Another Fall Harvest

September 22, 2025September 22, 2025David Sadowski 8 Comments

CSS&SB South Shore Line Interurban #107
Location: South Bend, Indiana (College and Orange)
Date: December 27, 1964
Photographer: Jeffrey L. Wien
The South Shore Line electrified its Interurban system to Chicago in 1926 with cars like these. The last of these cars was retired in 1983. Street running ended in East Chicago in 1956, South Bend in 1970, and in Michigan City in 2022.

We are back with an all-new Trolley Dodger blog post, our 316th. Our fifth book, The Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Railway, has arrived, to very positive reviews. Ordering information is below.

There’s much more to savor in this all-new post. We have a color photo essay covering the Lake Street “L” from 1959-64, a period of transition during which the ground level portion west of Laramie Avenue (5200 W.) was replaced by an elevated section on a solid fill embankment. Nearly all the pictures are by Charles L. Tauscher and Jeffrey L. Wien.

Today’s post also features previously unpublished CA&E pictures we recently acquired. Two were taken on September 19, 1953, the final day the interurban ran into Chicago over CTA trackage.

Add to this our usual new recent photo finds, and you have a complete traction meal, gluten free, with all the various food groups represented! It’s yet another Fall Harvest of traction photos from the Trolley Dodger!

Enjoy, and keep those cards and letters coming in, folks.

-David Sadowski

PS- You might also like our Trolley Dodger Facebook auxiliary, a private group that now has 2,242 members.

Our friend Kenneth Gear has a Facebook group for the Railroad Record Club. If you enjoy listening to audio recordings of classic railroad trains, whether steam, electric, or diesel, you might consider joining.

FYI, the Hoosier Traction Facebook Group celebrates electric transit in Indiana and the Midwest. It also supports the activities of the annual Hoosier Traction Meet (although not affiliated with the North American Transit Historical Society, which organizes that event).

Upcoming Presentation

FYI, I will give a presentation about my new book The Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railway at 6:30 pm on Wednesday, October 8 at the Schaumburg Township Public Library.

You can attend in person, or watch on Zoom.

Admission is free, but registration is recommended, as we had a full house for the last one I did a few years ago. Copies of all my books will be available at the event at special prices. More info here.

Our Latest Book, Now Available for Immediate Shipment:

The Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railway

FYI, my latest book from Arcadia Publishing is now available for and in stock for immediate shipment.

The Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railway (CA&E) ran electric passenger and freight service from 1902 until 1959. Although classed as an interurban, it was a hybrid of rapid transit and commuter rail. CA&E trains ran to downtown Chicago via the Metropolitan West Side “L,” ending at the Well Street Terminal. This was a high-tech endeavor funded by industrialists from Cleveland, Ohio, who wanted to open Chicago’s western suburbs for development. The result was a high-speed operation, built to steam road standards, with an electrified third rail powering the trains. It thrived until World War I, was modernized in the Roaring Twenties, weathered the Great Depression, and did its duty during World War II. A privately owned railroad, without subsidies, the CA&E began losing money in the 1950s due to highway construction that stopped it from running into Chicago. Efforts to save the railroad failed, and passenger service ended in 1957, with freight following two years later.

David Sadowski is the author of Chicago Trolleys, Building Chicago’s Subways, Chicago’s Lost “L”s, and The North Shore Line and runs the online Trolley Dodger blog. Photographs shown are from the author’s extensive collections and archival sources such as the Chicago History Museum, Forest Park Historical Society, and Lake States Railway Historical Association.

Each copy purchased here will be signed by the author, and you will also receive a bonus Chicago Aurora and Elgin track map. Books will ship by USPS Media Mail.

Chapters:
01. The Fox River Line
02. The Third Rail Line
03. On the “L”
04. Main Line to Wheaton
05. Aurora and Batavia
06. Elgin and Geneva
07. Electric Freight
08. Forest Park
09. Into the Sunset
10. The Legacy

Title The Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railway
Images of Rail
Author David Sadowski
Edition illustrated
Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2025
ISBN-10: 146716254X
ISBN-13: ‎978-1467162548
Length 128 pages
The price of $24.99 includes shipping within the United States via USPS Media Mail.

For Shipping to US Addresses:

Our First Review

David Peterson writes:

Received my books today from Mr. David Sadowski. Images of Rail-The Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railway– Absolutely incredible book. Layout is executed perfectly. The pictures are rare and outstanding with very high resolution.

Photographs include detailed descriptions allowing the reader to know precisely when and where the pictures were taken.

Brief history of the creation and demise of the railroad is an easy read with pertinent details. Photos showing various views along today’s Illinois Prairie Path really bring the history of this once great railroad into context.

Photographs depicting the scrapping of the railroad and its rolling stock invoke a bit of sadness, but they are an important detail in the CA&E saga.

This book is a must read for CA&E fans, and fans of railroads in general.
It’s a fascinating story.

Thank you David for your work and dedication in writing this book. I highly recommend it.

And I thank Mr. Peterson and everyone who has purchased the book. Each of my five books has sold more than the previous one did, and given time, this one is going to be my most popular one yet.

The Chicago Aurora and Elgin

At 12:30 p.m. on July 2, 1943, CA&E cars 412-421-405 make up a westbound three-car train at Laramie Avenue (5200 W.) on the Garfield Park “L” in Chicago. The interurban owned the tracks west of here. This is certainly one of the better pictures I have seen taken here. At left, you can see Loretto Hospital (645 S. Central Avenue) in the distance. The negative for this image was improperly developed, and I spent a few hours doing restoration work on it.

The negative for this, and the image that follows, do show some damage, but they also show wood car #314 picking up passengers at Laramie on July 2, 1943. At right in this picture, you can see a scale, where you could weigh yourself for a penny. Many “L” stations had them.

CA&E 408 has stopped at Laramie Avenue on July 2, 1943 to pick up passengers on its way west. The red flags show that’s the rear of the train at right. Again, this negative was improperly developed– hence the plethora of tiny white dots on the lower left side of the picture.

CA&E 424 heads up a westbound train at Austin Boulevard on September 19, 1953, the final day of service into Chicago. Columbus Park is at left. When the Congress (now Eisenhower) expressway was built in this area, a small part of the park got shaved off.

CA&E 431, at right, is heading outbound at Forest Park on September 19, 1953, while a CTA Met car is going inbound. This station was located just east of DesPlaines Avenue. The following day, two new platforms opened on the west side of the street, as the interurban cut back service to here and had to transfer passengers with the CTA. Car 431, a 1927 product of the Cincinnati Car Company, is now at the Illinois Railway Museum.

The Lake Street “L” in Transition, 1959-1964

CTA car 4424 is the leader of this two-car Lake Street “L” “A” train in May 1959 at the Clinton Street station. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

A CTA Lake Street “L” B train is westbound on ground-level trackage on South Boulevard in Oak Park in January 1960. The cross street to the right is Home Avenue. To the left, north of here, it’s called Forest Avenue. The house at right is still there. East of here, the street narrows, and this continues to Oak Park Avenue. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

The same location today.

An inbound all-stops Lake Street “L” train is at the Marion Street station on an April 1960 night. This station functioned, more or less, as the western terminal for the line, but there was actually one more stop west of here in Forest Park. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

CTA #4425 is at the head of an inbound two-car Lake Street “L” “A” train at Lake and Central on May 19, 1961. Note the trolley bus wires on Central, used by the #85 bus. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

We are looking northeast from Lake Street and Lockwood Avenue on May 19, 1961. An outbound six-car Lake Street “B” train descends the ramp towards ground-level trackage on the western end of this line. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

CTA #4409 is (apparently) the end car on an inbound six-car train going up the ramp on the Lake Street “L” on May 19, 1961. In the distance, you can see an outbound train at the Laramie Avenue station, where the steel structure starts. The north-south cross street here is Lorel Avenue, at about 5329 West. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

On May 19, 1961, CTA #4429 is at the front of an inbound two-car train, pausing while heading up the Lake Street “L” ramp just east of Long Avenue (5400 W.). It looks like some work is being done on the overhead wire. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

Here’s how the underpass at Long Avenue looks today. The ramp going up to the “L” structure at Laramie Avenue started just east of this viaduct.

An inbound CTA Lake Street “A” train, with car 4413 at the helm, heads up the ramp leading to Laramie Avenue while an outbound train passes on May 19, 1961. The cross street (behind the photographer) is Lockwood Avenue (5300 W.). The one-way street in the photo is Lorel Avenue (5327 W.). (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

CTA 4409 is at the head of an inbound six-car Lake Street “L” train going up the ramp towards the Laramie Avenue station on May 19, 1961. At this point, Laramie was still the changeover point to third rail. Later, as construction continued on a new connection to the C&NW embankment, the changeover point was moved to Central Avenue. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

By May 19, 1961, work was already underway on creating a new connection between the Lake Street “L” and the nearby Chicago and North Western embankment. The existing ramp was, to some extent, in the way of the new connection, which necessitated creating a temporary wooden ramp. Meanwhile, a six-car train prepares to stop at the Laramie Avenue station on the steel structure. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

While not the greatest quality image, this does show the ground-level Lake Street “L” station at Central Avenue in the 1930s. There is a trolley bus heading north on Central, just about to cross the railroad tracks. This view looks east, with the Chicago and North Western embankment to the left.

CTA #4421 is at the front of a two-car Lake Street “B” train at Madison and Wells on the Loop “L” on December 15, 1961. From 1913 until 1969, trains on the Loop ran unidirectionally, counterclockwise, so this train is heading south. Lake Street trains ran around the Loop until September 28, 1969, when the line was paired with the new Dan Ryan service, and through-routed. That’s also when the Loop was changed to bidirectional as it has remained since. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

CTA #4436 fronts a two-car “B” train at the Oak Park Avenue station on the Lake Street “L” on June 20, 1962. Four months later, the “L” was elevated, and the street running between Forest Park and Laramie Avenue came to an end. Notice how South Boulevard narrows just west of here. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

CTA #4436 is part of a two-car train heading outbound (west) at South Boulevard and Forest Avenue in Oak Park on June 20, 1962. The Chicago and North Western station on the embankment would soon be relocated, and its tracks moved, to create space for the Lake Street “L”, which was moved there on October 28, 1962. This view looks to the northwest, and you can see the CTA’s Marion Street station in the distance. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

In September 1962, a two-car Lake Street train heads west along the Loop “L” tracks, having just turned from Wabash onto Lake. At this time, trains operated in the same direction (counterclockwise) on both tracks. (Charles L. Tauscher Photo)

In a slide processed in September 1962, a westbound Lake Street “L” train boards at Clinton Street, just west of the Chicago River. A “Baldy” 4000 is at the head of the train, even though it is not fitted with the trolley poles used on the outer portion of the line at that time. These earlier 4000s (built circa 1913-15) had center doors, nearly always unused, that were often covered up with the addition of another seat. The also had “bowling alley” (sideways) seating, another difference from the later “Plushies” from the early 1920s. (Charles L. Tauscher Photo)

A westbound Lake Street “L” “B” train of CTA 4000-series cars approaches the Cicero Avenue station in September 1962. (Charles L. Tauscher Photo)

In a slide processed in August 1962, we are looking to the northeast along that portion of the Lake Street “L’ that ran west of Harlem Avenue in Forest Park. To the left, we see the Chicago and North Western embankment; to the right, that embankment was being expanded, and this new portion would eventually provide space for a new yard for Lake Street trains. (Charles L. Tauscher Photo)

CTA Lake Street “L” car 4413 heads up an inbound “B” train in Forest Park on October 11, 1962. This was just 17 days prior to the outer portion of Lake being relocated onto the Chicago and North Western embankment at right. Here, you can also see how that embankment was getting expanded to create space for a new Lake Street “L” yard. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

A two-car train of 4000-series “L” cars heads east on the Lake Street line, crossing Western Avenue (2400 W.) in a slide processed in March 1963. As this was a few months after the outer end of the line had been relocated onto the Chicago and North Western embankment, the trolley poles have been removed from these cars. (Charles L. Tauscher Photo)

Scott Greig: “Lake and Central Park, with the Garfield Park Conservatory visible under the “L” structure.” This slide was processed in March 1963. The 4000-series “L” cars shown here were parked on a center track, since removed, that originally gave Lake a short express track but also provided some badly needed mid-day storage for the line, which did not have a proper yard until 1964. The Homan station was moved here after the line was renovated in the 1990s, as this served the conservatory, whereas the old location was just two blocks from another station. (Charles L. Tauscher Photo)

By July 28, 1964, when Jeff Wien took this picture, the 4000s were still running on the Lake Street “L”, but minus their trolley poles, now that the outer portion of the line was now running on the C&NW embankment. Soon these cars would be replaced by the new 2000-series, the CTA’s first with air conditioning. 4000s would continue in service on Ravenswood and Evanston until November 1973. The view here looks northwest from South Boulevard and Scoville in Oak Park, a short distance west of Ridgeland Avenue. You can see the Oak Park Avenue “L” station in the distance.

Recent Finds

CTA red Pullman #144 is turning from Clark onto Archer on one of those late fantrips, held after red cars were taken out of regular service in 1954. As to the date, I would guess it’s towards the end of 1957, as there is a billboard advertising the new 1958 Edsel. The photographer climbed onto a railroad embankment to get this shot, during a photo stop.

Here, we see Chicago Surface Lines “Matchbox” 1320 at Roosevelt and Michigan at 6:50 p.m. on July 2, 1943, running on the 14th-16th Street line. Horsecar service on Route 14 began in 1892 from Canal to Damen. Electric streetcars replaced horsecars in 1896. The route was extended west via 16th Street to Kenton (city limits) on January 27, 1913. Buses replaced streetcars on July 25, 1948, and bus service was discontinued on March 9, 1955. The 1300-series streetcars are known as Small St. Louis cars. Don’s Rail Photos: “1320 was built by St Louis Car Co in 1906 as CUT (Chicago Union Traction) 4849. It was renumbered (to) 1320 in 1913 and became CSL 1320 in 1914. It was retired on June 13, 1946.” These older streetcars were retired as the new PCCs were delivered starting in 1946. Sister car 1374 has been restored at the Illinois Railway Museum and is in operable condition. From the photograph, you would expect this was the east end of the line. This negative was somehow damaged during development, which explains why there are so many tiny white dots in certain sections of the image.

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” #4271-4272-4020-4447
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Wilson Avenue – North-South “L”)
Date: May 31, 1962
Photographer: Charles L. Tauscher
When the last 4000s were taken out of service in November 1973, the CTA chose 4271 and 4272 as the cars retained for the Historical Fleet. Now over a century old, they are still occasionally used on special occasions. The area seen here has been completely changed. Soon after the Wilson Shops and Yard were phased out, a fire destroyed the structure. Later, the Wilson Avenue station and trackage was completely rebuilt, a project costing about $250m.

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” #4437
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Belmont Avenue – North-South “L”)
Date: October 14, 1957
Photographer: Charles L. Tauscher
(Note- that’s the North Shore Line only platform at left for southbound trains.)

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” #4166
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Damen Avenue – Logan Square “L”)
Date: April 14, 1958
Photographer: Charles L. Tauscher

After the Chicago Transit Authority took the last of the wooden “L” cars out of service in November 1957, several remained in use as work cars until around 1965. But there were also a few fantrips. We have previously posted pictures from an April 20, 1958 excursion, using cars 1024 and work car S-340 (a former 1700-series), a fundraiser for the Illinois Electric Railway Museum. Here, we see cars 1786 and 1799 at the Merchandise Mart station on a July 15, 1958 trip. 1786 was built by Pullman in 1908. 1799 was originally a trailer, built by American Car and Foundry in 1907. It was originally Northwestern Elevated Railway #290, but was later motorized and renumbered to 1799. Sister car 1797 is at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Two trains (made up of 4000s and 6000s) pass each other just south of Montrose Avenue on the North-South “L” in July 1967. At right, the tracks led to Buena Yard, where there was an interchange with the Milwaukee Road until 1973. Behind the photographer, there was a ramp leading up to the “L”. (Charles L. Tauscher Photo)

A fantrip train, with CTA car #4269 in the lead, is parked at Buena Yard in a slide processed in November 1966 (but was likely shot some months earlier). Until 1973, the Milwaukee Road interchanged freight with the CTA– mainly coal, for delivery further north along the North-South “L”. This was a vestige of the original service the Milwaukee Road offered here, before the Northwestern Elevated Railway took over the former commuter service to the north side, and turned it into the “L”. There were two electric locomotives used to haul freight cars. They were purchased by the Rapid Transit in 1920 and were still in use when freight ended 53 years later. This view looks north by northwest– the “L” structure is just to our right, out of view. (Charles M. Tauscher Photo)

CTA #4439 heads up a northbound four-car Evanston Express train at the Sheridan Road curve during August 1973. The last of the venerable 4000-series “L” cars would be retired on November 8th that year, after 50 years of faithful service. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

In January 1965, a northbound eight-car train of 4000s is running wrong way on what would normally be the southbound track on the North-South “L” at Granville. The best explanation is probably the weather– no route sign is in evidence, and eight cars was then too many to run on Evanston or Ravenswood, the two lines still using 4000s at this time. Verdict– sleet scraping, preventing the third rail from getting coated with ice, at a time when there wasn’t regular service on this track, generally used only on weekdays. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

A Douglas-Milwaukee “B” train is about to pull into the Logan Square Terminal in a slide processed in March 1965. (Charles L. Tauscher Photo)

Chicago Rapid Transit Company gate cars 389 and 388 make up a two-car train at the Canal Street station of the Metropolitan main line on July 2, 1943. The two cars will be split at the Damen, North, and Milwaukee station, with one car going to Logan Square, and the other to Humboldt Park. Canal was adjacent to Union Station and there was a walkway connecting it to the “L”.

Although the negative for this image has signs of faulty home development, in general, this is a very nice picture of Met car #2905 in Douglas Park service (to Lawndale only) at the Canal Street station on the Met main line on July 2, 1943.

ICG Illinois Central Electric South Chicago Branch
Location: Chicago, Illinois (71st and Exchange)
Date: July 1966 (processing date)
Photographer: Jeffrey L. Wien
The Illinois Central Suburban commuter service electrified in 1926. The original Pullman suburban electric cars were retired in the late 1970s and replaced by bilevels built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1971. The service is now called the Metra Electric and has a number of branches. South Shore Line trains share trackage with the Metra Electric in Illinois. The IC Pullmans were similar to the contemporary cars used on the Erie-Lackawanna in New Jersey.

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” #6187
Location: Chicago, Illinois (43rd Street – North-South “L”)
Date: June 6, 1954
Photographer: William C. Hoffman

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” #6281
Location: Chicago, Illinois (47th Street – North-South “L”)
Date: June 6, 1954
Photographer: William C. Hoffman

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” Loop
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Wabash and Washington looking north)
Date: July 29, 1956
Photographer: William C. Hoffman

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” Loop
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Lake and LaSalle looking west)
Date: August 31, 1956
Photographer: William C. Hoffman
From 1913 to 1969, trains on the Loop “L” went uni-directional, counter-clockwise, so both trains shown here are going west along Lake Street towards the junction at Tower 18, visible in the distance. The trains of 6000-series “L” cars at right is a Ravenswood “A” train, while the 4000s at left could be a variety of things, including the Garfield Park “L”. Discount Records, seen at right, was a local chain that went out of business around 1972. The original Tower 18 was replaced in 1969, as it was in the way of new tracks that allowed the through-routing of the Lake line with the new Dan Ryan service.

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” Loop
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Randolph and Wabash “L” Station looking east)
Date: May 5, 1957
Photographer: William C. Hoffman
This picture shows the newly modernized Loop “L” station at Randolph and Wabash, with a huge CTA logo. This station and Madison and Wabash have since been replaced in the 2000s by a new one located between them at Washington and Wabash. My understanding is the CTA logo was saved, but I am not aware of any of the details on what will happen to it.
The Stouffers’ restaurant was kind of like a tea room and closed in 1981. The Stouffer’s brand was sold to Nestle, who were really only interested in their frozen foods.

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” #41-42
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Isabella – Evanston “L” – fantrip)
Date: June 26, 1960
Photographer: William C. Hoffman

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” #41-42
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Randolph and Wells looking north – Loop “L” – fantrip)
Date: June 26, 1960
Photographer: William C. Hoffman
June 26, 1960 was a Sunday and CTA Single Car Units #41 and 42 are parked at Randolph and Wells during a lunch stop on a fantrip. Since the Ravenswood “L” did not go into the Loop at this time, these cars weren’t in the way of regular service cars. The Ravenswood was cut back to Armitage on Sundays and for Owl Service as of May 18, 1952. This made it convenient to have numerous photo stops at stations south of there on sunday fantrips. The shuttle was further cut back to Belmont in 1963, following the abandonment of the North Shore Line. Starting in 2000, Ravenswood service was restored to make all stops south of Belmont at night and on Sundays, due to the increase in ridership on this line (now called the CTA Brown Line).

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” #41-42
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Main Street – Evanston “L” – fantrip)
Date: June 26, 1960
Photographer: William C. Hoffman

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” #6435 (and a North Shore Line Electroliner just barely visible at right)
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Belmont – North-South “L”)
Date: June 4, 1961
Photographer: Gordon E. Lloyd
This was a Sunday and the New York Yankees defeated the Chicago White Sox, 10-1. “L” ridership was very light on Sundays back then, which explains why a two-car train was running on Jackson Park-Howard.

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” #45
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Main Street – Evanston “L”)
Date: July 8, 1961
Photographer: Gordon E. Lloyd

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” Loop
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Randolph and Wells Station looking east along Washington – Loop “L”)
Date: November 26, 1962
Photographer: William C. Hoffman
Graham Garfield writes: “It’s actually Washington and Wells, looking east. Washington had platform-level station houses just like Randolph’s, back when Wells had a continuous platform the whole length of the Loop. There wasn’t a Washington “stop”; the Washington station houses were basically additional entrances from which riders would either walk north on the platform to the Randolph berthing area or south to the Madison stop.
Randolph’s station houses were built around 1913 or so (replacing the original little Randolph & Wells station houses over Couch Place) and Washington’s weren’t added until around 1925 or so, but the design was basically the same.”
In 1995, this station and Madison and Wells were replaced by a new station at Washington and Wells. A portion of the north end of the platforms still exists from Randolph and Wells.

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” #4347 on Transfer Table
Location: Skokie, Illinois (Skokie Shops)
Date: May 26, 1963
Photographer: William C. Hoffman

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” Single Car Units
Location: Chicago, Illinois (South Boulevard – Evanston “L”)
Date: June 20, 1966
Photographer: Jeffrey L. Wien

There aren't a lot of pictures showing the original tower at Clark Junction, as you had to be riding on a northbound train in order to get close to it. The Clark station seen here opened in 1900 along with the North Side "L" as far as Wilson Avenue. The Ravenswood branch was built in 1906 and veered off from the main line just south of the station. Clark was closed, along with numerous other lightly used stations, in 1949, as the Chicago Transit Authority rationalized North-south service, with the goal of speeding things up. Thereafter, the tower remained in use until it was replaced by a new one in 1976. More recently, this second tower was replaced when a flyover was built, allowing northbound Brown Line trains (successor to the Ravenswood) to cross over the other "L" tracks, replacing a flat junction.

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” Clark Junction (and some #4000s)
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Clark Junction – North-South “L”)
Date: June 20, 1966
Photographer: Jeffrey L. Wien
There aren’t a lot of pictures showing the original tower at Clark Junction, as you had to be riding on a northbound train in order to get close to it.
The Clark station seen here opened in 1900 along with the North Side “L” as far as Wilson Avenue. The Ravenswood branch was built in 1906 and veered off from the main line just south of the station.
Clark was closed, along with numerous other lightly used stations, in 1949, as the Chicago Transit Authority rationalized North-south service, with the goal of speeding things up. Thereafter, the tower remained in use until it was replaced by a new one in 1976. More recently, this second tower was replaced when a flyover was built, allowing northbound Brown Line trains (successor to the Ravenswood) to cross over the other “L” tracks, replacing a flat junction.

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” #4000s 1974
Location: Skokie, Illinois (Wilson Yard and Shops, looking east)
Date: February 1974 (processing date)
Photographer: John Alvar Ruhl
The Wilson Avenue Yard and Shops no longer exists. In 1996, not long after the shops closed, the building caught fire. The building was demolished along with the yard, which was damaged beyond repair. Later, the station and trackage was completely rebuilt in this area.

CTA Chicago Transit Authority “L” Clark and Lake
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Clark and Lake – Loop “L”)
Date: March 1978
Photographer: Jeffrey L. Wien
This (and the next picture) shows how the original Clark and Lake station on the Loop “L” looked in 1978, prior to being replaced by a new station that has entrances inside nearby buildings, and a direct connection to the Dearborn Subway.

Lest we forget, September 2nd this year marks the 75th anniversary of a horrific head-on collision on Milwaukee’s Speedrail system, the short-lived successor to the Milwaukee Electric interurban. While the causes of the crash are still being debated, whether due to human error or a faulty signal, the result was a head-on collision between a heavyweight car and a lightweight one. Lightweight car #39, full of attendees to a model railroad convention, was a fantrip car, and was split apart by the regular service car 1192-1193. Ten people were killed, and more than forty injured. The accident was instrumental in the abandonment of Speedrail less than one year later. We recently purchased two original 35mm Kodachrome slides showing the aftermath of the wreck, and I assume they were taken the following day (September 3, 1950), before the area was cleared. It is remarkable that the colors on these slides are still vivid after 75 years, although they are also vivid reminders of a terrible tragedy that we hope will never be repeated.

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Our Latest Book – The Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railway

June 23, 2025June 24, 2025David Sadowski 5 Comments

Two Chicago Aurora and Elgin cars (both from the 450-series) cross the Chicago River on the Metropolitan West Side Elevated in 1949.

We are back with an all-new Trolley Dodger blog post, our 315th. We are heralding the impending arrival of our fifth book, The Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Railway. Ordering information is below.

Arcadia Publishing shipped my initial book order on June 21st. I expect to receive them by Wednesday, the 25th, and will begin sending out all the books in our pre-order immediately.

I believe this is my best book, out of the five I have written. It’s an important and still a somewhat controversial subject. It was the most difficult to write, and required the most work, but I am very pleased with the results. I hope it will find favor with you as well.

Author William S. Burroughs once remarked, “Excuse me, there is no accurate description of the creation of a book, or an event.” That being the case, I will try anyway.

I have been fascinated with the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin interurban since I was a kid. We lived on the west side of Chicago, and among my earliest memories, I recall seeing a few CA&E trains crossing First Avenue in Maywood prior to the July 3, 1957 abandonment of passenger service.

After reading in the newspaper that the line was not coming back in 1961, I persuaded my family to take a Sunday drive to Wheaton Yards to look at the old cars. I noticed they did not have broken windows, unlike many of the wooden “L” cars that had been stored by the Chicago Transit Authority at Lockwood Yard on the Garfield Park line.

Once my last book (The North Shore Line) was published in 2023, the CA&E was a natural follow-up subject. As with my other books, I started out having some of the photos I needed, and had to hunt up and find the rest. The entire process took well over two years.

Researching these books is quite expensive, and the costs far exceed any potential future revenue from book sales. But there are other reasons for doing this. Books are our gift to the future. It’s as if we are leaving bread crumbs for future generations to follow, in tracing back our past.

Once my research was far enough along, I made a pitch for the book to Arcadia Publishing. They approved it, and that set the deadlines in motion that have now resulted in a finished book.

Determining how to organize the material is one of the most difficult aspects of book writing. There are three different considerations for a book like this– chronological, geographic, and thematic. Ultimately, the method that works for me is a combination of all three. It can take some time even to figure out the chapter titles for a book.

A lot of hard work was put into this book, in terms of research. But it was also hard work paying for all of it. I am very appreciative for the donations made by our readers, and for your purchases of the items we sell that help make all this possible. None of this would be possible without your help and support, for which I am grateful.

When starting a book project, it is impossible to determine everything that is needed to complete it. It’s like putting together a giant jigsaw puzzle, without first knowing what the pieces look like.

Each book finds its own path towards completion. Fortunately, for this book, I was gradually able to find many excellent, rare images. And by taking a “deep dive” into the history of my subject, I also reached conclusions that help make this book different than the ones that have come before it.

This is a book from the perspective of 2025, which makes it different from one written say, in 1965. The world has changed a lot in these many decades, perhaps not always for the better, but we have access to many photos and more information than it was possible to have then.

Now that my book is finished, you, the reader, will have the final say on its merits and ultimate value.

But wait, there’s more in this, our 315th post. We have continued to collect rare and interesting traction photos all this time, some of which are featured here. In addition, we have some South Shore Line news to share. Exciting things are happening there now.

Finally, on May 15th, WTTW, Chicago’s Public Television station, interviewed me in Kenosha, Wisconsin for a documentary they are working on, covering the history of railroads in Chicago. More information follows towards the end of this post.

Enjoy, and keep those cards and letters coming in, folks.

-David Sadowski

PS- You might also like our Trolley Dodger Facebook auxiliary, a private group that now has 2,200 members.

Our Latest Book, Now Available for Pre-Order:

The Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railway

FYI, my latest book will be released by Arcadia Publishing on July 8, 2025 and is now available for pre-order. I expect to have books prior to that date, and they will be shipped out as soon as I get them.

Each copy purchased here will be signed by the author, and you will also receive a bonus Chicago Aurora and Elgin track map. Books will ship by USPS Media Mail.

For Shipping to US Addresses:

Recent Finds

CA&E 432, seen here in Wheaton, was built by the Cincinnati Car Company in 1927, part of an order for 15 cars. 431 and 434 were the only cars saved by museums. (William C. Janssen Photo)

CA&E car 404 seems a bit lonely in this picture taken on June 13, 1957 at St. Andrews, on the line between Wheaton and Elgin. You can see how much of this branch did not have (and in many places, still do not have) large population centers. This was only about three weeks before the end of passenger service.

This picture, looking west at the CTA’s Forest Park Terminal, was taken on July 5, 1957, just two days after the interurban abruptly stopped running passenger service in mid-day, stranding thousands of commuters. Note the neon CA&E sign still hanging at right, which had once been downtown in front of the Wells Street Terminal. An inbound Garfield Park “L” train, made up of 4000-series cars, is at left. This terminal was reconfigured in 1959, while the Congress (now Eisenhower) expressway was under construction just south of here.

