CSL 6149, an Odd 17 car built by CSL in 1919, is on through route 1 (Cottage Grove-Broadway), which ran from 1912 until October 7, 1946. The bicycle at right is very likely the photographer’s. Ed Frank rode his bike all over the city instead of taking the streetcar, so he could save money to buy film. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
Today’s post features the final batch of Chicago Surface Lines photos from the George Trapp collection. To find earlier posts in this series, just type “George Trapp” into the search window at the top of this page.
As always, if you can help us with locations and other tidbits of information about what you see here, don’t hesitate to let us know so we can update the captions and share the information with our readers. You can comment on this post, or write us directly at:
thetrolleydodger@gmail.com
We are very grateful for the generosity of George Trapp in sharing these great classic images with us. We also wish to thank the original photographers who took these pictures.
The good news is that George Trapp is going to share his extensive collection of Chicago rapid transit photos with us. Watch this space.
-David Sadowski
CSL 1457. Don’s Rail Photos: “1457 was built by CUT in 1900 as CUT 4505. It was rebuilt as 1457 in 1911 and became CSL 1457 in 1914. It was rebuilt as (a) salt car and renumbered AA68 on April 15, 1948. It was retired on December 17, 1958.” (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CSL/CTA Calt Car AA17. Don’s Rail Photos: “AA17, salt car, was built by CUTCo in 1900 as CUT 4523. It was rebuilt as 1475 in 1911 and became CSL 1475 in 1914. It was rebuilt as salt car in 1930 and renumbered AA17 on October 1, 1941. It was retired on October 30, 1951.” (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CSL 2605, a Robertson Rebuild car. Don’s Rail Photos: “2605 was built by St Louis Car Co in 1901. It was stored at Devon Barn in 1948 and scrapped there in 1954.” (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
An early photo of CSL 1494 in charter service. This was called a “Bowling Alley” car due to the sideways seating. Don’s Rail Photos: “1494 was built by CUTCo in 1900 as CUT 4543. It was rebuilt as 1494 n 1911 and became CSL 1494 in 1914. It was rebuilt as salt car and renumbered AA83 on April 15, 1948. It was retired on October 7, 1954.”
CSL Pullman 362 on the trestle over the Illinois Central at Roosevelt Road, heading to the Museum Loop.
A 1910 builder’s photo of Chicago Railways Pullman 751. (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
A close-up of the Chicago Railways logo.
CSL Pullman 870 is at Devon and Western. One of our keen-eyed readers notes, “I believe that this photo was actually taken in the Summer of 1948, rather than 1946 as stated in your caption. The reason that I say that is because the ACF-Brill bus seen at the curb on the left hand side of the photo was most likely operating on route 36A which was a shuttle on Devon from Kedzie to Broadway and Ardmore Loop. It was started on 12/15/1947 when route 36 – Broadway-State was cutback to Devon-Ravenswood when PCCs were instituted. PCCs were introduced on Western Avenue on August 1, 1948 which explains why Small Pullmans are shown running on Western Avenue in the photo. The car is heading west on Devon. In the distance, you can see the slight rise to Ridge Avenue near Misericordia.” (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 903 at the same location as the last photo, probably taken at the same time. Another factor, weighing in favor of a 1948 date, is the CTA recruitment poster on the front of the car. In its early days, the agency had quite a labor shortage. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
Although not identical, here is a similar sign on another Western Avenue streetcar, in a photo taken on May 22, 1948. That is probably not much different than when the previous two pictures were taken. The CTA had a lot of different signs like this, and many were variations on the same theme. To see the original picture, go to our post Chicago Surface Lines Photos, Part Three (November 21, 2015).
CSL Small St. Louis 1412. Andre Kristopans says it is at Noble Station (car house). Don’s Rail Photos: “These cars 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.” The 1374, which has been restored to operating condition at the Illinois Railway Museum, is part of this same series. Here is what http://www.chicagorailfan.com says about Noble Station: NOBLE 1901 N. Hermitage Ave. (at Cortland Ave.) Opened before 1908 Capacity in 1911: 18 cars inside/60 cars outside Capacity in 1943: 17 cars inside/103 cars outside Closed August 31, 1947 Building demolished (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CSL 1353, shown on the 14th-16th Street route, was part of this same series. (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CSL 1422, also a Small St. Louis car, signed for 14-Canal-Fulton.
CSL 1348, again part of the same series as the “Matchbox” at IRM.
CSL 1427. Frank Hicks: “Cars 1427 and 1428 weren’t Bowling Alleys; they were part of a series of five cars, 1424-1428, that were built in 1903 by Brill and were very similar overall to the Matchboxes. The car ends and St Louis 47 trucks match the St Louis-built Matchboxes but the side windows are different. I’m not sure what the backstory with this series is, as it’s unusual that Brill would build cars with St Louis trucks. These cars were numbered below the Matchboxes on CUT but above them on CSL.” It was retired on April 30, 1937. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 1428 was retired on May 10, 1937. See the caption for the previous picture for a description of this series. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 2816 was a Calumet Electric Railway car. Don’s Rail Photos: “2816 was built by Brill Car Co in 1902, #12109, as Calumet Electric Ry 110. It became Calumet & Street Chicago Ry 801 in 1908 and rebuilt from single end to double end in 1910. It was renumbered 2816 in 1913. It became CSL 2816 in 1914 and scrapped in 1946.”
CSL 1584 was a Chicago Railways car, built in 1912. Don’s Rail Photos: “These cars were improved versions of the Pullmans of a couple years earlier.” It’s odd that the car body would appear so light. It would have been dark green originally, then red starting in the early 1920s. Even if orthochromatic film had been used, this would have rendered the red darker than usual, not lighter. Perhaps it is just a “trick of the light.”
CSL 1592 was another Chicago Railways car, built in 1912. Andre Kristopans says 1592 is “on Division just west of California, by Humboldt Park.” (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CSL 5704 was a Nearside or Muzzleloader car. Don’s Rail Photos: “5704 was built by Brill Car Co. in 1912, #18322. It was rebuilt as one man/two man service in 1933.”
CSL 5983 at Broadway and Wilson. (Fred J. Borchert Photo, Edward Frank, Jr. Collection)
CSL 3091, signed for Elston, was called an “Odd 17” car, although there were actually 19. It was built by CSL in 1919.
CSL 6152, an Odd 17 car, on through route 1, Cottage Grove-Broadway. This picture was taken at the same location as another we previously posted, which George Trapp identified as Devon and Glenwood (1400 W). The car is heading westbound. You can find that photo in our post Chicago Surface Lines Photos, Part Ten (May 6, 2016). (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
The two buildings in the previous picture are still there today.
CSL 6153, another Odd 17 car, circa 1933-34. Our regular reader M. E. has identified the location as being Devon, just west of Western. He adds, “route 1 ran to Devon and Kedzie starting in 1932.” So, this car is heading east on Devon, which explains why it is signed for Lake Park and 55th. (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
The same location today.
CSL 6148, another Odd 17 car, is sporting an NRA (National Recovery Administration) sticker, which dates it to 1933-1935. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL 3092 was known as a “Sewing Machine” or Safety car. Don’s Rail Photos: “3092 was built by CSL in 1921. It was scrapped in 1946.” The lower part of this car, which is probably red, may appear darker due to the use of orthochromatic film. This may show the car as new. (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
We featured previously featured Birney cars in Our 150th Post (August 6, 2016). Birneys were not very successful in large cities such as Chicago, but had a long life in some smaller cities like Ft. Collins, Colorado. Don’s Rail Photos does not list information on CSL 2000, but like the other Birneys he mentions, it was “built by Brill Car Co in October 1920, #21211. It was retired in 1932 and scrapped in March 1937.” Since it looks in pretty good shape in this photo, this photo probably dates to 1932 or earlier. Andre Kristopans: “2000 also at Noble carhouse – note car signed for the north end of the 46-Noble route!”
CSL 3109 at Clark and Devon. (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
CSL 3109 at Devon station (car house). Not sure what those sheets are doing hanging in the windows. (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
Another view of CSL 3109 at Devon station (car house). (Krambles-Peterson Archive)
An Evanston Railways car on Dempster Street, with the “L” in the background. We are looking west from the corner of Dempster and Chicago. Evanston Railways pictures are as scarce as hen’s teeth. The “L” was elevated between 1908 and 1910. This picture was taken sometime between 1913, when ER got these cars, and 1935, when streetcars were replaced by buses.
In 1957, CTA PCC 7271 and 7215 pass on Clark Street, just north of North Avenue. The old Plaza Hotel, located at 59 W. North Avenue, is in the background. A Hasty Tasty restaurant was located in the building, with a Pixley and Ehler’s across the street. These were “greasy spoon” chains that were known for offering cheap eats. Local mobsters were known to hang out at the Plaza. The Chicago Historical Society, now known as the Chicago History Museum, would be just to the left, out of view in this picture. The Moody Bible Institute would be out of view on the right. (Russel Kriete Photo)
In this close-up, that looks like 7215 at right. Photographer Russel A. Kreite (1923-2015), of Downers Grove, Illinois, was a member of the Photographic Society of America and had many of his photos published in books and magazines.
Help Support The Trolley Dodger
This is our 155th 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 195,000 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. You can make a contribution there as well.
As we have said before, “If you buy here, we will be here.”
In this scene at Kedzie station (car house), we have CSL prewar PCC 7019, along with cars 3376, 3381, 3355, 6076, 3007, and 6072, with another PCC behind it. PCC service on busy route 20 – Madison was supplemented with some of the 1929 Sedans since the 83 cars purchased in 1936 were not enough for the line, which needed about 100 cars total in the late 1930s. (Robert V. Mehlenbeck Photo, Joe L. Diaz Collection)
For today’s post, we offer another ample selection of Chicago Surface Lines photos from the George Trapp collection. To find earlier posts in this series, just type “George Trapp” into the search window at the top of this page.
As always, if you can help us with locations and other tidbits of information about what you see here, don’t hesitate to let us know so we can update the captions and share the information with our readers. You can comment on this post, or write us directly at:
thetrolleydodger@gmail.com
We are very grateful for the generosity of George Trapp in sharing these great classic images with us. We also wish to thank the original photographers who took these pictures, most notably the late Edward Frank, Jr. and Joe Diaz, who tirelessly roamed the streets of Chicago in the 1930s and 1940s to document what was then the largest streetcar system in the world. In addition, we should also thank Fred J. Borchert, who took similar photos going back to the 1910s and 1920s, Robert V. Mehlenbeck, and George Krambles, who got a very early start as a railfan, as you can see in some of these pictures.
Unfortunately, all five of these individuals are gone from the scene, but fortunately, we can still benefit from all their hard work in taking these wonderful old photographs. Let us never forget that we are, as Sir Issac Newton said, “standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Since Monday is Labor Day, we have been sure to include some photos of CSL work cars too.
-David Sadowski
CSL 1767 on Broadway-State. One of our regular readers writes, “On Broadway SB near Surf Street (my best guess) post 1937.” (Robert V. Mehlenbeck Photo, Joe L. Diaz Collection)
This sure looks like the same building as in the previous picture. It’s around 2883 N. Broadway, which is just north of Surf.
CSL 6211 on the Hammond, Whiting and East Chicago (Indiana) route, which was jointly operated as a through-route with, logically enough, the Hammond, Whiting and East Chicago Railway. As the Shore Line Interurban Historical Society notes, “Common ownership with the South Chicago City Railway Company brought through operation into Chicago as early as 1896. Similarly, Chicago cars ran to Hammond and East Chicago. However, each company advertised the service on its side of the state line as a local route, retaining the fares from that portion.” Service ended in 1940. (Robert V. Mehlenbeck Photo, Joe L. Diaz Collection)
The presence of Chicago’s famous Como Inn restaurant (which closed in 2001, after being in business for 77 years) helps identify this location as the “six corners” intersection of Halsted, Milwaukee and Grand. Andre Kristopans: “The street you are looking down is Milwaukee, cars could be Milwaukee, Elston, or Division routes. The 1900 on the left in the first photo is on Grand, and Halsted crosses both left to right.” Scott writes, “The photographer is looking northwest up Milwaukee Avenue; the “turtleback” car at the left in the first picture is on Grand. The block in the background (with the corner bar and Schlitz billboard) was recently torn down for new construction; the buildings had all been painted a bluish-gray and left to deteriorate for years.” We posted a later photo showing a PCC car at this location in our post Chicago PCC Updates (August 30, 2015). (Robert V. Mehlenbeck Photo, Joe L. Diaz Collection)
CSL 3058 passes car 687 on Milwaukee at the intersection with Grand and Halsted. (Robert V. Mehlenbeck Photo, Joe L. Diaz Collection)
The same location today. Grand is on the left, Milwaukee on the right.
