 410 steel cars were available for schedules of which 205 would have been in Howard service. That would be enough for 25 Howard – Jackson Park trains. If the route took 125 minutes round trip with lay over (remember in one direction it had to make all stops from Indiana to Congress), that would have been a steel train to Howard every 5 minutes, or a total of only 24 trains an hour through the subway. Even if I am wrong with my assumptions or my arithmetic, how wrong can I be?
I have seen many pictures of Howard Street Express Via Subway t:rains over the years, but never one signed Evanston Express via Subway, although I know it was an available route on the sign curtain because I have one.
Additionally, that red brochure the CTA issued on the opening of the subway indicated Jackson Park trains would terminate at Howard, except after midnight.
I know too that after 1943 there were Evanston Express via “L” Loop trains that circled the Loop at least many of which ran express south of Loyola and which presumably had wooden consists.
So the question remains, what was the operation for reversing trains at Howard before the reversing loop was built?
I know that what became the loop track at Howard Yard terminated in a bumping post at the landfill to Evanston before the loop was built by tunneling across the landfill. If they used that track to reverse ends, the trains must have had to go through the yard switches to that track, reverse ends and then return through the yard switches.
I replied:
Hopefully, someone here will know the answer.
If they did in fact use the yard track to change ends, they either would have needed personnel at both ends of the train, ready to reverse course, or the motorman would have had to walk through the train to do so, making it more difficult to maintain tight schedules.
The City realized that operating the subway with the 455 steel cars (there was actually a 456th but it was an older, experimental one, not part of the 4000s fleet) was not the optimal situation, but it was enough to get service going in the State Street subway in 1943.
Of course, they still had the “L” route to the Loop, so there were many additional wood car trains going that way besides.
M. E. answered:
I’m averse to posting in threads, but I want to chime in about the L turnaround at Howard St.
I grew up on Green St. south of 63rd. Between our residence and the L, the city tore down all the houses to make a parking lot for businesses on 63rd St. So I had a bird’s-eye view of the L.
Plus I rode the L a lot, by myself, when I was young. These days that’s a no-no, but back then it was safe.
The timing for all this was the late 1940s, after the State St. subway opened. I don’t remember seeing wooden cars on the Englewood L.
I rode the Englewood/Ravenswood L a lot, all the way to Lawrence and Kimball and back. I don’t think I ever changed to the Jackson Park L to go north past Belmont.
As an aside, I also remember wooden cars on the Kenwood L sharing the track with south side steel cars between Indiana and 18th St.
I distinctly remember that the Jackson Park L went north only to Howard. Not into Evanston.
Also, I remember being surprised one day by seeing that the CTA built a loop north of Howard to reverse direction. I don’t exactly remember when that was, just that I was surprised by it.
Given that the Jackson Park L terminated at Howard, and there was no reversing loop yet, there are several possibilities:
(1) The Rapid Transit system put two crewmen on every Jackson Park train — one at the south end, the other at the north end. This would have made it simple to reverse at Howard (as well as at 63rd and Stony Island). But very expensive to operate. This would also have had to be true of any other stub-ending L line with long trains.
(2) At Howard, trains pulled in from the south, changed crew at the station, and took off again heading south, all within a very short time. This seems not too feasible because it would probably delay Evanston and CNS&M trains from using the station.
(3) Suppose the trains proceeded north of Howard into the yard. Perhaps a new crew boarded the south end of the northbound train (which I want to call Train 1) at the Howard station. Then Train 1 pulled straight into the yard. The new crew at the south end took over and brought Train 1 back into Howard station heading south. Then at Howard the northbound crew got off.
(4) Train 1 arrived from the south at Howard. Its crew got off, and walked to the south end of the platform. Two other crews, assigned only to work at Howard, boarded Train 1 — one crew at the north end of the train, the other crew at the south end. These two crews took the train into the yard, reversed direction, and brought Train 1 south to the Howard station. There, the “road” crew, which had previously walked to the south end of the platform, re-boarded Train 1 and took it south from Howard. After that, the two Howard-only crews repeated to handle subsequently arriving trains from the south.
The more I look at these possibilities, I like #4 the best.
When I use the term “crew”, I mean motorman. That’s because on L trains back then, there were conductors between every car. Yes, really. Apparently there was no central control for opening and closing doors, so one conductor could control only his car’s doors. Also, every conductor from rear to front had to ring a bell twice to indicate all was clear to proceed. Those bells rang in each car, one at a time, from rear to front.