The Chicago Great Western Railway ran parallel to the Chicago Aurora and Elgin for several miles west of First Avenue in Maywood. Here, we see an eastbound freight train in Maywood (possibly near 11th or 9th Avenue) on March 14, 1957, when the CA&E still ran passenger service. Locomotive 111C was an F3 diesel, built by the Electro-Motive Division in March 1948. The Chicago and North Wesern, a CGW competitor, purchased the railroad in 1968. C&NW retained any long-haul lines CGW had, and abandoned all the short-haul ones such as this, as they were not profitable. Parts of the CGW right-of-way have become the Great Western Trail, much as the CA&E is now the Illinois Prairie Path.

CA&E steel cars 415 and 407 make up part of a five-car train at Wheaton.

After the CA&E officially went defunct as a railroad in 1961, its fleet of cars were put up for sale. The ten 450-series cars almost went to Cleveland for use on a planned rapid transit extension to an airport. But the project was delayed for several years, and the line finally opened in 1969 with the new Airporter cars seen here. Ultimately, only four of the ten cars were saved.

From 1908 until 1922, the Forest Park Amusement Park operated between the Aurora Elgin and Chicago (predecessor of the CA&E) tracks and the Waldheim cemetery. This real photo postcard view looks to the southwest. This was a major operation, with what was said to be the largest roller coaster in the US at that time, plus other rides including a Chute-the-Chutes. It was a major traffic generator for the interurban and the Garfield Park “L”, which also ran here. After Prohibition went into effect in 1920, the park could not make money and soon closed. The Eisenhower expressway runs through here now.

This advertisement, which appeared in the August 17, 1910 edition of the Chicago Evening American, shows how the AE&C used promotions to try and drum up business on the interurban. People worked a six day week then, and there was a need for more ridership on Sundays.

By 1906, the Aurora, Elgin and Chicago (predecessor of the CA&E) operated local service in Aurora and Elgin as well as an interurban along the Fox River connecting the two cities. Here, we see some local streetcars at Fountain Square in Elgin, circa 1907.

The AE&C station in Elgin was adjacent to a theater. Cars were boarded behind the building, as the interurban to Chicago did not have any street running in Elgin.

The CA&E’s end of the line in Elgin ran along the Fox River, rather than the street running it had in Aurora until 1939. The tracks here were directly behind the buildings seen in the previous picture.

AE&C car 202, built in 1906 by the Niles Car Company, is running in Elgin, on the interurban that connected Carpentersville on the north and Yorkville on the south. Following the AE&C bankruptcy in 1919, the Fox River line was reorganized into the Aurora Elgin and Fox River Electric. Passenger service ended in 1935.

The AE&C station in Aurora was located in this building, from 1915 to 1935. The Traction Terminal building, now the Hotel Arthur, still stands. Until the end of 1939, riders boarded in the street in Aurora.

A street scene in Aurora in the early 1900s.

Fox River Park, originally called Riverview, was located south of Aurora and was a major generator of traffic for the Aurora Elgin and Fox River Electric until it closed in 1925. It had to change its name after Riverview Park in Chicago became popular.

The AE&FRE interurban ran right to the entrance of Fox River Park.

After the AE&FRE ended passenger service in 1935, freight continued on a small portion of trackage in South Elgin, serving the State Hospital there.

The AE&FRE ran electric freight until 1946, when it purchased this small General Electric diesel engine #5. Here, it is seen running freight at the State Hospital in South Elgin in November 1972, shortly before that location stopped using coal, which ended the need for freight. The freight operation had shared trackage for a few years, starting in the mid-1960s with a trolley museum, originally called RELIC. That is now the Fox River Trolley Museum. Diesel engine #5 remains in their collection. The AE&FRE may still exist as a corporate entity. (Mike Schafer Photo)

Railroads typically gave passes to certain employees of other railroads, as seen here.

After the Chicago Aurora and Elgin quit operating freight service in June 1959, there were a few places where other railroads wanted to continue it. Elgin was one such place. This map shows how the Milwaukee Road purchased a short stretch of former CA&E trackage, already connected to it via an interchange, for access to the McGraw Edison plant there. As you can see in this map dated September 28, 1962, they purchased just enough track to service the plant.

In August 1957, an inbound Lake Street “B” train departs from the Marion Street station at South Boulevard. The outer portion of Lake (between Laramie Avenue and Forest Park) ran on the ground until October 28, 1962. Crossing gates were manually operated, and you can see the gateman’s shanty in the foreground (and who is that holding a stop sign?). The area has become much more built up in recent years, as there is nowhere to go but up.

This C. R. Childs real photo postcard, postmarked in 1907, shows the Lake Street “L” running left-handed at ground level. The view looks west along Lake at Central Avenue. The postcard says this is South Boulevard, but that name is used west of Austin (6000 W.) in Oak Park. This picture was taken prior to the construction of the Chicago and North Western’s embankment, located just to the right (north) of the “L”. The Lake and Northwestern elevated lines ran left-handed until the Loop was reconfigured to operated unidirectional (counter-clockwise) in 1913, when the north and south lines were through-routed to increase capacity. This section of Lake Street was renamed to Corcoran Place in the mid-1960s after the local alderman, a close friend of Mayor Richard J. Daley, died suddenly from a heart attack. We ran a colorized version of this photo in a previous blog post.

We are used to seeing pictures of Route 22 – Clark-Wentworth streetcars here at 81st and Halsted taken in the 1950s, when the line was operated with PCC cars. But prior to the arrival of the postwar cars, Clark used 1929-era Peter Witt cars (some call them “Sedans”) such as the 6286 you see here. This picture was taken in either 1940 or 1941, as that’s Chicago Surface Lines car 2802 right behind it. That would date the picture to either June 12, 1940 or July 13, 1941, as the same car was used on both CERA trips. Single-ended streetcars like the Witts and the PCCs had to make a backup move into traffic to proceed north from here, as there never was a turning loop at this location.

John Hallman generously donated this real photo postcard to us, which shows extension of the Grand Avenue streetcar line through the Mont Clare neighborhood in 1911. One of the men in the picture may be Thomas A. Rutherford, who donated land in 1915 that now makes up part of Rutherford Sayre Park. Extension of streetcar service to Grand and Harlem spurred the rapid development of the area. Streetcars were replaced by buses in 1951.

An early view of 43rd Street in Chicago, looking west from Langley Avenue (700 E.). Streetcar 5317 was built by Brill in 1907 for the Chicago City Railway.

This view, probably circa 1907, looks west along 43rd Street at Forrestville Avenue (528 E.). Streetcar 5370 was built by Brill-Kuhlman in 1907 for the Chicago City Railway.

This C. R. Childs real photo postcard view of the back of the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric (later the North Shore Line) station in Lake Forest indicates that this was taken prior to its 1910 completion.

An early view of the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric (later the North Shore Line) station in Zion, Illinois, apparently taken from the back of a moving train.

Chicago and Milwaukee Electric car #25 has stopped at the Chicago and North Western station in Highland Park in this early view. While the interurban (later known as the North Shore Line) attempted to eliminate as much street running as possible on what was eventually known as the Shore Line Route, a few sections remained– including this one.

Chicago Lake Shore and South Bend Railway car #74 was built by the Niles Car Company in 1908. Cars like these were replaced by new all-metal ones when successor company the South Shore Line began operating directly into Chicago in 1926 over the Illinois Central’s tracks. Prior to that, these coaches were hauled partway by steam. Sister car #73 is now owned by Bob Harris, who has already spent $1m of his own money to restore it back as close as possible to original condition.

Perhaps the timetable information from the back of this postcard can help date the photo.

Chicago Railways car #4352 presents a bit of a puzzle, as streetcar rosters only list numbers like this as having been used decades later by PCC cars. But it may be that car #4352 was originally bought by the Chicago Union Traction Company, which Chicago Railways took over in 1908. Some CUT cars were renumbered by CR in 1909, which probably helps date this photo. Chicago Railways became one of the underlying constituent companies of the Chicago Surface Lines in 1914. This car is shown operating on the Blue Island line.

South Chicago City Railway car #321 is parked by the South Side “L” at 63rd Street in the early 1900s. Don’s Rail Photos: “2841 was built by Jewett in 1903, (order) #148, as South Chicago City Ry 321. It became Calumet & South Chicago Ry 826 in 1908 and renumbered 2841 in 1913. It became CSL 2841 in 1914 and rebuilt as one man service in 1926. It was later converted as a salt car. It was renumbered AA93 in 1948 and retired on May 17, 1958.” So, this picture was taken between 1903 and 1908. If that’s the Englewood branch of the “L”, at Halsted, that station opened on December 24, 1906. That would suggest this picture dates to around 1907. See additional comments by Frank Hicks below.

After I obtained this image, I wrote to Frank Hicks:

FYI, this is a scan of a real photo postcard I recently purchased. As you have written about these cars on your Hicks Car Works blog, I thought it might interest you. I already did some restoration work on this one, but am not finished by any means.

This picture must have been taken somewhere along 63rd Street (Englewood “L” at Halsted?). Interesting that it survived until 1958.

His reply:

Thanks for sending this! That’s a great photo showing these cars as they appeared when new. This is the “front” of the car, as they were considered single-ended even though they had poles and controls at both ends. The coal-fired water heater was located on the front platform and that’s its smoke jack over the motorman’s head. Other neat details that were changed or removed later in the car’s career include the bracket for a hang-on headlight; unusual rope guard on the roof; the fender; peanut whistle; spikes on the roof to hold a removable sign board; and truss rods.

One thing I’ve never noticed before is the trucks: unfortunately it’s hard to see much detail, but they definitely aren’t the Taylor HSB2 trucks these cars had for nearly their entire service lives. I’ve even seen a different photo of car 321 in this paint scheme and it has HSB2 trucks, so what’s under it in this photo must not have lasted very long. Looking through my truck book, this design closely resembles a Peckham 18CX truck, though there are a few differences. Peckham was notorious for a wide variety of oddball designs, many rather similar to each other, so my guess is that the trucks under the car in this photo are Peckham 18’s of some description. Very cool!

Best regards,

Frank Hicks

There aren’t a lot of pictures from Evanston Railways, as streetcar service ended in 1935. Hence, this real photo postcard view of the car barn must also be considered rare.

This early real photo postcard view shows Chicago streetcar #1293, running on the Ashland Avenue route. This would be a sister car to “Matchbox” car #1374, which has been restored to operating condition at the Illinois Railway Museum. Don’s Rail Photos says that the cars in series 1101-1423 were “built by St. Louis Car in 1903 and 1906 for Chicago Union Traction Co. They are similar to the Robertson design without the small windows. Cars of this series were converted to one man operation in later years and have a wide horizontal stripe on the front to denote this. Two were used for an experimental articulated train. A number of these cars were converted to sand and salt service and as flangers.”

Chicago Union Traction car #4911 is on Clark Street in this early real photo postcard. The address here, 4362 North Clark, threw me off for a bit until I recalled that Chicago’s street numbers were changed at some point. The Chicago History Museum notes, “In 1909, street numbers changed, with a general rule of thumb that odd numbers became even and vice-versa. Madison was used as the baseline for numbering north and south while State was used as the baseline for numbering east and west.” So, 4362 N. Clark became 6335 N. Clark in 1909, some time after this picture was taken. That makes more sense, as the Devon Car House was located just north of 6400 N. Clark. Another version of this image appeared in one of our earlier posts in 2021, courtesy of Jeff Marinoff, but now we have an original in our collection. This car was later renumbered to 1382, making it a sister car to the Matchbox at IRM (if my math is correct).

This picture was labelled Baltimore, since there is a sign for the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. But it’s actually Chicago, and that’s the Travel and Transportation building at the 1933-34 Chicago World’s Fair (A Century of Progress).

This view of a CTA Stock Yards shuttle looks east from the Exchange Avenue station, and was taken between 1955 and 1957. This type of wooden “L” car was originally used on the Metropolitan West Side Elevated. A similar, although not identical, picture appears in my book Chicago’s Lost “L”s.

Chicago street railway RPO (railway post office) car #8 is shown in 1908. There is a similar car, now numbered 6, at the Fox River Trolley Museum, but that car may have been renumbered when it was rebuilt in 1942, so there is some possibility this may actually be the same car. Below the caption, you can read what the Fox River Trolley Museum has to say about car #6.

General
At least eight or more US cities had street railway post office cars in service on their streetcar systems with Chicago being one of them. Mail was moved between the central post office and branch stations and mail was actually sorted on the cars which had mail slots in the sides where a person could actually deposit a stamped letter. There were at least five different routes in Chicago, each with its own distinct post mark. On board sorting stopped in 1911 and use of the SRPO’s to transport bagged mail finally ended on November 22nd, 1915, as motor trucks and pneumatic tube systems took over the task.

History
The mail car has a murky history, but the best guess is that it was built as a double truck streetcar for the Cicero & Proviso Street Railway and that about 1900 through the consolidation of Chicago streetcar companies, it was converted to a Street Railway Post Office car at that time and was placed on a four-wheel Brill truck. When its use as street railway post office ended in 1915 the car was converted to work service and painted dark green like all service cars to distinguish it from the red and cream passenger cars. In 1942 our car was selected to be restored back to its Street Railway Post Office configuration. Its two traction motors were removed for use as spares for the system’s snow sweepers, so the car had to be towed by another streetcar. Its first known outing was in a street parade on October 16th, 1943, celebrating the opening of the Rapid Transit’s State Street Subway which had been constructed by the City of Chicago. Its next known event was on August 22nd , 1946 for the American Philatelic Society’s 60th annual convention where it was towed around the loop and once again special postcards and mail were cancelled on the car. Subsequentially it was brought out for special events and even after the conversion of the last streetcar line in 1958 it was occasionally trucked to special events. It was stored at the old Lawndale car house with other historic transit equipment for many years. When CTA decided to disburse this equipment, it was held for the Smithsonian’s then being planned Post Office Museum in Washington DC. When the Smithsonian declined to use it, the car was deeded over to the Fox River Trolley Museum where in the 1980’s and 90’s it would annually be used by the South Elgin Post Office to cancel mail during what was known as “Trolleyfest”. As USPS budgets tightened this finally ended and the car has been in storage ever since.

Photo Restoration

This Ektachrome slide was taken by William C. Hoffman on March 30, 1958, looking north along Wabash Avenue just south of Adams Street in Chicago. The North Shore Line had a station inside a building, with a direct connection to the Adams and Wabash “L” station. Unfortunately, the first version of Ektachrome had unstable dyes, and the dye layers other than red have faded badly. This problem was corrected in 1963 when the film was replaced by a new version. Using modern computer technology, it is sometimes possible to restore the color to a scan of such an image, sometimes not. The next photo shows how I was able to somewhat improve the picture. The only other option is to make a black-and-white version, which follows.

As you can see, parts of the image are too red, and other parts are too cyan. Since those are opposite colors, this is as far as the restoration train will go.

1955 Red Car Fantrip

There was a Farewell to the Red Cars fantrip in May 1954, sponsored by the Central Electric Railfans’ Association, held two weeks before buses replaced the older streetcars on several lines. After this, the CTA kept ten such cars for emergency use, and the rest were scrapped. Even so, it was found that ten were too many, and ultimately only 144, 225, and 460 were retained for a time, the latter becoming part of the CTA historical fleet of old equipment. That left but two cars for other uses, and this December 18, 1955 fantrip appears to have been the first in a series of excursions that continued up until the end of PCC service in June 1958. On this particular trip in 1955, I believe that was the one where it was promised it would use 144, and car 225 was used instead, with a piece of cloth that had the number 144 over the actual number. The pictures below are snapshots from that trip that I recently purchased. They are not very good pictures, but they do give a bit of the flavor of the event. A PCC car was typically sent along with in case of a breakdown, and such trips were usually held on a Sunday, when buses were substituted for streetcars on some of the remaining lines.

The South Shore Line Today

A westbound train at the 11th Street station in Michigan City.

I spent the weekend of May 18-19 in Michigan, and on the way back to Chicago, stopped off in Michigan City and Beverly Shores to take a few pictures of the South Shore Line. The street running in Michigan City has been replaced by a double-tracked private right-of-way. The facade from the old station has been incorporated into a parking garage. The new station is very nice.

There are now two sets of tracks at Beverly Shores as well. The historic Insull Spanish station, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, now hosts a gift shop and an art gallery. There are machines to purchase fares on the interurban. It is still a flag stop– one of only three left on the line, the others being Hudson Lake and Gary/Chicago International Airport.

Lots of good things are happening on the South Shore Line. The new branch line, which runs just on the Indiana side of the border with Illinois, is expected to begin service later this year. Since my visit, the 11th Street station has been dedicated.

The facade of the old station (designed by Insull staff architect Arthur U. Gerber) has been incorporated into the new one.

Looking west from the 11th Street station in Michigan City.

The view looking west along the right-of-way.

The Beverly Shores station was designed by Insull staff architect Arthur U. Gerber, and was built in 1929. There was originally one other such station on the South Shore Line (Lake Shore, built in 1927). It was demolished in the 1980s.

Originally, a ticket window would have been here. The rest of the building had living quarters for the station agent.

The current art exhibit.

The waiting room.

Carol Ruzic, the woman pictured here, spearheaded the effort to save the station in the 1980s, when it was threatened with demolition. She died earlier this year at the age of 96.

The nearby Beverly Shores Administration building has a tiled roof, just like the station.

This is how the Lake Shore station looked in November 1966. Unfortunately, it was not saved.

North Shore Line electric loco #455 is about to pass the Northbrook station on March 11, 1960. This was one of nine such “Insull Spanish” station on the Skokie Valley Route, all built in 1926. Briergate is the sole survivor.

Rails in Chicago Documentary

Geoffrey Baer with retired Kenosha master mechanic Brad Preston.

Here are some pictures from my WTTW taping session from May 15th. Our PBS station has begun filming a documentary about Chicago railroads. This was the first of twelve weeks of filming. Host Geoffrey Baer says we probably won’t see the finished product for another year.

After the crew finished their lunch break at the nearby historic Franks Diner, Kenosha’s Chicago tribute streetcar #4606 (originally from Toronto, although it has wheels and motors from an actual Chicago streetcar) became our set.

Once the lighting and cameras were set up, and our microphones were attached, the WTTW crew filmed Geoffrey Baer and yours truly while we talked, as the trolley went around the two-mile long loop a few times.

He has lots of experience doing this sort of thing. His method is to not talk much about the questions he has prepared before the cameras are recording, because your first answers are usually best. But sometimes he would ask me the same question again, in hopes of getting a bit more in the answer.

He’s an excellent interviewer, and his excitement about finding things out rubs off on the audience when you are viewing at home.

When we weren’t talking, they were still recording so they could have background audio they can use if needed. And before I even got there, they were out on the line filming exterior shots that they call “B roll footage.”

Even if fifteen minutes of fame gets distilled down to a fifteen seconds, it was a very interesting experience, and I hope they got what they were looking for. And it was nice to meet Geoffrey Baer, after seeing him host so many wonderful shows on WTTW.

The Franks Diner started out as a prefabricated structure in 1926, brought here by horsepower. It was later expanded and enclosed in brick.

Here, you can see the original exterior of the diner. This predated the more modern looking streamlined diners that are often seen in the East.

Help Support The Trolley Dodger

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Our 10th Anniversary

February 3, 2025April 28, 2025David Sadowski 16 Comments

An westbound two-car CTA “L” train crosses over the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal tracks circa November 1959. We are by Kenilworth Avenue in Oak Park during construction of the Congress (now Eisenhower) expressway. The highway is depressed below grade in this area, and the two railroads are in the south portion of the expressway footprint. All the buildings seen here are still extant. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

As of this January 21st, the Trolley Dodger blog is now ten years old. Each year since 1963, this date has commemorated the end of service on the North Shore Line interurban. I thought it would be a good date to associate with beginnings as well as endings.

It has been some months since our last post. We only had a few last year. This has led some people to ask about my health, or if I am still continuing with this.

Fact is, I am fine and have been busier than ever. In early December, we turned in our first draft of our next book, and this was accepted by our publisher. We have been scanning lots of images, and have added many important ones to our collection, some of which are featured here.

Acquiring new images costs money, and the research involved with our books is very expensive. Much of my work this past year has involved raising the funds to pay for all this. If you would like to help out, there is information further down in this post about our annual fundraiser.

We have been quite active on our Trolley Dodger Facebook group, which has added about 250 members since our last blog post. I realize that many of you are not on Facebook and therefore wouldn’t see any of that.

The Facebook group has been very useful as our members are very knowledgeable and are an aid to research. If I post something there that I am not sure about, I can often get locations identified quickly by someone on the group, along with finding out additional useful information.

My longtime friend Raymond DeGroote, Jr., who is 94, fell and broke his hip last November 1st. He needed partial hip replacement surgery, and contracted pneumonia while in the hospital. Ray went into a rehab facility, where he remained until January 22nd. Now he is back home once again, and is temporarily receiving round-the-clock care while he builds up his strength so he can negotiate those stairs. We wish him the best and hope he makes a full recovery.

I wanted this anniversary post to be extra special, and we have lots of exceptional, very rare images here for your consideration. Now that work on our new book is a lot further along, our hope is to have at least one new post every month for the rest of the year.

I have been interested in how the CTA transitioned the Garfield Park “L” into the Congress rapid transit line west of Laramie Avenue (5200 W.) for a long time. I was a small child when this construction was going on, and we lived in the area. Back in the 1980s, I wrote to the legendary George Krambles himself, asking how this was done. He replied there were at least three temporary rights-of-way, but that he was not clear on the details.

Since then, I have learned quite a bit about this, and some of that information (and many pictures) can be found in my 2018 Arcadia book Building Chicago’s Subways. Many more pictures have appeared on this blog.

Still, there were two remaining questions that needed answering. First, exactly where did the old Garfield Park alignment join up with the new Congress “L”? There was such a junction, we know, because service was offered on both lines simultaneously on June 21, 1958, and some maintenance work continued at the old Laramie Yard until around April 1959.

Second, where was the crossing between the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal tracks and the CTA moved to, while the new flyover was being built? They originally crossed each other at grade just east of DesPlaines Avenue in Forest Park. Now, there is a flyover that takes the freight line north of the CTA, and also carries both sets of tracks over the expressway (now I-290).

I recently discovered several photos by the late Jeffrey L. Wien that answer both questions. You will find them later in this post.

As I look back on our first ten years, I can honestly say that I have learned a lot. I thought I knew a few things when we started this journey, but it has been an educational experience for me. That is, in large part, due to our readers being so knowledgeable. So I have to thank all of you for that.

Another difference between now and then is our standards and capabilities for photo restoration have greatly improved. Experience is a great teacher, and we have worked on thousands and thousands of images since then.

My goal has always been to create a resource where people can find useful information about the history of electric railways. With over 1.1 million page views, I believe we have achieved that goal. When I do Google searches, doing my own research, the hits that come up often include things I have posted. Trolley Dodger pictures show up all the time on Facebook too.

I’m excited about the future as I look forward to the next ten years of the Trolley Dodger. And the best thing about this continued journey is we will do it together.

Enjoy!
-David Sadowski

PS- You might also like our Trolley Dodger Facebook auxiliary, a private group that now has 2,038 members.

Department of Corrections

This real photo postcard shows a crash between two Metropolitan “L” cars on the Humboldt Park branch. There is a different picture of the same wreck (again, from a RPP) on page 60 of my 2021 book Chicago’s Lost “L”s. The question was always, where was this taken? The best guess at the time was looking west from Kedzie Avenue (3200 W.) so that’s what I put in the book. On the other hand, Andre Kristopans thought it was near the west end of the line (Lawndale Avenue, 3700 W.). Turns out it was near Ballou station. This was later renamed to St. Louis Avenue (3500 W.) meaning it’s between where the two guesses were. Further research by Ron Tee turned up a March 15, 1909 article about the accident in the Herald News.

Our Annual Fundraiser

Since we started this blog in 2015, we have posted more than 16,000 images. This is our 314th post.

In the near future, we will need to renew our WordPress subscription, our domain registration, and pay other bills associated with maintaining this site, so it is time for our Annual Fundraiser.

The Trolley Dodger blog can only be kept going with the help of our devoted readers. Perhaps you count yourself among them.

If you have already contributed in the past, we thank you very much for your help. Meanwhile, our goal for this fundraiser is just $700, which is only a fraction of what it costs us each year. The rest is made up from either the profits from the items we sell, or out of our own pocket.

There are links at the top and bottom of this page, where you can click and make a donation that will help us meet our goal again for this coming year, so we can continue to offer you more classic images in the future, and keep this good thing we have going.

We thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Our Next Book Project

On December 7, 1958, CA&E wood cars 319 and 320 ran on a charter that became the last passenger movement on the railroad. Here, the fantrip train has reached the off-street Aurora terminal on a very wintry day. (Don Swanson Photo)

FYI, we are hard at work on our next book about the Chicago Aurora and Elgin interurban. Although we already have thousands of images, we start out on these book projects with some of what we need, and then have to find the rest. Some have generously shared their images with us, and some we have to pay real money for. In case you would like to help contribute to this effort, either by sharing images or making a donation, we would like to hear from you. All contributors will be mentioned in the book, which will be dedicated to the memory of the late Robert D. Heinlein. The most difficult images to find are always the earliest ones. You can contact me via Facebook messenger, at thetrolleydodger@gmail.com or via my blog. I thank you for your time and consideration.

CA&E locos 4005 and 4006 head up a freight train at Lakewood siding in June 1956. (Don Swanson Photo)

James P. Shulman took this picture of Chicago Aurora and Elgin #456 on January 12, 1947 at Wheaton, when this car was just about one year old. It was still lettered in Futura type.

Here is a picture of Chicago Aurora and Elgin #401 at the Wheaton station on March 18, 1956. (Raymond DeGroote, Jr. Photo)

Here is another picture of Chicago Aurora and Elgin #401 at the Wheaton station on March 18, 1956. We are looking to the east. (Raymond DeGroote, Jr. Photo)

This is how the abandoned Chicago Aurora and Elgin right-of-way looked in June 1960, nearly three years after the end of passenger service and one year after the last freight train. We are looking west from Fifth Avenue in Maywood. The gates have been removed but the tracks are still in place. Formal abandonment of the railroad was approved the following year.

Recent Finds

North Shore Line electric loco 456 is moving freight in North Chicago on the last full day of service, January 20, 1963. The weather was bitterly cold. There was no slacking off for the NSL’s employees, even though everyone knew the storied interurban had come to the end of the line. The photographer is not known, but I do think it’s very possible Jeffrey L. Wien is one of the three guys on the right… carrying a case that most likely has his movie camera in it. I think he’s the guy in the middle, grinning, because he’s in his element.

North Shore Line car #159 and an Electroliner are at the Mundelein Terminal in June 1961. The Liner was there on a fantrip, as they did not operate on this branch line in regular service. We are looking west.

North Shore Line express motors 238 and 231 are at Pettibone Yard in the 1950s. 238 has been converted to a snow plow, as the interurban had ended less-than-carload freight in 1947. This image was scanned from an 838 Kodachrome slide– which at 28x40mm is somewhat larger than 35mm’s 24x36mm. Kodak had a series of Bantam cameras that took this size, but it did not catch on.

North Shore Line car #703 is parked at Roosevelt Road in Chicago on a very snowy February 11, 1960.

The photographer must have been riding on a North Shore Line train to capture this picture on August 23, 1959. We are looking west towards the former Niles Center “L” station at Asbury Street in Evanston, last used in 1948. After being rented out to local businesses, the station building was torn down in the 1970s. The Skokie Swift began using these tracks in 1964, just over a year after the North Shore Line quit. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

CTA trolley bus 9361 was built by Pullman-Standard in 1948, and was retired on December 15, 1966. On February 26, 1965, it is heading west on Route 80 – Irving Park Road. The bus has just gone under the four-track North Side “L”. and is about to traverse the Milwaukee Road’s freight track just west of there. Until 1973, this track brought interchange freight to the CTA via the ground-level Buena Yard. Further north from here, there was a ramp connecting with the “L”. This was once a Milwaukee Road commuter line, but the Northwestern Elevated Railroad Company took over service north of Wilson Avenue in 1908. By 1912, this “Evanston Extension” of the “L” went as far north as Linden Avenue in Wilmette. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

On July 3, 1967, CTA trolley bus 9527 is eastbound on Irving Park Road, having just passed under the North-South “L”. This bus was built by Marmon-Herrington in 1951-52. The last Chicago trolley bus ran in 1973. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

This looks north from the 35th Street station on the South Side “L” on November 6, 1950. The walkway led to the former 33rd Street station, which had been closed the year before. The photographer noted that this walkway was used by students at the Illinois Institute of Technology. The walkway was closed on September 25, 1961. (William C. Hoffman Photo) M.E. writes, “This photo shows the three tracks that ran from south of Indiana Ave. north to Roosevelt Rd. The middle track was used by express trains (obviously not going in both directions simultaneously), and probably by North Shore Line trains that ran as far south as 63rd and Dorchester on the Jackson Park line for a time.
Your caption mentions the 33rd St. station. This trackage was the original South Side L from 1892, when the city was a lot smaller than today. So this trackage had a lot more stations, which (if I remember correctly) were at Congress, 12th St. (a.k.a. Roosevelt Rd.), 16th St., 18th St., 22nd St. (a.k.a. Cermak Rd.), 26th St., 29th St., 31st St., 33rd St., 35th St. and 39th St. (a.k.a. Pershing Rd.). Trains (other than express trains) on this structure stopped at all these stations (although after the State St. subway opened in 1943, mainline trains could serve L stations only as far north as 18th St.). This was before 1949, when the Kenwood line still used this trackage and before A/B skip-stop service began on the north/south mainline. After 1949, stations other than Cermak and 35th were closed to speed up service on this section. Cermak became a B (Jackson Park mainline) station and 35th an A (Englewood mainline) station.
By the way, until the 1949 major change, Englewood trains went not to Howard St. but to Ravenswood. Only Jackson Park, Evanston Express, and North Shore Line trains went to Howard. Before the 1949 cutback, Kenwood trains went into the Loop and some went as far north as Wilson Ave. After 1949, the Ravenswood line got its own trains between Kimball and the Loop.”