CSL 6259 at the Imlay loop, the north end of the Milwaukee Avenue route. (Robert V. Mehlenbeck Photo, Joe L. Diaz Collection)
CSL Sedan (Peter Witt) 3367 in service on the Cottage Grove route. Andre Kristopans: “Sedan 3367 is turning west to north at 95th and Cottage Grove.” M. E. writes, “The photo titled “CSL Sedan (Peter Witt) 3367 in service on the Cottage Grove route” must have been taken at 95th and Cottage Grove, because the streetcar is turning from one road to another. At 95th St. there were actually two Cottage Grove Aves.– one heading north along the west side of the Illinois Central main line, the other heading south along the east side of the IC main line. To connect from one Cottage Grove to the other (whether north- or southbound), the streetcars turned left onto 95th St., went under the IC, then turned right on the other Cottage Grove. As for which side of the IC this picture depicts, I believe it is the west side, because I recall a wall along the south side of 95th St. Ergo, this view is west on 95th and the streetcar is heading north.” (Robert V. Mehlenbeck Photo, Joe L. Diaz Collection)
The same location today. We are looking west along 95th, and Cottage Grove is to the right.
CSL 3113 on the Ashland route. Andre Kristopans: “3113 is at Ashland and Irving Park, on the NORTH ASHLAND shuttle route between Irving Park and Fullerton. It was made part of the main route in the 1930’s when the Ashland bridge over the North Branch was built.” (Robert V. Mehlenbeck Photo, Joe L. Diaz Collection)
Ashland and Irving Park today. We are looking east.
CSL 1260 on Montrose. Andre Kristopans: “1260 on Montrose might be at Knox. Does not appear to be at Milwaukee, but that was a 1930 extension, and this is likely before then.” (Robert V. Mehlenbeck Photo, Joe L. Diaz Collection)
One of our regular readers says that CSL Pullman 184 is in the Clark-Arthur Loop, across the street from Devon Station. (Robert V. Mehlenbeck Photo, Joe L. Diaz Collection)
Motion blur makes it hard to read the car number, but this is a Pullman in the (natch) “Pullman green” color scheme prior to the adoption of red in the 1920s. One of our regular readers writes, “Chicago Railways Pullman No. 191. Note the Chicago Railways logo on the side of the car. The CRys logo was very similar to the CSL logo. This photo was probably taken between 1908 and 1914 when CSL started operations. The cars were not painted red and cream until the early 1920s when CSL adopted that color scheme.” (Fred J. Borchert Photo, Edward Frank, Jr. Collection)
This is a circa 1940 view taken by Edward Frank, Jr. showing the old Edgewater car house. We previously posted a Fred J. Borchert photo showing a street railway post office car at this location, in Chicago Surface Lines Photos, Part One (November 3, 2015). Such services ended in 1915. According to www.chicagorailfan.com:
CHICAGO NORTH SHORE STREET RAILWAY EDGEWATER 5847 N. Broadway (near Ardmore Ave.) Opened in 1893 Replaced by Devon car house in 1901 Used as Ardmore bus garage 1937-1950 Building remains standing, abandoned except for CTA substation within northwest corner. Chicago North Shore Street Railway Co. was sold in 1894 to North Chicago Electric Railway Co., and merged in 1899 into Chicago Consolidated Traction Co.
5847 N. Broadway today.
I’m not sure of the exact location of this car at Chicago’s lakefront. Is this Navy Pier? Oak Street beach? Or somewhere else entirely? Andre Kristopans: “The lakefront shot is indeed Oak St, the Chicago Ave loop which was on the NORTH side of Grand about where the entrance to the water filtration plant now is.” George Foelschow: “The lakefront picture features the Furniture Mart at Lake Shore Drive at Erie Street, built in 1926 and the largest building in Chicago for a time. The tiny beach would be at Ohio Street. The Chicago Avenue line approached Navy Pier until the drive was “improved”, though I believe its tracks were separate from the Grand Avenue line.” M. E. writes, “The photo titled “I’m not sure of the exact location of this car at Chicago’s lakefront” is probably, as you surmise, at Navy Pier. There was a huge building on the west side of Lake Shore Drive, which I think was the Furniture Mart. That would have been only a block north of Grand Ave., where Navy Pier is. There were no streetcars anywhere near the Oak St. beach.”
The number on this car at Navy Pier looks like 3010, which would make it a Brill. Andre Kristopans: “3010 at Navy Pier is probably working Stony Island-Wabash. This was the “short loop” roughly in the middle of Navy Pier Park, surrounded by Streeter Drive. Grand cars turned back next to the ramp on the left, which had once had streetcar track going to the upper level of the pier, but by this point was for truck access. The short loop was paved for trolley bus use in 1951, and by 1955 or so replaced by a new TT loop which was accessed from Streeter & Illinois, which lasted until the complete rebuilding of the area in the 1990’s.” (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
This is the old LaSalle Street streetcar tunnel, seen here north of Randolph. The tunnel was in use from 1871 until 1939, when it became an access point for construction of the Dearborn-Milwaukee subway. (Fred J. Borchert Photo, Edward Frank, Jr. Collection)
The old LaSalle Street streetcar tunnel, north of Randolph. (Fred J. Borchert Photo, Edward Frank, Jr. Collection)
Perhaps one of our readers can help identify this bridge. Andre Kristopans: “The first bridge photo is Kedzie across the Sanitary & Ship Canal. The IC bridge in the background is still there, the Kedzie bridge was replaced mid-1960’s, which caused the conversion of the Kedzie-California trolley bus route to motor buses, because CTA did not want to put wires on the shoo-fly.” Bill Shapotkin adds, “This is the Kedzie Ave bridge over the river south of 31st St. View looks E-N/E. Note the still-in-service IC bridge in background (which I did ride over under Amtrak).” (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
Again, maybe one of our readers can help identify this bridge. Andre Kristopans: “The second bridge photo is much harder to ID. However, notice that while the bridge is for lanes, the streetcar is on the “wrong side”, as both tracks are on the near half of the bridge!” Perhaps the bridge was expanded at some point, and the car tracks were left on the one side only. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
Eric Bronsky writes:
This photo shows a car operating northbound on South Western Ave. Bridge over the Chicago Drainage Canal (known today as the Sanitary & Ship Canal), probably in the 1930s. This center pier swing bridge was built in 1906 and removed in 1939. Actually this bridge carried two separate thoroughfares – S. Western Ave. and S. Western Blvd., the latter being a component of Chicago’s historic boulevard system with limited access to local streets between 31st Blvd. and 54th St. Then as now, both thoroughfares were bi-directional. The car tracks were on the avenue (westernmost) side of the bridge.
The main problems with the old swing bridge were its low clearance and the center pier obstructing river traffic. The current bridge, originally completed in 1940 as a fixed span, was soon converted to a vertical lift bridge to accommodate WWII traffic from a shipyard along the canal. It was later converted back to a fixed span.
I have attached a photo which you may use in the blog. Dated Sept. 8, 1938, it looks north. Evidently S. Western Ave. was widened at some point after the bridge was built, but the car tracks were not relocated to the center of the rebuilt roadway, which would explain the offset on the curved approach to the bridge. Please credit Eric Bronsky Collection.
Thanks very much, Eric. There were other places along Western Avenue where the streetcar tracks ended up being offset after the street was widened. You can see such pictures, and a variety of pictures showing the 1940 replacement bridge, in Central Electric Railfans’ Association Bulletin 146, Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: the PCC Car Era 1936-1958.
According to the caption on this Chicago Historical Society photo, we are looking east at Devon station on September 23, 1923. This is a new repair bay at teh west end of the new pit, after much of the building here was destroyed by fire in early 1922.
Looking east at Clark and north of Schreiber, this February 10, 1922 Chicago Historical Society photo shows the aftermath of the fire that burned down half of Devon station (car house).
One of our regular readers thinks this photo shows Evanston Avenue (now Broadway) between Devon and Lawrence. “I believe that the streetcar is a Chicago Union Traction car, but it is too far away in the photo to identify. I believe that the view is looking north somewhere in Edgewater.”
CSL Snow Plow F28. Don’s Rail Photos says, “F28, plow, was built by McGuire-Cummings in 1924. It was retired on December 14, 1956.” (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
Don’s Rail Photos says, “E57, sweeper, was built by Russell in 1930. It was retired on March 11, 1959.” (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
This, and the series of photos that follow, were taken between 1930 and 1932 by George Krambles at the Devon car house, where a lot of very old equipment (including single-truck streetcars) was stored. Since GK was born in 1915, he would have been in high school at this time. CSL often kept obsolete equipment for decades. Some of these cars were used for work service. Another reason for keeping them was their potential sale as assets, in case transit unification came to pass. The young man at left is unidentified. (George Krambles Photo, Edward Frank, Jr. Collection)
CSL Sand Car R4 at Clark and Devon, circa 1930-32. Don’s Rail Photos says, “R4, sand car, was rebuilt by Chicago Rys in 1913 as M4. It came from 5569, passenger car. It was renumbered R4 in 1913 and became CSL R4 in 1914. It was retired in 1942.” (George Krambles Photo, Edward Frank, Jr. Collection)
Ancient CSL car 2144 at Clark and Devon, c1930-32. The side sign reads, “Base Ball.” (George Krambles Photo, Edward Frank, Jr. Collection)
CSL 1142 at Devon car house. Many cars in this series were sold in 1946 for use as temporary housing. I am not sure if this picture was taken around 1930-32 like the few that precede it. (George Krambles Photo, Edward Frank, Jr. Collection)
CSL Supply Car S201. Don’s Rail Photos: “S201, supply car, was built by Chicago City Ry in 1908 as CCRy C45. It was renumbered S201 in 1913 and became CSL S201 in 1914. It was retired on September 27, 1956.” (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
CSL 1465 was called a “Bowling Alley” car due to its sideways seating. Don’s Rail Photos says, “1465 was built by CUT in 1900 as CUT 4514. It was rebuilt as 1465 in 1911 and became CSL 1465 in 1914. It was rebuilt as (a) salt car and renumbered AA71 on April 15, 1948. It was retired on August 2, 1951.” (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
As we near the end of summer here in Chicago, we will leave you with this wintry scene of CSL 1455. Don’s Rail Photos says, “1455 was built by CUT in 1900 as CUT 4504. It was rebuilt as 1455 in 1911 and became CSL 1455 in 1914. It was rebuilt as (a) salt car and renumbered AA67 on April 15, 1948. It was retired on August 17, 1951.” (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
Help Support The Trolley Dodger
This is our 154th 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 193,000 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. You can make a contribution there as well.
As we have said before, “If you buy here, we will be here.”
Some railfans would not have taken this picture, due to the position of the signal, which obstructs the view of the train. But it does give you an idea of how “L” train movements were hampered during the nearly five years of operation on temporary trackage along Van Buren Street from 1953 to 1958. As the expressway, to the left, appears unfinished, I would guess this picture dates to around 1954. All trains had to come to a complete stop at each intersection, which is likely how that signal operates. I believe the cross street here is Western Avenue, and we are facing west. (Walter Hulseweder Photo)
Chicago author Robert Loerzel has written an article for Chicago public radio about the people who were displaced by the construction of the Eisenhower (formerly Congress) expressway. (It’s also a podcast, which you can listen to here.)