Furthermore, to my recollection, the longest trains through the subway had six cars. Not eight. For six cars there were five conductors. Another reason I say six cars is that station platforms were lengthened to accommodate eight cars. Those longer sections were narrower (not as deep) as the original platforms. In fact, the northmost track at the 63rd and Loomis terminal was extended over Loomis to accommodate eight-car trains. By that time there were no more double-deck buses on Loomis to preclude extending the L structure over the street.
Also, there were no married pairs of steel cars at that time. I remember seeing one-car trains on Sunday mornings. Consider also the Normal Park branch. Before it became a shuttle from 69th to Harvard, the Normal Park car coupled onto the back of an Englewood train. West of Harvard, people on the tracks coupled or uncoupled the Normal Park car, which had its own motorman and conductor. With a maximum of six cars, this means an Englewood train west of Harvard would have had only five cars max, so that the Normal Park car became the sixth car.
I have seen pictures of two-car Normal Park trains, but I never saw that personally.
I concede it’s possible that there were six cars on Englewood trains, plus one Normal Park car, total seven cars. I’m just not sure.
Everything I say here is based on 65-year-old memories. I may have some facts wrong, but I simply don’t know.
Then, robyer2000 wrote:
Thank you for your post. It is fascinating to me to hear your memories.
They in fact used 8 car trains, but due to the door control issues you mentioned, the furthest front and back doors were not used so an 8 car train could berth at a platform which would be a 6 car platform today.
I believe that trains of all 4000 series car only needed what they called a “gateman” every other car because the far doors of a car could be separately controlled at the opposite end of the car. One of the gateman was the conductor, I’m not sure where he stood in a long train. Logically, he would have been at the rear as he had to ascertain the train was properly berthed before opening the doors, but he may have been near the middle if at that time they already had lines drawn on the platform edge to assist the conductor.
Train door control wasn’t instituted until 1952-1954.
Your alternative 2 doesn’t sound possible because of the necessity of moving the train to the Southbound platform at Howard.
And then, M. E. wrote:
Some things I thought of after sending my last note:
Exit doors on 4000-series steel cars were at the ends of the cars. So at any coupled cars, there were exit doors at the rear of the first car and exit doors at the front of the second car. The conductor assigned to that location stood outside, over the coupling, and operated controls for the exit doors immediately to either side of him. The conductor could see the unloading and loading activity at each of the two exit doors, so he knew when all that activity was finished. He then rang the bell twice to indicate that his station was clear. As anyone can imagine, during winter the conductor had a very cold job.
The rearmost conductor was the first to ring the bells twice, then the second rearmost conductor, and so on to the frontmost conductor, who was stationed between cars one and two.
Because there was no conductor at the rear of the train, nor one at the front, passengers could not use the exit doors at the very rear and the very front. At the front, the motorman’s cabin occupied the right-side exit door area. And the motorman did not operate the left-side front exit door.
There was no public address system on those cars. Each conductor had to enter each of the two cars at his station to announce the next stop.
At that time it was permissible to walk between cars. Every car had doors at the ends of the cars that passengers could open to change cars. For safety, over the coupling area there were extended metal plates to walk on, and there were chains at each side of the walkway. (In effect, cars were connected not only with couplers but with chains too.) There were three chains vertically on each side of the walkway, from about knee height up to below chest height.
Unlike in the 6000-series cars, there was no railfan seat at the front opposite the motorman. As I recall, in 4000-series cars the seats closest to the exit doors were side-facing, and there was a solid partition between the seats and the exit door area. The only way to watch the track ahead was to stand at the front, next to the motorman’s cabin, and look through the glass in the end-facing door. Yes, there was a front-facing window in the exit door area, but that window was blocked by the route sign on the front of the train. The sign itself was wooden and was hung onto grillwork that spanned the window.
Earlier I mentioned another cold winter job: Coupling and uncoupling Normal Park cars to the rear of Englewood trains. Not only was it cold, it was also dangerous, because it was close to third rails. I cannot imagine the Environmental Protection Agency ever permitting such work today.
What became of the Normal Park car’s motorman and conductor? After a northbound run from 69th to the Englewood line west of Harvard, the Normal Park motorman likely detrained at Harvard, walked downstairs, across to the other side, and up to the south platform. Then he waited for the next southbound Englewood train, boarded it, and took his position in the last car, the one destined for Normal Park. Meanwhile, the northbound Normal Park conductor would have to stay with the Englewood train to be assigned to the newly coupled cars. In the southbound direction, the conductor assigned between the rearmost two cars on Englewood trains would therefore go to Normal Park after the uncoupling.