When Jeff Wien took this picture looking north along Pulaski Road at Irving Park Road in March 1973, CTA trolley buses were in their very last days. Here, we see 9624, a Marmon-Herrington, built in 1951-52. The Buffalo ice cream parlor was a local landmark for decades. Established in 1902, they moved to this location in 1918. It closed in 1978 and a gas station replaced it.

CTA prewar PCC car 7019 is heading north on Cottage Grove at 93rd on September 23, 1954. Route 4 streetcar service ended the following year. Our resident south side expert M.E. adds, “This intersection had a lot of trackage, for two reasons: (1) The 93rd-95th St. car line used Cottage Grove Ave. to move between 95th St. and 93rd St.; (2) A car barn was situated a block east on 93rd St. at Drexel. Notice all the trolley wire, which also indicates how much trackage existed at this intersection.”

Here’s the same location in October 2022.

On June 29, 1966, CTA single car unit 44 heads south from the Linden Avenue terminal, working an Evanston branch local. For a time, there was an automatic gate installed here to keep people and animals out of the yard. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

On July 14, 1963, this is the view looking south at South Boulevard on the Evanston branch of the “L”. As the sign at right notes, this was the changeover point from overhead wire to third rail. Evanston would not allow the “L” to use third rail north of here until 1973. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

Chicago Surface Lines Nearside streetcar #5773 is on Through Route 5: Cottage Grove – South Chicago in the late 1930s. Don’s Rail Photos: “5773 was built by Brill Car Co in 1912, #18322. It was retired on February 8, 1946.”

On May 11, 1958, William C. Hoffman captured this view, looking northwest towards the 43rd Street station on the Illinois Central Electric suburban service. You can see the former Kenwood “L” Terminal and Yard in the distance at 42nd and Oakenwald. That branch had closed on November 30, 1957, when its 50 year lease ran out with the Chicago Junction Railway, which owned it. This date also marked the end of wood cars on the “L”. The Kenwood “L” was demolished within a few years, although remnants still exist.

I was recently contacted by someone working on the effort to turn the old Kenwood “L” right-of-way into a south side version of the 606 Trail. They were wondering when the bridges over various streets were removed after the line was abandoned in November 1957. They were certainly gone by September 5, 1960, when this picture was taken at Vincennes Avenue.
(William C. Hoffman Photo)

Here is the former Kenwood “L” embankment at Cottage Grove Avenue on September 5, 1960. The Chicago Junction Railway was still active at this point, adjacent to the former “L”. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

A view of the old Kenwood “L” at Drexel Boulevard on September 5, 1960. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

This is where the old Ellis Avenue station was on the Kenwood “L”, as of September 5, 1960. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

We are looking north along Stony Island at 63rd Street on May 19, 1961. The eastern end of the Jackson Park “L” is at left. During the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, the “L” went further east of here. The Jackson Park branch has since been cut back to Cottage Grove. This image was restored from an early Ektachrome slide that had shifted to red. (William C. Hoffman Photo) M.E. writes, “In my early lifetime, the L structure over Stony Island Ave. was not there. The structure ended abutting Stony Island, but not spanning it. The streets here were a mini business district, there was a Greyhound bus station on Stony Island south of 63rd St., and Hyde Park High School was on Stony Island south of 62nd St. The 63rd St. streetcars traveled east to Stony Island, then turned right (south) to 64th St. to their terminal on 64th. To start their westbound trips, they went a block farther west on 64th St. to Harper, then north to 63rd St., then west. And of course Stony Island had its own streetcar line (and traffic ran in both directions).”

Chicago Transit Authority streetcar 3137 is at Root and Halsted (end of the 43rd Street car line) in 1952. The bridge belonged to the Stock Yard branch of the “L”. This was one of a few older trolleys that the CTA had painted in green and creme in the early 1950s. The sign at rear advertises the Chicago Daily Drovers Journal, founded in 1873 to report on the Union Stockyards. It is still in business today at: http://www.drovers.com (E. Rinke Photo)

Here’s how the Stock Yards “L” looked on Exchange Avenue near Racine Avenue on September 1, 1954. This “L” branchy was abandoned in 1957. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

We are looking west from the transfer bridge at the Indiana Avenue “L” station in the south side on November 6, 1950. By then, the Kenwood branch had become a shuttle. The CTA widened the platform so it could berth here, and northbound main line trains were relocated onto what had formerly been the express track (no longer in use, as the CTA had instituted A/B skip stop service). The Stock Yards branch always ran as a shuttle from the opposite platform. (William C. Hoffman Photo) M.E. notes: “This photo shows people on a wide platform. The space occupied by that platform was initially the third track that northbound mainline trains and northbound Kenwood trains used, before the Kenwood line was cut back to a shuttle from Indiana Ave. east. That change took place in 1949. This transfer bridge enabled passengers on:
(1) northbound mainline and Kenwood trains to reach southbound mainline trains and Stock Yards trains, and
(2) southbound mainline and Stock Yards trains to reach northbound mainline trains and Kenwood trains.”

On August 30, 1960, a southbound eight-car train is at 35th Street on the South Side “L”.
Construction of a new center-island platform has started. This turned out to be ill-fated, as the station was destroyed by fire not long after it opened. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

The picture was taken on October 18, 1962, the day after the station fire at 35th Street. It shows the train with the burned up car and a crowd of people nearby, including the fire department. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

Subject: CSS&SB South Shore Line Hegewisch Station 1970s
Location: Chicago, Illinois (Hegewisch neighborhood)
Date: Circa 1970s
Photographer: Unknown
This picture shows the old South Shore Line station at Hegewisch, near the Illinois-Indiana border. It was replaced by a newer station in 1992, and as this slide has square corners, it probably predates 1981.

Subject: CSS&SB South Shore Line Interurban #104
Location: Michigan City, Indiana
Date: April 1963 (processing date)
Photographer: Emery J. Gulash
Emery J. Gulash (1918-2006) was a very well known railfan photographer.
CSS&SB #104 was built by Pullman in 1926, job #4936. It was lengthened in 1943. Air conditioning and picture windows came in 1950. All cars in this series were retired by 1983, and many went to museums. The facade from the historic Michigan City station has been saved and is planned to be reused with a new building behind it. The South Shore Line street running has been replaced by new double track on private right-of-way.

Subject: CSS&SB South Shore Line Electric Loco #901 (and presumably #900)
Location: Unknown
Date: Circa 1950-55 (based on the style of slide mount
Photographer: Unknown
CSS&SB electric steeplecab #901 was built by Baldwin/Westinghouse in 1929 as IC #10001. The CSS acquired it in 1941. It appears to have been retired sometime in the 1960s.

Whenever a movie theatre pops up in one of these photos, I post it to Cinema Treasures. Pittsburgh Railways PCC streetcar #1724 passes the Art Cinema at 809 Liberty Avenue on March 23, 1968. The adult theatre was offering a double feature of Fanny Hill Meets Dr. Erotica and Unholy Matrimony. It opened in 1931 as the Avenue Cinema and was renamed the Art Cinema in 1935. Redeveloped in 1995, it is now the Harris Theatre. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

On February 23, 1957, Queensboro Bridge streetcar #602 is posed by a BMT “A” train. The bridge train stopped running on April 7, 1957, as the last streetcar in New York City. Car 602 was built in 1929 by Osgood-Bradley for New Bedford, Massachusetts. Although similar in appearance to Brill Master Units, these cars were called Electromobiles. Several came to the bridge operation in 1948.

This circa 1948 picture of CTA “Jitterbug” 5002 caused a lot of discussion on our Facebook group, namely, where is this? But the consensus is, this is the original turnaround loop at DesPlaines Avenue on the Garfield Park “L”, looking east. William Shapotkin says the Chicago Great Western’s control tower is just barely visible at left. The yard here, and the turnback loop, were reconfigured in 1953 when the Chicago Aurora and Elgin cut back service to here. It was rebuilt again in 1959 during construction of the adjacent expressway.

From 1940 to 1952, the Pacific Electric ran in the median of the Hollywood Freeway (now U.S. Route 101) through Cahuenga Pass in Los Angeles. Here we see it during a 1948 fantrip. I can’t quite make out the car number. The Chicago Transit Authority opened its Congress rapid transit line in an expressway median in 1958, but by then, this one was already gone, and the space is now occupied by additional highway lanes.

CTA #4410, built in the early 1920s, is part of a fantrip train at Lake and Homan on October 21, 1973. This was about a month before the 4000s were taken out of service. (Arthur H. Peterson Photo)

We are looking northwest from Marshfield Avenue towards the Lake and Paulina “L” junction on August 15, 1963. The Paulina “L” still crossed over the Lake Street “L”, but the tracks north of here were only being used for shop moves, work trains, and charters by this point. A new connection to the Lake Street “L” was used by Douglas Park trains from 1954 to 1958, and is used by Pink Line trains today. The white structure was added during construction of this connection for use by the work crews. The upper level tracks here, along with the Lake Transfer station and trackage all the way north to the Milwaukee Subway was removed in 1964. (William C. Hoffman Photo) M.E. adds, “You may want to add to your caption that, after the Dearborn St. subway opened in 1951, this segment of trackage also provided the only way to move L cars between the Logan Square – Dearborn St. subway – Congress and LaSalle St. line and the rest of the system.”

The view looking north from around Chicago Avenue along the old Paulina “L” on June 26, 1960 during a fantrip. New CTA single car units 41 and 42 were used. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

This is the old Paulina “L” bridge over what are now Metra tracks. On June 26, 1960, the “L” structure was still intact all the way between Lake Street and the Milwaukee Avenue Subway, but only the southbound track was in use for shop moves, equipment transfers, work cars, and fantrips like this. The bridge is still there, used for signals. (William C. Hoffman Photo) (William C. Hoffman Photo)

To capture this view today, showing the north portal of the Milwaukee Avenue Subway, you would need a drone. But on June 26, 1960, you could take this picture while looking out the window of a fantrip train, turning sharply south onto the old Paulina “L”. That structure was demolished in 1964. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

To get this shot, the photographer must have been on a boat in the Chicago River, passing under the Van Buren Street bridge. We see the two side-by-side bridges used by the Metropolitan “L”. They were still in service for Garfield Park “L” trains when this picture was taken on May 12, 1957. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

By July 26, 1959, when this picture was taken, the Garfield Park “L” was no longer running, so the twin Met “L” bridges had been permanently raised. They were torn down around 1961. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

Another view of the Met “L” bridges, also from July 26, 1959. It was taken from the east side of the Chicago River, as you can see the 547 W. Jackson building in the distance.(William C. Hoffman Photo)

On July 28, 1958, the old Metropolitan “L” structure, last used by the Garfield Park “L” the month before was being demolished in this view looking east from Morgan Street. The new Congress line, which replaced it, is at right. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

By November 18, 1962, when this picture was taken, there were still a few remnants of the old Metropolitan “L”. This is what’s left of the old Canal Street “L” station after the structure here was torn down in 1961.
(William C. Hoffman Photo)

This is the view looking east along Van Buren Street at Ogden Avenue on June 17, 1958. We see the temporary Garfield Park “L” right-of-way, and the new Congress “L” at right, which would replace it five days later. Meanwhile, a Douglas Park “L” train rides along on the Paulina “L”. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

The same location, looking the same way, but on July 9, 1957. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

On October 19, 1953, demolition of the Garfield Park “L” structure was well underway in this view looking northwest from Claremont (2332 W.) and the construction site of the Congress expressway. The portion crossing Western Avenue has been removed.
(William C. Hoffman Photo)

This is all that was left of the Western Avenue “L” station on the Garfield Park “L” on November 1, 1953. This station was last used on September 27, 1953. For nearly five years, Garfield Park trains ran on a ground-level temporary right-of-way on Van Buren Street, just north of the expressway footprint to the left. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

As of July 27, 1958, when this picture was taken, the new CTA Congress “L” had been running for a month, and the old Garfield Park structure was still there. This was near Kilbourn Avenue (4500 W.), one of two places where it crossed the highway. The “L” was finally removed by November 1959. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

The solid gray line shows how the old Garfield Park “L” cut across the Congress (now Eisenhower) expressway just west of Kostner (4400 W.). Disregard the purple line, that’s just marking different sections of the map.

Here is the partially demolished Garfield Park “L” structure. looking east at Kostner Avenue (4400 W.) from a slide processed in November 1959. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

The Congress (now Eisenhower) expressway was completely shut down during removal of the Garfield Park “L” structure, where it crossed the highway just west of Kostner (4400 W.). This slide was processed in November 1959. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

When the Congress expressway was built, the Garfield Park “L” crossed its footprint at two locations– here (4500 W.) and at Sacramento Boulevard (3000 W.). The existing “L” structures were retained, supported by additional steel called an “interlining.” That is how the Englewood “L” is supported now, where it crosses the Dan Ryan expressway. I do not know if any of the steel supports there came from here. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

Since the Congress expressway was shut down temporarily for removal of the old Garfield Park “L”, it looks like photographer Jeffrey L. Wien walked over to the fence near the Congress “L” to get this shot near Kilbourn Avenue (4500 W.).

We are looking east from Cicero Avenue, as the Garfield Park “L” was being dismantled circa November 1959. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

A contemporary view of the same location.

After taking the previous picture, it appears that photographer Jeffrey L. Wien walked west along the temporarily closed Congress expressway for this shot of a two-car westbound Congress train near Cicero Avenue. This slide was processed in November 1959.

This pair of CTA flat-door 6000s is signed for Garfield Park in this circa 1955-58 photograph. But it’s not entirely clear where the location is. My guess is this at Central Avenue, by comparison with the next picture, where the location was identified. This was scanned from an original Ektachrome slide that had faded to red. I had attempted to color-correct this same slide (or one just like it) ten years ago, without success, but now this one doesn’t look too bad. It was a lot of work, though.

Here’s how the slide looked before I started working on it.

CTA 6039-6040 are at Central Avenue on the Garfield Park “L” on March 25, 1958. This was another early Ektachrome slide that had faded to red. On June 22, 1958, the CTA opened the new Congress rapid transit line as far west as the Cicero Avenue station. The Congress expressway was only open as far as Laramie Avenue, and construction gradually headed west. The “L” used a variety of temporary rights-of-way until everything was finished in 1960. Presumably, the tracks at right connected to the new Congress median right-of-way, while the ones at left went to the old Garfield alignment (which included Laramie Yard).

If this map, made by a Google user, is accurate, it shows where the Garfield Park “L” ran at ground level in the area by Central Avenue (5600 W.). The Lotus Tunnel is not shown, but would be in approximately the same location as where the Garfield “L” ran, east of Central, bringing the current “L” into the expressway median. If true, this would suggest the Garfield tracks were temporarily relocated to the north of where the tunnel is, but I am not sure if that is what really happened.

This picture was taken at the same time as the previous one at Central Avenue. The crossing gate at left has been removed, which supports my theory that Central Avenue was closed for traffic. In earlier photos at this location, Garfield Park trains were using tracks that veered off to the left. Now, Congress trains headed off to the right. The two-car train of flat-door 6000s has a run number and is on the westbound track. In the next picture, the train has its headlight on and also seems to be heading west. This slide was processed in November 1959. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

While the Congress median line opened as far west as Cicero Avenue on June 22, 1958, service west of there remained on various temporary rights of way until 1960. Here, we are looking east at the temporary “L” station at Central Avenue, circa November 1959. Generally speaking, there were perhaps three different temporary alignments, and the progression was to keep moving the “L” farther north, until the permanent alignment was ready. Here, what had been an island platform was, by the time this photo was taken, only being used by one set of tracks. You can see where some of the rails on the south end of the platform have been removed. Central Avenue appears closed to traffic, as an underpass was being built, going underneath the highway. There is a control tower at Central Avenue, to switch trains to either the old Garfield alignment at left, or the Congress route at right. By November 1959, this tower probably wasn’t in use. It was necessary to have continued access to Laramie Yard until about May 1959, as the new facilities in Forest Park were not ready yet. Graham Garfield’s excellent chicago-l.org web site explains: “On October 16, 1959, the permanent eastbound Congress Line track was placed in service between Parkside and Pine avenues thru Lotus Tunnel. A temporary side platform was placed in service. Three days later, on October 19, the permanent westbound track and a temporary westbound side platform was placed in service, closing the previous temporary platform. Meanwhile, between the permanent tracks, the new, permanent island platform was constructed. The new Central station platform (with temporary fare controls) was placed in service on October 10, 1960, with westbound trains first using it, followed by eastbound trains the next day. On October 11, 1960, the third and final temporary Central station was closed.” It’s not clear how this photo fits into the sequence of events, unless the temporary island platform became a side platform as seen here. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

This January 1960 view, looking northeast, shows the temporary Central Avenue side platform station during construction of the Congress expressway. The CTA Congress median line had opened as far west as Cicero Avenue in June 1958, but farther west, used a series of temporary ground level alignments while highway work continue. The temporary station here was in use from October 1959 until October 1960, when the permanent center platform station opened. You can see a stairway for the new platform, built into the concrete wall of the Central Avenue underpass. The side platforms allowed for simultaneous construction of the new station. The expressway originally ended at Laramie Avenue (5200 W.), but was extended to Central (5600 W.) in early 1960, and finally opened to Oak Park, Forest Park, and Maywood in October 1960. Newly delivered single car unit 22 heads up this westbound Congress-Milwaukee “A” train. East of here, the tracks curve off to go into the Lotus Tunnel, taking the line into the expressway median. Ultimately, this station did not develop much ridership, and closed in 1973, although it is still extant. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

CTA Congress (now Blue Line) “L” trains switch from the expressway median to an alignment at the south end of the highway via the Lotus Tunnel, seen here in March 1971 with a pair of westbound 6000s. We are just east of Central Avenue. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

This slide, processed in November 1959, shows an eastbound Congress-Milwaukee “L” train, made up of single-car units 39-40, at Austin on Chicago’s west side. The Congress expressway was under construction, but hadn’t reached this point quite yet. The train is running on temporary trackage at ground level.
At left, that’s Columbus Park. When the highway was built, a bit of the south end of the park got shaved off.
In the distance you can see Loretta hospital and also the temporary station at Central Avenue. The B&OCT tracks are to the south of the CTA, and the crossover point was west of here. The temporary Central station was in the same location as the permanent one, but the temp station had two platforms on the outside of the tracks, while the permanent station has a central platform.
When the Garfield Park “L” became the Congress line, the new portion only ran as far west as Cicero Avenue. Everything west of there was the same as before. There were a few different alignments of temporary tracks leading to DesPlaines Avenue, with the CTA and B&OCT leapfrogging each other at times. The current alignment was finished in 1960, which is also when this part of the highway opened. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

We are looking mainly to the east from Austin Avenue, the borderline between Chicago and suburban Oak Park, in March 1971. This shows where the permanent alignment of the Congress (now Blue Line) “L” goes, compared to the previous picture. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

We are looking east from Austin Avenue along the future site of the Congress expressway circa November 1959. The highway would slice off a small part of Columbus Park at left. The Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal tracks are at right. Far in the distance, bulldozers are clearing the way for the expressway. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

In this slide, processed in November 1959 but possibly taken earlier, we see an eastbound Congress A train approaching the Austin Avenue station in the distance. A bridge is under construction that spans the portion of the highway footprint that has already been dug out. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

The same location as the previous slide, but this time, with a westbound train. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

This circa November 1959 view looks east just west of Lombard Avenue in Oak Park. A westbound train approaches. In the distance, you can just make out the “L” station at Austin Avenue. The orange bridge under construction is Lombard Avenue. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

The same location today. We are looking east along Flournoy Street at Lombard Avenue in Oak Park, In the distance, we see the same house as in the 1959 photo.

This is the same location as the previous picture, with an eastbound train. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

Oak Park residents may be surprised to know there was once an “L” station at Ridgeland Avenue on what is today the CTA Blue Line. But it was short-lived, only open from September 1957 until March 1960. This slide was processed in November 1959. The Garfield Park “L” previously had a station at Gunderson Avenue, a side street a few blocks west of here. It was on a side street because that’s where some new homes were built by a developer named Gunderson at the turn of the century. The CTA originally planned a permanent station here, but opted for secondary entrances to the stations at Austin (Lombard) and Oak Park Avenue (East Avenue) instead. You can see the bridge that crosses the highway at Austin Avenue under construction in the distance. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

CTA 6123-6124 are heading eastbound at the temporary Oak Park Avenue station in Oak Park in March 1960. These cars formerly were used on the Evanston branch “L” and had trolley poles for use there (third rail was not permitted). These have been removed, as the Congress line was all third rail, but you can see remnants. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

A westbound CTA two-car train is about to take the crossover at Kenilworth Avenue in Oak Park during a snowy March 1960. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

An eastbound CTA train has just crossed over the B&OCT tracks near Kenilworth Avenue in Oak Park in this circa November 1959 view. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

An eastbound two-car CTA train of flat-door 6000s has just crossed the B&OCT tracks at Kenilworth Avenue, a short distance west of Oak Park Avenue in March 1960. Near Central Avenue, the B&OCT tracks are south of the CTA. By the time they reach the Forest Park terminal, they are north of the CTA. Before the start of the highway project, the crossover point was just east of DesPlaines Avenue. While a new flyover was under construction near that location, the crossover was temporarily moved further east, as seen here. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

The bank building in the distance is still there today. It looks as though the bridge over the future highway may be under construction already, in this circa November 1959 view looking east towards Oak Park Avenue. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

CTA 4235 (at left) is at the head of a westbound two-car CERA fantrip train in Oak Park, on temporary trackage during construction of the adjacent Congress (now Eisenhower) expressway. The date is September 14, 1958. By 1955, the new highway was already open as far west as Laramie Avenue. There were two parallel sets of tracks west of there, through Oak Park and Forest Park, the CTA and the Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal. The tracks were moved in stages to the north end of the expressway footprint. Then, the area to the south was dug out and by 1960, the tracks were relocated to their present location just south of the highway, which opened the same year. The location was identified as Ridgeland but I believe it is actually west of Oak Park Avenue. You will note how the B&OCT tracks are north of the CTA in this 1958 photo. That would imply the temporary crossover that brought them there was located east of here at the time. Photos from November 1959 show this crossover was at Kenilworth Avenue, just west of Oak Park Avenue. (Robert Heinlein Photo)

In March 1960, we are looking east along the expressway footprint from just east of Harlem Avenue. In the far distance, you can just make out where the CTA tracks curve to the north and cross the B&OCT at grade. A Chicago and West Towns bus is also just barely visible on Oak Park Avenue. The CTA train is heading westbound and is just about to stop at the temporary Harlem Avenue station. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

A pair of CTA single-car units heads east on temporary trackage at Harlem Avenue in March 1960. This was during construction of the Congress (now Eisenhower) expressway, which opened in this area later in the year. Notice how the CTA tracks veer off to the left in the distance, while the B&OCT tracks are already north of the “L”. While the current flyover arrangement was being built west of here, the location of where the two railroads crossed was moved somewhere further east. Originally, they crossed at grade a short distance east of today’s flyover. The single-car units were brand new and were first assigned to Congress-Milwaukee before some began being used on Evanston in 1961. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

An eastbound Congress “L” train has just passed Harlem Avenue in March 1960. The two railroads here are on ground-level temporary tracks, while their eventual home is at right, below grade. Harlem Avenue is the dividing line here between Forest Park and Oak Park. There are below-grade traffic lanes where the railroads were. The Baltimore and Ohio Chicago Terminal tracks are, at this point, north of the CTA’s. They crossed each other at a point further east of here while construction of a new flyover was underway a short distance west of Harlem. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

It’s March 1960, and CTA single car units #25 and 26 are heading westbound on the Congress route temporary trackage at Harlem Avenue. The expressway was still under construction here at this time, and would open later in the year. Here, the B&OCT tracks are north of the CTA. The crossing point between them appears to be off in the distance, where you can see the CTA veer off. Now there is a flyover west of Harlem Avenue that takes the B&O over the CTA. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

CTA 6041-6042 head east at the temporary Harlem Avenue station in March 1960. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

This March 1960 view looks northwest from Harlem Avenue, along the future site of the Congress expressway. The retaining wall at left may be for the eventual ramp used today by westbound traffic, which enters via the left lane. The CTA and B&OCT temporary tracks are at grade level, but were relocated later in the year into a cut at left of this picture, just out of view. In the distance, at left, you can see a large gas holder, then a local landmark, but which has since been removed. As this is west of Harlem, everything you see is in suburban Forest Park. DesPlaines Avenue is a half-mile west of here. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

At noon on Sunday, October 12, 1958, a two-car CTA train made up of flat-door 6000s heads east from the DesPlaines Avenue terminal in Forest Park. There were three sets of tracks for motorists to cross on DesPlaines Avenue. From the looks of the tower at left, the CTA’s may have been manually operated. After the highway project was completed, an underpass took traffic underneath all three. The concrete slab at left is probably where a temporary bypass road took DesPlaines Avenue traffic around the construction site, while the underpass was being built. The view looks northwest. (Robert A. Selle Photo)

CTA 6191-6192 approach the DesPlaines Avenue Terminal in Forest Park circa 1959, when the Congress expressway was being built nearby.

Recent Correspondence

A Garfield/Westchester “L” train crosses the B&OCT tracks in Forest Park, circa 1948. This area has changed so much as to be virtually unrecognizable, but we are looking to the east. The freight tracks are turning to the north, while the “L” turns south towards DesPlaines Avenue. Behind the “L” train, out of view, is the Hannah Avenue station. East of here, the two trains ran parallel to each other to about Central Avenue, a distance of about two-and-a-half miles. The Eisenhower expressway runs through here today, with a flyover keeping the CTA Blue Line apart from the B&OCT as they cross each other (and the highway).

The Hannah Avenue “L” station (7400 W/700 S) in Forest Park, circa 1948.

Jack Franklin writes:

This edition was especially meaningful to me. I was in middle and high schools on the west side of Chicago Austin area, when the Congress X-way was being built. I rode on the Garfield Park L all the time during the transition. From ground level to to elevated to street running and other modes. When I would go to the Forest Park pool (Now the Forest Park Aquatic Center) with my cousin Bob who lived down the street from it, I would watch the Garfield Park L cross the B&O tracks just north of the pool.

One day while we were hanging out at the pool and looking for girls, I saw an L train derail heading westbound toward the crossing. There were derails in place on the L tracks, so the train must have tried to go through an open one. Some scurrying around by wreck crews and the L train was quickly back on the rails again. Lots of excitement.

In 1959, I was working in the Horder’s Warehouse at Clinton and Jackson across from Union Station. From our office windows we could see the elevated structure being taken down and the bridges being dismantled. Your pictures brought back some memories for me.

Jon Roma writes:

David, this is apropos of my comment to your 10th anniversary post, regarding the Metropolitan “L” station labeled as Clinton St., but actually named Canal St. (see comments section)

It turns out that I have an image showing the actual front façade of that station, albeit from a bit more distance than I would have preferred. This is one of my favorite bought slides, and I think the CPD officer on foot patrol in the foreground adds a bit of color to this fascinating street scene that includes the Metropolitan “L” and Chicago Union Station.

The slide does not carry any identifying information, so, alas, there is no photographer to credit. Feel free to use this as you see fit.

Some of my recent replies are long-winded, but that’s a reflection of how thought-provoking the shared images are to me.

Great photo, thanks for sharing! I have updated the caption to the photo you refer to, changing it to Canal Street.

Again, Jon Roma:

Hi, David.

I just tried to post a reply to the comment about the street crossing just south of the Linden Ave. yard in Wilmette, but I think it may have gotten eaten by WordPress. I can try reposting if it is truly lost.

https://i0.wp.com/thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/ebf059a.jpg

My comment expressed doubt that the middle rail has anything to do with the crossing warning devices, but its purpose is a mystery. Incidentally, I also tried to share the morsel that the crossing still exists.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/XBSqEAJHiaoLNHuU6

The pictures of the various track alignments along the Congress Expressway in Oak Park and River Forest are fascinating, but they open up several cans of worms because we are forced to try to piece together the construction staging in the absence of factual details. Because public funds were used for the highway and subway work, the documents probably exist – albeit in some yet-to-be-uncovered location buried deep in a library – perhaps in Springfield, or even here in Urbana-Champaign.

It is revealing that the B&OCT/CTA crossing appears to have moved at least once before the permanent alignment and grade separation were put into service. To a signal historian like me, this begs the question about what they did with the interlocking in the interim. The old interlocking governed the crossings of CRT/CTA and the B&OCT in addition to the split where B&OCT became two separate main lines belonging to the Soo Line and CGW. Of course, once the CTA construction was complete, the interlocking devolved into just the split, as the CTA was by then no longer part of the plant.

It’s conceivable that there was a temporary interlocking when the tracks were relocated, though that would have been a somewhat expensive proposition. If the interim situation persisted for more than a few months, it would likely be documented in at least one B&OCT operating timetable.

As I mentioned in my public comment a few days ago, I am very happy that the Trolley Dodger is back. I will reiterate how happy I am to hear that you are hoping for shorter and more frequent posts, because I think they’re easier to follow and digest.

Regards.

Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks.

-David Sadowski

Our Latest Book, Now Available:

The North Shore Line

FYI, my new Arcadia Publishing book The North Shore Line is now available for immediate shipment. My publisher decided to expand it to 160 pages, instead of the usual 128. That’s a 25% increase, without any change to the $23.99 price. I am quite pleased with how this turned out.

From the back cover:

As late as 1963, it was possible to board high-speed electric trains on Chicago’s famous Loop “L” that ran 90 miles north to Milwaukee. This was the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad, commonly known as the North Shore Line. It rose from humble origins in the 1890s as a local streetcar line in Waukegan to eventually become America’s fastest interurban under the visionary management of Midwest utilities tycoon Samuel Insull. The North Shore Line, under Insull, became a worthy competitor to the established steam railroads. Hobbled by the Great Depression, the road fought back in 1941 with two streamlined, air-conditioned, articulated trains called Electroliners, which included dining service. It regained its popularity during World War II, when gasoline and tires were rationed, but eventually, it fell victim to highways and the automobile. The North Shore Line had intercity rail, commuter rail, electric freight, city streetcars, and even buses. It has been gone for nearly 60 years, but it will always remain the Road of Service.

Each copy purchased here will be signed by the author, and you will also receive a bonus North Shore Line map. Books will ship by USPS Media Mail.