Several of the images used in “Displaced” were sourced from a series of blog posts I wrote for the CERA Members Blog a few years ago. My focus was on how the expressway project transformed the old Garfield Park “L” into today’s median rapid transit line. Robert’s piece takes a different tack, but is fascinating nonetheless.
From Garfield “L” to Congress MedianPart 4, Part 5, and Part 6 (August 22 to December 1, 2013) – Some of the articles listed above make up the first three posts in this series.
You can also find additional pictures of expressway construction in previous Trolley Dodger posts. Just type “Congress” or “Garfield” into the search window at the top of this page, and links to these things will come up.
A Few Thoughts on “Displaced”
Although the article doesn’t mention it, some buildings that were in the way of the expressway were moved rather than torn down. House moving, and building moving, seems to be a long Chicago tradition. (In 1929, Our Lady of Lourdes church at 1601 W. Leland was moved, lock stock and barrel, across the street to permit the widening of Ashland.)
In the old CERA blog, I posted pictures of a five-story building being moved near downtown, and a brick apartment building further west.
I know that there were houses moved as far west as Maywood during the expressway construction. Of course, since that was an area with lower density, it would have been easy to find empty lots.
I am pretty sure some buildings in Oak Park were also moved. Contemporary newspaper accounts say so.
As for where the people went who were displaced by the highway, my guess is they were dispersed all over the place, and some moved to other parts of the city and not just to the suburbs as the article implies. Most likely, a majority of displaced residents remained in the city.
Keep in mind that in the period after WWII, when construction began, there were still areas of the city that had not yet been developed.
During WWII, in the area of Galewood where I used to live, fully half the lots were still vacant. In the early 1960s, the last of these vacant lots got developed. (We did not get paved alleys until 1964. I was surprised recently when in Edgebrook to see that there are still unpaved alleys in that otherwise built-up neighborhood.)
And while I am sure that some of the Italians from the old neighborhood ended up in Elmwood Park, when my family moved there in 1964, it was still largely German. It became a lot more Italian after 1964, more than 10 years after people in the expressway’s path would have been displaced.
Although “Displaced” implies that expressway construction was responsible for the Jewish migration from the west side to the north side, I believe this trend was already occurring, going back to the 1930s.
As for the “Burnham connection” between his 1909 Plan of Chicago and the Congress expressway, there is a connection, but it’s more of a zig-zag line than a straight line.
Yes, Daniel Burnham envisioned an improved roadway along Congress, but this would have been more of a landscaped boulevard than a modern expressway. There weren’t a lot of automobiles in 1909, and the idea of such a highway didn’t exist yet. However, with publication of the plan, speculators bought up land along its path, and as time went on, wanted to cash in.
While the old Main Post Office building, as expanded in 1932, left a space for Burnham’s Congress parkway, as late as 1937, the roadway’s future was in considerable doubt.
It did not appear in highway plans proposed in 1937 by Mayor Edward J. Kelly, which favored turning several of Chicago’s “L”s (the Douglas, Humboldt Park, and Lake Street lines) into a disconnected series of elevated highways, which would have resembled New York’s ill-fated West Side Elevated Highway.
Chances are, this plan would have been a disaster. It would have decimated large parts of our rapid transit system, without really solving the highway problem as a whole. Since the City sought federal money for the project, as a works project, it needed the approval of FDR’s Harold L. Ickes. He did not like the plan.
Ickes put his clout behind a Congress parkway expressway, plans for which were finally approved in 1939.
We are gratified that posts we have made in this, and in our previous blog, are being used by researchers looking for source material. That has always been our goal.
For Further Reading
Of particular interest is a 1952 letter, sent by the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin interurban to their shareholders, detailing the railroad’s position at the beginnings of the expressway construction project.
If any of you have read Cooperation Moves the Public (Dispatch 1 of the Shore Line Interurban Historical Society) by Bruce Moffat, you know how CA&E operations on the CTA’s Garfield Park “L” depended on a high degree of professionalism and split-second timing. Once service on the “L” was shifted to the slow and ponderous temporary trackage on Van Buren Street, this level of service became impossible.
Whatever difficulties the CTA experienced from 1953 to 1958 with this operation would have been exacerbated by the additional of CA&E trains. The interurban was truly put into an impossible situation, which left them with little choice but to either sell out to another entity such as the CTA, or liquidate entirely.
Once the expressway portion crossing the DesPlaines River opened in October 1960, there would have been additional ridership losses on the CA&E, which was also facing stiff competition from the Chicago & North Western, which had by then put new air-conditioned bi-levels into service.
In the long run, if CA&E had survived, ridership would eventually have bounced back. But the railroad was unable to survive the many lean times that would have been ahead. The CA&E’s main interest in the 1950s became a gradual liquidation of assets, with the proceeds being distributed among their shareholders.
My conclusion is that the CA&E could only have been saved through a pro-active plan adopted at the beginnings of highway construction, and not the last-ditch efforts at the end. (See also our earlier post The CTA, the CA&E, and “Political Influence”, February 18, 2015).
Here is the original agreement between Oak Park and the State of Illinois for the construction of the expressway.
Plans were changed as they went along. Oak Park had the highway reduced by one lane in each direction, because of the number of buildings that would need to be demolished. Entrance and exit ramps at East Avenue were cancelled, after the village objected. They thought that this would detract from the quiet residential nature of the neighborhood, and would also lead to the widening of East Avenue.
Through Oak Park, both the rapid transit line and the B&O CT freight line were originally intended to run in the middle of the highway, but this would have cut off several local businesses from rail service, probably putting them out of business. Therefore, plans were changed so that the rail lines were put to the south of expressway traffic. There were a couple ramps along the freight line that connected to sidings. One was just east of Austin Boulevard, the other east of Harlem Avenue. Those are no longer in use.
Today, the only customer that still uses the freight line in this area is the Ferrara Candy Company in Forest Park.
Here are some Oak Park newspaper articles, covering the period from 1945 to 1960 concerning expressway construction:
In 2010, the Village of Oak Park proposed making the unusual left-hand exit and entrance ramps at Harlem and Austin landmarks. You can read some of that correspondence here.
-David Sadowski
It’s 1953, and just prior to the opening of the temporary Van Buren trackage, we see a test train crossing Paulina. The streetcar tracks are for CTA route 9 – Ashland, which was still in service until early 1954. The photographer was standing on the platform at Marshfield Junction. The tracks veering off to the right, where Logan Square and Humboldt Park trains once ran, had been out of service since 1951. Garfield and Douglas trains were still running on the “L” when this picture was taken.
The Van Buren Street temporary trackage as it appeared on July 17, 1954. The two-car train of flat-door 6000s may be 6071-6072. As for the cross street, my guess is California Avenue (2800 W.) meaning we are near the west end of the 2 1/2 miles of temporary right-of-way. There is a CTA bus just barely visible behind the train. Since the “L” made no stops along this section, bus service continued on Van Buren, even though it was only half a street for five years. Just to the left of the train, you can see streetcar trackage that would have been used until 1951. (Ed Malloy Photo)
Van Buren at California today. We are looking to the east.
Another view of the Van Buren trackage, circa 1953 since the old “L” is still extant at right.
In this March 17, 1958 photo by Kelly Powell, I think we are looking at construction just west of the Loop related to the Northwest expressway, and not Congress. By 1958, any such work for Congress had been taken care of years earlier. On the other hand, as of this date, CTA service was still running on the old Met “L” east of Aberdeen Street (1100 West), and would have crossed the NW highway footprint just east of Halsted. Once service in this area was shifted to the new expressway median line in June 1958, this section of “L” was removed.
CA&E 430 heads up a two car train at DesPlaines Avenue in the 1950s, while some CTA 6000s are at right.
To show you just how bad Chicago’s postwar housing shortage was, some people purchased surplus streetcar bodies for use as temporary homes. The caption on this press photo reads, “OVER-AGE STREET CAR BECOMES FAMILY’S HOME. CHICAGO- Mrs. Edith Sands prepares dinner on the small stove in the over-age streetcar where she and her husband, Arthur, and their five-month-old son, Jimmy, have just moved. The trolley car, which has seen nearly 50 years of service on Chicago streets, was purchased by the Sands at a recent public sale and propped up on a 5-acre site near Chicago’s southern edge. The car is lighted by gasoline lamps.” (April 16, 1946) In our post Lost and Found: Chicago Streetcar #1137 (June 5, 2015), we wrote about how one of these old streetcars, once used for housing, was recently discovered in Wisconsin. It has since been moved to a museum where it will hopefully be preserved.
If you’ve ever wondered where the old and new CTA tracks converged between 1958 and 1960, this blow-up of an old Roy Benedict map (dated May 15, 1959) shows how it was done. Service east of here began running in the new expressway median as of June 22, 1958, but construction between here and Forest Park was still ongoing, and there were various temporary rights-of-way involved. A track connection was retained to the old Laramie Yard for nearly a year, to permit shop work. This map shows a barrier where the old track connection would have been, probably indicating it had just been cut off. The median line made a turn to the north, immediately after leaving the Lotus Tunnel, to connect up with the old ground-level alignment west of here. All this would have been in the way of extending the Congress expressway west of Central. Once the old tracks connecting with Laramie Yard were removed in mid-1959, the expressway was opened to Central in early 1960. After CTA tracks were put into their current alignment south of the highway, roadwork proceeded quickly and the highway opened as far as First Avenue on October 12, 1960, essentially connecting all the separate links that had been built. On this map, there are diversions where both Central and Austin cross the CTA tracks. At Austin, a bridge was under construction, and at Central, it was an underpass. Regular traffic was routed around this.
Originally, I thought this was early 1960s night shot showed a CTA single-car unit in the 1-50 series, and those cars were used on the Congress-Douglas-Milwaukee line. But as Andre Kristopans has pointed out, the doors on those cars were closer to the ends than this one, which he identifies as being part of the 6511-6720 series. It just looks like there’s one car, since the other “married pair” behind it is not illuminated. This picture was most likely taken at the end of the line at DesPlaines Avenue. Anyway, this prompted some interesting correspondence with Andre Kristopans on the Philly Traction Yahoo Group.
I wrote:
Were the CTA’s single car units (first delivered in 1959), which were designed for one-man operation, ever used as one-car trains on any line besides Evanston or Skokie? I have seen a picture* of a single car on West-Northwest, but that was at the end of the line.
It was my impression that one-car trains were limited to certain lines due to labor union agreements. So, in general, on lines other than Skokie or Evanston, they were run in trains of two cars or longer.
Andre replied:
It COULD have been done, but wasn’t. The 1-50 series of 50 cars were bought with the intent they would be one-man operated. Obviously 50 was way too many for Evanston, in fact only 12 came with trolley poles (39-50) intended for Evanston. Skokie wasn’t even thought of in 1959. The rest were intended apparently for overnight and weekend West-Northwest service, where riding at the time (1959) was quite light. In fact the west side lines had been running single cars since the late 1940’s on some services, such as the Westchester non-rush service where a car was cut off WB from a Forest Park train at Laramie, ran to Westchester and back, then was added back to a Forest Park train. Normal Park on the south side was also a single car cut off an Englewood train at Harvard. Skokie before 1949 was a single woodie, too. But CTA quickly realized that if you had to have a 2-man crew, why not run a 2 car train, so the 1-50 cars always were in pairs on WNW, and used almost exclusively in rush hours.
Me again:
So, in the PCC era, it would have been possible to operate a one-car train on other lines than Evanston or Skokie, but only with a two-man crew?
Andre:
Correct. In the PCC era, single cars were only on Evanston and Skokie. In wood car days, they were used on practically all lines except North-South at one time or another, but with 2-man crews.
*I thought I had seen a picture… see the photo caption above.
The Van Buren Signal System
At intersections, the CTA used an innovative electric eye beam to make sure that stoplights did not change while trains were in the crossing. There were about 15 such cross streets along the 2.5 miles of this surface operation.
In the Comments section for this post, Jeff Weiner and I discussed whether the train signal system on the Van Buren temporary trackage interfaced with the stoplights at the various intersections. I did some research and here’s what I found:
Chicago Tribune, December 14, 1952:
ELECTRIC EYE PLAN PROPOSED FOR C. A. & E.