CSL Work Car Info
Following up on our earlier series about Chicago Surface Lines Work Cars (Part One here, Part Two there), Andre Kristopans writes:
I am sending you eight scans for your viewing (and distributing) pleasure. Four hand-written ones were copied from Jim Buckley’s notes in Roy Benedict’s possession by me years ago. The two lists of trailers were made from CTA records.You notice it goes back to 1914, and includes cars never r# by CSL.
Here is some more stuff:
Salt Cars AA1 17266 12/27/55 ex 1430 AA2 17266 12/27/55 ex 1431 AA3 13266 08/02/51 ex 1433 AA4 13266 10/26/51 ex 1435 AA5 13266 07/03/51 ex 1437 AA6 13266 12/17/51 ex 1440 AA7 17266 09/08/55 ex 1441 AA8 19141 05/17/58 ex 1443 AA9 18181 09/27/56 ex 1444 AA10 16283 02/18/55 ex 1445 AA11 13266 10/26/51 ex 1446 AA12 16283 09/09/54 ex 1447 AA13 16283 09/09/54 ex 1448 AA14 16283 10/07/54 ex 1459 AA15 13266 01/07/52 ex 1462 AA16 13266 01/25/52 ex 1474 AA17 13266 10/30/51 ex 1475 AA18 13266 11/06/51 ex 1482 AA19 13266 01/07/52 ex 1483 AA20 16283 10/07/54 ex 1488 AA21 16283 05/26/55 ex 1492 AA22 13266 08/02/51 ex 1493 AA23 16283 09/09/54 ex 1496 AA24 16283 09/09/54 ex 1501 AA25 17266 09/08/55 ex 1502 AA26 19141 05/17/58 ex 1107 AA27 19141 05/17/58 ex 1142 AA28 18181 12/14/56 ex 1145 AA29 18181 12/14/56 ex 1166 AA30 17266 12/27/55 ex 1183 AA31 17266 09/08/55 ex 1198 AA32 18181 12/14/56 ex 1205 AA33 17266 12/27/55 ex 1213 AA34 16283 10/07/54 ex 1215 AA35 12603 02/09/51 ex 1219 AA36 19141 05/17/58 ex 1220 AA37 19141 05/17/58 ex 1224 AA38 18181 09/27/56 ex 1231 AA39 16283 09/23/54 ex 1235 AA40 13266 08/10/51 ex 1239 AA41 13266 11/06/51 ex 1240 AA42 13266 11/21/51 ex 1241 AA43 16283 10/07/54 ex 1243 AA44 13266 10/05/51 ex 1248 AA45 12391 08/24/50 ex 1249 AA46 17266 12/27/55 ex 1250 AA47 13266 10/26/51 ex 1252 AA48 13266 07/20/51 ex 1255 AA49 14175 05/27/52 ex 1259 AA50 17266 12/27/55 ex 1260 AA51 17266 12/27/55 ex 1266 AA52 17266 09/08/55 ex 1277 AA53 19141 05/17/58 ex 1302 AA54 18181 12/14/56 ex 1303 AA55 16283 11/10/54 ex 1304 AA56 17266 12/27/55 ex 1305 AA57 18181 12/14/56 ex 1306 AA58 18181 09/27/56 ex 1307 AA59 18181 09/27/56 ex 1308 AA60 17266 12/27/55 ex 1309 AA61 18181 09/27/56 ex 1310 AA62 18181 09/27/56 ex 1311 AA63 10218 03/11/59 ex 1374 to ERHS AA64 16283 11/10/54 ex 1451 AA65 15451 04/05/54 ex 1453 AA66 19141 05/17/58 ex 1454 AA67 13266 08/17/51 ex 1455 AA68 13266 12/17/51 ex 1457 AA69 18181 12/14/56 ex 1458 AA70 15451 07/17/54 ex 1463 AA71 13266 08/02/51 ex 1465 AA72 19209 02/28/58 ex 1467 to ERHS AA73 16283 09/27/56 ex 1468 AA74 16283 11/10/54 ex 1471 AA75 18181 09/27/56 ex 1472 AA76 19141 05/17/58 ex 1477 AA77 18181 09/27/56 ex 1478 AA78 17266 12/27/55 ex 1480 AA79 15451 04/05/54 ex 1481 AA80 16283 09/09/51 ex 1484 AA81 18181 12/14/56 ex 1487 AA82 13266 07/20/51 ex 1489 AA83 16283 10/07/54 ex 1494 AA84 15451 02/17/54 ex 1495 AA85 18181 09/27/56 ex 1497 AA86 18181 12/14/56 ex 1498 AA87 13266 01/25/52 ex 1499 AA88 13266 07/03/51 ex 1500 AA89 16283 09/09/54 ex 1503 AA90 18181 09/27/56 ex 1504 AA91 17266 09/08/55 ex 1545 /48 10143 AA92 17266 12/27/55 ex 2826 AA93 19141 05/17/58 ex 2841 AA94 13266 08/17/51 ex 2842 AA95 10218 06/18/59 ex 2843 to ERHS AA96 17266 12/27/55 ex 2844 AA97 19141 05/17/58 ex 2845 AA98 10218 12/05/58 ex 2846 to ERHS AA99 none 08/20/48 ex 2847 (replaced with another retired car from AFR 10412) AA99 2nd 18181 06/06/56 ex 5031 AA100 13266 07/03/51 ex 2848 AA101 18181 12/14/56 ex 2849 AA102 13266 08/10/51 ex 2851 AA103 15451 02/17/54 ex 2852 AA104 18181 12/14/56 ex 2853 AA105 15451 02/17/54 ex 2854 AA106 13266 10/11/51 ex 2855 AA107 13266 01/25/52 ex 2856 1466 13059 03/09/51 2626 13059 /51 4001 T12 /53 to shed; from Pass 1948 S10143 7001 T12 /53 to shed; from Pass 1948 S10143