Chapters:
01. Beginnings
02. The Milwaukee Division
03. The Shore Line Route
04. The Skokie Valley Route
05. The Mundelein Branch
06. On the “L”
07. City Streetcars
08. Trolley Freight
09. The Long Goodbye
10. The Legacy

Title The North Shore Line
Images of America
Author David Sadowski
Edition illustrated
Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2023
ISBN 1467108960, 978-1467108966
Length 160 pages

The price of $23.99 includes shipping within the United States.

For Shipping to US Addresses:

New Compact Disc Titles, Now Available:

HFIH
Hi-Fi Iron Horse
Price: $15.99

Hi-Fi Iron Horse is a unique collection of early steam recordings, made between 1949 and 1954. Portable tape recorders were not yet available when the earliest of these was made, but there was still another source for making high-quality audio– the optical sound track of motion picture film.

Featuring in-service steam of the Baltimore & Ohio, Bessemer & Lake Erie, Burlington, Canadian National, Delaware & Hudson, East Broad Top, Erie, Grand Trunk Western, Huntingdon & Broad Top Mountain, Western Maryland, and Rutland Railway.

Total time – 50:49

TSOS
The Sound of Steam
Reading 2124
Price: $19.99

Three very rare, out of print North Jersey Recordings LPs, now digitally remastered on two CDs at a special price.

The Sound of Steam offers a comprehensive overview of the twilight days of steam railroading in North America, with sounds recorded between 1957 and 1964. Railroads featured include the Denver & Rio Grande Western, Union Pacific, Canadian Pacific, Duluth, Missabe & Iron Range Railway, Gainesville Midland Railroad, Pennsylvania Railroad, Reading Railroad, Canadian National, Twin Seams Mining Company, Nickel Plate, Colorado & Southern, Norfolk & Western, Buffalo Creek & Gauley, Monadnock, Steamtown & Northern, Rockton & Rion Railway, and the National Railways of Mexico.

Reading 2124 features recordings made in 1959 and 1960 on a series of “Iron Horse Rambles,” excursion trips through eastern Pennsylvania. The Reading Company had retained this class T-1 4-8-4 for emergency use after steam was retired on the railroad. Seven years after the last Reading steam loco had hauled a passenger train, a series of 51 special excursion trips were held, ending in 1964. These have since been revived, and the Rambles continue.

Total time – 69:54 (Disc 1) and 61:20 (Disc 2)

RWW-V103
Rods, Wheels, and Whistles
Voice of the 103
Price: $19.99

Two very rare, out of print North Jersey Recordings LPs, now digitally remastered on two CDs at a special price.

Rods, Wheels, and Whistles features the sounds of the Pennsylvania Railroad and the Norfolk and Western Railway, recorded in the twilight years of steam. This LP was originally issued in 1958, but our version is taken from the revised and expanded edition, which includes additional recordings from 1959.

Voice of the 103 documents the former Sumter and Choctaw Railroad #103, a 2-6-2 locomotive built in 1925 by the Baldwin Locomotive Works, after it was refurbished in 1962 to operate on the Middletown and New Jersey. This was an excursion service of the Empire State Railway Museum, which has since moved to a new location and no longer operates trains. The 103 is now on static display.

Our collection is rounded out with three bonus tracks from the Strasbourg Railroad, when old number 31 ran excursion trains on the oldest short line railroad in the United States (chartered in June 1832), joining the Pennsylvania Dutch towns of Strasbourg and Paradise in the early 1960s.

Total time – 46:15 (RWW) and 49:26 (V103)

Help Support The Trolley Dodger

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Our 300th Post

June 14, 2023October 26, 2023David Sadowski 5 Comments

CTA PCC 7195 is southbound on Clark Street at Van Buren Street on June 20, 1958– the last full day of streetcar operation in Chicago. Bob Heinlein took this picture from the Loop “L” station, offering a good look at the “old” downtown. This was color corrected from an early Ektachrome slide that had shifted to red.

The Trolley Dodger blog has reached a new milestone, as this is our 300th post. We always try to do our best with every post, but hope we have made this one even more special.

Among many other things, we have begun scanning some of the pictures we have collected for our next book, featuring the Chicago Aurora and Elgin interurban. Our work on that is ongoing, and our research is expected to take the rest of this year. Your contributions to this effort are greatly appreciated, as we have already spent over $2500 on research since January.

We hope that you will enjoy it. Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks.

-David Sadowski

PS- You might also like our Trolley Dodger Facebook auxiliary, a private group that now has 1,272 members.

Here’s North Shore Line (technically Chicago and Milwaukee Electric) city streetcar 354 changing ends in front of the Milwaukee Terminal, circa 1950-51. This line had previously run to 2nd and Wisconsin, a few blocks away, which was the original end of the line for the interurban as well. But for the last year or so of streetcar operation, the lone NSL Milwaukee line ended here. Car 354, a product of the St. Louis Car Company, is now at the Illinois Railway Museum.

On Saturday, March 7, 1953, CTA one-man streetcar 1780 is operating on the Fifth Avenue shuttle. The Hotel Hoover was located at 3358 W. Jackson Boulevard, so we are looking west along Jackson. This was originally a branch line from Route 20 – Madison, but as of May 11, 1952, buses replaced streetcars on the weekends on Madison. At those times, Fifth became a shuttle using some of the older red streetcars that were set up for one-man (and they were all men, back then) operation. On December 13, 1953, buses replaced PCCs on Madison, and Fifth became a seven-day-a-week shuttle, until February 22, 1954, when the shuttle was discontinued. It was not replaced by buses because part of Fifth Avenue was truncated due to construction of the Congress expressway. Fifth wasn’t going to cross the highway, since this would have been an expensive bridge to build, crossing at an angle. Since then, other parts of Fifth have been cut off as well. (William Shapotkin Collection)

CTA crane X-201 is at 71st Street and Wentworth in the 1950s. (William Shapotkin Collection)

This photo cost me less than $5, but I consider it an excellent find. We are looking west along the Garfield Park “L” right-of-way (actually owned by the Chicago Aurora & Elgin) in suburban Oak Park. This is the first picture I have seen of a CA&E freight train this far east– CA&E freight did not operate east of Laramie Avenue. CA&E loco 2001 is at the head of the train. The platforms at these stations had extensions that flipped up, to allow freight trains to clear. I presume that someone at the head of the train flipped them up, and the man on the caboose is flipping them back down again. Meanwhile, there is a much longer freight train on the adjacent Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal tracks at left. This picture can’t be any later than 1953, when the CA&E cut back service to Forest Park, yet the style of auto at the crossing in the distance doesn’t look much older than that. Which station is this? Bruce Moffat has identified it as Home Avenue in Oak Park, which is a short distance east of Harlem Avenue. Dan Cluley adds, “It is hard to tell at that distance, but my guess is the mystery auto is a 1950 or 51 Ford Sedan.”

A close-up view of the previous image, showing the car, which may be a 1950 or 1951 Ford.

The last Chicago streetcar at 78th and Vincennes, on its last run (June 21, 1958). (Robert Heinlein Photo)

CTA PCC streetcar 4407 is at Clark and Schubert on September 6, 1957, not long before the last northside car line was replaced by buses. The building at 2643 N. Clark, at left, is still a post office, but the Jewel has been replaced by a McDonald’s. Time was, there were small Jewel Food Stores all over the city. Note the sign saying “serve yourself.” Self-service grocery stores were a relatively new thing in the 1950s. Previously, you told the grocer what you wanted, and they picked the order for you. The last small Jewel I recall seeing was at Clark and Webster, just a few blocks south of here. It was replaced by a Tower Records in the 1980s– and now that’s gone too. This was shot on Anscochrome film, which was not of the same quality as Kodak. The film speed of Kodachrome was ISO/ASA 10, only useful on sunny days. On cloudy days, photographers often used this, or Ektachrome, which had a film speed of 32. This film is rather grainy, such that it starts to look like an impressionist painting when viewed under high magnification. (Robert Heinlein Photo)

CTA red Pullman 144 is at Clark and 16th Street on May 25, 1958, on one of those Sunday fantrips (when buses replaced streetcars on the last remaining lines). That way, fans could have plenty of photo stops, without getting in the way of regular service. The PCC running behind 144 was there as backup, and was also part of the fantrip. The view looks north. (Robert Heinlein Photo)

CTA high-speed single car units 1-4 made up the original rolling stock of the new Skokie Swift line. Here, car #1 is at Skokie Shops on March 24, 1964, newly fitted with a pan trolley. (William Shapotkin Collection)

CTA PCC 7160 is heading eastbound on Devon Avenue at Bosworth (about 1530 W, one block east of Clark Street) on July 27, 1956. The streetcar is operating on Route 36 – Broadway-Downtown. (William Shapotkin Collection)

One that got away… CSL/CTA 2605 at the Devon car barn (station) on September 27, 1953. (William Shapotkin Collection)

CTA PCC 7213, the last Chicago streetcar, begins its final run in the early morning hours of June 21, 1958 at Kinzie and Clark, the north terminus of the Wentworth line. (Robert Heinlein Photo)

A westbound two-car Lake Street “A” train is between Laramie and Central Avenues in a slide processed in February 1966. We are looking west. (Robert Heinlein Collection)

CTA PCC 7224 is southbound on Wentworth Avenue at 23rd Street (in Chinatown) on June 20, 1958– the last full day of streetcar operation in Chicago. (Robert Heinlein Photo)

A slightly different version of this image appears on page 20 in my book The North Shore Line, sourced from an archive. This version is from an original real photo postcard I recently purchased. Ravinia Park was built by the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric (later the North Shore Line) in 1904, and the concertgoers here are crossing its tracks. The postcard most likely dates to before 1907, as it had a space on the front for writing a message. Until that year, the backs of postcards were reserved for the address only. Thew cropping is slightly different between the two versions of this image because both were made from the original negative, and in each case, either neg or the printing paper was positioned a bit differently.

This postcard image, showing the north portal to the State Street Subway, probably dates to around the time it opened in October 1943. The three-car “L” train, made up of 4000-series cars, is northbound, heading for Howard Street. There were two series of 4000s, and the middle car is of the earlier type, possibly an unpowered trailer.

A close-up view.

Wooden CTA “L” car 1797 at the Illinois Electric Railway Museum in North Chicago, in a slide processed in January 1963. IRM moved to Union the following year. This was shot on Dynachrome film, which was supposedly based on expired Kodachrome patents. It was later taken over by 3M.

Construction of Chicago’s first subways eventually led to the development of the Pedway, an extensive network of tunnels connecting many downtown stores and buildings. Here, excavation work on a pedestrian tunnel connecting the State and Dearborn subways has just started on Court Place between Randolph and Washington on January 31, 1942. It was built using the “cut and cover” method. The State Street Subway opened in 1943, but this connection was not put into service until the Dearborn Street Subway opened in 1951.

(This and the next picture) The CA&E St. Charles-Geneva branch was abandoned in 1937, and here it is being torn up in 1938.

The CA&E Main Line, looking east from Bellwood. The Westchester “L” branch split off from here at right.

The CA&E Wheaton Yards and Elgin Junction in the late 1930s.

The CA&E in Wheaton, looking in the other direction from the previous photo.

CA&E wood car 141, when it was being leased from the North Shore Line, circa 1936-45. It, and several other wood cars, briefly returned to the NSL but were purchased outright by CA&E in 1946. They were all scrapped in 1954 after the interurban cut back service to Forest Park. Don’s Rail Photos (via archive.org): “141 was built by American Car Co in March 1910, #844, as C&ME 141. It was rebuilt in 1914 and retired in 1954.”

The CA&E station (and substation) at Prince Crossing in the late 1930s. This building has survived the abandonment of the railroad, but is now threatened with demolition.

North Shore Line 716 (modernized) and 409 (repainted) on new right-of-way in Glencoe on the Shore Line Route, circa 1940.

North Shore Line Birney car 335 in Milwaukee in the late 1940s. (Don Ross Photo)

A two-car train of CTA 4000-series “L” cars is at the Marion Street station in Oak Park, circa 1959. We are looking west along South Boulevard. This portion of the Lake Street “L” was moved onto the adjacent Chicago & North Western embankment in 1962.

Don’s Rail Photos (via archive.org): “(North Shore Line) 500 was built by St Louis Car Co in 1909. It was rebuilt to one man and transferred to Waukegan on November 23, 1923. It was retired in 1948 and sold for scrap in 1949.” Here it is at Naval Station Great Lakes on June 4, 1939. (La Mar M. Kelley Photo)

Milwaukee Rapid Transit and Speedrail car 65. Don’s Rail Photos (via archive.org): “65 was built by Cincinnati Car in August 1928, #2985, as I&SE 230. In 1933 it was sold to ICRT as 230 and in 1941 it was sold to SHRT as 65. In 1949 it was sold to Ed Tennyson and leased as Speedrail 65 where it originally operated with a modified Shaker Heights paint scheme. When repainted, the Speedrail logo was omitted. It was scrapped in 1952.”

Bankruptcies were rife among interurbans and railroads in general. This letter, to an apparent shareholder of the AE&C, predecessor of the CA&E, advises him that the stock of the earlier firm was worthless. When the CA&E emerged from bankruptcy in the late 1940s, it owned substantial land assets, and had discharged its debts. This set the stage, in the postwar era, for its eventual abandonment and liquidation.

This famous photo of Tower 18, located at the intersection of Lake Street and Wells Street on the Loop “L”, was taken when it was the busiest railroad junction in the world.

CA&E suburban streetcar 500, built by St. Louis Car Company in 1927. Here, it has seen better days. It was not the same car as North Shore Line streetcar 500, but was eventually sold to the NSL and renumbered as 361. Don’s Rail Photos (via archive.org): “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.”

The interior of CA&E streetcar 500, which later became North Shore Line 361. The photo number dates this to around 1931.

The CA&E right-of-way in Wheaton is at right, with the Chicago & North Western at left, in the 1950s.

The Chicago Rapid Transit Company’s Wells Street Terminal was the CA&E’s hub and just steps away from the Loop “L” via a direct connection walkway. It received a major renovation and a new façade, seen here upon completion on October 28, 1927. That looks like a 1927 Chevrolet parked out front.

This and the next image give a good idea of the CA&E fares and service to Elmhurst as of 1936.

The view looking east into the Wells Street Terminal. That’s the Insurance Exchange Building in the background. This picture probably dates to sometime between 1912 and 1927.

The view along the CA&E main line, looking east from Poplar Avenue in Elmhurst on July 13, 1931.

Don’s Rail Photos (via archive.org): “144 was built by American Car in August 1910, #846, as C&ME 403, a parlor-buffet car. In March 1918 it was rebuilt as a straight coach. It was retired in 1935 and leased to the CA&E as 144. It came back in 1945 and then was sold to the CA&E in 1946. It was retired in 1953.”

The CA&E “flag stop” at the Glen Oak Country Club in Glen Ellyn. Anyone who wanted the train to stop would need to use the signal to get trains to stop. From the Wikipedia: “Glen Oak Country Club is a country club and private golf course in Glen Ellyn, Illinois that was designed by Tom Bendelow and established in 1911. On January 7, 1909, the Pickwick Country Club was created. It had a 9-hole golf course, eventually expanded to 18 holes. Within a year, the club went bankrupt. In 1911, the property was purchased and reopened as the current Glen Oak Country Club. In the past bordering the club to the north- which is the Prairie Path today, was an interurban train stop. Many members lived in Chicago and would take the train out of the city to this club. Upon exit, a carriage would take the members along Hill Ave to the club house.” The number on this photo would date it to circa 1927.

A close-up of the previous image. The sign touts “frequent high-speed electrically powered trains to the western suburbs and Fox River Valley cities.”

The CA&E’s Lockwood Yard was a short distance west of Laramie Avenue (5200 W) in Chicago, where the interurban’s tracks ended and the Chicago Rapid Transit Company’s began. This was a convenient place for the CA&E to store railcars in mid-day. 418 and 431 were among the ones stored here on April 18, 1938, when this picture was taken. The view looks west, with Loretto Hospital in the distance. The CA&E main line, also used by CRT “L” trains to Forest Park and Westchester, is at left. The area to the left is now occupied by I-290, the Eisenhower expressway. At this stage, the small yard used overhead wire, but this was later converted to third rail. After the Chicago Transit Authority purchased the fixed CA&E’s fixed assets between here and Forest Park in 1953, the CTA stored wooden “L” cars here after they were retired.

CA&E 403 picks up passengers on the streets of downtown Aurora on April 18, 1938. By the end of the following year, the trains were relocated to an off-street terminal by the Fox River.

The CA&E interurban terminal in Aurora on April 18, 1938.

A close-up of the previous picture.

A view of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Terminal at Wells Street on April 16, 1926, just prior to renovation, The facade was redone, and a couple of additional stories added to it to improve the station amenities. This picture was taken from the nearby Loop “L” station at Quincy and Wells. CA&E car 408 is at left.

CA&E 421 on September 23, 1927. It was built by the Cincinnati Car Company in 1927, so this is how it looked when new.

A side view of CA&E 402, 400, and 405. These were among the first steel cars on the Roarin’ Elgin and were built by Pullman in 1923. That may also be the date of this photo. (A. F. Scholz Photo)

Finally, here is an image that for whatever reason got uploaded in 2019, yet never got used in a blog post… until now:

CTA 4362, a Pullman PCC, on Route 8 – Halsted, most likely in the late 1940s. The late Jeff Wien adds, “Rt. 8 car has just pulled off of Broadway onto Waveland to head south on Halsted to 79th Street loop. Photo ca 1951 when Halsted was operated with PCCs, most Pullmans.”

Day Trip to Wisconsin

I spent the day in southern Wisconsin on May 27. After having brunch at the historic Franks Diner in Kenosha, I spent time at the East Troy Railroad Museum, where I rode North Shore Line car 761 for the first time. Later on, I drove to Milwaukee, and took a few pictures of The Hop streetcar.

The weather that day was perfect, which made for some great pictures.

The Franks Diner started out as a prefabricated building, towed there by horses. It was later expanded with an addition. It is a popular place.

East Troy sells two of my books in their gift shop.

Our Latest Book, Now Available:

The North Shore Line

From the back cover:

As late as 1963, it was possible to board high-speed electric trains on Chicago’s famous Loop “L” that ran 90 miles north to Milwaukee. This was the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad, commonly known as the North Shore Line. It rose from humble origins in the 1890s as a local streetcar line in Waukegan to eventually become America’s fastest interurban under the visionary management of Midwest utilities tycoon Samuel Insull. The North Shore Line, under Insull, became a worthy competitor to the established steam railroads. Hobbled by the Great Depression, the road fought back in 1941 with two streamlined, air-conditioned, articulated trains called Electroliners, which included dining service. It regained its popularity during World War II, when gasoline and tires were rationed, but eventually, it fell victim to highways and the automobile. The North Shore Line had intercity rail, commuter rail, electric freight, city streetcars, and even buses. It has been gone for nearly 60 years, but it will always remain the Road of Service.

Each copy purchased here will be signed by the author, and you will also receive a bonus North Shore Line map. Books will ship by USPS Media Mail.

Title The North Shore Line
Images of America
Author David Sadowski
Edition illustrated
Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2023
ISBN 1467108960, 978-1467108966
Length 160 pages

The price of $23.99 includes shipping within the United States.

For Shipping to US Addresses:

New Compact Disc, Now Available:

CTA-1
The Last Chicago Streetcars 1958
# of Discs – 1
Price: $15.99

Until now, it seemed as though audio recordings of Chicago streetcars were practically non-existent. For whatever reason, the late William A. Steventon does not appear to have made any for his Railroad Record Club, even though he did make other recordings in the Chicago area in 1956.

Now, audio recordings of the last runs of Chicago streetcars have been found, in the collections of the late Jeffrey L. Wien (who was one of the riders on that last car). We do not know who made these recordings, but this must have been done using a portable reel-to-reel machine.

These important recordings will finally fill a gap in transit history. The last Chicago Transit Authority streetcar finished its run in the early hours of June 21, 1958. Now you can experience these events just as Chicagoans did.

As a bonus, we have included Keeping Pace, a 1939 Chicago Surface Lines employee training program. This was digitally transferred from an original 16” transcription disc. These recordings were unheard for 80 years.

Total time – 74:38

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Elevation

December 5, 2022January 15, 2025David Sadowski 10 Comments

An eastbound six-car Lake Street “L” A train approaches Oak Park Avenue in suburban Oak Park on March 23, 1955. Trains ran adjacent to South Boulevard until October 28, 1962, when they were relocated to the Chicago and North Western embankment. (Robert A. Selle Photo)

October 28, 2022 was the 60th anniversary of the elevation of the outer 2.5 miles of the Lake Street “L” (now the CTA Green Line). This was an important event in the history of suburban Oak Park and the Austin neighborhood in Chicago.

The steel Lake Street “L” structure, first opened in 1893, was only built as far west as Laramie Avenue (5200 W). Once the main “L” lines were built by the four original private companies, they extended service out to less populated areas at a greatly reduced cost by putting the tracks at ground level. The idea was to establish service, then wait until the surrounding area developed, and then elevate the tracks.

In some cases, this elevation never happened. To this day, portions of the Chicago Transit Authority’s Brown, Pink, Yellow, and Purple lines continue to run at ground level.

The Lake Street “L”‘s ground level extension opened in 1901. The Chicago and North Western’s tracks, which were adjacent to the “L”, were elevated circa 1909-1910, with extremely tight clearances the result. The ground level “L” operated much like a streetcar, using overhead wire instead of third rail, and used high-level platforms.

By the 1930s, the City of Chicago, under the influence of New York City, wanted to build subways to replace the Loop elevated. The subways that eventually were built (State Street, Milwaukee-Dearborn, and West Side) were very ambitious and costly projects which helped alleviate overcrowding on the Loop, but could not replace it outright.

City planners had ideas for putting portions of the Lake line into various subways, so portions of the elevated structure could be torn down. But once the Chicago Transit Authority took over operations in 1947, it was quickly determined that the outer portion of the line, the ground-level section, was the real difficulty.

There were 22 grade crossings in this section, all manually operated by a gateman 24 hours a day. In a similar situation, the City of Berwyn was uncooperative with the CTA’s plans to reduce the number of grade crossings and install automatic gates. As a result, service on the Douglas Park “L” was cut back from Oak Park Avenue (6800 W) to 54th Avenue (5400 W), where it remains today.

Faced with the possible truncation of the Lake Street “L” to Laramie Avenue, the Village of Oak Park took a different approach, working cooperatively with all the interested parties (the City of Chicago, Chicago Transit Authority, and the Chicago and North Western), and a plan came about that benefitted everyone.

The C&NW embankment had enough extra space on it to accommodate the CTA tracks, which permitted the Lake Street “L” to be elevated at last. Removing the tracks from the street eliminated all 22 grade crossings, reducing the CTA’s payroll.

“L” operations were speeded up, offering better service, and the North Western received new revenue from renting out the space. The railroad was allowed to close some lightly used commuter rail stations, ceding these customers to the CTA, which speeded up service for riders farther out.

Removing the ground-level tracks widened the street, reducing traffic congestion and increasing the amount of parking spaces available. It was a win-win for all.

Plans were finalized around 1958, but construction does not seem to have begun until 1961. Service was changed over to the embankment at 6:00pm on October 28, 1962 (see the newspaper article below).

I was seven years old when this transition took place, and rode the ground-level “L” many times. It was always a bit tense, as all 22 cross streets were blind crossings. Cars might come darting out from under a viaduct at the last second, and there were some collisions between “L” cars and autos.

The tight clearances also prevented the use of the CTA’s 6000-series “L” cars in the 1950s, as they had curved sides that stuck out farther than previous equipment. Once the line began running on the embankment, it was possible to use newer equipment, and the CTA assigned many of their new 2000-series rapid transit cars to the Lake line starting in 1964.

Now, the “L” has been running on the embankment for nearly the same length of time as the ground-level operation had. And practically every trace of that surface trackage and stations is long gone.

People who have grown up in the area since 1962 might not have any idea that the “L” ever ran anywhere but on the embankment, but this is an important part of Oak Park’s history, and it deserves to be remembered.

Fortunately, we recently collected various images showing both the construction work, and many taken on the very day of the ground-level operation, October 28, 1962. In addition to this, we have an excellent selection of other classic traction photos from around the country.

We are pleased to report that our latest book The North Shore Line is now 100% complete and has gone to press. The publication date is February 20, 2023, and we are now taking pre-orders. You will find more information about that at the end of this post (and our Online Store).

-David Sadowski

PS- You might also like our Trolley Dodger Facebook auxiliary, a private group that now has 1,016 members.

Our friend Kenneth Gear now has a Facebook group for the Railroad Record Club. If you enjoy listening to audio recordings of classic railroad trains, whether steam, electric, or diesel, you might consider joining.

FYI, the Hoosier Traction Facebook Group celebrates electric transit in Indiana and the Midwest. It also supports the activities of the annual Hoosier Traction Meet in Dayton, OH (although not affiliated with the North American Transit Historical Society, which organizes that event).

The Lake Street “L” in Transition

In this July 16, 1961 view, work has just started on connecting the “L” with the nearby Chicago and North Western embankment. But the changeover point between overhead wire and third rail has already been moved to the Central Avenue ground-level station. This would otherwise have been a complicating factor in the transition process, as both routes would need to be operational for a short time simultaneously.

The view looking west from Laramie Avenue on August 27, 1961. A new temporary track has been built at left, supported by wooden pilings, to allow the ground-level operation to continue while the new “L” connection is being built. Note the Chicago and North Western freight train at right.

This picture, taken on August 27, 1961, shows how the “L” was shored up during construction of the new connection to the nearby railroad embankment.

On August 27, 1961, new steel has been added to the “L” structure at Laramie Avenue. This section of “L” was eventually rebuilt in the 1990s, when the line was shut down for about two years.

On September 10, 1961, new streel is being added to the “L” to support the additional tracks needed for the realignment.

Looking west from the Laramie Avenue “L” station on September 17, 1961. New tracks will be added to create a junction between the old and new alignments.

Third rail (here referred to as “trolley rail”) was installed between Laramie and Parkside Avenues on the Lake Street “L” as of May 8, 1961. This was one of the first actions taken in the project to move the “L” onto the nearby railroad embankment.

Work on the CTA’s new Congress “L” branch was finishing up just as work began on realigning the outer portion of the Lake Street “L”. Once these projects were finished, all the CTA grade crossings in Oak Park and Forest Park were eliminated.

The changeover point from third rail to overhead wire on the Lake Street “L” was moved from Laramie to Central Avenue on May 22, 1961, at the beginning of the relocation project.

Overhead wire was removed from the eastbound Lake Street “L” track between Central and Laramie on May 24, 1961.

Central Avenue and Lake Street on October 28, 1962. This was the only place on the “L” system where trains under wire crossed a trolley bus line. Motor buses replaced trolley buses on Central on January 17, 1970. This portion of Lake Street was renamed Corcoran Place a few years after this picture was taken, to honor a local alderman who had recently died.

We are looking east along what was then Lake Street at Mayfield Avenue on October 28, 1962. We are just east of where the dedication ceremony took place. The new Central Avenue “L” station can be seen in the distance.

We are looking to the northeast along what was then Lake Street (now Corcoran Place) just east of Austin Boulevard on October 28, 1962.

Chicago’s dedication ceremony for the new “L” alignment took place on what was then Lake Street (now Corcoran Place), between Austin Boulevard and Mason Avenue. Mayor Richard J, Daley and CTA chairman Virgil Gunlock presided. A similar ceremony was held in Oak Park.

CTA “L” car 4407 appears to have been decorated for the dedication event near the Austin stop on October 28, 1962.

I believe we are just west of the Austin Boulevard “L” station on October 28, 1962.

Clearances were extremely narrow on the ground level portion of the Lake Street “L”, and therefore, when the line was elevated, temporary entrances were used. Once the old “L” had been cleared away, construction of the permanent entrances continued.

Again, near Austin Boulevard on October 28, 1962. We are looking to the northeast.

An eastbound Lake Street “A” train is just east of Ridgeland Avenue on October 28, 1962.

We are looking west, just east of the Ridgeland Avenue “L” station on October 28, 1962. The building at left with the sign on it advertising a dry cleaner is now occupied by the Tayloe Glass Company.

We are looking west along South Boulevard at Marion Street in suburban Oak Park on October 28, 1962. A two-tone mid-50s Ford heads north on Marion, while an early 1960s Corvair is eastbound on South Boulevard. This is a rare opportunity to see “L” cars on both levels.

We are looking west along South Boulevard at Marion Street on October 28, 1962. The sign at left advertises Blue Cab, and there is a cab waiting there to serve people getting off the “L”.

Looking west along South Boulevard at Marion Street on October 28, 1962. Due to the narrow width of South Boulevard in this area, it was a one-way street going east. This section is now a two-way street, although there is still a section that is one way westbound, between Oak Park Avenue and Home Avenue.

A closer view of the new and old “L” stations. The sign above the entrance advertises the all metal “L” cars the CTA had operated on Lake since the last wood cars were taken off this line in 1954.

At one time, Blue Cab had their headquarters on South Boulevard, but I don’t recall offhand whether they were located here. The Lake Street “L” ground-level trackage extended across Harlem Avenue a short distance west of here. In the distance, you can see construction is already underway on expanding the railroad embankment to create a new yard for Lake Street trains. It opened in 1964.

This slide, taken by the same photographer, has a processing date of May 1963. Lake Street trains are running on the embankment, with their trolley poles removed. The old tracks are still in place but will soon be ripped up. The adjacent street was widened and parking spaces added.

The Congress Expressway is under construction at Homan Avenue on October 9, 1955, and would soon open as far west as Laramie Avenue. Tracks are already being laid for the new CTA Congress “L” line, which opened on June 22, 1958, replacing the old Garfield Park “L”. Note the very flimsy barrier separating the “L” and highway. This soon proved completely inadequate and was eventually replaced by concrete barriers. Mayor Richard J. Daley drove the first spike for the new rails on July 8, 1955 near Pulaski Road. We are looking east. The entire story of the transition from the Garfield Park “L” to the Congress median line is told in my 2018 book Building Chicago’s Subways.

We were fortunately to recently purchase this original early red border Kodachrome slide, taken on September 7, 1941. It shows a fan taking a picture of Connecticut Company car 500, built in 1904 and described as the pride of the fleet, equipped with a kitchen, bathroom, and dining tables. It was acquired by the Shore Line Trolley Museum in 1948.