Aid for Traffic in Van Buren St.
An electronics expert last week put his stamp of approval on the electric eye traffic control system proposed by the city during the temporary operation of Chicago transit authority and Chicago, Aurora and Elgin railway trains at grade level in Van Buren st., pending completion of the Congress st. expressway.
Dean Charles C. Caveny of the Chicago branch of the University of Illinois, an engineer and physical scientist, told the Illinois commerce commission the photo-electric cell system will be satisfactory if properly installed. He said it will probably be as reliable as the more conventional track circuit system.
Testifies at Hearing
The educator testified at a hearing on the Aurora and Elgin petition to suspend rail operations and substitute buses. He said the photoelectric cell system of control is unconventional as far as the proposed type of operation is concerned, but it has been used successfully at the approaches to railroad tunnels.
The city proposes electric eyes at both sides of Van Buren st. intersections. The devices would control north-south traffic signals and would prevent north-south traffic from entering the intersections while trains are in the intersections. The track circuit system does the same thing, but is a much more expensive device.
The city also amended its Van Buren st, operation plan by eliminating five of the 15 intersections crossed by the grade level operations between Sacramento blvd. and Racine av.
Richard A. Walons, a city traffic engineer, testified that CTA officials had said their trains would be unable to maintain a consistent schedule unless the number of intersections was cut down.
Average 11.5 M. P. H.
Walons said that when the grade level operation begins, probably in the spring. Campbell, Washtenaw, and Hoyne avs., and Throop and Laflin sts. will be barricaded to north-south traffic. The move is designed to allow trains to average 11.5 miles per hour in the street.
Under questioning by Joseph T. Zoline, attorney for the Aurora and Elgin, Walons said this was about the sixth plan the city has proposed for the operation. The Aurora and Elgin contended any Van Buren st. operation would not be safe.
Then, on August 14, 1953, the Tribune reported:
Electronic Signal Protection on Ground Level L
A modern electronic signal system has been installed for the operation of Garfield Park elevated trains in temporary tracks at ground level between Racine and Sacramento avs., Walter J. McCarter, general manager of the Chicago transit authority, announced yesterday.
The signal system will govern the operation of trains at 10 street intersections along the temporary route in Van Buren st. All trains will stop at all crossings, with the electronic system providing special signals to instruct the motormen. Electric “eyes” at the intersections will hold traffic lights at red until the trains have cleared the crossings.
The temporary tracks at grade level were necessitated by the construction of the Congress st. super-highway, which requires razing of the elevated tracks. Regular use of the new route is scheduled to begin Sept. 15. The CTA will begin experimenting with the temporary route next week.
So, trains of the Van Buren trackage probably followed this procedure:
1. Trains pull up to a signal at each intersection, come to a complete stop, and look both ways for oncoming traffic 2. If the light is green, proceed with caution. The train breaks an electric eye beam, and as long as it is still in the intersection, the traffic light is prevented from turning green for north-south traffic. 3. If the light is red, wait for it to cycle and see step 2.
When I was a kid, the old High-Low grocery store in my neighborhood had an electric eye beam that opened the door automatically. This is not all that different from the technology used on the Van Buren operation.
I imagine CTA was naturally concerned that you could have a situation where the train started to cross the street, the light changed to green for cross traffic, and a vehicle, having the right-of-way, would try to cut in front of the train, potentially causing an accident. Without some way to change the regular sequence of red and green lights, this was a possibility, which the addition of the electric eye system helped prevent.
A wooden “Met” car was one of the first test trains on the CTA’s Van Buren temporary trackage. The date is August 18, 1953. Testing continued for a month to familiarize pedestrians and motorists with the operation.
Recent Additions
An improved scan of the following picture has been added to our previous post Around Town (August 19, 2016):
Here is a very interesting photograph that could only have been taken in a limited time period. It shows the 4-track Met “L” right-of-way looking east from Marshfield, with a train of newish flat-door 6000s assigned to Douglas. The street at left is Van Buren, and while the area has been cleared out for construction of the Congress (now Eisenhower) expressway (I290), work has not yet begun on the temporary right-of-way that would replace the “L” structure in this area starting in September 1953. I believe this work began in late 1951, shortly after streetcar service on Van Buren was replaced by buses. The first 6000s assigned to Douglas were sent there between September and December 1951. Since this is a wintry scene, chances are the date of this photo is circa December 1951. The building protruding at the center is the old Throop Street Shops.
These three images have been added to our post Night Beat (June 21, 2016):
Toronto Peter Witt 2766 at Vincent Loop in November 1964. (R. McMann Photo)
TTC crane C-2 at work at Queen Street and Eastern Avenue in October 1966. (R. McMann Photo)
A postcard view of C-2 at work in 1967.
And for our friends at the Illinois Railway Museum, here are four classic views of Chicago red Pullman 144, one of the earliest additions to the museum’s collection:
CTA red Pullman 144, as it looked at 77th and Vincennes in 1958, just prior to the abandonment of streetcar service in Chicago. The occasion was most likely the final red car fantrip, which took place on May 25th.
144, looking somewhat worse for the wear, at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union on May 15, 1967. (K. C. Henkels Photo)
Another view of 144 on May 15, 1967. Some makeshift repairs are in evidence on this car, nine years after it last operated in Chicago. It has since been one of IRM’s mainstays. (K. C. Henkels Photo)
144 at the Illinois Railway Museum, probably in the 1980s.
E-Book Additions
FYI, a seven page article from the January 1939 of Mass Transportation, taking an in-depth look at the entire Chicago public transit system, has been added to our E-books The “New Look” in Chicago Transit: 1938-1973 and Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story. Both are available via our Online Store.
If you have already purchased one of these discs, an updated version is available for just $5, with free shipping withing the United States. Contact us at thetrolleydodger@gmail.com for further details.
Concerning CSL’s Madison route, the article notes that “this operation is conducted entirely with P.C.C. cars of a type representing nearly as great an advance over the standard P.C.C. car as that car was an advance over the types previously operated.”
Andre Kristopans: “#4 is at McCormick Blvd on the Skokie branch, the bridge over the North Shore Channel, etc. #5 is an EB? train at Sacramento on the Garfield line.”
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Here is CSL 2802 on a July 13, 1941 CERA fantrip alongside the South Chicago branch of the Illinois Central Electric suburban service. That nattily dressed man has been identified as none other than George Krambles (1915-1998). We ran another picture from this trip in an earlier post Chicago Surface Lines Photos, Part Six (February 22, 2016). Known as a Robertson Rebuild, Don’s Rail Photos says, “2802 was built by St Louis Car Co in 1901 as CCRy 2554. It was sold as C&CS 702 in 1908 and renumbered 2802 in 1913. It became CSL 2802 in 1914.” A circa-1940 Packard prepares to go around the car. (Hochner Photo)
Today, we’ve assembled some of our recent photo finds into this post, which takes us north, south, east, and west around the Chicago area. As always, if you have any interesting tidbits of information to share regarding these pictures, don’t hesitate to either leave a Comment on this post, or contact us directly at:
thetrolleydodger@gmail.com
Thanks.
-David Sadowski
GK.
CSL/CTA Sedan 3327 is shown in the late 1940s at Cottage Grove and 115th, south end of route 4. The Illinois Central Electric suburban service is at left on an embankment.
CSL 5197 was a Brill-American-Kuhlman car. Don’s Rail Photos notes, “5001 thru 5200 were built by Brill in 1905, #14318, for the Chicago City Ry. where they carried the same numbers. They were rebuilt in 1908 to bring them up to the standard of the later cars.” This photo was taken at 31st and Lake Park. On the back of this photo, it notes, “Abandoned 2/28/48.” That’s when route 31 was “bustituted.”
CSL Sedan 3332 is southbound at Lincoln Park on the Clark-Wentworth line, where they ran from 1929 until 1946, when they were replaced by PCCs. As this is a Tom Desnoyers photo, it is probably from the 1940s.
Evanston Railways car #5 after abandonment. Although this picture is undated, streetcar service was replaced by buses in 1935, so chances are this is the late 1930s. To the best of my knowledge, this was part of an order for 12 cars placed with the St. Louis Car Company in late 1913. The late James J. Buckley wrote a short (40 pages) book The Evanston Railway Company, published in 1958 as Bulletin #28 of the Electric Railway Historical Society. This has been long out-of-print, but it is now available as part of The Complete ERHS Collection, an E-book put out by the Central Electric Railfans’ Association in 2014 (which I edited). The Diner Grill (at 1635 W. Irving Park Road in Chicago) is said to be built around the bodies of two Evanston streetcars.
CSL/CTA Pullman 441 on Roosevelt Road, west of the Illinois Central station, circa the 1940s. Not sure what the bus is at rear.
CSL/CTA 5357 at 63rd Place and Oak Park Avenue. As http://www.chicagrailfan.com notes, “The 63rd St. and the Argo streetcar routes were split at Oak Park Ave. And when the Argo streetcar route was replaced with the West 63rd bus route, the split point was relocated east to Narragansett Ave. Narragansett Ave. remained the split point after the main 63rd St. route was converted to buses. After opening of rapid transit line to Midway Airport, 63rd St. service restructured to terminate at Midway Airport terminal, with new route 63W operating west of Cicero Ave.” Therefore, this picture cannot date later than April 11, 1948, when the Argo streetcar route was replaced by the route 63A bus. (Charles Able Photo)
This photo shows CSL work car N5 on December 27, 1940. (Max Miller Photo)
On November 29, 1949 it was reported: “At least 14 persons were reported injured, one critically, when two streetcars crashed at a busy intersection on the south side this afternoon. Several pedestrians were among the injured.” You can just barely see a CTA wrecker in the lower right corner of the picture. M. E. writes: “The smashup dated 29 November 1949 is at 63rd and Halsted, looking northwest at the Ace department store. About that store, I remember it was rather dowdy and had no air conditioning. It had lots of ceiling fans instead. So it was hot in summer. On the southwest corner was an SS Kresge dime store. In the window was a doughnut-making machine, which was probably 15 feet long, most of which was a chute in which the donuts took shape. The price was 3 cents per doughnut. Kresge was predecessor to K-Mart. On the southeast corner were small stores, the largest of which was a Stineway drug store. Notice the spelling: Stineway rather than Steinway as in pianos. On the northeast corner was a big Sears department store, with a Hillman’s grocery in the basement. I think I heard once that this Sears was the largest in Chicago other than the downtown Sears at State and Van Buren.”
This looks like an even more serious accident. The caption from this November 15, 1954 photo reads, “One person was killed and about 30 others injured here when this streetcar collided with a furniture truck on south Western Avenue. Dead man identified as James K. Siegler, 2534 W. 68th Street, a CTA bus driver who was a passenger in the streetcar.” I do not know which car this was, or whether it was ever repaired.
I have seen similar publicity photos taken in 1948 for the Chicago & West Towns Railways. On the back of this print, it was dated Spring 1954, but one of our regular readers thinks otherwise: “Starting in 1950, CTA only purchased propane buses, most of which were built by Fageol Twin Coach or Flxible Twin Coach. 50 were built by ACF-Brill in 1951 and another 100 by Mack in 1957. The old look GM bus on the right is number 6618 which was built by GM in 1948. It was part of a group of diesel buses ordered by CSL and delivered to the CTA. They were used on the lighter CTA bus lines like 115th, 111th. The photo appears to be at South Shops and the year would seem to be 1948, not 1954.” (Library of Congress Photo) (Editor’s note- 111th and 115th were converted to bus as of 9/23/45.)
CTA 5259 is at Waveland and Broadway, northern end of route 8 – Halsted. This was a Brill-American-Kuhlman car. Don’s Rail Photos says, “5251 thru 5300 were built by Brill in 1906, #15365, for CCRy. They were brought up to higher standards in 1909.” This photo was likely taken just prior to PCCs replacing older cars on Halsted. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
CSL Pullman 335 at Jefferson and 14th, probably in the mid-1930s. (Edward Frank, Jr. Photo)
Before experimental CSL car 4001, there was this articulated “duplex” car 4000. Don’s Rail Photos says, “4000 was built by St Louis Car Co in 1903 as Chicago Union Traction Co as 4633 and 4634. They were renumbered 1104 and 1105 in 1913 and became CSL 1104 and 1105 in 1914. They were renumbered 1101 and 1102 in 1925. They were rebuilt as an articulated train using a Cincinnatii Car steel vestibule drum between the bodies. It was completed on August 3, 1925, and scrapped on March 30, 1937.” (CSL Photo, car shown on Cicero Avenue.)