AA1-AA52 to salt cars 1930-31, AA53-AA62 01/34, AA6306/33; AA1-AA25 r# 10/1/41, AA26-AA90 r# 04/15/48
additional salt car conversions: 1122 scr 04/23/37 1188 scr 04/30/37 1201 return to passenger 3/6/43 1208 return to passenger 3/4/43 1211 destroyed 1/30/39 111th/Sacramento vs GTW, scr 3/8/39 1212 return to passenger 2/20/43 1223 return to passenger 4/11/43 1225 return to passenger 3/4/43 1226 r# 1357 1937, return to passenger 5/15/43 1228 return to passenger 5/29/43 1229 return to passenger 3/27/43 1234 return to passenger 3/5/43 1238 return to passenger 5/15/43 1244 return to passenger 3/12/43 1245 return to passenger 3/8/43 1251 return to passenger 5/9/43 1253 r# 1257 1937, return to passenger 5/11/43 1254 return to passenger 6/11/43 1257 r# 1253 1937, r# 1385 1937, return to passenger 3/11/43 1280 return to passenger 1/13/44 1286 return to passenger 7/3/43 1466 to instruction car 1/13/13 1486 to instruction car 9/30/12, sold 11/12/17 to Tri-City Ry (IA)
Interestingly, Andre’s information shows that CSL Mail Car H2, pictured as being operable and in its original paint scheme in 1938 (see our post Chicago Surface Lines Work Cars – Part 1), was apparently scrapped in 1942. This explains why H2 was not used in the 1943 parade celebrating the opening of the State Street Subway, or in the one day revival of street railway post office service for a convention in 1946.
Andre also wrote:
You have mentioned several times the B&OCT line that runs along the Eisenhower Xway. A couple of items of note: 1) The B&OCT ownership extends to Madison St, where SOO ownership started. CGW’s started at Desplaines Ave Jct. 2) Note I said B&OCT – this is still the legal owner of all CSX track north and west of Clark Jct in Gary. In fact, B&O still has its own employees, train service and others, and in a really odd twist, is the legal owner of a substantial number of CSX’s new GE locomotives!
Finally, for a while in the late 1950’s, B&OCT used the old L tracks from Desplaines to west of Central while their right-of-way was being dug out. Considering that this was light rail to begin with, and well worn at that, it must have been somewhat frightening to run a freight train thru there!
I replied:
Very interesting information. Wasn’t there some steam train type commuter rail service out to Forest Park along these lines?
I still wonder just why CTA paid the CA&E $1m for their fixed assets between Laramie and DesPlaines Avenue in 1953.
They didn’t buy the land, which I think was bought by the state for the highway project. They didn’t buy the Forest Park terminal, either. CA&E still had at least a partial ownership in this when passenger service was suspended in 1957 (I think Cook County had bought some for the highway project).
So, what did CTA buy other than some worn rail, signals, roadbed, stations, etc. that were all going to be replaced within a few years anyway?
Andre wrote:
Basically they bought the right to continue running to Desplaines after the line was rebuilt. Otherwise, if CA&E still owned it, the state would have been dealing with CA&E, and if CA&E just said “screw it”, the Congress L would have ended at Laramie. Remember, we are dealing with accounting stuff here. What was there then wasn’t worth much, though the ROW was probably CA&E owned, which CTA then bought and sold/traded to the state for where the L is today.