A view of the Chicago Transit Authority’s Stock Yards branch on September 16, 1956. Service was discontinued the following year, and it has now been 65 years since the last wooden “L” car ran in regular service in Chicago.

Some Milwaukee Electric interurban trains ran past the North Shore Line’s Milwaukee Terminal, although there does not seem to have been a track connection here. This picture dates to the 1940s. A TM interurban car did operate on a North Shore Line fantrip in 1949, so there must have been a track connection somewhere. An Electroliner is berthed at the terminal.

The Logan Square “L” Terminal, right around the end of service in late January 1970. Service was extended on this line via the new Kimball Subway and a median line in the Kennedy Expressway. Service went only to Jefferson Park at first, but now continues all the way to O’Hare Airport.

Another view of the old Logan Square “L” station near the end of service.

On December 6, 1958, CTA salt car AA98 was still on a trailer at the Electric Railway Historical Society (ERHS) location in Downers Grove. It was formerly Chicago Surface Lines car 2846 and was built in 1908 by the South Chicago City Railway. It went to the Illinois Railway Museum in 1973. (Robert A. Selle Photo)

The CTA Congress Expressway median line was not the first of its type, that distinction having been taken by the Pacific Electric in 1940. Here, we see a 600-series “Hollywood” car in Cahuenga Pass at Barham Boulevard. This print was made in 1946 but could have been taken earlier. PE service here ended in 1952 (this was part of the Van Nuys line) and the right-of-way was taken up by additional traffic lanes. (Stuart A. Liebman Photo)

Don’s Rail Photos: “(North Shore Line) 420 was was built by Pullman in 1928 as an observation. It was out of service by 1932. On July 21, 1943, it reentered service as a motorized coach. It was sold to Seashore Trolley Museum in 1963.” Here we see it prior to conversion.

North Shore Line diner 418 at the Milwaukee Terminal, when it was still in service as a diner. This print was made in 1945 but could have been taken earlier. Dining car service on the CNS&M ended in 1947, except for the Electroliners, and car 415, which was used in the “substitute Liner” and for charters.

A five-car train of Chicago Aurora and Elgin wood cars, including 312, in Wheaton. This print was made in 1945, but the picture was probably taken earlier. (Ewing Dale Photo)

Chicago Aurora and Elgin wood car 24 in Wheaton. This print was made in 1945, but the picture was probably taken earlier. (E. Dale Photo)

Chicago Aurora and Elgin steel car 431, which was built by Pullman, in Wheaton. This print was made in 1945, but the picture was probably taken earlier. (E. Dale Photo)

A two-car Chicago Aurora and Elgin train, with 414 at the rear, heads west at Laramie Avenue as an Elgin Express. This picture was printed in 1945 but was probably taken earlier. (E. Dale Photo)

Chicago Surface Lines pre-war PCC 7020 heads west on Madison Street at Central Park Avenue. This print was made in 1946 but could have been taken earlier. There is another picture taken at this location in my 2017 book Chicago Trolleys, showing a postwar PCC. (Ken Kidder Photo)

Chicago Aurora and Elgin wood car 140, formerly from the North Shore Line. Don’s Rail Photos: “138 thru 141 were built by American Car in 1910. They were rebuilt for Elevated compatibility in 1919. They were also leased to the CA&E in 1936, returned to the CNS&M in 1945, and sold to the CA&E in 1946.” This print was made in 1945, but could have been taken earlier. (E. Dale Photo)

Chicago Aurora and Elgin steel car 417 heads up a Chicago Express at Laramie Avenue. This print was made in 1945, but could have been taken earlier. (E. Dale Photo)

Don’s Rail Photos: “In 1937, the CA&E needed additional equipment. Much was available, but most of the cars suffered from extended lack of maintenance. Finally, 5 coaches were found on the Washington Baltimore & Annapolis which were just the ticket. 35 thru 39, built by Cincinnati Car in 1913, were purchased and remodeled for service as 600 thru 604. The ends were narrowed for service on the El. They had been motors, but came out as control trailers. Other modifications included drawbars, control, etc. A new paint scheme was devised. Blue and grey with red trim and tan roof was adopted from several selections. They entered service between July and October in 1937. The following year, three more cars were acquired. 80 thru 82 were combines built by Cincinnati in 1913. On the CA&E, they were rebuilt in much the same manner as the 600s. The baggage compartment was fitted with seats and the cars were operated as full coaches numbered 700 thru 702. 700 was built by Cincinnati Car Co in 1913 as WB&A 80. It was sold as CA&E 700 in 1938.” This picture was printed in 1945, but could have been taken earlier. The location is the Wheaton Shops. (E. Dale Photo)

Chicago Aurora and Elgin 435 is westbound at Laramie Avenue on an Aurora Express. This photo was printed in 1945, but could have been taken earlier. (E. Dale Photo)

Chicago Aurora and Elgin 423 is running on the streets of Aurora as an express. The terminal was relocated off the street at the end of 1939, and the license plate on the car at left is from 1934 or 1936 (probably the former). This print was made in 1945. (E. Dale Photo)

Birney car 1501 is in Council Bluffs, Iowa in 1947. (Victor G. Wagner Photo)

This is the West Penn Railway in Greensburgh, Pennsylvania, which is 30 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

North Shore Line 714 heads up a southbound Chicago Express on the Shore Line Route in North Chicago in 1947. This car was built in 1926 by the Cincinnati Car Company. After the North Shore Line was abandoned in 1963, 714 went to the Illinois Railway Museum, where it is today. (Victor G. Wagner Photo)

A view of the Metropolitan “L” crossing the Chicago River on July 10, 1949. We are looking to the northwest.

Five Mile Beach Electric Railway car 32 in Wildwood, New Jersey in 1940. (G. Pilkington Photo)

CTA 2712 leads a two-car Douglas Park “L” train in the early 1950s. The train is headed towards Marshfield Junction, where Douglas Park, Garfield Park, Logan Square, and Humboldt Park lines converged into the Met “L” main line at Paulina. Construction is underway here for the Congress Expressway. A new north-south connection was built soon after this picture was taken, so that Douglas Park trains could be re-routed downtown via the former Logan Square tracks to a new connection with the Lake Street “L”. This allowed the Met main line to be removed east of here in 1954, where the “L” was in the way of the new highway.

A four-car train of CTA 4000s is (I presume) near Howard in the 1950s. Miles Beitler adds, “Photo aad702a looks like a train of 4000s leaving Howard Street southbound on track 1. If I’m correct that that the overhead wire has been removed and the trolley poles on the 4000s are down, this must be after third rail was installed on track 1, which would date the photo to around 1964 or later.”

Indiana Railroad high-speed car 69 is at Indianapolis on August 11, 1940.

A North Shore Line freight train is at the Rondout weigh station in January 1963.

North Shore Line combine 256 is at the front of a three-car train of “Greenliners” (a fan term) in a slide processed in June 1961.

The Ravinia Park Casino was built in 1904 and demolished in 1985. Ravinia Park was built by the Chicago and Milwaukee electric, which became the North Shore Line in 1916.

Indiana Railroad high-speed car 59 is at Indianapolis on August 11, 1940.

A Chicago Aurora and Elgin electric loco in Wheaton, where the lines diverged to go to either Aurora (shown here) or Elgin.

When I posted this circa 1954-55 Garfield Park “L” image to our Facebook group, it generated a lot of discussion as to whether or not this 4000-series “L” car was still in CRT brown paint. The CTA repainted these cars into green and cream starting around 1952. But after much consideration, my conclusion is that this is just a trick of the light, and the car is actually painted in the later CTA colors. It is in shadow and not in direct sunlight. By this time, all such cars should have been repainted and put into married pairs with various modifications (which are visible on this car). The car behind it, which is presumably its mate, is painted green and cream. We are at the east end of the Van Bure Street temporary trackage, which was used from 1953 to 1958. The photographer was apparently looking out the front end of a westbound train, and there was a ramp behind the photographer leading up to the old “L” structure heading to the Loop. The cross street here is Racine Avenue (1200 W).

I assume this picture of Chicago Surface Lines Peter Witt car 6311 was taken at Devon station. The date given with the negative was January 6, 1941 but this hardly seems likely, given the foliage and the open door. Perhaps month and date were reversed, and a date of June 1, 1941 is correct.

A view of the Indiana Railroad’s Muncie Terminal on August 10, 1940. The photo is by WVK, although I don’t know what those initials stand for.

Indiana Railroad high-speed car 78 in Indianapolis in the late 1930s.

A night shot of the North Shore Line’s Milwaukee Terminal in July 1962.

North Shore Line car 748 is part of a two-car train near North Chicago Junction on September 4, 1961.

This and the next picture shows a Aurora Elgin and Chicago (predecessor to the CA&E) monthly ticket book from June 1922.

The Chicago Aurora and Elgin used uncovered third rail in nearly all areas, including here, in Wheaton, where the Aurora and Elgin branches diverged. A small boy is playing in a nearby field, and people then were not terribly concerned with the danger posed by 600 volts of direct current. If the CA&E had survived, chances are additional protections would be in place.

North Shore Line wood car 132 and train at Ravinia Park in the early 1900s.

Starting in the 1930s, enterprising railfans such as the late Barney Neuberger sold prints of streetcars and interurbans. The smallest such prints were what is now called wallet size, and the going rate was usually 10 cents. Mr. Neuberger had flyers and catalogs printed. There are thousands and thousands of such photos that still circulate, and enrich our knowledge of the past.

CTA 2811 heads up a westbound Garfield Park “L” train of wood cars, circa 1953-54. The ramp connected to the temporary tracks on Van Buren Street/ We are near Sacramento Boulevard. For a time, these tracks crossed over the new Congress Expressway, which was built underneath it. Once the new Congress median line opened in 1958, this structure was removed.

A two-car Garfield Park “L” train, made up of 4000-series cars, heads west on temporary trackage in Van Buren Street on September 2, 1955. A portion of the Congress Expressway, then under construction, opened later that year.

A Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company Brill Master Unit is on West Chester Pike at Paoli Road in February 1945. (David H. Cope Photo)

The Chicago Aurora and Elgin station in Wheaton, probably in the 1920s.

CTA 6190-6189 is at Adams and Wabash on the Loop “L” in July 1954.

A northbound CTA train of curved-door 6000s is on the South Side “L” just north of 35th Street in 1954. The middle track had been used for express trains until the CTA realigned north-south service in 1949.

This picture was taken from out of the front window of a Lake Street “L” train on July 17, 1954. We are near Garfield Park, and the 4000-series cars parked on the middle track are in mid-day storage. The middle track had been used by express trains prior to 1948, when the CTA inaugurated A/B “skip stop” service.

CTA 6047-6048 are looping via a wooden structure at DesPlaines Avenue on July 14, 1954. This was necessary once Chicago Aurora and Elgin service was cut back to Forest Park, starting in September 1953. The direct connection between the two railroads was severed and this loop took CTA trains over the CA&E tracks. Once CA&E was allowed to discontinue passenger service in July 1957, the ramp was no longer necessary. The entire yard area was revamped in 1959 in conjunction with nearby expressway construction.

Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company (aka Red Arrow Lines) double-ended car 19 is outbound on West Chester Pike, headed for West Chester, in the early 1950s. Buses replaced trolleys on this line in 1954 so the road could be widened.

Chicago and Illinois Valley (aka the Chicago Ottawa and Peoria, part of the Illinois Traction System) car 56 at Ottawa, Illinois. Don’s Rail Photos: “In 1901, the Illinois Valley Traction was incorporated to build the first part of what later became the CO&P. Various other companies were involved in the construction until the CO&P consolidated them all by 1909. The CO&P became the Valley Division of Illinois Traction Inc. in 1923. In 1929, a new company, the Chicago & Illinois Valley, took over the Valley Division and operated it until abandonment on May 14, 1934. It was always considered a part of the Illinois Traction, and this can be seen in its rolling stock. 55 and 56 were built by St. Louis in 1903. 55 was retired in 1921. 56 was used in Peoria from 1920 thru 1927 when it was returned to the Valley. It was scrapped in 1934.”

The next-to-last North Shore Line fantrip took place on January 12, 1963, and used coaches 150 and 160. Here, the train has made a photo stop at the old Chicago Rapid Transit Company “L” station at Kostner Avenue, which was in use from 1925 to 1948 on the Niles Center branch. The station was designed by Insull staff architect Arthur U. Gerber. North Shore trains never stopped here in regular service. (William C. Hoffman Photo) Scott Greig adds: “By the way, the last charter on the North Shore was the day after the one pictured. It was a CERA charter with four Silverliners on Sunday, January 13, 1963. Illini Railroad Club announced that they would have a charter on the last day, but they finally had to settle for an extra car added to a regular train.”

The two car fantrip train has stopped at the old Clark and Lake “L” station on January 12, 1963. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

North Shore Line coach 772 is southbound at North Chicago Junction on July 4, 1955, operating on the Shore Line Route that would be abandoned later that month. Skokie Valley Route trains went to the other side of the station. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

The North Shore Line Milwaukee Terminal on June 25, 1961.

Electroliner 803-804 is northbound on Fifth Street in Milwaukee at Maple on January 13, 1963. All the buildings on the right are gone now, as this is now the location of an expressway. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

North Shore Line snow plow 605 at Pettibone Yards on August 29, 1964. Built by Russell in 1921, it became the last piece of NSL equipment to be scrapped on the property. David A. Myers Jr. says he found someone who was interested in taking it, but they procrastinated so long that the tracks were taken up around the car, and it was then scrapped in place. (Jeffrey L. Wien Photo)

Chicago Surface Lines prewar PCC 4048 is downtown, signed for the Madison-Fifth route which was a branch of Route 20 – Madison. The 83 cars in this series were built in 1936 and retired in 1956. The sole survivor is 4021, which is now at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Chicago Surface Lines work car H7. Don’s Rail Photos: “H7, mail car, was built by American Car Co in 1891, as a Cicero & Proviso Street Railway passenger car. It was rebuilt as Chicago Union Traction 8 in 1900 as a mail car and as Chicago Railways 8 in 1903. It was renumbered H7 in 1913 and became CSL H7 in 1914. It was retired on May 16, 1949.”

Indiana Railroad car 65. Don’s Rail Photos: “65 was built by Pullman in 1931, #6399. The lounge section was replaced by a baggage section. 65 was sold to the Cedar Rapids & Iowa City as 120 in 1941. In 1954 it was purchased as the first car of the Illinois Railway Museum, which was known as the Illinois Electric Railway Museum at that time. I put in many enjoyable hours working on that car prior to 1960 when I moved to Peoria.”

Our Latest Book, Now Available for Pre-Order:

The North Shore Line

Publication Date: February 20, 2023

FYI, my new Arcadia Publishing book The North Shore Line is now finished and has gone to press. My publisher decided to expand it to 160 pages, instead of the usual 128. That’s a 25% increase, without any change to the $23.99 price. I am quite pleased with how this turned out.

From the back cover:

As late as 1963, it was possible to board high-speed electric trains on Chicago’s famous Loop “L” that ran 90 miles north to Milwaukee. This was the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad, commonly known as the North Shore Line. It rose from humble origins in the 1890s as a local streetcar line in Waukegan to eventually become America’s fastest interurban under the visionary management of Midwest utilities tycoon Samuel Insull. The North Shore Line, under Insull, became a worthy competitor to the established steam railroads. Hobbled by the Great Depression, the road fought back in 1941 with two streamlined, air-conditioned, articulated trains called Electroliners, which included dining service. It regained its popularity during World War II, when gasoline and tires were rationed, but eventually, it fell victim to highways and the automobile. The North Shore Line had intercity rail, commuter rail, electric freight, city streetcars, and even buses. It has been gone for nearly 60 years, but it will always remain the Road of Service.

Each copy purchased here will be signed by the author, and you will also receive a bonus North Shore Line map. Books will ship by USPS Media Mail as soon as we receive them, on or before February 20, 2023.

Title The North Shore Line
Images of America
Author David Sadowski
Edition illustrated
Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2023
ISBN 1467108960, 978-1467108966
Length 160 pages

The price of $23.99 includes shipping within the United States.

For Shipping to US Addresses:

New Compact Disc, Now Available:

CTA-1
The Last Chicago Streetcars 1958
# of Discs – 1
Price: $15.99

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Catching Up

July 19, 2022September 10, 2022David Sadowski 7 Comments

The photographer (possibly Emery Gulash) had but one chance to press the shutter button at precisely the right moment, and he nailed it with this classic view of westbound Electroliner train 803 at Lake Bluff in January 1963. This is what noted photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson had in mind when he wrote about the “decisive moment.” Douglas Noble: “Northbound crossing Rockland Road / IL 176 in Lake Bluff.”

This is our first post in nearly two months. We have been hard at work on our next book, The North Shore Line. In addition, I worked 16 straight days as an election judge during the recent primary here.

Each of these posts involves a tremendous amount of hard work that may not be apparent to the causal observer. First, we have to scan the negatives, prints, and slides that you see here. Then, they have to be worked over in Photoshop to get the color and density right, and remove any scratches, crud, and other blemishes that have accumulated over the decades since these pictures were taken. This can take hours for just a single photograph, but we think the results are well worth it.

Our goal is to present definitive versions of these classic photos in an online archive for all to enjoy. We see our stuff showing up all over Facebook and other parts of the Internet all the time, and, recently, even in books and magazines put out by others.

It would be nice if, in all cases, we received some credit for our contributions. When people ask permission to use our work, it is freely granted, but all we ask is that we are properly credited, that the original photographer is credited, and that the small watermark we place on these images is not cropped out.

We don’t think this is too much to ask. Meanwhile, we hope you will enjoy this latest batch of classic photographs.

-David Sadowski

PS- You might also like our Trolley Dodger Facebook auxiliary, a private group that now has 862 members.

Work on our North Shore Line book is ongoing. Donations are needed in order to bring this to a successful conclusion. You will find donation links at the top and bottom of each post. We thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

Recent Finds

The Chicago Surface Lines had a collection of historic streetcars, starting in the 1920s.
These were used for parades and the opening of new lines. Some of the restoration work, such as this car, was more fanciful than authentic, as this car was never part of the West Chicago Street Railway, nor was it #4. Don’s Rail Photos: “4 was built by Pullman in 1895, #840, as North Chicago Street RR 922. It became Chicago Union Traction Co 4022 in 1899 and became Chicago Surface Lines 4022 in 1914. It was rebuilt as WCStRy 4 in 1933. It went to Illinois Railway Museum in 1985.” The CTA inherited this collection, and various cars were trotted out during shops tours in the 1950s. Once streetcar service ended in 1958, these cars were put into storage, and were finally donated to museums in the mid-1980s.

Brooklyn-Queens Transit PCC 1066 is signed for Coney Island in the early 1950s.

A train of CTA curved-door 6000s is at Howard Street in June 1977.

A southbound North Shore Line train, with 711 in the lead, is at Morse on the “L” in June 1959.

North Shore Line cars 157 and 252 are on a June 16, 1962 fantrip. Here, we see the train at the Root River bridge near Racine, Wisconsin. (Richard H. Young Photo)

This is a South Shore Line portable substation at Michigan City, Indiana on July 10, 1977.

Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company (aka Red Arrow) cars 16 and 20 in May 1965, signed for the Media line. Kenneth Achtert: “Appears to be outbound at Springfield Rd. I would assume this is on a fantrip from the number of random individuals around the right-of-way (most likely a run-by since they are scattered about); also, the Media destination would not be standard operating procedure for two-car trains. The trains were typically scheduled to Springfield (Woodland Ave.) with only single cars going all the way to Media.” Jeff Didlake says, “I agree with Ken Achtert’s thoughts that this is a fan trip, but I believe the location is the Scenic Rd. station on the Media Line. The track is on a slight curve and a hint of the red brick high rise Drexelline Apts. is in the background. I know this station well as I managed to ruin a good tire and wheel while pulling into the parking lot there on a poorly maintained Springfield Twp. sewer inlet grate.”

On June 11, 1962, a two-car North Shore Line train, headed by 731, is bound for Mundelein near Lake Bluff. (Richard H. Young Photo)

North Shore Line combine 251 is near Racine, Wisconsin on February 6, 1962.

The interior of Queensborough Bridge Railway car 601 in the mid-1950s. This was an Electromobile, built around 1929 by Osgood-Bradley.

North Shore Line car 733 awaiting scrapping at South Upton Junction on October 26, 1963, several months after abandonment.

North Shore Line Silverliner 758 is at Edison Court in Waukegan during the summer of 1958. This was an important station, where cars were routinely added and cut from trains.

Philadelphia PCC 2142 is signed for Route 6 on September 15, 1957. Mark A. Jones writes, “That picture is of the northbound terminus of route 6 across from Willow Grove Park. 2142 is headed south to Broad and Olney.” Kenneth Achtert adds, “2142 is at Willow Grove Park, the end of the Route 6. The amusement park is hidden behind the trees.”

North Shore Line loco 455 is working the Niles Gas Spur in the Weber Industrial District, Skokie, Illinois, probably in the late 1950s. (Bob Geis Photo)

Chicago Surface Lines one-man car 6241 is at the east end of Route 43 in the 1940s. You can see a pedestrian bridge leading to the nearby Illinois Central Electric commuter station behind the streetcar.

A North Shore Line train at Winnetka Road on the Skokie Valley Route. The business at left is John H. Davies and Son, general contractors.

A three-car North Shore Line train heads south over the 6th Street Bridge, probably in the 1940s.

North Shore Line cars 716 and 409 at Highwood, possibly in the early 1940s. 409 started out as a dining car motor before it was converted to coach in 1942.

North Shore Line loco 455 heads up a freight train that is crossing over to the northbound track near Oakton on the Skokie Valley Route.

A three-car train of North Shore Line Silverliners prepares to cross the North Shore Channel, probably in the 1950s.

To get a shot like this in the 1940s, a photographer had to be extremely lucky, patient, or both. While a two-car CRT Lake Street “L” train heads east, going up the ramp towards Laramie, it passes a westbound CSL Route 16 streetcar. Two conductors on the “L” are lowering the trolley poles, as this was the switchover point to third rail. Streetcar service on Lake Street ended in 1954, and the outer portion of the Lake Street “L” was shifted over to the nearby C&NW embankment in 1962.

CTA PCC 7148 is at 71st and Ashland in June 1953. (Vic Wagner Photo) Our resident south side expert M. E. notes, “I don’t doubt this photo is at 71st and Ashland. (The street sign says Ashland.) So this photo is near the 69th and Ashland carbarn. I think this streetcar had been heading south on Ashland to 71st, and here it is turning west on 71st St. for what would be a short distance. Then it will turn north and into the carbarn.”

CTA one-man streetcar 3228 is on 79th Street at the crossing with the Illinois Central in April 1951. (Vic Wagner Photo)

The view looking north along State Street at 63rd in April 1953. The PCCs are running on Route 36, while the red Pullman is eastbound on Route 63. This was near the end of streetcar service on 63rd Street, and older red cars had replaced newer PCCs, which were shifted to run on Route 4 – Cottage Grove. At right, you can see where some buildings were destroyed by fire on May 25, 1950, after a PCC collided with a gasoline truck. 34 people were killed. The photographer was standing on a railroad viaduct and probably wanted to document the intersection of two streetcar lines before one of them changed to buses. (Vic Wagner Photo)

About the image above, M. E. adds:

Your caption reads: “This was near the end of streetcar service on 63rd Street, and older red cars had replaced newer PCCs, which were shifted to run on Route 4 – Cottage Grove.” My hangup is with the term “newer PCCs”. Yes, they were newer than the red cars, but they were not newer than the PCCs on State St. in the photo. The PCCs that ran on 63rd St. were those that Chicago Surface Lines acquired in 1936 to run on Madison St. Those PCCs were also called “pre-war PCCs”. So perhaps your caption might better say “older red cars had replaced the pre-war PCCs, which were shifted …”

I give you credit for pointing out where a State St. PCC car collided with a gasoline truck. I remember that like it happened yesterday. I also credit the photographer for a terrific action photo.

Also, about this photo:

(1) In the distance is the State St. station on the Englewood L, situated south of 59th St. I spy two more State St. PCC cars at or near the L station. This illustrates how busy the north/south PCC car lines were. The Chicago Surface Lines, then the CTA, ordered a total of 600 post-war PCCs, and they were all needed on just five north/south lines — 36 Broadway/State, 22 Clark/Wentworth, 8 Halsted, 42 Halsted/Archer/Clark, and 49 Western. (The pre-war PCCs were still on 20 Madison.)

(2) You mentioned that the photographer was standing on a railroad viaduct. That viaduct spanned State St. just south of 63rd St. The photographer was at the eastern edge of a big freight yard paralleling the New York Central right of way. It is this same freight yard that was used, three blocks east, to deliver new PCC cars, then (later) L cars, to the CTA. The L cars were transferred to the CTA via the L track that ran from the southbound Jackson Park line south past 63rd St. and then down into a ground-level freight yard.

(3) That freight yard also spanned 63rd St., so the westbound red car shown in the photo is about to go underneath the freight yard until it emerges past the New York Central (and Nickel Plate) passenger train tracks, adjacent to the entrance to Englewood Union Station. Past the station, 63rd St. ran under more tracks, first the Rock Island, then the Pennsylvania, both of which also served Englewood Union Station. All told, the trip between State St. and almost to Wentworth Av. was mostly dark 24 hours a day.

(4) The billboard at the left in the photo advertises the ’53 Ford. Assuming this photo was taken in late spring or early summer of 1953 (judging by the clothing on pedestrians and the green foliage), I don’t see any ’53 Fords in the photo.

Buses replaced streetcars on 63rd Street on May 24, 1953, so the picture can’t be from after that, thanks.

The CTA off-street loop on Halsted Street, just south of 79th, in August 1953. Pullman PCC 4368 is operating on Route 8, while the red Pullman is signed for Halsted-Downtown (Route 42). By this stage, the Pullman PCCs, although no more than seven years old, were being retired and sent to St. Louis Car Company for scrapping and parts re-use in new PCC “L” cars. Service was being supplemented by older red cars. Streetcar service on Halsted ended in May 1954. (Vic Wagner Photo) Our resident south side expert M. E. adds, “Notice how busy this terminal was. I count at least four streetcars, and perhaps a fifth if I detect another trolley pole behind the last PCC car. This terminal also served South Halsted and Halsted / Vincennes / 111th St. buses, which used the paved lane in the terminal.”

CTA one-man streetcar 3261 is at the east end of Route 79, at 79th and Brandon near Chicago’s lakefront, in September 1951. (Vic Wagner Photo)

Milwaukee Electric (Speedrail) car 1121 operated on a North Shore Line fantrip on December 4, 1949. Here it is with one of the Electroliners near Racine, Wisconsin.

The pass for Central Electric Railfans’ Association fantrip #36, which used freight equipment on the Chicago Aurora and Elgin on August 10, 1941.

The Chicago and North Western station at Lake Forest in the early 1900s, from a real photo postcard. The Chicago and Milwaukee electric (which became the North Shore Line in 1916) ran just beyond those large trees, and had a handsome station of its own just out of view to the right.

This picture was taken during Fall 1962, in the waning days of the ground-level operation of the Lake Street “L”. The new elevated station on the nearby C&NW embankment has been built and the changeover took place on October 28th of that year. This view looks west along South Boulevard at Marion Street in Oak Park. Crossing gates were manually operated.

On February 19, 1956, a northbound Electroliner has stopped at Kenosha and is presumably on a fantrip. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

Speedrail curved-side car 61 is on Michigan at 6th Street in Milwaukee on September 2, 1950, passing by the north side of the North Shore Line’s Milwaukee Terminal. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

Milwaukee and Suburban Transport streetcar 954 is westbound on Route 10 at 68th and Fairview in August 1957.

The same location in 2015. The streetcar tracks were just to the right of this alley.

On June 12, 1955, Milwaukee and Suburban Transport streetcar 999 is on a bridge over the Chicago & North Western Railway at Howell Avenue. This was a Central Electric Railfans’ Association fantrip. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

North Shore Line Silverliner 766 is about to cross the Glencoe gauntlet, a short single-track section on the otherwise double-tracked Shore Line Route. The occasion was an August 9, 1953 fantrip. This short bridge over a ravine was not deemed strong enough to support the weight of two trains passing each other, so it was made single-tracked. This also permitted a tight curve to be straightened out a bit. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

North Shore Line car 155 is on the tail end of a fantrip train, turning onto Greenleaf Avenue in Wilmette, heading east on a July 24, 1955 Central Electric Railfans’ Association fantrip. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

North Shore Line freight loco 456 and caboose 1002 are at the scale house in Rondout during January 1963. (Photo attributed to Emery Gulash)

North Shore Line cars 157 and 252 are on a June 16, 1962 fantrip. We have posted pictures from this trip before. There is another in this post, taken by Richard H. Young, but this one may be by Emery Gulash.

Don’s Rail Photos: “1796 was built by American Car & Foundry in 1907 as NEWRy 287, #5098, as trailer. It was renumbered 1287 in 1913 and rebuilt as motor 1796. It became CRT 1796 in 1923 and was sold to Gaylord Container in Louisiana…” One side of this “L” car was removed, and it was used to transport large rolls of paper. Although Don’s says this car was scrapped in 1966, that is incorrect and the date was actually 1973. Parts were salvaged from this car to help restore sister car 1797 at the Illinois Railway Museum. 1796 could not be saved since the body was no longer structurally sound. I have July 1958 as the date when the CTA sold this car, and this picture was taken by William C. Hoffman in October 1963.