CSL/CTA 1142, a Small St. Louis car, as it appeared on April 7, 1946. Don’s Rail Photos adds, “1142 was built by St Louis Car Co in 1903 as CUT 4671. It was renumbered 1142 in 1913 and became CSL 1145 in 1914. It was rebuilt as a salt car in 1930 and renumbered AA27 on April 15, 1948. It was retired on May 17, 1958.” This was a sister car to 1137, which was recently rediscovered after having been converted to housing in Wisconsin. We wrote about that in our post Lost and Found: Chicago Streetcar #1137 (June 3, 2015). (Meyer Photo)
The old Lake Transfer station was unique in that one “L” branch crossed over another. Here, a Met train is at top, passing over the Lake Street “L”, in this circa 1914 postcard view.
Marshfield Junction looking east, from a circa 1909 postcard. Three Metropolitan “L” branches converged here– from left to right, the Logan Square/Humboldt Park, Garfield Park, and Douglas Park branches. Although an expressway now occupies this site, depressed in an open cut, there is still a track connection here (via a ramp) between the former Douglas branch (today’s Pink Line) and the Blue Line.
Gate car 2705 is signed for both Douglas Park and the old Wells Street terminal, where Chicago, Aurora & Elgin service terminated. That would seem to date this picture to before December 9, 1951, when CTA trains stopped using the Wells terminal, which continued to be used by CA&E until September 1953. Of this class of rapid transit car, Don’s Rail Photos notes, “2701 thru 2756 were built by Barney & Smith in 1895 as M-WSER 701 thru 756. In 1913 they were renumbered 2701 thru 2756 and in 1923 they became CRT 2701 thru 2756.” (Joe L. Diaz Photo)
Wooden “L” cars are still in use on the Lake Street “L” in this July 1951 view. The outer 2.5 miles of line ran on the ground, alongside auto traffic next to the Chicago & North Western embankment, where the tracks were relocated in 1962. The last woods ran on this line circa 1955. The distinctive old fashioned street lights and the Brooks Laundry and Dry Cleaning company peg this as Oak Park, but not all the right-of-way through the village was fenced off as we see here. Overhead wire was used. (Subsequent research shows that the Brooks Laundry was located at the corner of North Boulevard and East Avenue, so we are a block or two west of there along South Boulevard.)
Here is a contemporary view, looking east along South Boulevard, just east of Euclid. Note the relative position of the tree at right (quite close to the sidewalk) and compare that to the 1951 picture. Could be the same tree.
Oak Park in Vintage Postcards, by Douglas Deuchler, says: “Designed in 1903, the Vogue Shirt Factory, 600 North Boulevard at East Avenue, cost $18,000 to construct and was one of Oak Park’s few industrial ventures. Later occupied by Brooks Laundry, the E. E. Roberts building was demolished in the 1950s.” The same author, speaking of the early 1900s, “One popular option was sending clothes out to “power laundries,” such as the Brooks Laundry on North Boulevard at East Avenue. Their delivery wagons would pick up your laundry for you. Brooks charged a nickel a pound. Their ads indicated that since the “average family washing weighs 7 pounds, your laundry will cost you but 35 cents.””
A wood CA&E car in the 140-series heads west of the Loop on the four-track section of the Met “L” in the early 1950s. Below the “L”, you see the Union Station train sheds where the Burlington Northern commuter trains run.
Here is a very interesting photograph that could only have been taken in a limited time period. It shows the 4-track Met “L” right-of-way looking east from Marshfield, with a train of newish flat-door 6000s assigned to Douglas. The street at left is Van Buren, and while the area has been cleared out for construction of the Congress (now Eisenhower) expressway (I290), work has not yet begun on the temporary right-of-way that would replace the “L” structure in this area starting in September 1953. I believe this work began in late 1951, shortly after streetcar service on Van Buren was replaced by buses. The first 6000s assigned to Douglas were sent there between September and December 1951. Since this is a wintry scene, chances are the date of this photo is circa December 1951. The building protruding at the center is the old Throop Street Shops.
There is only a limited time when this picture could have been shot. It shows the temporary Harlem station on today’s CTA Blue Line in suburban Oak Park, during construction of what is now I290. These are the permanent tracks, still in use today, but the new Harlem station was still under construction, so this temporary one, on the east side of Harlem, was used from March 19 to July 29, 1960. The freight tracks to the right of the CTA belong to the B&OCT. Incredibly, the highway opened in this area on October 12, 1960, just months after this picture was taken. The single car units making up the two-car train were first put in service in 1959, and have provisions for trolley poles. These were intended for use on the Evanston branch, although they did not run there until 1961. The temporary station was built on top of a crossover, which cannot be seen in this view.
This composite photograph shows I290 under construction just east of Oak Park Avenue, circa 1959-60. The permanent CTA station at left does not appear to be in service yet. It opened on March 19, 1960.
A four-car CA&E train gives a nice reflection in the Fox River at the Elgin terminal in the 1950s.
The CA&E yard in Wheaton in the early 1900s, when the railroad was still called the AE&C.
The Chicago & West Towns Railways:
Chicago & West Towns Railways line car #15. I believe this is crossing the DesPlaines River, possibly on a 1948 fantrip just prior to abandonment, and the buildings shown are on the east bank. Don Ross: “15 was built by Pullman Car in 1897 as Suburban RR 512. It was renumbered 515 and rebuilt as 15 in 1927. It was rebuilt in 1940 and scrapped in 1948.” (Charles Able Photo)
C&WT 101 on the Madison line. Don Ross: “101 was built by McGuire-Cummings in 1917. It was scrapped in 1948.” Our reader mdfranklinnascar writes: “This is looking north on 19th St across the C&NW tracks in Melrose Park, IL.”
C&WT 106, signed for the Brookfield Zoo. Don Ross: “106 was built by McGuire-Cummings in 1915. It was dismantled in 1943.”
C&WT 111 at the Harlem and 22nd car barn. Don Ross: “111 was built by McGuire-Cummings in 1912. It was scrapped in 1948.”
C&WT 157 was built by Cummings Car Co. in 1927 and I assume it was scrapped in 1948. It is shown here on the LaGrange line.
C&WT 106 again, at the same location.
Recent Additions:
FYI, this photo has been added to Our 150th Post (August 6, 2016), joining two other pictures of the same car:
Here is Johnstown 311 on June 30, 1957.
A Fare Exchange
We had some recent discussion about Chicago Surface Lines (and Chicago Transit Authority) fares recently on the Chicagotransit Yahoo discussion group. I’ll reproduce some of that here. It also prompted some reminiscences from one of our regular readers.
I wrote:
Someone has written me, regarding how her aged mother, who can no longer answer such questions, would have used transit in Chicago in 1932. I still don’t know where she lived, or where she was going.
But how much was the CSL fare back then? Was it a nickel? And how much for a transfer?
(The transfer would only have worked on the Surface Lines, since transfers to the “L” only began in 1935. I think the date was even later if you include the Chicago Motor Coach company.)
robyer2000:
I have a question too. When did the L stop using fare tickets?
I replied:
The only fare tickets I have seen pictures of were from the World War I era…
robyer2000:
I know there were CRT tickets because I saw images of them in the L book that came out several years ago and I know they used tickets at Howard street because it operated with open platforms, perhaps into the CTA era. I have a duplex ticket of unknown vintage but issued by cRT, one coupon valid In the inner zone and the other valid in the outer zone. I believe the company was already in receivership when the form was printed.
Thanks… there are still some things missing in the information provided on these two comprehensive sites.
For example, when did reduced fares for students begin? I am sure they would have started in the CSL era.
(Those proponents of privatized transit ought to know that the private operators were often bitterly opposed to such things as reduced fares for students.)
Transfer regulations are also not fully sketched out. I get the impression that at one time, by reading these articles, that at one time CSL transfers did not cost anything? Andre mentions that they cost a nickel starting in 1961. Nothing before that?
When I was growing up, a paper transfer could be used twice within two hours, and each time it would be punched by the operator on the new vehicle. Reverse riding was prohibited, meaning you generally had to pay a second full fare for your return trip, unless there was a creative way of doing it.
For example, someone could head south to downtown on route 22 (Clark) and head north on 36 (Broadway), since as long as you were going only as far as Diversey, they were going over much the same route. This you could do with a paper transfer.
There was also a thing called a “Supertransfer” for a while, that allowed unlimited rides (but cost more money).
Reverse riding on the same route is permitted today under transfer regulations.
Andre’s article does not mention that at some point in the early CTA era, when they were trying to put pressure on the Chicago Motor Coach company, you had to pay a fare differential when transferring from CMC to the CTA.
I think the CMC fare was 15c, CTA 20c. So if you went from CMC to CTA, you had to pay an additional 5c. (CTA and CMC sued each other over stuff like this, and both lawsuits were dropped when CMC sold out.)
This went away, of course, as of 10-1-1952, when CTA purchased the CMC assets (but not the name, which is why there is a different Chicago Motor Coach bus operation today). At that point, all former CMC routes began charging CTA fares, which must have been quite a jolt for regular riders.
CTA had tried to soften the blow by selling tokens in packs of 10 at a discount.
robyer2000:
Before 1961 transfers were free. I don’t know about transfers to the CRT from CSL where there was a fare differential as that was before my time on this earth.
Me:
I would think that CSL-CRT transfers (which started in 1935) were free. This was a step in the City of Chicago’s path towards transit unification. To some extent, the two systems competed with each other, and it was realized that eventually, they were going to be joined and would have to operate in a more rational and cooperative fashion.
Transfers to CMC came later (1943?).
George Foelschow:
In the late CSL/CRT and into the CTA era, the principle followed was “one city – one fare”. I don’t recall a maximum number of rides on one transfer. You could go from the far Northwest Side at the border with Park Ridge to the Indiana state line on one fare. A trip starting on the surface (white paper) permitted more than one ride, punched each time, a transfer to rapid transit, changing routes if needed within the paid area, and transfer back to surface lines for one or more rides, punching the time when leaving the rapid transit system. A trip starting on rapid transit (blue paper) was valid for the surface after a time punch, and back to rapid transit, but not again on the surface.
I would do this by boarding a Garfield Park train at Desplaines after a CA&E ride from Elgin, transfer to a trolley bus on Central, Cicero, Pulaski, or Kedzie, and board a Lake Street train for the Loop, avoiding the slow trip on VanBuren Street, in the same amount of time. I remember passengers form a Central Avenue bus literally throwing pennies at the “L” agent and running for the train.
Reverse riding could be successful with advance planning. I recall taking the Milwaukee Avenue subway from downtown to Division and transferring to a eastbound 70-Division bus for the return trip downtown.
M. E. adds:
Regarding your recent discussion on Yahoo groups about CSL and CRT, and some of the replies:
I confirm that a free CSL transfer could be used on three conveyances maximum. That includes either three CSL lines; or CSL + CRT + another CSL. Using free connections on the CRT, it was indeed possible to go from the northwest corner of Chicago to the Indiana state line on a single transfer. I think, though, there were extra fares on the CRT Evanston and Niles Center lines because they entered suburbs. I don’t know whether there were extra fares outside Chicago on the Lake St., Garfield Park or Douglas Park CRT lines.
CRT transfers were also free, issued at the start of a trip. But as I recall, they were not blue, they were dark green. Sorry, I don’t remember whether a station agent had to punch a CRT transfer before issuing it.