Back in the days of the “primordial ooze” there was service on the B&OCT out to Forest Park. This was part of the Randolph St business and the line out 16th St to Harlem. But it was all gone by early 1900’s, especially after the Met L was built.
SOO did run a more-or-less commuter round trip for many years, actually a local from I think Waukesha that ran at the right time.
We thank all our contributors. Keep those cards and letters coming in.
CTA 7100, as repainted. George Trapp notes, 7100 “may be (the) first painted in the ugly Everglade Green and Cream.” If so, this picture was probably taken in 1951. CTA chose a darker color green for repainting, since they were having difficulty matching the lighter Mercury Green paint, which had a tendency to fade over time. There were some variations in the roof treatment on some cars, and you can see examples of that in CERA Bulletin 146. (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
Today we offer a third installment of pictures from the collections of George Trapp. You can find Part One of the Chicago PCC series here, and we also posted many photos of historic Chicago buses here.
Thanks to Mr. Trapp’s generosity, we now have close to another 150 additional images of Chicago PCC streetcars. Nearly all of these are previously unknown to me. Mr. Trapp has been collecting these type of pictures for nearly the last 50 years, and has let us borrow some of them so that we might feature them here and add them to our electronic book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story, available through our Online Store.
Mr. Trapps’ photos are an embarrassment of riches. Since there are too many to post all at once, check this space in coming days from further installments in this series.
This time out, a few of the pictures are in color, and we have done some restoration work on them. When older color prints have faded or have developed a color cast, sometimes we can correct for this using today’s computer technology.
Of course, the deluxe hardcover book Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: The PCC Car Era 1936-1958, published in June by Central Electric Railfans’ Association, is the premier volume covering the rise and fall of the modern streetcar in the Windy City. That book contains hundreds of great color photos and is a must-have for anyone who is interested in the subject, or even anyone who is interested in knowing what Chicago’s disparate neighborhoods looked like in a bygone era. While I am proud to be a co-author of that work, B-146 is available directly from the publisher. I would be remiss if I did not mention that Trolley Dodger Press is not affiliated with CERA.
In my humble opinion, B-146 is a fantastic bargain and a great value for the money, and I urge you to get a copy if you have not already done so.
My more recent E-book, available on a data disc in PDF format, is intended as a very unofficial supplement and companion to that noble work. One advantage that an electronic book has over a printed one is that more information can be added to it as things become available. We have already added numerous photos, maps, etc. to it, and the material from the Trapp Collection is a tremendous addition, which we are very grateful to have.
On top of that, we are adding another section of photographs to the book covering Chicago’s rapid transit system as it appeared early in the CTA era. That will give the reader a very clear idea of how badly the system was in need of improvement and modernization, a factor in the process by which CTA ultimately decided to eliminate streetcars.
With the E-book, we are not attempting to duplicate anything covered in B-146, which mainly showcases color photography. But there are still lots of great black-and-white photos that deserve to be seen, and lots of other information which could not be included even in a 448-page book. Chicago once had the largest streetcar system in the world, and chances are it will be a long time, if ever, before anyone has the “last word” about it.
If you have already purchased our E-book, and wish to get an updated copy with the additional information, this can be done at little or no cost to you. We always intended that it would be improved over time and offer an upgrade service to our purchasers on an ongoing basis.
As always, clicking on each photo with your mouse should bring up a larger version of the picture in your browser. You may be able to magnify this if you then see a “+” on your screen.
Chicago’s postwar PCCs were built by Pullman-Standard (310 cars) and the St. Louis Car Company (290 cars). You can readily tell which ones are which, since the Pullmans are more squarish in appearance, especially the windows, and the St. Louies have more curved lines.
Finally, if you have any interesting tidbits of information to share about the photos you see here, don’t hesitate to let us know, either by making a comment on this post, or by dropping us a line to:
thetrolleydodger@gmail.com
Thanks.
-David Sadowski
Thanks to the generosity of George Trapp, all of the photos in today’s post are being added to our E-book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story.
CSL 7100 when newly delivered. (Ed Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 7108, southbound on route 22. (Ed Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 7108 at 81st and Halsted on August 15, 1947. (James J. Buckley Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
Glare on the front of the car makes the number more difficult to see, but it’s 4054 at 81st and Halsted. Since the cars are all signed for CSL, this photo probably dates to 1947.
CTA 4052 southbound on Western just north of North Avenue (see the 1607 address at right), making that the old Humboldt Park “L” at the rear. (Ed Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 4060, probably in 1947. (Ed Frank, Jr. Photo)
PCC 4061, a St. Louis product, southbound on Halsted. (Ed Frank, Jr. Photo)