Mystery Photo

This was scanned from an original North Shore Line 8x10" nitrate negative, taken circa 1930, and in the collections of Robert Heinlein. Determining the location presented many challenges, yet this has now been determined with the aid of other fans. The car is 714, and it is signed as a Chicago Local on the Shore Line Route. Since the North Shore tracks are not adjacent to the Chicago and North Western, we must be north of North Chicago Junction. We cannot be south of Highland Park, as there is freight present here. A sign on the high-level platform indicates that freight trains have to come to a stop, most likely to make sure part of the platform gets flipped up for the sake of clearances. A similar arrangement existed at high-level stations of the Chicago Aurora and Elgin. As all the Shore Line tracks in Waukegan ran on the street, that pretty much narrows it down to North Chicago. The Thomas J. Killian Plumbing Supply company building at left clinches it, and the location is between 16th and 17th Streets, looking north. The Chicago and North Western's tracks were a short distance east of here, to the right out of view of this photo. (Courtesy of Kevin Heinlein)

This was scanned from an original North Shore Line 8×10″ nitrate negative, taken circa 1930, and in the collections of Robert Heinlein. Determining the location presented many challenges, yet this has now been determined with the aid of other fans. The car is 714, and it is signed as a Chicago Local on the Shore Line Route. Since the North Shore tracks are not adjacent to the Chicago and North Western, we must be north of North Chicago Junction. We cannot be south of Highland Park, as there is freight present here. A sign on the high-level platform indicates that freight trains have to come to a stop, most likely to make sure part of the platform gets flipped up for the sake of clearances. A similar arrangement existed at high-level stations of the Chicago Aurora and Elgin. As all the Shore Line tracks in Waukegan ran on the street, that pretty much narrows it down to North Chicago. The Thomas J. Killian Plumbing Supply company building at left clinches it, and the location is between 16th and 17th Streets, looking north. The Chicago and North Western’s tracks were a short distance east of here, to the right out of view of this photo. (Courtesy of Kevin Heinlein)

A close-up view of car 714, which seems to be painted orange.

The freight siding for the Thomas J. Killian Plumbing Supply Company.

This was also scanned from an original North Shore Line 8x10" nitrate negative in the collections of Robert Heinlein, and was taken at the same time as the previous photo and shows a slightly different view of the same scene. (Courtesy of Kevin Heinlein)

This was also scanned from an original North Shore Line 8×10″ nitrate negative in the collections of Robert Heinlein, and was taken at the same time as the previous photo and shows a slightly different view of the same scene. (Courtesy of Kevin Heinlein)

Ray DeGroote Turns 92

Ray DeGroote celebrated his 92nd birthday on July 15th. Here he is about two weeks earlier, at our celebratory lunch.

I dedicated my last book Chicago’s Lost “L”s to my friend Raymond DeGroote, Jr., as the “Dean of Chicago Railfans.” He turned 92 recently. Ray has traveled the world, and has taken thousands of great photos, many of which have been used in books, magazines, and in his excellent slideshows over the years.

And he’s still at it– Ray recently returned from a trip to San Diego for the Electric Railroaders’ Association annual convention. Since returning, other friends have treated him to lunch, and he reports he is “well fed.”

Here are a few of Ray’s classic photos of the North Shore Line:

We are at Indian Hill on the Shore Line Route on July 24, 1955, just prior to abandonment. Cars 175 and 413 are in regular service, while 155 is on a Central Electric Railfans’ Association fantrip, and has temporarily been shunted to a siding. The tracks in this area were grade-separated circa 1938-43 by a project partially funded by the Federal government. (Raymond DeGroote, Jr. Photo)

A fantrip train made up of Silverliners is on Greenleaf Avenue in Wilmette on February 20, 1955. This trip was sponsored by the Illini Railroad Club. (Raymond DeGroote, Jr. Photo)

North Shore Line loco 459 and caboose 1006 are at Lake Bluff on January 19, 1963. (Raymond DeGroote, Jr. Photo)

The “KX” here most likely refers to Kodachrome X, first released by Kodak in 1962, with a film speed of 64. The original Kodachrome had a film speed of ASA/ISO 10, which was bumped up to 25 in 1961 with the release of Kodachrome II.

The unrestored interior of North Shore Line car 151 on September 4, 1961. (Raymond DeGroote, Jr. Photo)

The interior of North Shore Line car 160 on January 12, 1963. Interestingly, it had been refurbished in November 1962, even though abandonment was at hand. This car was purchased by the Illinois Railway Museum, where it remains today. (Raymond DeGroote, Jr. Photo)

North Shore Line car 714’s interior on June 17, 1962. This car is now at the Illinois Railway Museum. (Raymond DeGroote, Jr. Photo)

The interior of North Shore Line Silverliner 755 on September 4, 1961. After abandonment, this car went to the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine. (Raymond DeGroote, Jr. Photo)

Recent Correspondence

Max Hensley sent us this scan of a 1890 specimen $1,000 bond for the West Chicago Street Railroad Tunnel Company. This cable car tunnel was built in 1893 and crossed the Chicago River near Van Buren Street. Like the other river tunnels, it was eventually enlarged and dug deeper around 1911 for streetcar use. But of the three such tunnels (the others being on Washington and LaSalle Streets), Van Buren was used the least, and does not seem to have seen much action after 1924, except for training use. These tunnels still exist but the approaches have been filled in.

The river tunnels are also discussed at length in my book Building Chicago’s Subways.

Milwaukee Streetcar

We were in Milwaukee on July 13th to help a friend move some things. We did stop by Burns Commons for a few minutes to catch a few pictures (and one video) of Milwaukee’s modern streetcar at its northern terminus:

Did Not Win

Try as we might, our resources are limited. Here are some interesting items that we were not able to purchase, but are still worth a second look:

This desktop ink blotter dates to circa 1919-20, as the North Shore Line is already running via the “L”, but had not yet opened their new Milwaukee Terminal. The line to Mundelein is shown, as it had been extended there as of 1905. But prior to 1925, it was called Rockefeller, and later, the area was known rather generically as “Area.” When using a fountain pen, you would wipe off excess ink on the backside of blotters such as this, which measured about 6″ wide.

This real photo postcard view of the Elgin and Belvedere Electric Company was most likely taken on its inaugural run in early 1907. Mike Franklin has identified the location as Belvedere, as that is the First M. E. Church at rear. Car 201 was built by the St. Louis Car Company in 1906. (Thanks to J. J. Sedelmaier for tweaking this image.)

Here is what the late Don Ross wrote about the Elgin and Belvedere:

This line was built in 1906 and opened in 1907 between Elgin and Belvidere, 36 miles, to connect the Rockford lines with the Chicago lines. It was under the management of Bion J. Arnold, who was the most distinguished expert in city transit between 1900 and 1925. In 1927 the Rockford to Belvidere segment of the Rockford & Interurban was merged to form the Elgin Belvidere & Rockford. Rockford lightweight interurbans were used, but this was not financially satisfactory. The cars were returned to Rockford Public Service, and the old E&B cars were remodeled for one man service. But it was too late. Competition from the parallel Chicago & North Western and from the automobile caused the line to quit service on March 9, 1930. Arnold purchased two Manhattan Elevated steam locomotives and scrapped the line by himself. It was not completed until the mid to late 1930s.

In 1956, I was checking on ownership of an abandoned C&NW right-of-way for the Illinois Railway Museum, and I stopped in the county clerk’s office in Woodstock. The clerk became curious and then suggested that we might be interested in a piece of property which was on the delinquent tax rolls. It was 50 feet wide and 7 miles long. After paying the taxes for two years, a quit claim was filed and this has become the home of the IRM at Union, IL.

We ran some Elgin and Belvedere photos in a previous post, taken in the mid-1930s by the late Edward Frank, Jr., showing the interurban’s rolling stock in dead storage, waiting for buyers that never materialized.

Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks!

-David Sadowski

Now Available:

SGA-1
Stan Griffith Audio Recordings of the North Shore Line
# of Discs – 1
Price: $15.99

The late Stanwood C. Griffith (1926-2013) was an interesting character who is probably best known for building the two-foot gauge Rock River Valley Traction, a miniature electric railway that is large enough to ride on. He began building it on private property in a mysterious wooded area somewhere near Rockford, IL around 1950. Work continues on it to this day, and there are several videos of it on YouTube.

We only recently found out that he recorded some North Shore Line audio. Even better, what he did record is different than the other known recordings by William A. Steventon and Brad Miller.

Mr. Griffith made the only known recordings of the Shore Line Route, which quit in 1955. Steventon didn’t record NSL until the following year, and the Miller recordings are circa 1960.

This recording has some occasional narration. At one point, Griffith notes that the trolley bus wires in Kenosha are gone. Trolley buses ran there until 1952, so this dates the recordings to circa 1952-55.

He also recorded North Shore Line street running in Milwaukee, which is also unique as far as I am aware. There are also recordings of Milwaukee streetcars on this CD.

Total time – 52:36

Chicago’s Lost “L”s Online Presentation

We recently gave an online presentation about our book Chicago’s Lost “L”s for the Chicago Public Library, as part of their One Book, One Chicago series. You can watch it online by following this link.

The Trolley Dodger On the Air

We appeared on the Dave Plier Show on WGN radio on July 16, 2021, to discuss Chicago’s Lost “L”s. You can hear that discussion here.

Our Latest Book, Now Available:

Chicago’s Lost “L”s

From the back cover:

Chicago’s system of elevated railways, known locally as the “L,” has run continuously since 1892 and, like the city, has never stood still. It helped neighborhoods grow, brought their increasingly diverse populations together, and gave the famous Loop its name. But today’s system has changed radically over the years. Chicago’s Lost “L”s tells the story of former lines such as Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Kenwood, Stockyards, Normal Park, Westchester, and Niles Center. It was once possible to take high-speed trains on the L directly to Aurora, Elgin, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The L started out as four different companies, two starting out using steam engines instead of electricity. Eventually, all four came together via the Union Loop. The L is more than a way of getting around. Its trains are a place where people meet and interact. Some say the best way to experience the city is via the L, with its second-story view. Chicago’s Lost “L”s is virtually a “secret history” of Chicago, and this is your ticket. David Sadowski grew up riding the L all over the city. He is the author of Chicago Trolleys and Building Chicago’s Subways and runs the online Trolley Dodger blog.

The Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.

Title Chicago’s Lost “L”s
Images of America
Author David Sadowski
Edition illustrated
Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2021
ISBN 1467100007, 9781467100007
Length 128 pages

Chapters:
01. The South Side “L”
02. The Lake Street “L”
03. The Metropolitan “L”
04. The Northwestern “L”
05. The Union Loop
06. Lost Equipment
07. Lost Interurbans
08. Lost Terminals
09. Lost… and Found

Each copy purchased here will be signed by the author, and you will also receive a bonus facsimile of a 1926 Chicago Rapid Transit Company map, with interesting facts about the “L” on the reverse side.

The price of $23.99 includes shipping within the United States.

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A Fall Harvest

October 22, 2021June 14, 2025David Sadowski 11 Comments

This picture of the old Met bridge over the Chicago River is undated, but probably dates to circa 1952-55 based on the type of red border Kodachrome mount it is in. But it is certainly after the the other picture in this post, taken at much the same location, since the building at rear, or part of it, was in the process of being torn down. This was not related to expressway construction, since the “L” at this point was north of there. Once the Congress rapid transit line opened in 1958, this section of “L” was taken out of service and by the early 1960s it had been torn down.

Cooler weather has moved into the Chicago area, and along with it, we have a Fall Harvest of classic rail images for you today, including many by three of the greatest railfan photographers of the 1950s– Clark Frazier, Truman Hefner, and William C. Hoffman.

Enjoy!
-David Sadowski

This video features streetcars and elevated trains in Chicago, Milwaukee, and New York City, mostly from the early 1950s– and originally shot on high quality 16mm film:

PS- You might also like our Trolley Dodger Facebook auxiliary, a private group that now has 482 members.

Recent Finds

CSL 4001 at South Shops, with 7001 in front of it, probably during the 1950s, when these two experimental cars were being used for storage.

CTA PCC 4371, built by Pullman, is on State Street heading south from Randolph, with the old State-Lake Theater in the background. The film “Lovely To Look At” was released on July 4, 1952, which is probably around when this picture was taken.

North Shore Line 759 heads up a two-car train heading southbound at Harrison Street, leaving street running in favor of private right-of-way in Milwaukee on June 16, 1962. (Richard H. Young Photo)

A two-car CTA Kenwood shuttle train at Indiana Avenue, probably some time around 1949. I assume there must have been stairs leading up to the tower.

A close-up of the previous image.

CTA 6130-6129 are “at speed” near Jarvis “L” station on the north side, operating under wire on the southbound express track as a mid-day Evanston “Shopper’s Special” on December 11, 1955. The picture is slightly blurred because Kodachrome back then was ASA 10 (until the introduction of Kodachrome II in 1961). The unique signage on the train indicates which stations this express train stopped at.

Chicago, Aurora & Elgin wood car 28 is at the head of a train in this picture I assume was taken in Wheaton, between 1952-55 (based on the slide mount).

Red Arrow Strafford car 164 is on the high-speed line to Norristown in the early 1950s, perhaps near 69th Street Terminal. Kenneth Achtert adds: “Your picture of Strafford car #164, if the early 1950s date is accurate, was most likely not on a Norristown line trip, but is arriving at 69th St. Terminal likely coming from Strafford. Strafford service was not abandoned until 1956 and was what gave the 160-series cars their common name. The bullet cars could have been called Norristown cars, but they already had an even better name.”

Red Arrow double-ended car 20, which looks like a PCC but technically isn’t, is running outbound on the Ardmore branch in 1953. Not sure what all the track work is about, although the West Chester branch itself was abandoned in favor of buses in 1954, so that West Chester Pike could be widened. I assume this is the intersection of West Chester Pike and Darby Road in Havertown, PA. The Ardmore trolley was replaced by buses at the end of 1966. Both trolley lines here are now SEPTA bus routes. Mark A. Jones adds: “Regarding the Red Arrow trackage on West Chester Pike west of the Ardmore turn-off, it continued in use after the West Chester line became a bus as the Llanerch car barn (which housed the Red Arrow trolleys at the time) was located Darby Rd. and West Chester Pike west of the Ardmore cut-off. That’s my memory of that.”

Red Arrow double-ended St. Louis car 15, built circa 1949, is coming off the Ardmore line towards the 69th Street Terminal in 1953. The West Chester branch might still have been in operation then, as there is a car in the distance on West Chester Pike.

Red Arrow Brilliner 9 is signed for the Media route in the early 1950s.

Red Arrow Brilliner 6 is signed for the Media route in the early 1950s.

On August 3, 1950, an eastbound Garfield Park “L” train approaches Western Avenue station.
(William C. Hoffman Photo)

Deck roofed “L” cars, including 2908, are in Laramie Yard on July 2, 1950. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

An eastbound train of wooden “L” cars (including 3210), with trolley poles up, heads east on the ground-level portion of the Lake Street “L” in Oak Park on October 12, 1953. I believe the location is a few blocks east of Marion Street, where the street (South Boulevard) narrows.

The subway entrance on State Street between Madison and Monroe, as it looked on December 5, 1954. PCCs were still operating on State at that time. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

The view looking south from the 35th Street “L” station on August 23, 1963. A new center island station had opened here in 1961, taking up space formerly occupied by the center express track, which had been unused after 1949. A fire destroyed the new station in October 1962, and temporary facilities were used until the station was rebuilt in 1965. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

An 8-car train of CTA 4000s, still in the old tan color, approaches 35th Street on November 6, 1950. In this somewhat underxposed slide, you can still make out the long walkway at right, which connected to a stairway at the former 33rd Street “L” station, only used as an auxiliary entrance and exit for 35th after 1949. This walkway was closed on September 25, 1961 and removed thereafter. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

The view looking west from the transfer bridge at the CTA station at 40th and Indiana Avenue on July 7, 1953. A southbound train of 6000s heads into the station. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

This slide, taken on Sunday, March 6, 1955, gives a good view of the direction sign on the transfer bridge at 40th and Indiana station. Our resident South Side expert M. E. adds, “Two-car trains were rare on the north/south main line. The destination sign explains why just two cars: It is an “all-stop” sign reading “Howard Street”. Most days of the week, main line service was either “A” or “B”. The only time the CTA ran just two cars on the main line as all-stop trains was on Sunday mornings.” (William C. Hoffman Photo)

The westbound view from the transfer bridge at 40th and Indiana on July 2, 1963 shows CTA 6047 at the rear of a northbound train, fitted with an experimental ventilation system. This was not shot on Kodachrome, which explains the somewhat funky color shift on this slide. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

The view west from the overhead transfer bridge at 40th and Indiana on July 7, 1953, looking west. We see a northbound train of 4000s, an approaching southbound train of 6000s, a Stock Yards shuttle train, and some additional Stock Yards cars being stored on the former express track, unused since 1949.
(William C. Hoffman Photo)

Looking west from the passenger overpass at Indiana Avenue on July 3, 1950, we see an 8-car train of steel cars, and a Stock Yards shuttle train. In the distance, that may be some additional Stock Yards cars being stored on the otherwise unused center track. (William C. Hoffman Photo) Our resident South Side expert M. E. writes: “Your caption needs correction. What you claim to be a Stock Yards shuttle is not on the Stock Yards tracks, which ran directly west from the switch building at the end of the platform. Instead, your “Stock Yards” train is on the main line heading east/south. Apparently the CTA still ran old cars on the main line at that time, although I don’t remember that. Another, more remote, possibility is that this short train is dead-heading east (without passengers) toward the Kenwood line. But in the next photo, you see no track connection from the main line to the Kenwood line. The only way dead-headed cars destined for Kenwood could end up on the Kenwood line would have been to turn south on the main line to 43rd St. and use switches to go from the southbound main line to the northbound main line to the former northbound main line track, which joined the Kenwood shuttle track back at Indiana Ave. — and which (in reverse) provided the only way to move Kenwood cars off the Kenwood tracks.” We were only repeating the information that Mr. Hoffman wrote on the original slide mount, which, of course, could be wrong.

Two “new” and two “old” 6000s enter the CTA station at 40th and Indiana on June 6, 1954. The Kenwood shuttle continued to operate for another three years after this. We are facing east. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

SF Muni 170 on the N Line, entering the Sunset Tunnel in 1957. (Clark Frazier Photo)

SF Muni 130 on Ocean Avenue by Elkton Shops on September 16, 1957. According to the Market Street Railway web site: “Car No. 130 was among the the last ‘Iron Monsters’ to leave passenger service, in 1958. Muni shop foreman Charlie Smallwood saved it from the scrap heap by hiding it in the back of Geneva carhouse while its mates met their fates. He then talked his bosses into making it a ‘wrecker’. Stripped bare and painted yellow, it spent the next 25 years towing its replacements–PCC streetcars–back to the barn when they broke down. It was fully restored by Muni craft workers in 1983 for the Historic Trolley Festival, including original seats, which Charlie had kept all those years in his basement…just in case!” (Clark Frazier Photo)

Key System A Train 130 near Yerba Buena Island on the Bay Bridge on April 18, 1958. (Clark Frazier Photo)

Pittsburgh 1499 on Route 34/21 on Ladoga Street near Ingram in 1959. (Clark Frazier Photo)

Pittsburgh 1486 and 1485 rest at Ingram carhouse in 1959. (Clark Frazier Photo)

SF Muni “Iron Monster” 162 at La Playa (48th), approaching the N Line terminus on December 16, 1956. (Clark Frazier Photo)

The SF Muni Geary car house in 1956. (Clark Frazier Photo)

Dresden 264 007 on Line 4 at Dresdner Schloss on June 3, 1978. At the time, Dresden was located in East Germany. (Clark Frazier Photo)

Key System 167 is an A Train east of Yerba Buena Island on the Bay Bridge on April 18, 1958. (Clark Frazier Photo)

SF Muni “Iron Monster” 178 on a fantrip on the J Line by SF Muni “Iron Monster” 178 on a fantrip on the J Line by Dolores Park in 1958. (Clark Frazier Photo)Park in 1958. (Clark Frazier Photo)

SF Muni “Iron Monster” 114 stops for passengers on the B Line in 1956. (Clark Frazier Photo)

DC Transit 1553 at the Route 20 Plow Pit on February 7, 1959. This was a spot where overhead wire ended (by law) and streetcars changed over to collecting electricity through an underground conduit. (Clark Frazier Photo)

Boston MTA 3276 entering Reservoir Yard on June 5, 1959. (Clark Frazier Photo)

Boston MTA 3216 on Mass Avenue in North Cambridge on August 29, 1958. (Clark Frazier Photo)

Boston MTA 3337 (ex-Dallas) near the Cedar Grove station on the Ashmont-Mattapan line on May 31, 1961. (Clark Frazier Photo)

DC Transit 1543 on Route 20 in Georgetown on June 7, 1959. The Georgetown Theatre was located at 1351 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC and opened in 1913. It closed in 1986 and was converted to retail. (Clark Frazier Photo)

DC Transit 1159 at the Calvert Bridge on Route 92 on February 6, 1959. (Clark Frazier Photo)

SF Muni “Iron Monster” 213 on the N Line, west of the Sunset Tunnel, in 1957. (Clark Frazier Photo)

Key System (Oakland) E train 184 to Berkeley leaving 55th Street in 1958. This slide has a processing date of March 1958 stamped on it, one of the earliest I have seen. (Clark Frazier Photo)

SF Muni “Iron Monster” 130 on the M Line by Parkmerced on September 16, 1957. (Clark Frazier Photo)

A Key System E train to San Francisco near Tower 3 in 1958. (Clark Frazier Photo)

DC Transit 1136 on Route 54 at the Navy Yard car barn on September 1, 1958. (Clark Frazier Photo)

In May 1952, a CTA train of flat-door 6000s heads down an incline west of Pulaski Road on the Douglas Park “L”. (Truman Hefner Photo)

A train of CTA 6000s on the Metropolitan main line, looking east from Marshfield Avenue. This probably dates to late 1950, since no work has yet been done building the temporary right-of-way in Van Buren Street to the left, later used by Garfield Park trains. The tag on the train indicates whether it stopped at some part-time stations on Douglas. (Truman Hefner Photo)

A CTA two-car train of 6000s, running on the Douglas Park line, heads east onto the Metropolitan main line at Marshfield Junction. Since a train is visible on the Garfield Park portion, the date cannot be later than September 1953, and is likely a couple years before that. (Truman Hefner Photo)

CTA 6056-6057 crossing East Avenue in Berwyn, where a sign indicates that the crossing guard is off duty. This portion of “L” was abandoned in February 1952. (Truman Hefner Photo)

6053-6054 near Oak Park Avenue on the Douglas Park “L”. The date given here (December 1953) must be wrong, as the line had already been cut back to 54th Avenue by then. It may be December 1950, as Douglas was the first line to use the new 6000s. (Truman Hefner Photo)

CTA 2725 at the Oak Park Avenue terminal of the Douglas Park “L” in December 1950.
The line was cut back to 54th Avenue, nearly two miles east of here, in 1952. This area is now used as a parking lot in Berwyn, often referred to as the “L” strip. (Truman Hefner Photo)

CTA 6087 and train are running on the ground-level portion of the Douglas Park “L” at Kenton Avenue in May 1952. (Truman Hefner Photo)

CTA deck-roofed car 2891 is just south of Roosevelt Road on the Westchester “L” in April 1951. (Truman Hefner Photo)

A train of CTA 6000s (probably 6055-6056) crosses Austin Boulevard in Cicero on the Douglas Park “L” in February 1952, shortly before service was abandoned west of 54th Avenue. (Truman Hefner Photo)

A CTA train of 6000s is turning onto the Metropolitan main line from the Douglas Park “L” on April 3, 1954, while a CTA test train (with car 2276) is on the new, as yet unused connecting track between the Douglas “L” and the old Logan Square branch. Once Douglas trains began using this new “L” connection, they began running downtown via the Lake Street “L”, and portions of the old “L” east of here were torn down for expressway construction. By 1958, there was a new ramp in place, approximately in the same place the 6000s are here, leading down to the Congress rapid transit line in the expressway median. (Truman Hefner Photo)

A CTA train of 6000s is turning from the Metropolitan main line onto the Douglas Park “L” on April 3, 1954, while a CTA test train (with car 2276) is on the new, as yet unused connecting track between the Douglas “L” and the old Logan Square branch. Once Douglas trains began using this new “L” connection, they began running downtown via the Lake Street “L”, and portions of the old “L” east of here were torn down for expressway construction. By 1958, there was a new ramp in place, approximately in the same place the 6000s are here, leading down to the Congress rapid transit line in the expressway median. (Truman Hefner Photo)

In December 1950, CTA open platform, railroad-roofed car 2327 is westbound at Austin Boulevard on the Douglas Park “L”.
Here, the barrier is down. (Truman Hefner Photo)

CTA wooden open platform, railroad-roofed car 2330 is northbound on the Northwestern “L” near Berwyn Avenue, running on the Evanston line in July 1951. (Truman Hefner Photo)

CTA 2256 is part of a four-car Met train, turning from Market Street onto the double bridge over the Chicago River in March 1951.
(Truman Hefner Photo)

CTA railroad roofed, open platform car 2707 under the Belt Railway at Kenton Avenue on the Douglas Park “L”. (Truman Hefner Photo)

CTA arched roof, open-platform car 2281 at 54th Avenue on the Douglas Park “L” in March 1951. (Truman Hefner Photo)

Open platform, railroad roof car 2715 at 54th Avenue in Cicero, on the Douglas Park “L”, in January 1951. (Truman Hefner Photo)

The CTA ground-level station at Austin Boulevard in Cicero, on the Douglas Park “L” in December 1950. Note the unusual raised barrier at the crossing. (Truman Hefner Photo)

CTA open-platform, railroad roof car 2338 at Kenton on the Douglas Park line, where there was a connection to the Belt Railway of Chicago, in December 1950. (Truman Hefner Photo)

CTA open-platform, railroad roof car 2318 at Kenton on the Douglas Park line, where there was a connection to the Belt Railway of Chicago, in December 1950. (Truman Hefner Photo)

CTA PCC 7215, a product of the St. Louis Car Company, is signed to go to 80th and Vincennes, operating on Route 22 – Wentworth in 1958. But was this picture taken at 80th and Vincennes? M. E. writes: “Reason to think this photo was taken at 80th and Vincennes: There was a
single loop track at 80th and Vincennes, and the terminal area was on the east side of a miniature “park” situated east of Vincennes between the terminal trackage and Vincennes Ave. proper. Reasons to think this photo was not taken at 80th and Vincennes: (1) The exit trackage in the photo makes no sense if it were indeed 80th and Vincennes. The exit trackage ran straight out of the loop and onto northbound Vincennes trackage. (2) As I recall, 80th and Vincennes was a residential area with no large buildings. If I had to hazard a guess, I’d say this photo was taken on the property of the 77th/Vincennes carbarn, and the streetcar in the photo had either just returned from 80th and Vincennes or was headed there. This scenario is also likely because there was never a “terminal” on line 22 at 77th St.; the closest was at 80th St. Consequently, streetcars in service coming from the north had to go to at least 80th St. before heading back to the barn at 77th St.”

The Prince Crossing station on the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin, as it appeared on June 14, 1960, after abandonment.

Did Not Win

Try as we might, our resources are always limited and there are photos that our beyond our means to afford. Yet many of them are worth another look anyway:

Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad modernized interurban coach 28 and modernized steel interurban combine 107 at the end of the line station shared with Amtrak. The line was cut back from downtown South Bend in 1970. In 1992 the line would be diverted to the South Bend Airport.
April 26, 1980, W Washington St & W Meade St, South Bend, Indiana. (Clark Frazier Photo)

This original glass plate negative, showing the last New York City horse car line circa 1907, recently sold on eBay for $539(!). The location is Broadway looking north just past Broome Street. The horse car line was abandoned in 1917, by which time it had few passengers as was a “franchise run.”

Angel’s Flight in its original LA Bunker Hill location, probably circa 1969. The funicular opened in 1901, but was dismantled and put into storage for several years not long after this picture was taken, as the hill it climbed was razed. It has since reopened in a different location.

A Hidden Freight Spur

Looking northwest.

I was somewhat surprised a few months ago when it appeared some freight car switching was taking place on the Union Pacific West Line (formerly Chicago & North Western) embankment in Forest Park, just east of Lathrop Avenue. The tracks here were raised around 1910 and not far east of here, the embankment is shared with the Chicago Transit Authority’s Green Line (aka the Lake Street “L”).

There isn’t much light industry left near the railroad in Forest Park, but apparently there is still at least one active customer, and behind a row of town houses, there is an active freight spur, with a ramp leading up to the embankment. I found a lone freight car on the spur. Presumably it will be hauled away prior to the next delivery, whenever that might be.

The freight spur is visible on this map. You can also see how the curved streets in this part of Forest Park got their shape. They once formed a “wye” used to turn trains around. Much of the CTA rail yard west of Harlem Avenue was built onto new embankment in the early 1960s.

I drive by this area nearly every day, but all this is so completely hidden from view that I had no idea any of this still existed. It also sheds some light on the changes made to the “L” and the adjacent commuter rail line in the late 1950s.

When the CTA and C&NW were negotiating the relocation of the Lake Street “L” onto the embankment, at first it was thought that the “L” would run as far west as the DesPlaines River in River Forest. In 1958, the C&NW sought permission to close several commuter rail stations, ceding their close-in ridership to the CTA (and at the same time speeding up service to suburbs that were further out).

Originally, the River Forest station was one of the C&NW petitioned the Illinois Commerce Commission to close, but at some point, plans were changed, and the station is still there, serving riders on what is now the Metra Union Pacific West Line.

If the “L” had been extended through this area, it would have made it difficult for the C&NW to continue serving their freight customers in Forest Park with the spur line that is, apparently, still in use.

Looking west.

Looking southeast. Town houses have replaced light industry south of the railroad spur.

Looking northwest.

Recent Correspondence

Larry Sakar writes:

A three-car train in Lake Bluff by William D. Volkmer, 10/8/60.

I was browsing through some of your newest pics on The Trolley Dodger. You have a great picture of a North Shore train NB at Lake Bluff taken by Bill Volkmer on 10/08/60 (5 days after my 10th birthday). They aren’t what I’m concerned with.

In the spring of 1992 I accompanied another NSL fan on a tour of the abandoned NSL from Lake Bluff to Mundelein, probably other spots on the NSL as well but I no longer remember. It may have been this trip, or another time but he was after a whistling post that was still embedded near one of the crossings on the Skokie Valley route. He brought along a sack of tools with which to extricate it. He discovered that it was anchored very deeply by a steel cord of some sort and did not get it.

I took the attached photo at Lake Bluff that day. What I would like to know is where the Lake Bluff station would have been in the 1992 photo and what direction I am facing. As you can obviously tell, it was a damp and foggy day. The second picture was taken at Mundelein. He told me that the NSL station was in the parking lot seen in my photo, which I seem to recall was for an apartment complex.