To transfer from CRT to CSL, the user had to insert the left side of a CRT transfer into a time validation machine at the conclusion of the CRT trip. The validation machine was located at ground level just before exiting the pay area. I’m not certain whether in the three-conveyance scenario (CSL then CRT then CSL), the CSL transfer had to be time-stamped before exiting the CRT. I don’t recall seeing any space for a time validation on a CSL transfer. The left side of a CSL transfer was where a clock was printed; the CSL bus driver or streetcar conductor punched that clock before issuing the transfer at the start of the first CSL trip.
I never did a trip CRT then CSL then CRT, so I don’t know how the CRT transfers worked in that situation. Your other responders who did this kind of trip may know.
In the early 1950s, I wasn’t yet age 12, so I traveled using kids’ fares. I think the kids’ fare on the CRT was 10 cents cash, but 8 cents with a ticket. I distinctly remember buying five tickets for 40 cents. The tickets were orange, with black print.
As for reverse-direction travel on a single fare, the L system made it easy. oarding at 63rd and Halsted, I could travel either to Lawrence and Kimball, cross the platform, and board the next departure south; or I could travel as far north as Jarvis, cross the platform, and return. During my lifetime, the Englewood L first ran to Ravenswood, while the Jackson Park L ran to Howard. Later, both the Englewood and Jackson Park ran to Howard.
Off-topic somewhat: BART in San Francisco told people they could board at one station, travel the system, and return to the original station for a fixed price. It wasn’t cheap. But, where stations were close together, it was much cheaper to board at one station, travel the system, and return to a station close to, but not, the original. The fare software calculated all this travel as just a short trip between the original and final stations. This was a long time ago. Maybe by now BART has caught on and eliminated this possibility.
Another off-topic: Using Wikipedia, I see that the date was January 1, 1952 when the Post Office raised the price of postcards 100%, from 1 to 2 cents. People used postcards a lot back then. Compounding the price increase, the Post Office began charging $1.10 for 50 postcards pre-wrapped. People quickly caught on and asked for 49. The Post Office didn’t take long to rescind the premium charge.
Me:
Thanks! Since you mention the 1950s, I assume you are writing about the Chicago Transit Authority, even though you refer to CSL and CRT.
Andre Kristopans adds:
Child fares (7-11 years old) apparently date back to at least 1908. Rate was 3 cents, two kids for 5 cents. High school students were added to the half-fare rate September 1956.
CMC-CSL transfers started 10/1/43. CSL to CMC were salmon, CMC to CSL were green. I believe CMC-CRT started at the same time.
Supertransfers were indeed Sundays (and holidays) only. Started June 1974. Ended about 1996.
Transfers were free until 7/23/61, then a 5 cent rate was started. Increased to 10 cents 7/8/70.
Paper transfers as we knew them were replaced by magnetic transfer cards 6-15-97, when magnetic fare cards went into general use.
Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks.
-The Editor
Help Support The Trolley Dodger
This is our 152nd 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 188,000 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. You can make a contribution there as well.
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NSL 420 heading south at Dempster, current end of the line for the CTA Yellow Line (aka the “Skokie Swift”), which revived a small portion of the old interurban a year after service ended in January 1963.
The Trolley Dodger blog has reached another milestone with this, our 150th post since we started on January 21, 2015. As time goes on, it becomes both easier and harder to come up with new ideas. On the one hand, we have to work harder to avoid repeating ourselves, since we have already posted thousands of images to date.
On the other hand, there always seems to be more material out there to be had. So in that sense, it seems unlikely that we will ever run out of new material. However, it’s always good to remind our faithful readers that all this historical research costs real money. It costs nothing to read our blog, of course, but the quality and frequency of future posts is entirely dependent on the financial support we get from you.
We are committed to maintaining a very high quality standard in what we put out, and our goal is not only to share information, but to create something of lasting value. We will let others be the judge of whether or not we have succeeded to date, but it’s interesting to note that I often find my own posts coming up to the top of Google searches, when I am researching things.
What makes a good blog post? Well, as I have said before, in general my idea is to use pictures to tell a story. But beyond that, it becomes more difficult to put your finger on what works and what doesn’t.
I would liken it to being a chef in a restaurant who takes whatever fresh ingredients are on hand, and tries to whip them up into a tasty dish. Since our first post featured the North Shore Line, we have a generous helping of classic CNS&M images on today’s menu.
In addition, we have a sprinkling of Chicago, Aurora & Elgin photos, plus some other Chicago/Illinois material, since that is where we are from. Hopefully, all this adds up to a complete “meal,” a feast for the eyes that is also designed to make you think.
But we have not forgotten “dessert.” Our last post (More Mystery Photos, July 29, 2016) included a picture of what appeared to be a Birney car that was not, according to Frank Hicks, an actual Birney. (If anyone is interested in learning what attributes of a streetcar make it into a “true” Birney, look no further than Dr. Harold E. Cox’s book on just that subject. What constitutes a PCC car is also somewhat debatable, another area where the esteemed Dr. Cox has weighed in with an expert opinion.)
While Birney cars, due to their small size, were unsuccessful in larger cities like Chicago, there can be no doubt they were a great success in Fort Collins, Colorado, the “Birney-est” place of all. The Fort Collins Municipal Railway purchased nine such cars for use between 1919 and 1951, a couple for parts. Of these, there’s been a pretty good survival rate, with fully five cars (#s 20, 21, 22, second 25, and 26) still extant.
These cars were so beloved in the area that they never completely left, and efforts to restore a car and revive at least a small portion of service began as early as the 1970s. Service on a mile-and-a-half line began in 1984 and continue to this day, meaning that the resurrected Birney car service in Fort Collins has lasted 32 years now, the same length of time that the original service ran.
The last regular operation of Birney cars in the U. S. was in Fort Collins, CO. The line was originally built by the Denver & Interurban Ry in 1907. In July 1918, the D&I stopped operating the local lines. A bus system was tried, but was very unpopular. In January 1919, the voters, by an 8 to 1 majority, decided to take over the system. Four Birneys were purchased from American Car of St. Louis and began operation in May. Over the years additional cars were added and replaced. Finally, in 1951, the system was abandoned on June 30th. The city had grown beyond the car lines, and riders had gone to the automobile. Car 21 was preserved locally. Other cars were saved at other locations. A local group began to restore 21 in 1977, and operation began on Mountain Avenue on December 29, 1984. Over the next two years, 1.5 miles of track was restored for operation. For a complete story about this system, check out their web site.
But wait, there’s more! There was also a double-truck version of the Birney, so we have posted a couple pictures of Johnstown 311, a much-loved car by the fans who took it on many trips back in the day. It ran in service in Pennsylvania until 1960 and has been preserved at the Rockhill Trolley Museum.
We are featuring color photos today, and will have several new black-and-white images to share in the near future. Thanks for coming along for the ride.
Bon Appétit!
-David Sadowski
PS- If you can help identify any of missing locations, or have other interesting thoughts on these pictures, don’t hesitate to drop us a line, either as a Comment here, or via:
thetrolleydodger@gmail.com
Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee (aka North Shore Line)
NSL 706 heads south from Dempster in this June 9, 1961 photo by Clark Frazier. This is the current terminal of the CTA Yellow Line. The area under the electrical tower at left is where the “pocket” track went, when this was the end-of-the-line for the CRT’s Niles Center Branch. This local service ended in 1948. CTA “L” service resumed here in 1964.
A solitary North Shore Line car crosses the Chicago River at Wacker Drive on the “L”.
NSL 739 and train at Lake Bluff.
NSL 737 at the Loyola curve on the CTA.
NSL 713 heads up a five-car train at Sedgwick in October 1958.
NSL 737 and head “at speed” near Sheridan Elms in Lake Forest.
NSL 735 et al at North Chicago.
“Silverliner” 756 and train in Skokie.
A southbound Electroliner at Edison Court.
NSL 182 and train at St. Mary’s Road (Thornbury Village) on the Mundelein branch on May 31, 1962. Notice the difference in right-of-way construction here, versus the main line.
NSL 743 and train at Green Bay Junction. Jerry Wiatrowski: “NSL 743 and train are on the Skokie Valley route westbound crossing the Mundelein branch at Lake Bluff. The Green Bay Road overpass can be seen in the background.” Joey Morrow: “NSL 743 is at Green Bay junction, the catenary poles are still there today. It parallels IL-176 (Rockland Ave).”
NSL “Greenliner” 751 and a Silverliner at Lake Bluff in June 1962.
A photo run-by on a February 21, 1960 North Shore Line fantrip.
I don’t know just when this picture of a North Shore Line “special” train was taken, but Gustafson Motors was located in Libertyville, along the Mundelein branch. FYI, we have several North Shore Line audio recordings available on compact disc in our Online Store, including some from the Mundelein branch. Garrett Patterson: “nsl003 would have been taken just weeks before the end of service system-wide. The 1962 Bel Air in the lot dates the photo.” One of our regular readers adds: “This was the CERA fantrip that was operated in April 1962. George Krambles operated the train in Evanston, and there are movies and slides of the train going south from Isabella going up the hill to the North Shore Channel bridge. The scene is seen in The Tribute to the North Shore Line video, which has been presented at January CERA meetings (although it is not commercially available). Of course the above photo is at Libertyville (which was a beautiful place in the country at one time).”
NSL 705 and 709 are near the Mundelein terminal on March 25, 1962.
Chicago, Aurora & Elgin
CA&E 460 and an older car are in fantrip service during the late 1950s. Nancy Grove Mollenkamp writes: “This is at West Street looking west in Wheaton. The bridge over Liberty Drive at the start of the Elgin branch is seen in the background.”
CA&E 452 at Geneva Road on March 9, 1957. Nancy Grove Mollenkamp: “This is in Winfield. I believe looking north.”
CA&E 404 is part of a two-car train at the Halsted curve on the old Garfield Park “L”, probably not long before the end of downtown service in September 1953.
CA&E 423 is part of a two-car train at Collingbourne. Nancy Grove Mollenkamp: “Collingbourne is along the Elgin branch near Raymond St. and Elgin Ave.”
One can only wish that the photographer had aimed the camera a bit lower, but nonetheless, CA&E 428 is part of a four-car train in July 1953 on the Halsted curve.
CA&E 454 at an unidentified location. Nancy Grove Mollenkamp: “This slide was identified by someone in a Wheaton FB group as being taken in 1952 at Jewell Road in Wheaton. Another person in the group said he believed it was looking south. He thinks that is Electric Avenue on the right or west.”
CA&E work motors 2001 and 2002 in service in March 1959. By this time, it had been nearly two years since the end of passenger service. Freight only continued for a few more months after this. (B. J. Misek Photo)
We are not sure of the location where this picture of CA&E 403 was taken. Presumably, the box the conductor is carrying holds work-related materials. George Foelschow: “I believe CA&E Pullman 403 and unattached car 410 or 419 are on the eastbound track at Wheaton station. Presumably the two cars, one each from Aurora and Elgin, will be joined for the trip east, and the conductor of 403 would be redundant and no doubt be on the next Fox Valley train due in a few minutes to be split. One could travel between Elgin and Aurora in the same time as a City Lines bus taking a more direct route along the Fox River.” Nancy Grove Mollenkamp: “I agree. Definitely at Wheaton station.”
CA&E 420 at Church Road (Aurora).
CA&E 424 near the end of the line, along the Fox River in Elgin. Meister Brau was a well-known Chicago beer for many years. Each spring, they would sell “Bock” beer, a stronger concoction made (I think) by scraping the bottom of the barrel. They introduced Meister Brau Lite in 1967. After Meister Brau got into financial difficulty in 1972, their brands were bought by Miller, who used Meister Brau Lite as the basis for developing Miller Lite.
CA&E 405 is part of a two-car train. Nancy Grove Mollenkamp: “This is identified by Mark Llanuza as being taken in 1956 between the College Ave station in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. Photographer unknown.”
CA&E 317 is part of a four-car train of woods.
Chicago and Illinois
Indiana Railroad hi-speed lightweight interurban car 65 at the Illinois Electric Railway Museum in North Chicago in October 1956. It had last run in 1953 on the CRANDIC (Cedar Rapids and Iowa City) before being purchased by the museum as their first acquisition. That’s Chicago & Milwaukee Electric 354, another early purchase, behind it.
Illinois Terminal double-end PCC 457 is part of a two-car train, northbound at 19th and State in the mid-1950s. Don’s Rail Photos says, “457 was built by St Louis Car Co in 1949, #1672. It was sold for scrap to Biermann Iron & Metal Co on July 24, 1959, and was scrapped in 1964.”
The same location today.
In this undated photo, probably taken circa 1952, tracks are being laid in the southern half of Van Buren Street to create a temporary right-of-way for the Garfield Park “L”, to allow the demolition of 2 1/2 miles of the old structure that were in the way of Congress (now Eisenhower) expressway construction. At right, you can see the old Throop Street Shops. This temporary alignment was used from September 1953 to June 1958.
A two-car train of CTA 4000s heads west on temporary trackage at Van Buren and Western on July 1, 1956. This was just two weeks after streetcar service ended on Western Avenue. This picture was taken around the time that the sounds of 4000-series “L” cars were recorded on the Garfield Park “L” for Railroad Record Club LP #36, which has been digitally remastered and is now available on compact disc in our Online Store.
Western and Van Buren today, looking to the northeast.
Since CTA PCC 4406 is signed for charter service, this picture was probably taken on October 21, 1956, when this car ran on a fantrip with red Pullman 225. We have run photos from that fantrip before. You can see one in our post Chicago Surface Lines Photos, Part Six (February 22, 2016). Perhaps someone more knowledgeable than me can tell which station (car barn) this is, whether Devon or 77th. Car 4406 lasted until the end of Chicago streetcar service and had a scrap date of June 23, 1959.
A two car train of Lake Street “L” cars crosses the Chicago River with the Merchandise Mart in the background, probably in the early 1950s.
CSL/CTA Y303 is listed as a “baggage car,” although some have called it a MoW or maintenance of way car. It was retired on September 27, 1956. Don’s Rail Photos says, “Y303. baggage car, was built by C&ST in 1911 as 59. It was renumbered Y303 in 1913 and became CSL Y303 in 1914.”
This 1920s-era Chicago Surface Lines trailer was looking pretty shopworn by the 1950s, when this picture was taken at South Shops.
CSL/CTA streetcar 1497 was renumbered as AA85 for work service as a salt spreader, the configuration we see it in here in this 1950s photo. It was scrapped on September 27, 1956. This was known as a “Bowling Alley” car. Don’s Rail Photos: “1497 was built by CUTCo in 1900 as CUT 4546. It was rebuilt as 1497 in 1911 and became CSL 1497 in 1914. It was rebuilt as salt car and renumbered AA85 on April 15, 1948.”
According to Graham Garfield’s excellent web site www.chicago-l.org, “CTA work car S-328 — built by American Car & Foundry in 1907 as Northwestern Elevated trailer 1283, motorized and renumbered to 1792 in 1914 by the CER — was converted for work service and renumbered in 1958.” It was retired in August 1970 and scrapped. Wooden “L” cars were last used in regular service by the CTA in 1957. After spending their final days in work service, cars like these were replaced by retired 4000-series “L” cars. Here we see S-328 at DesPlaines Avenue terminal in June 1962. (George Niles Photo)
In this June 1962 view. we see the CTA’s DesPlaines Avenue terminal as it had been reconfigured in 1959. these very basic amenities continued n use until the station was rebuilt in the 1980s. I would assume that the pile of rubble in the foreground was related to the recent construction of a new maintenance facility here. The nearby expressway had been in operation since 1960. Presumably, the CTA bus is running route 17, which replaced the Westchester “L” branch in 1951. (George Niles Photo)
A pair of old Metropolitan “L” cars, now in work service, share space with CTA curved-door 6000s in this June 1962 view at DesPlaines Avenue. The new shops facility is at left. The large gas holder at right was a Forest Park landmark for many years. (George Niles Photo)
Authentic Birney Cars
This circa 1940 postcard shows the Ft. Collins Birneys in a different paint scheme, which is actually the one currently being used for the one operating car. Caption: “The intersection of College and Mountain Avenues is the 42nd and Broadway of Ft. Collins. It is the heart of the business district, the crossroads of the town. Where all street cars meet and all highways converge.”
Car 26 in the Fort Collins car barn in June 1948.
Fort Collins Municipal Railway Birney car 22 in the city park on April 30, 1947.
25 in reverse rush hour loop service downtown in October 1950.
21 near Colorado State University in late June 1951.
25 in southeast Fort Collins in October 1950.
21 downtown in June 1948.
25 in reverse rush hour loop service downtown in October 1950.
22 in downtown Fort Collins in October 1950.
25 in southeast Fort Collins in October 1950. Here’s what the Wikipedia has to say about the film advertised on the side of the car: “Ecstasy (Czech: Extase, German: Ekstase) is a 1933 Czech-Austrian romantic drama film directed by Gustav Machatý and starring Hedy Lamarr (then Hedy Kiesler), Aribert Mog, and Zvonimir Rogoz.” Containing some nudity, although tame by today’s standards, the film was banned in the United States until 1940, and played to adult audiences at independent theaters and art houses, without the approval of the Hays Office.
22 near Colorado State University in October 1950.
21 at the south end of town in June 1948.
21 near Colorado State University in late June 1951.
22 in northwest Fort Collins in October 1950.
24 in front of the car barn in October 1950. According to Don’s Rail Photos, “2nd 24 was built by Brill Car Co in December 1922, #21530, as Virginia Railway & Power Co 1530 It was sold as FCM 24 in 1946 but seldom operated. Parts kept second Car 25 operating.”
21 at a passing siding in northwest Fort Collins in October 1950.
Fort Collins Municipal Railway “Birney” car 21, at the intersection of Johnson and Mountain Avenues. (Ward Photo)
FCMR 22 on October 26, 1949. Its paint scheme is described as green, red, and aluminum.
FCMR 25 at the car barn. (Ward Photo)
Feel the Birn(ey)! After service in Fort Collins ended in 1951, car 26 was sold to the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. But prior to being put on static display, it operated in a Detroit parade of street railway equipment in August 1953. Don’s Rail Photos: “26 was built by American Car Co. in November 1922, #1324 as CERy 7. It was sold as FCM 26 it in 1924. It was sold to Henry Ford Museum and moved to Michigan in 1953 where it is on static display. It was operated several times on the trackage of the Department of Street Railways.” (C. Edward Hedstrom Photo) To read more about 26’s Michigan sojourn, click here.
25 stored at Woodland Park, Colorado on September 4, 1953.
25 stored at Woodland Park, Colorado on September 4, 1953. This was the second car 25, the first having been scrapped. Don’s Rail Photos adds, “2nd 25 was built by Brill Car Co in December 1922, #21530, as VR&P 1520. It was sold as FCM 25 in 1946. It was sold to James Stitzel in 1953 and resided next to the former Midland Terminal depot in Victor, CO, until it was sold to a South Carolina party about 1980. It was cosmetically restored. In 1998 it was sold to the Charlotte Trolley painted as South Carolina Public Service Co 407. It was sold to Fort Colins Municipal in 2008 and is being restored as 25.”
22 on static display at Golden, Colorado in July 1963.
According to Don’s Rail Photos, “22 was built by American Car Co in April 1919, #1184. It was retired in 1951 and sold to the Rocky Mountain Railroad Club in 1952. It was on static display at the Colorado Railroad Museum though 1997. It was leased to the Colorado Springs Transportation Society and presently being restored in the former Rock Island engine house. as Colorado Springs & Interurban Ry. 135.” It is shown here in September 1972.
Restored FCMR 21 as it appeared on May 14, 1995. (Mark D. Meyer Photo)
Before the Birneys, the Ft. Collins system used conventional streetcars, as seen in this postcard from circa 1910.
Many other cities had Birneys, of course. Here, we see Brantford (Ontario) Municipal Railway car 137 on July 1, 1935. This was ex-Lock Haven, Pa. Electric Railway car #2. (George Slyford Photo)
Johnstown Traction double-truck Birney 311 on September 3, 1958. (Clark Frazier Photo) Rockhill Trolley Museum: “The first car acquired by Rockhill Trolley Museum was car #311. This car is a double truck “Birney Safety Car” built by Wason Manufacturing Co. of Springfield, MA. It was part of an order of cars for the city of Bangor, Maine, where it operated at number 14. It was sold to the Johnstown Traction Co. and went there in 1941. It served that city well, running until the end of service in 1960. Car #311 was the last Birney type car to be operated in any United States city on a regular schedule. Car 311 was chartered repeatedly by trolley fans in the 1950’s, as it was a favorite car of many.” (Clark Frazier Photo)
Johnstown Traction double-truck Birney 311 at Coopersdale on September 3, 1958. (Clark Frazier Photo) The sounds of car 311, in service during the 1950s, can be heard of Railroad Record Club LP #23, which has been digitally remastered and is now available on compact disc via our Online Store.
Here is Johnstown 311 on June 30, 1957.
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Steam Echoes:
First published in 1959, and long out of print, Steam Echoes captures the unforgettable sound drama of steam engines in action. Like Whistles West, it features the recordings of E. P. Ripley, made in the waning days of steam during the 1950s.
The scenes were selected for listening pleasure as well as to create an historical document. They represent the everyday workings of our old steam friends, selected for the most interest, or the most beauty. The series are purposely kept short to preserve their brilliance. They show the steam engine in all four of the ways it may be heard at work– riding in it, on the train behind it, traveling along beside it, and standing at trackside while it goes by, or stops and takes off again.
Railroads featured include Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, and Canadian National.
Ghost Train: Ghost Train, first issued in 1962 and also long unavailable, is a Hi-Fi stereo sound panorama of haunting memories, highlighting the final days of steam railroading. Railroads featured include the Grand Trunk Western, Norfolk & Western, Nickel Plate Road, Union Pacific, and the Reading Company. A particular highlight is a special whistle recording, demonstrating the famous “Doppler Effect” in true stereophonic sound.
Total time – 79:45
Help Support The Trolley Dodger
This is our 150th 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 184,000 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. You can make a contribution there as well.
As we have said before, “If you buy here, we will be here.”
CSL/CTA 4021, the only prewar Chicago car that survives, at the Illinois Railway Museum in 2002. (John Marton Photo)
I was going through my things the other day, and came across some images that were given to me a few years ago by the late John Marton. It’s hard to believe that he’s been gone for two-and-a-half years now.
Anyhow, mostly these are rare color images showing experimental paint schemes tried out by the Chicago Surface Lines on six of their prewar PCCs in late 1945 and early 1946. This helped CSL determine the eventual colors (Mercury Green, Croydon Cream, and Swamp Holly Orange) used on the 600 postwar PPCCs that were put into service starting in September 1946.
Unfortunately, these images were not of sufficient quality to merit inclusion in Central Electric Railfans’ Association Bulletin 146, Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: The PCC Car Era, 1936-1958. There are reasons for that.
The pictures were originally taken by John Marton’s uncle. Somehow, John ended up with color prints that had a textured finish. I assume these were made from color negatives. The prints were later damaged in a basement flood. Eventually, John had slides made from the prints.
Although not of the greatest quality, these photos do have historical importance as possibly the only surviving color still pictures taken of the cars in these experimental colors. Fortunately, the late Bill Hoffman took color films, and these are included in the Chicago Streetcar Memories DVD that comes with each copy of B-146.
Fortunately, the St. Petersburg Tram Collection includes highly detailed, very accurate scale models of nearly all the various paint schemes and door configurations for the Chicago PCCs (I say nearly all, since there was one postwar car (4132) that had a unique roof treatment and has not so far been modeled. We have a color photo of that car in our post More Chicago PCC Photos – Part Three from October 7, 2015.)
Canadian railfan John F. Bromley owns all six models of the experimental PCCs, and generously provided us with pictures for use in B-146.
Here are reference pictures of models showing the various colors that Chicago PCCs, both prewar and postwar, were decorated in. That should provide you with a frame of reference for the Marton photos that follow.
We present those in tribute to John Marton, a good man who is unfortunately gone, but is certainly not forgotten by those who knew him.