The individual in the photo was an avid NSL fan, having ridden the last northbound train from Chicago to Racine. He was a high school student at the time. The Racine station agent was a friend of the family. He was in the right place at the right time. The place was the Racine station on the day it was torn down. It was gone by the time he got there but he noticed a pile of items being burned. Among those items was the ticket agent’s rack and rubber stamps which he rescued from the pile.

No rush. I’ve just been wondering. He may have told me that where he was standing was where the trains stopped, but I honestly don’t remember. I ceased all contact with this individual in 2003 when I quit TMER&THS (The Milwaukee Electric Railway & Transit Historical Society).

Thanks.

The site of the former North Shore Line station in Lake Bluff in 1992.

The site of the former North Shore Line station in Mundelein in 1992.

The site (at right) of the former North Shore Line station in Waukegan in 1992.

Perhaps some of our readers can help Larry figure this out, thanks.

Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks.

-David Sadowski

The Trolley Dodger On the Air

I recently appeared on the Dave Plier Show on WGN radio, to discuss Chicago’s Lost “L”s. You can hear that discussion here.

Our Latest Book, Now Available:

Chicago’s Lost “L”s

From the back cover:

Chicago’s system of elevated railways, known locally as the “L,” has run continuously since 1892 and, like the city, has never stood still. It helped neighborhoods grow, brought their increasingly diverse populations together, and gave the famous Loop its name. But today’s system has changed radically over the years. Chicago’s Lost “L”s tells the story of former lines such as Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Kenwood, Stockyards, Normal Park, Westchester, and Niles Center. It was once possible to take high-speed trains on the L directly to Aurora, Elgin, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The L started out as four different companies, two starting out using steam engines instead of electricity. Eventually, all four came together via the Union Loop. The L is more than a way of getting around. Its trains are a place where people meet and interact. Some say the best way to experience the city is via the L, with its second-story view. Chicago’s Lost “L”s is virtually a “secret history” of Chicago, and this is your ticket. David Sadowski grew up riding the L all over the city. He is the author of Chicago Trolleys and Building Chicago’s Subways and runs the online Trolley Dodger blog.

The Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.

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A Tribute to the North Shore Line

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the demise of the fabled North Shore Line interurban in January 2013, Jeffrey L. Wien and Bradley Criss made a very thorough and professional video presentation, covering the entire route between Chicago and Milwaukee and then some. Sadly, both men are gone now, but their work remains, making this video a tribute to them, as much as it is a tribute to the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee.

Jeff drew on his own vast collections of movie films, both his own and others such as the late William C. Hoffman, wrote and gave the narration. Bradley acted as video editor, and added authentic sound effects from archival recordings of the North Shore Line.

It was always Jeff’s intention to make this video available to the public, but unfortunately, this did not happen in his lifetime. Now, as the caretakers of Jeff’s railfan legacy, we are proud to offer this excellent two-hour program to you for the first time. The result is a fitting tribute to what Jeff called his “Perpetual Adoration,” which was the name of a stop on the interurban.

Jeff was a wholehearted supporter of our activities, and the proceeds from the sale of this disc will help defray some of the expenses of keeping the Trolley Dodger web site going.

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Chasing Sanborn (Our 275th Post)

August 30, 2021September 21, 2021David Sadowski 13 Comments

This 1953 view looks to the northwest and shows the old Canal Street station on the Metropolitan “L”, which was near Union Station. They were connected by a walkway nicknamed “Frustration Walk,” since many people would miss their train in the time it took to make the journey. The “L” here closed in 1958 and was demolished soon after. (Jon R. Roma Collection)

This is our 275th Trolley Dodger blog post, so we thought we would make this one extra special for you.

Recently, Jon R. Roma sent us some Sanborn insurance maps that were made in 1906 and 1917, mainly to show sections of the old Garfield Park “L” in greater detail. This was in response to some of our previous posts, where we discussed just where it used to run, before it was replaced by the Congress rapid transit line in 1958.

Learning from history is a process, and as historians, we are continually reaching out to the past, studying the historical record, looking for clues that will inform us today and further our understanding. Photographs, of course, are invaluable, but so are the kind of detailed maps that were made for insurance purposes long ago. They detail pretty much every structure and many of the businesses that once existed.

As an example of what you can learn from these maps, consider the one below showing the layout of old West Side Park, where the Chicago Cubs played through the 1915 season.

A story has gone around in recent years, that supposedly the expression “from out of left field” originated at West Side Park. Cook County Hospital was just north of the park, and the story goes that mental patients there would yell things out during Cubs games, which gave birth to the expression, which has taken on a meaning of something completely unexpected.

Unfortunately, there is no record of “from out of left field” being used in print with this meaning prior to the 1940s, by which time the Cubs had been in Wrigley Field for 25 years. But if you look at the Sanborn map of West Side Park, there was apparently an open area just north of the grandstands, so the hospital would have been some further distance away. I am not sure how much of the field would have been visible from the hospital anyway, so after looking at the map, the story seems unlikely.

What is more likely is how the expression could have evolved just generally from baseball lore. Occasionally, the left fielder will make a throw all the way to home plate during a game. Such a throw, coming “from out of left field,” tends to be unexpected, and it may be that over time, it took on this other meaning colloquially.

In addition, we have more electric traction, steam, and diesel photos taken around 1970 by John Engleman, some recent new photo finds of our own, and correspondence with Larry Sakar.

I guess we will always be “chasing Sanborn,” and other things like it.

We are very grateful to all our contributors. Sanborn fire insurance maps provided courtesy of the Map Library at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Enjoy!

-David Sadowski

PS- If you enjoy reading these posts, you might consider joining our Trolley Dodger Facebook Group as well. We currently have 429 members.

Sanborn Maps from 1917:

The area covered by this volume.

This includes the Met “L” line heading to Humboldt Park and Logan Square. There was a station at Madison Street, opened in 1895, which is not delineated on this 1917 map. It closed in 1951. This section of “L” has since been rebuilt, and is now part of the CTA Pink Line.

The Met “L” branch leading to Humboldt Park and Logan Square made a bit of a jog near Ogden Avenue, an angle street. This is the section just north of Marshfield Junction.

This section of map shows the Garfield Park “L” and includes the station at Western Avenue, which was open from 1895 to 1953. When Western was widened in the 1930s, the front of the station was removed and a new Art Deco front replaced it. The same thing was done to three other “L” stations on Western. This station closed in September 1953, due to construction of the Congress Expressway, and we have featured pictures of its quick demolition in previous posts.

A close-up of the Western Avenue “L” station. I suppose the area marked “iron” refers to the station canopy.

This map includes a section of the Garfield Park “L”.

This map includes a section of the Garfield Park “L”, including part of the station at Hoyne Avenue, which was open from 1895 to 1953. The area between Van Buren and Congress is now occupied by the Eisenhower expressway. The CTA Blue Line tracks are in approximately the same location as the former Garfield Park “L”, but in the depressed highway.

This map shows part of the Garfield Park “L”, including the station at Hoyne Avenue.

This includes the old Garfield Park “L”.

This includes the Garfield Park “L”, including the station at Ogden Avenue, which was open between 1895 and 1953.

A close-up of the Garfield Park “L” station at Ogden Avenue.

The map shows the section of the Met “L” lines just west of Marshfield Junction, where all the various branch lines came together.

The Met “L” branches ran over a building that housed the Dreamland roller skating rink. When the Congress Expressway was built, a new section of “L” was built running north-south to connect the Douglas Park “L” to the tracks formerly used by the Humboldt Park and Logan Square lines prior to 1951. This became part of a new routing for Douglas that brought its trains to the Loop via the Lake Street “L”, where another new connection was built. This is the path that the CTA Pink Line follows today. Douglas trains were connected to the new Congress rapid transit line via a ramp that followed the old Douglas path starting in 1958.

The same location today.

This map shows Marshfield Junction on the Garfield Park “L”, where all the Met lines came together.

A close-up of the Marshfield Junction track arrangement and station layout. Notice that the Aurora, Elgin & Chicago (later the CA&E) had its own platform here. This station was in use from 1895 to 1954. From September 1953 to April 1954, it was only used by Douglas Park trains, as Garfield trains were re-routed to ground level tracks here in Van Buren Street.

This map includes the Laflin “L” station on the Garfield Park main line.

The Metropolitan “L” main line included a station at Laflin Avenue, which originally had two island platforms. Between 1896 and 1914, it was reconfigured with three platforms so the tracks did not have to make sharp curves around the ends of the platforms. This station was open from 1895 to 1951. Notice the complex track arrangement west of the station, which gave the Met maximum flexibility for routing their trains going downtown.

The Met “L” main line between Loomis and Laflin.

The Met “L” facilities shown here represent somewhat of a mystery. There is a general repair shop on Laflin, including maintenance of way, and “batteries” on Loomis.

When the Met “L” was built in the 1890s, they had to generate their own electric power, which they did via this massive power plant between Loomis and Throop. This map indicates that by 1917, the facility was co-owned by what is now Commonwealth Edison.

A close-up of the previous map. Note the Met had a “store house” east of the 1894 power plant.

The Met’s Throop Street Shops. The Met’s “L” station at Racine is also shown.

The Met’s Throop Street Shops are at left, and the Racine “L” station at right. Like Laflin and Halsted, it originally had two island platforms, and was reconfigured to the four side platforms you see here, in order to straighten out the tracks. This station was open from 1895 to 1954. It remained in use until Douglas Park “L” trains could be re-routed downtown via the Lake Street “L”.

The Met Main Line. From 1953-58, when the Garfield Park “L” ran on temporary trackage in part of Van Buren Street, it reconnected with the existing structure via a ramp near Aberdeen. The tracks you see here would have been at the very north end of the expressway footprint.

This section of the Met Main Line was not directly in the way of the Congress Expressway, although it was reduced from four tracks to two during the construction period. The two tracks to the south were removed. The “L” was very close to the highway at this point, though.

The Met Main Line. From 1953-58, the Garfield Park “L” ran on ground-level trackage in Van Buren Street. Douglas Park trains used the old Met structure until April 1954.

The Met Main Line had four tracks in this area, which were reduced down to two during the period from 1953-58. The Halsted “L” station was open from 1895 to 1958, when the new Congress rapid transit line opened in the adjacent expressway median. Many great photos were taken from the east end of the Halsted station, where you had a great view of a double curve.

Like Racine and Laflin, the Met’s Halsted “L” station originally had two island platforms, which meant there were sharp curves in the track at the ends of those platforms. This slowed down operations, so over a period of time leading up to 1914, those three stations were reconfigured. Halsted then had three platforms and the tracks were straightened. During the construction of the adjacent Congress Expressway in the mid-1950s, the two tracks to the south here were removed along with one of the three platforms. It was that close to the highway. However, the station itself remained in use by Garfield trains until the Congress line opened in 1958.

This map shows the Met’s Douglas Park branch heading south, and includes the Polk Street “L” station.

The Polk Street “L” station on the Douglas Park branch opened in 1896 and remains in use today by the CTA Pink Line. It was rebuilt in 1983.

This is the second West Side Park, home of the Chicago National League Ballclub from 1893 through 1915. They were not officially called the Cubs until the 1907 season. Starting in 1916, the Cubs vacated West Side Park in favor of what had been Weegham Park, which had been home to the Chicago Whales of the short-lived Federal League, now known as Wrigley Field. West Side Park was torn down in 1920. Home plate was located at the northwest corner, and it was 560 feet to center field, where there was a club house, somewhat in the manner of New York’s Polo Grounds and other early stadiums. Oftentimes, in those years, if there was a large crowd, fans stood in part of the outfield, as there were no seats there.

The Met’s Douglas Park “L” ran through this area, and is now the CTA Pink Line.

The Met’s Douglas Park “L” branch and the Roosevelt Road (formerly 12th Street) station.

The Roosevelt Road (formerly 12th Street) “L” station on the Metropolitan’s Douglas Park branch opened in 1896 and closed in 1952. In December 1951, the CTA turned it into a “partial service” station, where there was no ticket agent. You could enter the station by placing a token into a turnstyle. This experiment was short-lived, and the station was closed in May 1952.

This shows the Douglas Park “L”, today’s CTA Pink Line.

Sanborn Maps from 1906:

A key to the areas covered by this 1906 set of maps.

This map shows the Halsted station on the Lake Street “L”. It was open from 1893 until 1994. It closed during the two-year rehabilitation project for what is now the CTA Green Line and was eventually replaced by a new station at Morgan Street, which opened in 2012.

A close-up of the Halsted “L” station on the Lake Street line.

The Lake Street “L”.

The Lake Street “L” station at Canal. The “L” crosses the Chicago River here, and in 1906, there was a swing bridge which was eventually replaced. Swing bridges were a hazard to navigation.

The Canal Street “L” station on the Lake Street line opened in 1893 and was replaced by the Clinton station one block west in 1909.

The Lake Street “L” station at Canal.

North is to the left on this map, which shows a curve on the old Metropolitan “L” main line west of the Chicago River. This was part of a double curve east of Halsted Street.

The Met “L” Main Line.

The Met “L” Main Line near Clinton Street. Chicago renumbered many streets after this map was made in 1906. In 1911, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy railroad built its headquarters at 547 W. Jackson, just to the north of the “L”. While the “L” here closed in 1958 and was removed soon after, that building remains and its shape was partially determined by the “L”. Note the Chicago Union Traction cable power house.

The Met “L” station at Canal Street. A new Union Station was built nearby and opened in 1925. The “L” station had a direct enclosed walkway to it, which was used by thousands of people each day.

The Met “L” station at Canal Street opened in 1895 and was rebuilt after a fire in 1922. The platform configuration remained the same, but a new headhouse was built, designed by Arthur U. Gerber. This station closed in 1958 when the new Congress rapid transit line opened nearby, which connected to the Milwaukee-Dearborn-Congress Subway.

The Met “L” crossed the tracks leading to Union Station at an angle, and also crossed the Chicago River this way.

North is to the left on this map, which shows the Met “L” curving a bit towards the north, just east of the Halsted station. Once the buildings surrounding the “L” were cleared away in the early 1950s, for construction of what is now the Kennedy Expressway, this became a favorite site for photographers looking to the east from the “L” station.

Recent Finds

For a minute, I thought this might be Chicago, but apparently not. There was a streetcar #6093 in Chicago, but not until 1914 and the beginnings of the CSL era. That’s not a CSL logo on the side of the car. And Route 9 here was Ashland, not something going to Exchange Depot, whatever that was. It might possibly be Philadelphia, as they had cars like these in a 6000-series (later converted to Peter Witts with the addition of a center door), and they were an early adopter of numbered routes. But there is also a strange logo on the side of the car that I do not recognize. Frank Hicks: “This is International Railway Company in Buffalo. It’s part of a series of 200 Nearside cars built for them by Kuhlman in 1912, a follow-on to their original order for Nearside cars from Brill in 1911.”

A close-up of the unusual logo on the side of the car.

An eastbound single-car Douglas Park train passes by the old Met “L” powerhouse and shops at Throop Street, built in 1894. William C. Hoffman took this picture on October 29, 1950. Work was already underway clearing buildings for construction of the Congress Expressway, today’s I-290 (aka the Eisenhower). The discoloration of the brick was caused by some sort of chemical leaching process.

A close-up of the previous picture, showing the 1894 construction date for the massive Met power house. The “L” opened the following year. The blue line through the date is actually a scratch on the original slide.

The view looking northwest from Congress and Racine on May 14, 1950, showing the old Met “L” power house, the Throop Street Shops, and a bit of the Racine station. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

The old Marshfield “L” station, or at least, the CA&E platform at that station, circa 1951. The red Pullman streetcar is running on Route 9 – Ashland, but here, is on Paulina one block west of Ashland. Streetcars could not run on boulevards, and Ashland was a boulevard between Lake Street and Roosevelt Road. Hence the diversion. A sign advertises the late Carol Channing in the stage version of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. The curving tracks are for the Douglas Park branch. This is where all the various Met “L”s diverged from each other, heading to the west, south, and north from here.

This duplicate slide did not come with any information, but I am wondering if this was taken from the old Met “L” looking to the north, which would mean the streetcar is on Van Buren. The Van Buren line was converted to bus in 1951 and the Garfield Park “L” was re-routed via temporary ground level tracks on Van Buren starting in 1953. Since the buildings around the “L” have been cleared away, that is further evidence that this is the Congress Expressway construction area. Michael Franklin has identified now this as Van Buren and Marshfield.

The same location today.

CTA 6025-6026 is ascending the ramp that brings the Ravenswood “L” up from ground level between Rockwell and Western Avenue. The date is September 30, 1951.

This picture looks north towards Tower 18 on the Loop “L” at Lake and Wells. Since a Douglas Park train is making a turn here, it must have been taken between 1954 and 1958, when that line ran downtown via the Lake Street “L”. As the Loop was uni-directional then, running counterclockwise, the train is coming towards us.

This is the Deerpath Avenue station on the North Shore Line’s Skokie Valley Route.

This is Glencoe on the North Shore Line’s Shore Line Route. The circular white sign would indicate this was a Central Electric Railfans’ Association fantrip, possibly just prior to the 1955 abandonment.

This is the Franklin Avenue station on the NYCTA-BMT Myrtle Avenue elevated in Brooklyn on June 14, 1958, with trolley bus 3039 running on Route 48 – Lorimer Street. Trolley buses were replaced by diesels in 1960, and the Myrtle Avenue El was closed on October 4, 1969. It was the last place on the New York system that used wooden cars. this was nearly 12 years after they were last used in Chicago. The El here opened in 1885, but the station you see here is not the original, but a more modern (and cheaply built) replacement. NY decided that upgrading this El would be too costly, so they got rid of it without replacement. Note the cool 1950s two-toned cars.

This is a view of the same location today. The building at left replaced the one shown in the 1958 picture some time after 2013. The other three buildings appear to be the same, with modifications.

The first photo shows the length of the ramp that connected the Lake Street “L” to the ground level portion west of Laramie. The cross street is Long Avenue (5400 W.), which means the incline ramp was exactly two blocks long. A current view of the same location follows. Streetcars ran on Lake Street until May 30, 1954 when they were replaced by buses. For a few blocks, they ran parallel to the ground level “L”, which was also powered by overhead wire. We are looking east.

The Racine “L” station on the Englewood branch on January 10, 1956.

This picture was taken on January 10, 1956, and shows the ground-level portion of the Lake Street “L” in Oak Park, just east of the Marion Street station. It was relocated to the Chicago & North Western embankment in 1962.

This would seem to be a view of the Quincy and Wells “L” station on the Loop on January 10,l 1956, looking north.

This is a view of the North Shore Line’s Harrison Street Shops in Milwaukee in the late 1950s, taken from an early Ektachrome slide that has unfortunately shifted to red. I did what I could to improve the color. Not sure which express motor car that is.

A colorized view of the old Loop “L” station at State and Van Buren, sometime prior to the end of cable car service in 1906, looking north. There is a picture of this station in 1959 in my book Chicago’s Lost “L”s. It closed in 1973 and by 1975 nearly all of it had been removed, except for a short segment of the platform. A new station opened here in 1997 to serve the new Harold Washington Library.

This view, looking north from the old Loop “L” station at State and Van Buren, dates to between 1952 and 1955. That seems to be prewar PCC 4051, painted in the new CTA colors, heading north. From 1955-56, the prewar cars ran on Western Avenue, but in this time frame, they were used on Route 4 – Cottage Grove.

Another slide I did not win… this one has a real small town feel. Johnstown Traction Electric Streetcar #356 Original Kodachrome Slide Processed by Kodak Oakhurst, Pennsylvania 27 July 1958 Photographer Credit: William D. Volkmer Bob Bresse-Rodenkirk adds: “356 is now at the Shore Line Trolley Museum in East Haven, CT along with Johnstown 357.”

Here is a slide I did not win. It shows two interurban cars on the Iowa Terminal in August 1967. Waterloo & Cedar Falls Northern 100 had just been restored, but unfortunately was destroyed in a fire a few months later. The fate of the North Shore Line box express motor car is less clear. The number seems to be 31, which was also destroyed in the same fire.

The Ravenswood terminal at Kimball and Lawrence in the mid-1950s. The occasion was probably a Sunday fantrip on wooden “L” cars. Since the Ravenswood only ran to Armitage on Sundays in those days (that was changed to Belmont after the North Shore Line quit), there were lots of opportunities to have leisurely photo stops, without interfering with regular service trains. There was also a much more lax attitude back then about having people near the 600 volt third rail.

Photos by John Engleman, Circa 1970

Work car M-454 in Pittsburgh. After it was taken out of regular service in the mid-1950s, it operated as a utility car for Pittsburgh Railways and was also used on some late 1960s fantrips. By 1973 it was sitting derelict on a siding and in sad shape, with its windows smashed, so I assume it has not survived. John Engleman: “The orange car is Pittsburgh Railways M454 on a fantrip somewhere on Pittsburgh’s North Side.” Larry Lovejoy adds: “Work car M454 on a fantrip in Pittsburgh in the early-1960s, inbound at the corner of California Avenue and Brighton Place. After it was taken out of regular passenger service in 1940, “highfloor” car 4115 it was converted into snowplow M454 by Pittsburgh Railways and was routinely used on fantrips during the 1960s. In derelict condition by the early 1970s, it was acquired by Pennsylvania Trolley Museum and scrapped for parts. M454 is survived by sister cars 4145 (nee snowplow M459) and tow-car M200 (nee snowplow M458, nee passenger car 4140), both in PTM’s collection.”

John Engleman: “The GG1 photos, judging by the time of day, are pulling the southbound Silver Star out of Baltimore’s Pennsylvania Station passing B&P Tower on its’ way to Washington. I was an operator at this tower (my favorite one) thus these are non-trespassing photos. I transferred to the B&O in May, 1971, so the GG1s at B&P Jct. were taken prior to that, sometime in 1970. Unfortunately no vegetation around to denote the season though.”

John Engleman: “The Metroliner is southbound at Middle River, Maryland, just east of Baltimore.”

John Engleman: “The single unit diesel and coach is all that was left of the Northern Central service at the time. It was a Washington-Harrisburg coach that reversed direction and changed locomotives in Baltimore, connecting to NY-Chicago and St. Louis trains at Harrisburg. We called it The Afternoon Ridiculous.”

John Engleman: “The 759 photos (without train) were taken in the Western Maryland Ry.’s Port Covington yard, currently being totally gentrified at the present time.”

John Engleman: “The Nickel Plate 759 photos (with train) were taken at Westport, an inner south Baltimore suburb. The MTA light rail line currently operates crossways where I was standing. The power station is BG&E’s Spring Garden substation. Looking forward along the train in the direction it is going one can see the Spring Garden Street trestle bridge, still in place but fire damaged and abandoned. The B&O South Baltimore Branch crosses the WM Ry. at grade looking in the direction the train (obviously a fantrip) is coming from. “

This photo is from one of the annual New Years Eve fantrips that used to take place on the Philadelphia streetcar system. John Engleman: “The SEPTA car is at Richmond & Westmoreland loop of the 15 & 60 lines.”

John Engleman: “The Baltimore Streetcar Museum photos appear to be taken on BSM’s opening day judging by the location of the streetcars. This was the first “end of the line”. The bus is Baltimore Transit 1096, the very first GM branded transit bus built (in 1945) and it is now in the BSM collection, although very unappreciated, and currently in quite unprotected storage pending a major amount of work eventually. The two gentlemen in the picture inside BSM’s carhouse are John Thomsen (L) and Henry Wells (R). This photo shows BSM’s first gift shop.”

Recent Correspondence

Larry Sakar writes:

I just found a great “Then and Now” of the The Milwaukee Electric Rapid Transit line at 35th St. The “Then” photo was taken by Don Ross (Don’s Depot) whom I know you know as do I and the “Now” photo was taken by me having not seen his. The “Then” picture shows a two-car train of 1100’s accelerating away from the 35th St. stop and going under the viaduct. That beam in Don’s photo is probably one of the railings from the steps that lead from the viaduct to the station down below. The steps are long gone but the abandoned right of way is still there.

When I first began photographing the abandoned r.o.w. ln Milwaukee in 1968 I thought it would be “cool” to snap a picture or two showing where the Rapid Transit line went beneath the 35th St. viaduct, so I took a chance and found a way to get down there. I made sure there were no WEPCO employees anywhere in the vicinity.

Don Ross worked for the Railway Express Agency, after working as a towerman for both the Milwaukee Road and the Chicago & North Western. When he worked for the C&NW, one of the towers he worked was Chase Avenue, situated within sight of Harrison St, shops. He said that when he worked a night shift he would see the sparks from the poles of the NSL interurbans. He also founded the National Railway Historical Society’s Milwaukee chapter.

Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks!

-David Sadowski

The Trolley Dodger On the Air

I recently appeared on the Dave Plier Show on WGN radio, to discuss Chicago’s Lost “L”s. You can hear that discussion here.

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From the back cover:

Chicago’s system of elevated railways, known locally as the “L,” has run continuously since 1892 and, like the city, has never stood still. It helped neighborhoods grow, brought their increasingly diverse populations together, and gave the famous Loop its name. But today’s system has changed radically over the years. Chicago’s Lost “L”s tells the story of former lines such as Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Kenwood, Stockyards, Normal Park, Westchester, and Niles Center. It was once possible to take high-speed trains on the L directly to Aurora, Elgin, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The L started out as four different companies, two starting out using steam engines instead of electricity. Eventually, all four came together via the Union Loop. The L is more than a way of getting around. Its trains are a place where people meet and interact. Some say the best way to experience the city is via the L, with its second-story view. Chicago’s Lost “L”s is virtually a “secret history” of Chicago, and this is your ticket. David Sadowski grew up riding the L all over the city. He is the author of Chicago Trolleys and Building Chicago’s Subways and runs the online Trolley Dodger blog.

The Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.

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CTA’s New 7000s

August 16, 2021August 16, 2021David Sadowski 13 Comments

CTA 7009-7010 at Dempster.

Cooler weather returned to the Chicago area last Friday, after a string of hot and muggy days. We took this opportunity to take pictures on the Chicago Transit Authority.

We rode the new 7000-series cars for the first time on the Yellow Line (formerly the Skokie Swift), where they were being tested last week. Our luck was good, as our ride from Dempster to Howard turned out to be the last trip of the day for these new cars, which are being tested extensively on the CTA system.

My impression of these new “L” cars was very favorable. While in many respects they are similar to the existing fleet, the 7000s are instantly recognizable, due to their blue end caps. They are smooth and quiet in operation, and offer improved seating, with fewer sideways seats, which did not prove to be very popular on the 5000s. The 7000s will replace the 2600-series cars, some of which are now 40 years old.

We also took some pictures of the Belmont Flyover construction progress, which is part of the RPM (Red and Purple Modernization) project. The flyover will keep Red, Purple, and Brown Line trains from having to cross in front of each other, and will therefore add capacity to these routes once it opens this November.

In addition, we have more classic traction pictures to share, both our own, and from our contributors Larry Sakar, Bob Bresse-Rodenkirk, and Jack Bejna.

-David Sadowski

PS- If you enjoy reading these posts, you might consider joining our Trolley Dodger Facebook Group as well. We currently have 419 members.

CTA Yellow Line

CTA 7009-7010 has arrived at Dempster in Skokie.

Our 7000s train pulls up to the platform at Dempster.

The 7000s interior. There is less sideways seating than on the 5000s, which should prove popular with riders.

Skokie Shops.

Skokie Shops. You can see 6711-6712 and 6101-6102, part of CTA’s Historic Fleet.

There are some 2400s at Howard Yard, for use in work service.

7009-7010 after arriving at Howard. Unfortunately, there was no return trip on these cars.

From the side, you can hardly tell the 7000s from other “L” cars.

The new 7000s have distinctive blue caps on the ends.

A northbound Red Line train at Howard.

CTA 7009-7010 at Howard.

The 7000s were done for the day and about to be put back in the yard.

5519-5520 at Howard.

Howard Yard.

Flatcars at Skokie Shops.

The CTA’s historic 6000s at Skokie Shops.

Skokie Shops. Note the 7000-series car present.

East Prairie Road.

This portion of platform is a remnant of the old Crawford-East Prairie station on the Niles Center route.

Kostner.

Oakton curve.

Although the Skokie Swift has been renamed the Yellow Line, the CTA still uses this distinctive logo. I believe it was designed by the late George Krambles.

CTA 5519-5520 at the Dempster terminal.

The bus turnaround area has a shelter that is stylistically in keeping with the Dempster Street Terminal.

This is the back end of the historic Dempster Street Terminal, originally built for the North Shore Line and designed by Arthur U. Gerber. The station was moved a bit from its original location to create a bus turnaround area.

From 1925 to 1948, Dempster was the terminal of the CRT’s Niles Center branch.

Belmont Flyover

The Belmont Flyover is massive and work is proceeding rapidly. It may be put into service as soon as this November.

This welder wanted me to take his picture with his mask on and the flame lit.

Thumbs up.

The three-story Vautravers Building at 947 West Newport Avenue was recently moved 30 feet to the west by the CTA as part of the flyover project, so a curve could be straightened out.

There is more to the RPM project than just the Belmont Flyover. Parts of the century-old “L” embankment north of Wilson Avenue are being replaced. The Lawrence Avenue station is currently closed, and there is a temporary station at Argyle (shown here).

Recent Finds

Red Arrow car 27, from a late 1950s red border Kodachrome slide. It was built by Brill in 1918. Sister car 25 was retired in 1964.

Red Arrow car 68 in the late 1950s, from a red border Kodachrome. We ran a different picture taken at this location in a previous post, so I can tell the location is Sheldon and Spring Avenues on the Ardmore line, which was converted to buses at the end of 1966.

On June 6, 1954, William C. Hoffman took this picture looking to the northwest at Congress and Bishop Streets (1432 W.), showing the demolition of main line of the Metropolitan “L”.

The view looking west from Congress and Racine Avenue (1200 W.), showing the old Metropolitan “L”‘s Throop Street Shops and power plant in the process of being torn down to make way for the Congress Expressway on June 6, 1954. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

Again, looking northwest from Congress and Racine, but this time on July 25, 1954. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

Photographer Bruce C. Nelson took this picture of CTA 5695-5696 on February 19, 2017, when these cars (and two others), decorated to celebrate the Chicago Cubs winning their first World Series since 1908, were used on a fantrip sponsored by the Central Electric Railfans’ Association (and made possible by a substantial donation by the late Jeffrey L. Wien).

This shows why I am fully in favor of the recent plan to replace the State and Lake station on the Loop “L” with something new and modern. There was little left of the original station anyway, due to previous renovations and a fire. Clark Frazier took this picture looking north from State Street on April 21, 1980.

This picture of North Shore Line car 254 on the “L” in August 1962 generated a lot of discussion on the Facebook Trolley Dodger group. First of all, where is it? Jon Habermaas has identified it as the Harrison Curve at Harrison and Wabash. He also says that the train is northbound, turning onto Wabash, as the location of the combine as the lead car shows.

Jon Habermaas also posted this picture, taken at the same location.

William C. Hoffman took this picture of a four-car train of 4000s at 43rd Street on October 13, 1952… with three cars in the old paint scheme and one in the new.

The view looking north at the 43rd Street station on October 13, 1952 found a train of flat-door 6000s. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

William C. Hoffman took this picture of a southbound train of CTA 6000s at 43rd Street on March 13, 1955.

The view looking northwest from Congress and Ashland (1600 W.) on October 29, 1950. The one car train is a Douglas Park, and the two-car train of brand new 6000s is from Logan Square. This was a few months before the new Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway opened. (William C. Hoffman Photo)

A Lake Street “L” A train prepares to head east from the Harlem terminal in September 1966. These cars were two years old then, and the line had only been elevated here four years earlier.

The location of this 1950s Loop photo was a mystery. But Graham Garfield writes, “It’s Wells Street looking north at Monroe St. The 200 on the building in the background isn’t 200N, it’s 200W. Everything in this view is gone now, except the “L” and the building on the near left (the SW corner of Wells/Monroe).”

Halsted looking south from 63rd Street. This picture was taken some time between 1907 and 1910. This station on the Englewood “L” has been rebuilt twice since then and is still in use today as part of the CTA Green Line.

A close-up of the previous picture.

This was a slide that was recently sold on eBay that I did not win. North Shore Line car 157 is apparently on a fantrip at the Milwaukee Terminal in the early 1960s, with the Milwaukee Road’s train shed in the background.

There were six original slides on auction recently, all taken in Chicago on January 10, 1956. I assume the photographer, who is as of yet unknown, may have simply been in town for a short time. I did win three of these, and will post improved scans once I receive them, but I thought they were interesting as an entire set:

A nice view of a gateman’s shanty on the ground level portion of the Lake Street “L” in Oak Park. All 22 grade crossings here were manually operated.

This is either the Kedzie or Homan station on the Lake Street “L” (today’s Green Line). There was a third track on a portion of the line, originally used for express trains. In the CTA era, it was used for midday car storage.

Graham Garfield thinks this is the “L” station at Quincy and Wells, looking north.

Wentworth on the Englewood branch. Much of what you see here was cleared away within a few years to build the Dan Ryan Expressway.

Racine on the Englewood branch.

Here’s a 1950s view of the shuttle train that went to the Polo Grounds, where the New York Giants played, before decamping to San Francisco after the 1957 season. It was located in Manhattan, within view of Yankee Stadium (which was across the river in the Bronx). This was apparently the last vestige of the 6th and 9th Avenue Els in Manhattan. The expansion New York Mets played their 1962 and 1963 seasons at the Polo Grounds, while Shea Stadium was being built, after which it was torn down.

Ebbets Field

I recently bought seven original red border Kodachrome slides, taken at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn during a World Series game between the New York Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers. (They cost me just $7.50 apiece.)

The Dodgers were originally called the Trolley Dodgers in the early part of the 20th century, so I hope you won’t mind seeing these pictures here, even though they do not have a transit connection per se.

It is not often that old photos can be dated, but there are enough clues here that the actual date of this one can be figured out. The advertising signs match other pictures from the 1949 WS, where the Yankees beat the Dodgers, 4 games to 1. Games 3, 4, and 5 were played in Brooklyn, and the first two of those had a 1 pm start. Game 5 started at 2 pm since it was a Sunday.

Since the clock here says it is just after 2, and the game hasn’t started yet, this is Sunday, October 9, 1949. By studying one slide, you can see it was taken during the National Anthem. At the base of the scoreboard, there’s the iconic sign for Abe Stark’s clothing store (“Hit sign, win suit”).

Two blimps were flying overhead, one advertising R&H Beer, the other Tydol Gasoline.

The Yankees defeated the Dodgers that day 10-6 in the deciding game of the Series. Ebbets Field was not a large ballpark, and this game was attended by a crowd of 33,711 (several thousand less than the modern capacity of Fenway Park or Wrigley Field).

Ebbets Field had lights installed in 1938. This game was also historic, since the lights were turned on during the 9th inning, the first time this had been done in a WS game. (All WS games were played in the daytime until 1971.)

When games were over, fans were able to walk on part of the left field grass to exit by the center field gate.

The Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles after the 1957 season (and their rivals, the New York Giants, went to San Francisco), leaving the Yankees as the sole New York team until the expansion team Mets joined them in 1962. Ebbets Field, which opened in 1913, was torn down in 1960 and replaced by apartments.

“Hit sign, win suit.”

Recent Correspondence

This is one of the North Shore Line stations designed by Arthur U. Gerber. But which one? My guess is Kenosha. The original slide, from November 1987, was so underexposed that it almost looked opaque, but I did what I could with it. (William Shapotkin Collection)

Larry Sakar writes:

As regards photo 2021/07/bills228 your guess that this is the Kenosha, WI. NSL station is 100% correct.

The giveaway is the entrance. This is the north end of the station. Sometime in the ’80’a or ’90’s when It was Spaghetti Station and then just “The Station,” the owners decided to add a banquet room to the north end of the building. It completely ruined its historical appearance. No attempt was made to make it look anything like the existing building and that big, square addition looked totally out of place with Arthur Gerber’s original design. They also ended up building across from one platform to the other forever ruining that part as well.

I went there in April or May of 1972. There was no bus service in Kenosha at the time, so I had to walk from the location of the TM station (8th Avenue & 55th St.) to the NSL station at 27th Avenue and 63rd St. When I got there I found the building completely enclosed by a picket fence. Luckily, the gate or whatever was open and I walked in and began snapping photos. In those days I was using an Ansco box camera and 620 b&w film with 8 shots to the roll. Talk about primitive!

Just then a gentleman came out of the station which was open on the south end. I explained that I was a traction fan and the North Shore line which had built this station is one of my areas of study. I thought I was going to get kicked off the property, but the man was quite flattered that I was interested in the building.

Did he know about the NSL and the history of the building? He never said. He said I was welcome to take as many pictures as I wished, and said he’d invite me inside but he had just finished washing the floor and it was slippery.

It was just as well because I’d lost the flash attachment to that camera years earlier. Remember the days of flash attachments and flashbulbs? I was also limited in how much time I could spend there. I’d come down from Milwaukee on the Wisconsin Coach Lines bus, which let you off in the downtown Kenosha area. I was really going to have to hustle if I was going to make the next bus back to Milwaukee. Luckily, I did.

I still have the prints that I shot that day and will send them to you should you wish to use them.

NSL Kenosha Station, north end of the southbound platform, April 5, 1972. (Larry Sakar Photo)

NSL Kenosha Station, looking south from the former track area, April 5, 1972. (Larry Sakar Photo)

NSL Kenosha Station, southbound platform from the northbound platform, April 5, 1972. (Larry Sakar Photo)

NSL Kenosha Station, waiting room on the southbound platform, April 5, 1972. (Larry Sakar Photo)

Bob Bresse-Rodenkirk sent in three recent photos, taken at the Shore Line Trolley Museum, in East Haven, CT:

“The Chicago Boys in proper North Shore uniform. Stephen B. Rudolph and Bob Bresse-Rodenkirk. Photos by Alan Zelazo.”

Bob adds, “I am the motorman there and Steve Rudolph is conductor.” Chicagoans may remember Bob from WBBM radio, under his professional name, Bob Roberts.

Finally, Jack Bejna sent us this photo of Chicago Surface Lines 4001:

An “as built” photo of experimental Chicago Surface Lines car 4001 in 1934. It was built by Pullman-Standard, and its body shell is now at the Illinois Railway Museum. (Jack Bejna Collection)

Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks!

-David Sadowski

The Trolley Dodger On the Air

I recently appeared on the Dave Plier Show on WGN radio, to discuss Chicago’s Lost “L”s. You can hear that discussion here.

Our Latest Book, Now Available:

Chicago’s Lost “L”s

From the back cover:

Chicago’s system of elevated railways, known locally as the “L,” has run continuously since 1892 and, like the city, has never stood still. It helped neighborhoods grow, brought their increasingly diverse populations together, and gave the famous Loop its name. But today’s system has changed radically over the years. Chicago’s Lost “L”s tells the story of former lines such as Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Kenwood, Stockyards, Normal Park, Westchester, and Niles Center. It was once possible to take high-speed trains on the L directly to Aurora, Elgin, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The L started out as four different companies, two starting out using steam engines instead of electricity. Eventually, all four came together via the Union Loop. The L is more than a way of getting around. Its trains are a place where people meet and interact. Some say the best way to experience the city is via the L, with its second-story view. Chicago’s Lost “L”s is virtually a “secret history” of Chicago, and this is your ticket. David Sadowski grew up riding the L all over the city. He is the author of Chicago Trolleys and Building Chicago’s Subways and runs the online Trolley Dodger blog.

The Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.

Title Chicago’s Lost “L”s
Images of America
Author David Sadowski
Edition illustrated
Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2021
ISBN 1467100007, 9781467100007
Length 128 pages

Chapters:
01. The South Side “L”
02. The Lake Street “L”
03. The Metropolitan “L”
04. The Northwestern “L”
05. The Union Loop
06. Lost Equipment
07. Lost Interurbans
08. Lost Terminals
09. Lost… and Found

The price of $23.99 includes shipping within the United States.

For Shipping to US Addresses:

For Shipping to Canada:

For Shipping Elsewhere:

NEW DVD:

A Tribute to the North Shore Line

Jeff was a wholehearted supporter of our activities, and the proceeds from the sale of this disc will help defray some of the expenses of keeping the Trolley Dodger web site going.

Total time – 121:22

# of Discs – 1
Price: $19.99 (Includes shipping within the United States)

Help Support The Trolley Dodger

This is our 274th post, and we are gradually creating a body of work and an online resource for the benefit of all railfans, everywhere. To date, we have received over 792,000 page views, for which we are very grateful.

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DONATIONS

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The Spice of Life

July 20, 2021July 21, 2021David Sadowski 11 Comments

The date of this picture is not known, but it must have been in the early 1950s. We see a Chicago & North Western commuter train (aka a “Scoot”) at left on an embankment, while an eastbound CTA train is on the ground level portion of the Lake Street “L”. Perhaps a more exact location can be determined by the signal tower shown in the photo. I think the woods were off of Lake by the end of 1954, and steam only lasted a couple more years on the C&NW. Now both Metra commuter trains and CTA’s Green Line trains share this embankment. (William Shapotkin Collection)

Variety, they say, is the spice of life, and we certainly have a spicy batch of photos for you today. Most are from the collections of William Shapotkin, whose interests range far afield. Looking through all these photos was, for me at least, like Christmas in July.

We hope that you will enjoy them as much as we do. We thank Mr. Shapotkin for generously sharing these images with our readers.

-David Sadowski

PS- If you enjoy reading these posts, you might consider joining our Trolley Dodger Facebook Group as well. We currently have 391 members.

Meet the Author

We will be appearing at City Lit Books (2523 N. Kedzie Avenue in Chicago) at 1:00 pm this Saturday, July 24, to discuss our new book Chicago’s Lost “L”s.

Our program will start with a 20 minute audiovisual presentation, followed by questions and answers from the audience, and a book signing. We hope to see you there.

Interestingly, City Lit Books occupies the same building that once housed the Logan Square “L” Terminal, although you would hardly know it by looking at the exterior. Our presentation will give an overview of the book, and then delve further into the historic “L”s of the northwest side (Logan Square, Humboldt Park, and Ravenswood), with plenty of pictures of the Logan Square Terminal.

The Trolley Dodger On the Air

On July 16th, I was invited to appear on the Dave Plier Show on WGN radio, to discuss Chicago’s Lost “L”s. You can hear that discussion here.

Recent Finds

CA&E 318 is on a mid-1950s fantrip sponsored by the Illini Railroad Club. The car is out on the Mount Carmel branch. You can see Maury Klebolt (1930-1988), the trip organizer, in the window. Mike Franklin: “This photo is looking west on the north side of Roosevelt Rd in Hillside taken from Oak Ridge Ave. That is not a cemetery on the right but rather the outdoor show room for Peter Troost Monument Co, same as today. Queen of Heaven Mausoleum at Wolf & Roosevelt can be seen in the distant left.”

The same location today.

We are looking east along Lake Street, just west of Laramie, in the early 1950s. The Lake Street “L” descended to ground level here, running parallel to the CTA Route 16 streetcar for a few blocks. Streetcar service was replaced by buses on May 30, 1954.

The CTA State and Lake station on April 21, 1980, looking north. This is why I am not sorry to see the old station replaced by a new one– the old one was messed with a lot over the years. It was also damaged by fire, with the result that very little that is original remains. (Clark Frazier Photo)

On February 19, 2017, thanks to a substantial donation from the late Jeffrey L. Wien, the Central Electric Railfans’ Association held a fantrip on the CTA using a four-car train wrapped to celebrate the Chicago Cubs’ World Series victory the previous fall. The lead car was 5695. (Bruce C. Nelson Photo)

On June 1, 1950 CTA PCC 7217 was used as part of an inquest into the fatal collision between car 7078 and a gasoline truck that killed 33 people (and injured many others) on May 25th of that year. The location is 6242 S. State Street. The resulting fire destroyed several nearby buildings. This accident is the subject of a book (The Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster).

Chicago Aurora & Elgin car 205 heads up a westbound four-car train at Cicero Avenue on the Garfield Park “L”.

The beginnings of demolition of the Stohr Arcade building at Broadway and Wilson in December 1922. This Frank Lloyd Wright-designed triangular structure, partially hidden underneath the Northwestern “L”. barely lasted a decade and was replaced by Arthur U. Gerber’s Uptown Union Station the following year. (Chicago Daily News Collection, DN-0075219, Chicago History Museum)

There was once a veritable railfan comic strip that appeared in hundreds of daily newspapers– Fontaine Fox‘s Toonerville Trolley. Here are eight daily panels from December 1939. You will note that most do not feature the trolley or its Skipper.

December 2, 1939.

December 4, 1939. The reference to Holland relates to the “phony war” period of World War II. War had broken out in Europe, but Germany did not invade Holland until the Spring of 1940.

December 6, 1939.

December 7, 1939.

December 9, 1939.

December 11, 1939.

December 13, 1939.

December 14, 1939.

From the Collections of William Shapotkin:

Bill had three different duplicate slides, all of this same image. I tried to stitch them all together to see if the result would be sharper than the three rather fuzzy slides. It didn’t seem to help much. All I know about this North Shore Line scene is that it was taken in 1957. One of the dupes was from Ashland Car Works.

CTA 6238 at 71st and Western on February 3, 1953.

February 22, 1956 at the Chicago & North Western’s Lake Bluff station. At right, an eastbound passenger train arrives, while a westbound freight (coming off the “New Line”) passes. The view looks north.

CTA single-car unit 41 in July 1992. This car is now at the Illinois Railway Museum. During the 1980s it was usually paired with car 28, which unfortunately was not saved.

North Shore Line 758 heads up a four-car train, while a nearby Milwaukee Electric interurban is visiting on a 1949 fantrip.

CTA 6151, a Stony Island car, at Navy Pier on July 4, 1951.

CA&E bus 101.

CA&E 409 at Trolleyville, USA in Olmstead Falls, OH in July 1966. Since 2009, this car has been at the Illinois Railway Museum.

CTA 2923 at the Addison station on the (now) Red Line in June 1993. It was suggested that this might be Addison on the Ravenswood (today’s Brown Line) because there are only two tracks visible. However, Graham Garfield says, “No no! This is actually a very special photo! This is a temporary platform at Addison Red Line (only recently having become the “Red Line”, née North-South Route) built as part of the staging for reconstructing the station, which was rather involved because the structure had to be widened to change from dual side platforms to a single island platform. I was interested to see this photo, as I have only seen a handful of photos of the staging and temp facilities from this project.
To accommodate the island platform, the space between the center tracks had to the widened, so the two northbound tracks (3 & 4) stayed on the original steel structure and the southbound tracks (1 & 2) were placed on a new concrete deck with direct track fixation instead of the standard cut spikes and tie plates on the steel-deck elevated. While this concrete structure was being built, southbound Evanston and Howard trains ran on track 3 until August 19, 1994, when both where shifted onto track 1 on the new decking. On August 21, southbound Howard trains moved onto their permanent home on track 2. The new island platform had opened earlier in the summer.
The layout of the switches in Addison Interlocking north of the station were arranged specifically to make that reroute scheme possible.
So this view looks north on the temporary SB platform along track 3, with a SB Red Line A train stopping.”

A three-car CA&E train at the Aurora terminal.

A five-car North Shore Line train on July 5, 1957. (Joseph Canfield Photo)

CTA Pullman 550 at Madison and Canal in November 1951, presumably running on Route 56 – Milwaukee Avenue. That’s the Chicago Daily News building at rear.

CTA trolley bus 9761 is running on Route 85 – Central near the end of electric bus service. This slide was processed in April 1973. The Manor Theater was located at 5609 W. North Avenue, and was eventually converted into a banquet hall (Ferrara Manor) after it was purchased by the same family that owned the Ferrara Pan Candy Company. So, the location of this slide is at Central and North Avenues, looking to the southwest as the bus is heading north to Bryn Mawr.

CTA 550 entering the Imlay loop at Milwaukee and Devon in September 1951.

This is a former Toronto PCC streetcar, but I have no other information about the picture.

CSL 6022 at Kedzie and 47th Place in June 1943 (?) Not sure if this date is correct, considering the slab-sided postwar auto on the next block. Dan Cluley writes, “Regarding the date of bills188 the sign on the streetcar advertises “Park and Recreation week – May 21-30” That seems to have been a national promotion in 1948. My guess on the car would be postwar Hudson.” So let’s call it June 1948 then.

CTA Pullman 900 at 93rd and Stony Island on November 16, 1951.

CTA 3191 at Stony Island and 93rd on July 11, 1951.

The Pioneer Limited (live steam) at Kiddieland amusement park in August 1992. After Kiddieland closed, the steam engines were purchased by the Hesston Steam Museum.

The observation car on the Kiddieland Express at Kiddieland amusement park in Melrose Park, IL in August 1992. (William Shapotkin Photo)

Milwaukee Road “bipolar” electric loco E-2 on display at the National Museum of Transportation in Kirkwood, MO on August 2, 1995. (William Shapotkin Photo)

CTA gate car 322 is signed as a Kenwood Local on Chicago’s Loop “L” in July 1`1948. Kenwood became a shuttle, running only as far as the Indiana Avenue station, in August 1949 as part of CTA’s major revision of north-south service.

Chicago, IL. CTA car 5010 leads the inaugural revenue run of 5000-series cars on CTA’s Howard-Dan Ryan Line at Howard terminal. The view looks W-NW on April 19, 2010. (William Shapotkin Photo)

Chicago, IL. Rear-end interior view of CTA “L” car 5010. Photo taken during inaugural revenue run of 5000-series cars on the Howard-Dan Ryan line (April 19, 2010). (William Shapotkin Photo)

CA&E 604 and 427 in Wheaton.

CA&E 405.

CA&E 56.

CA&E car 20 at the Fox River Trolley Museum in July 1987, with CTA 5001 and a 4000 in the background.

A CTA freight train is on the north side “L” in this undated photo, looking south. Electric freight service was the “L”s responsibility from 1920 to 1973, a holdover from the days when this was a Milwaukee Road line operating at ground level.

CA&E 422.

The CA&E Wheaton Yard and Shops.

“In the last days of the last streetcar line in Milwaukee, a Wells Street car trundels through downtown.” This would have to be no later than 1958. A new modern streetcar line began operations in Milwaukee a few years ago. (A. C. Kalmbach Photo)

CA&E 430.

I did the best I could with this image, which was completely faded to red. It shows Illinois Terminal 451 being used in regular service on the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit line in October 1976, due to a car shortage. (Jim Walker Photo)

Cleveland RTA PCC 75 is at East 83rd Street on the Shaker Heights Rapid Transit line on May 30, 1976.

SEPTA 6139-6140 (ex-CTA) at the Norristown terminal on March 10, 1987. Until 1951, there was a ramp continuing north from here, leading to street trackage used by the Lehigh Valley Transit’s Liberty Bell interurban, which continued to Allentown. This terminal has since been replaced.

This picture shows the Lake Street “L” at Laramie Avenue (5200 W.) in a state of transition on October 22, 1962– just six days before service west of here was moved to the nearby Chicago & North Western embankment. This two-car train of 4000s (4383-4384) is descending the ramp to ground level, but as you can see, the connection to the embankment is already in place to the left (north). It appears that a section of the ramp was modified when the new track connection was made, as you can see the tracks leading down to ground level bump out a bit to the south. Once the new arrangement was placed in service, the ramp leading to ground level was removed, and the trolley poles were taken off the 4000s used on Lake. They were replaced by new 2000-series cars in 1964.

CSL trolley bus 87 is on Central Avenue near Lake Street on June 7, 1930. These are probably CSL officials, since trolley bus service on Route 85 – Central began the next day, replacing a Chicago Motor Coach route. CSL had begun trolley bus service on Diversey Avenue on April 17, 1930, which explains why this chartered bus was signed for Route 76. Diversey lost its trolley buses in 1955. CSL chose trolley buses for some northwest side routes as they were in competition with the Chicago Motor Coach company to extend service there. It was quicker (and cheaper) for CSL to institute service with electric buses, with the intention (never realized) to convert them to streetcar lines once ridership justified it. This was part of what CSL called “balanced” transit.

Milwaukee streetcar 998 in the 1950s.

CTA buses 5076 and 5300 at the Imlay loop, at Milwaukee and Devon.

CTA buses 5253 and 5218 at the Imlay loop.

CTA buses 5143 and 5300 at the Imlay loop, which is still in use today.

CA&E cars 600 and 702.

We are looking to the west/northwest along the Kennedy expressway at Canfield. An inbound CTA Blue Line train approaches the Harlem Avenue station (located behind the photographer). This picture was taken around October 2019.

CTA trolley bus 9657 on Route 53 – Pulaski. Daniel Joseph: “Location is Pulaski/Peterson Terminal.”

Illinois Terminal sleeping car 504, the “Peoria,” at the Illinois Railway Museum in May 1977. It was built by American Car and Foundry in 1910.

CA&E car 303.

I am not sure just which CA&E wood car this is, at the Wheaton yards. I stitched together two versions of this slide, both badly faded to red, and attempted to restore the colors.

CA&E 406 at Elgin.

CTA 3163 on the ground level portion of the Lake Street “L” in Oak Park on April 27, 1952.

CA&E 424 and train at the Elgin terminal in August 1953.

CA&E 428 at the terminal in Elgin on August 10, 1956.

CTA 5436 at 79th and Perry in March 1950.

CTA 3232 on Route 67. M.E. adds, “This photo was likely taken at 69th and Western. This is an eastbound car making the turn from going north on Western to going east on 69th. After the 69th St. line was converted to buses, the CTA kept the tracks in operation so that PCC cars running along Western could access the barn at Vincennes and 77th.”

CTA 3254 at 71st and California on February 3, 1953.

CTA 3318 at 71st and California on May 28, 1950.

CTA 422 on Kedzie at 47th on May 13, 1954. It would appear this one of one a few locations where there was wire shared by streetcars and trolley buses. M.E. adds, “There was no trolley bus service along Kedzie, so the only explanation for the trolley bus here is that it was going either to or from the trolley bus barn. I don’t know precisely where that barn was, but judging by the picture, it had to be somewhere along Kedzie between 47th and 51st Sts., which had the only two trolley bus lines on the south side.” John V.: “CTA 422 on Kedzie: Trolley buses for routes 47 & 51 utilized Archer Car Station for storage, accessed via Kedzie north of 47th Street. Kedzie itself changed over to trolley buses in 1955.”

CTA trolley bus 9289 at the turnaround loop at Belmont and Cumberland.

The same location today.

CTA trolley bus 9504 on Route 53 – Pulaski in 1970. Mike Charnota Photo)

We are looking east along Randolph Street on October 16, 1958. We see the old Trailways bus depot, and what was then the newly remodeled CTA “L” station, which was replaced a few years ago by a new station a block south and Washington and Wabash. I am not sure whether the giant CTA logo was saved off the old station.

This is an Ashland Car Works duplicate slide, sold by the late Jack Bailey. This is a North Shore Line train in one of the northern suburbs, running on the Shore Line Route, parallel to the Chicago & North Western (which would be just to the right of the frame). Which means we are looking to the south. KV writes that this “appears to be St. Johns Avenue in Highland Park.”

Blue Island, IL on September 6, 2001. This two-car section of the Blue Island (Vermont Street) Metra (IC) Electric station platform is all that’s left of the original 1926 station. The head house and remainder of the platform have been demolished and a new facility is under construction. The view looks N-NE across the west pocket track.

Near the Armitage CTA “L” station in April 1968.

A Chicago Great Western “piggyback” freight train on Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal tracks on September 13, 1965. The CGW was abandoned in the 1970s. We are looking west from Harlem Avenue in Forest Park, IL, with the CTA Congress rapid transit station at right (part of today’s Blue Line). Note how the fiberglass panels on the ramp are arranged in a colorful pattern. Some years later, many of these were removed after some riders were robbed in these secluded walkways. (Dick Talbott Photo)

South Shore Line car 16 in July 1977.

A southbound North Shore Line Electroliner at Lake Bluff. (A. C. Kalmbach Photo)

This was taken on a Central Electric Railfans’ Association fantrip on the Metra Electric around May 1990. The South Shore Line also runs on these tracks somewhere on Chicago’s south side.

South Shore Line 10 in December 1983. (Gregory Markey Photo)

CA&E 309 at the Wheaton Shops.

CTA PCC 7171 heads south on State Street at Wacker Drive, most likely on Route 36. The CTA “L” station at State and Lake Streets is a block away, with Fritzel’s restaurant and the Chicago Theater visible. This picture dates to the mid-1950s.

A train of Met cars on the Garfield Park “L”. (John J. Kelly, Jr. Photo)

CTA 4053-4336 on the Lake Street “L” in Oak Park on October 19, 1952.

CSL 5222 on Halsted at 79th Street, apparently in the late 1920s. The Capitol Theater was located at 7941 S. Halsted and opened in 1925. The view looks south. M.E. notes: “In this photo you see tracks switching between Halsted and 79th St. These switches took Halsted cars east on 79th St. to Vincennes, then north to 77th St. to the big CSL barn. Those tracks could also have led to Emerald Ave. (a half block east of Halsted), where the Halsted cars turned south, then west into the terminal at roughly 79th Place between Emerald and Halsted. From the picture, I can’t determine whether that terminal existed in the 1920s. Halsted cars could have also used the barn farther south at 88th and Vincennes, which had been the barn for the interurban line that ran from Kankakee to the L at 63rd Place and Halsted.”
“I don’t know when the barn at 103rd and Vincennes (also on the Halsted route) opened, but even had it existed in the 1920s, there would not have been a track connection between the Halsted cars running on a private right-of-way east of Vincennes, and the barn on the southwest corner of 103rd and Vincennes. I say this with certainty because, at the intersection of 103rd St., Vincennes Ave. and Beverly Blvd. (which came in from the northwest), there was also the freight line of the Pennsylvania Railroad that ran alongside Beverly Blvd. and crossed both the CSL Vincennes line and the Rock Island main line. So there would not have been any room to run streetcar trackage to the barn! Plus, I believe the 103rd St. barn was strictly a bus barn. But the junction of 103rd and Vincennes, the center of the neighborhood called Washington Heights, would have been a great railfanning location, with Rock Island mainline and commuter trains, CSL Vincennes streetcars, and the Pennsy freights.”

Our Latest Book, Now Available:

Chicago’s Lost “L”s

From the back cover:

Chicago’s system of elevated railways, known locally as the “L,” has run continuously since 1892 and, like the city, has never stood still. It helped neighborhoods grow, brought their increasingly diverse populations together, and gave the famous Loop its name. But today’s system has changed radically over the years. Chicago’s Lost “L”s tells the story of former lines such as Garfield Park, Humboldt Park, Kenwood, Stockyards, Normal Park, Westchester, and Niles Center. It was once possible to take high-speed trains on the L directly to Aurora, Elgin, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The L started out as four different companies, two starting out using steam engines instead of electricity. Eventually, all four came together via the Union Loop. The L is more than a way of getting around. Its trains are a place where people meet and interact. Some say the best way to experience the city is via the L, with its second-story view. Chicago’s Lost “L”s is virtually a “secret history” of Chicago, and this is your ticket. David Sadowski grew up riding the L all over the city. He is the author of Chicago Trolleys and Building Chicago’s Subways and runs the online Trolley Dodger blog.

The Images of America series celebrates the history of neighborhoods, towns, and cities across the country. Using archival photographs, each title presents the distinctive stories from the past that shape the character of the community today. Arcadia is proud to play a part in the preservation of local heritage, making history available to all.

Title Chicago’s Lost “L”s
Images of America
Author David Sadowski
Edition illustrated
Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2021
ISBN 1467100007, 9781467100007
Length 128 pages

The price of $23.99 includes shipping within the United States.

For Shipping to US Addresses:

For Shipping to Canada:

For Shipping Elsewhere:

NEW DVD:

A Tribute to the North Shore Line

Jeff was a wholehearted supporter of our activities, and the proceeds from the sale of this disc will help defray some of the expenses of keeping the Trolley Dodger web site going.

Total time – 121:22

# of Discs – 1
Price: $19.99 (Includes shipping within the United States)

Help Support The Trolley Dodger

This is our 272nd post, and we are gradually creating a body of work and an online resource for the benefit of all railfans, everywhere. To date, we have received over 784,000 page views, for which we are very grateful.
You can help us continue our original transit research by checking out the fine products in our Online Store.
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