As I look at the letters that you wrote to me
It’s you that I am thinking of
As I read the lines that to me were so sweet
I remember our faded love
I miss you darling more and more every day
As heaven would miss the stars above
With every heartbeat I still think of you
And remember our faded love
As I think of the past and all the pleasures we had
As I watch the mating of the dove
It was in the springtime when you said goodbye
I remember our faded love
I miss you darling more and more every day
As heaven would miss the stars above
With every heartbeat I still think of you
And remember our faded love
CSL 4021 in the standard prewar paint scheme.
Chicago Surface Lines 1940-41 experimental door configuration.
Chicago Surface Lines “tiger stripes,” 1945.
CSL 4010 in experimental paint, 1945-46.
CSL 4018 in experimental paint, 1945-46.
CSL 4020 in experimental paint, 1945-46.
CSL 4022 in experimental paint, 1945-46.
CSL 4035 in experimental paint, 1945-46.
CSL 4050 in experimental paint, 1945-46.
1952 CTA one-man conversion.
1946 Chicago Surface Lines as-delivered with white standee windows.
1946 Chicago Surface Lines in Mercury Green, Croydon Cream, and Swamp Holly Orange.
1952 Chicago Transit Authority Everglade Green and Cream.
A CSL prewar car in standard colors on Madison, somewhere west of the Loop. (John Marton Collection)
A CSL prewar car in standard colors on Madison, near the west end of the line. (John Marton Collection)
CSL 4035 on Madison near the west end of the line. (John Marton Collection)
A CSL “tiger stripes” car near the old State Theatre, which was located at 5814 W. Madison. (John Marton Collection)
“Tiger stripes” on route 20 – Madison, pulling out from the Madison-Austin loop. (John Marton Collection)
A CTA “tiger stripes” car at the east end of the 63rd Street line. (John Marton Collection)
A CSL prewar car in standard colors neat the west end of the Madison line. (Joh n Marton Collection)
CSL 4018 in experimental colors, at the Madison-Austin loop. (John Marton Collection)
There’s not much color here, but the shape of the stripe would indicate this is CSL 4018 heading towards is on the west end of Madison, while the yellow color would suggest that’s 4050 in the opposite direction. (John Marton Collection)
A CTA prewar car in “tiger stripes” on 63rd Street. (John Marton Collection) Andre Kristopans: “The shot of the prewar car on 63rd in tiger stripes between shots of 4018 and 4010 is just east of 63rd and Indiana. For some reason, 63rd St is offset to the south about 50 feet from State to Indiana, this is why there appears to be a curve behind the car, as there really is a jog there.”
CSL 4010 in experimental colors, near the State Theater (5814 W. Madison). (John Marton Collection)
This picture was taken at Madison and Austin, west end of route 20. Interstingly, two prewar CSL PCCs are posted side by side. That’s 4018 in experimental paint at left, next to a car in “tiger stripes.” (John Marton Collection)
A CSL prewar car in standard colors stops at a safety island near the old State Theatre, which was located at 5814 W. Madison. The State, opened in 1925, could seat 1,900. It was taken over by the Balaban and Katz chain in the 1930s and remained open into the late 1970s. Sadly, it was demolished in 1995. (John Marton Collection)
CSL 4020 in experimental colors, on route 20 – Madison just west of the Loop. (John Marton Collection)
A westbound PCC nearing the west end of route 20 – Madison. You can tell by the radio tower, which is still located at the Madison-Austin loop. (John Marton Collection)
CSL 4020, in experimental paint, at the Madison-Austin loop. (John Marton Collection)
“Tiger stripes” on route 20 – Madison, leaving the Madison-Austin terminal. (John Marton Collection)
“Tiger stripes” on route 20 – Madison just west of the Loop. (John Marton Collection)
Recent Correspondence
Andre Kristopans writes:
Sending you two files which were originally researched by George Chaisson in the early 1990’s, one detailing 6000 assignments thru 6/58 and the other 4000 assignments 1949 thru 1958. Put them on your blog.
Thanks very much. I am sure our readers will appreciate having the information.
Island Model Works offers this model of a Chicago 4000-series “L” car (among others). This is the earlier 1913 version with center doors that were not used in service this way. The idea was to speed loading and unloading, but the doors were sealed before these cars were put into service and seats were put there. These cars were built by the Cincinnati Car Company and many were in service for 50 years.
CTA Rapid Transit Cars 4067-4455 History 1949-58:
07/49 4001-4455 on NS (North-South)
08/52 4251-4262 move NS to LS (Logan Square)
4299-4328 move NS to RV (Ravenswood)
10/52 4001-4051 move NS to LS
4052-4066 move NS to LK (Lake) (trailers off NS)
4261-4298 move NS to LS
4299-4301 move RV to LS
4302-4328 move RV to LK (1st 4000’s on Lake)
4329-4340 move NS to LK
12/52 4037-4051 move LS to NS
4052-4066 move LK to NS (trailers off LK, return to NS)
4302-4322 move LK to LS
4341-4370 move NS to LK
02/53 4101-4136 move NS to LS, coupled to 4001-4036
4137-4166 coupled to 4037-4066 on NS
04/53 4011/4111, 4044/4144 destroyed in fire at Logan Square (note 4044/4144 were NS cars)
05/53 4371-4455 (NS assigned) used on EV (Evanston) on weekends
03/54 4026-4028 move LS to NS
4099-4100 move NS to LS
4126-4136 move LS to NS
4299-4322 move LS to LK
4355-4370 move LK to NS
04/54 4126-4131 move NS to LS
4293-4298 move LS to LK
4335-4336 move NS to LK
05/54 4026-4028 move NS to LK
4037-4039 move NS to LK
4337-4360 move NS to LK
Status 5/22/54:
4001-4010 LS
4011 retired
4012-4025 LS
4026-4028 LK
4029-4036 LS
4037-4039 LK
4040-4043 NS
4044 retired
4045-4066 NS
4067-4098 NS
4099-4110 LS
4111 retired
4112-4131 LS
4132-4143 NS
4144 retired
4145-4250 NS
4251-4292 LS
4293-4360 LK
4361-4455 NS (also EV Sat-Sun)
07/54 4066 r# 4044 on NS
4040-4047 move NS to LK
4361-4402 move NS to LK
10/54 4048-4057 move NS to LK
4403-4448 move NS to LK
4455 move NS to LK
01/55 4067-4098 move NS to DP (Douglas Park) (1st 4000’s on DP)
05/55 4019-4025 move LS to LK
4029-4036 move LS to LK
4046-4057 move LK to DP
4067-4098 move DP to LS
4125-4131 move LS to DP
4132-4143 move NS to DP
4145-4194 move NS to DP
4283-4292 move LS to LK
4433-4448 move LK to GP (Garfield park) (1st 4000’s on GP)
4455 move LK to GP
Status 05/55:
4001-4010 LS
4011 retired
4012-4018 LS
4019-4045 LK
4046-4057 DP
4058-4065 NS
4066 r# 4044
4067-4110 LS
4111 retired
4112-4124 LS
4125-4143 DP
4144 retired
4145-4194 DP
4195-4250 NS
4251-4282 LS
4283-4432 LK
4433-4448 GP
4449-4454 NS (EV Sat-Sun)
4455 GP
07/55 4058-4065 move NS to GP (trailers off NS)
4195-4250 move NS to GP
4449-4454 move NS to GP (4000’s off NS)
4045 move LK to DP
4121-4124 move LS to DP
08/55 4005 off LS for motorization
09/55 4019 move LK to LS
4045 move DP to LK
4055-4058 move GP to DP
4186-4208 move GP to DP
4433-4455 move GP to DP
11/55 4455 move DP to LS
4005 return to service LS as 4456
4121-4126 move DP to LS
02/57 4046-4047 move DP to LK
4048-4049 move DP to LS
4058 move DP to GP
4127-4143 move DP to RV
4195-4208 move DP to GP
4433-4454 move DP to GP
05/57 4060-4065 move GP to RV
4127-4143 move RV to DP
4179-4194 move DP to RV
4195-4220 move GP to RV
06/57 4067-4088 move LS to RV
4127-4143 move DP to LS
4221-4242 move GP to RV
08/57 4058-4059 move GP to RV
4119-4142 move LS to DP
4172-4178 move DP to RV
4243-4250 move GP to RV
4433-4454 move GP to LS
09/57 4119-4142 move LS to DP
4145-4149 move LS to DP
4251-4282 move LS to EV (1st 4000’s assigned to EV)
12/57 4001-4004 move LS to EV
4006 move LS to EV
4050-4057 move DP to RV
4150-4171 move DP to LS
4172-4178 move RV to LS
4433-4455 move LS to EV
(note 4456 recoupled to 4143)
06/58 4007, 4107 retired off LS (fire)
4003-4004 retired off EV
4028-4029, 4032-4033, 4039 retired off LK
4065 retired off RV
06/22/58 status:
4001-4002 EV
4006 EV
4008-4010 LS to WNW (West-Northwest)
4012-4019 LS to WNW
4020-4027 LK
4030-4031 LK
4034-4038 LK
4040-4047 LK
4048-4049 LS to WNW
4050-4064 RV
4067-4088 RV
4089-4106 LS to WNW
4108-4110 LS to WNW
4112-4143 LS to WNW
4145-4178 LS to WNW
4179-4250 RV
4251-4282 EV
4283-4432 LK
4433-4455 EV
4456 LS to WNW
Chicago Transit Authority 6000-series “L” cars in their 1950 as-delivered colors.
CTA Rapid Transit Cars 6000s 1950-1958:
08-12/50 6001-6084 new to LS (Logan Square)
12/50-03/51 6085-6130 new to RV (Ravenswood)
09-12/51 6131-6200 new to RV
6085-6090 move RV to LS
6091-6110 move RV to DP (Douglas Park)
07/52 6047-6048 move LS to RV
6085-6086 move DP to LS
6131-6134, 6141-6142 move RV to DP
08/52 6069-6086 move LS to RV
6087-6128, 6131-6134, 6141-6142 move DP to RV
10/52 6001-6068 move LS to NS (North-South)
6069-6146 move RV to NS (all 6000’s off LS, DP)
3/54 6201-6228 new to GP (Garfield Park) (1st on route)
03-07/54 6229-6350 new to NS
6201-6228 move GP to NS
6111-6146 move NS to GP
6091-6110, 6177-6200 move NS to DP (6000’s return to DP)
12/54-04/55 6351-6450 new to NS
6041-6090 move NS to DP
6177-6200 move DP to RV
05-07/55 6451-6470 new to NS
6041-6110 move DP to NS
6111-6112 move GP to NS
6127-6130 off GP for modifications
6145-6146 move GP to DP
6147-6168 move RV to DP
07/55 6113-6126, 6131-6144 move GP to NS (6000’s off GP)
09/55 6145-6168 move DP to NS (6000’s off DP)
11/55 6127-6130 reinstated on EV (Evanston) as high-speed cars
03/56 6123-6126 move NS to EV, poles installed
06/56 6159-6168 move NS to RV
10/56-04/57 6471-6550 new to NS
6001-6034 move NS to DP (6000’s return to DP)
04-06/57 6551-6600 new to NS
6035-6066 move NS to GP (6000’s return to GP)
07/57-04/58 6601-6670 new to NS
6067-6092 move NS to GP
6093-6122 move NS to DP
6123-6130 move EV to NS
6131-6144 move NS to DP
06/58 6145-6152 move NS to DP
6153-6158 move NS to RV
6511-6522 move NS to GP
6/22/58 6001-6034 DP to WNW (West-Northwest)
6035-6092 GP to WNW
6093-6122 DP to WNW
6123-6130 on NS
6131-6152 DP to WNW
6153-6200 on RV
6201-6510 on NS
6511-6522 GP to WNW
6523-6670 on NS
On the Chicagotransit Yahoo discussion group, Dennis McClendon asked:
Did Chicago Motor Coach—or, for that matter, CSL’s bus operations—ever use conductors or onboard collectors in addition to drivers?
Andre Kristopans:
CMC certainly did, on the open-top double-decks from 1917 until WW2, when the last were retired. There was no reasonable way to convert them to one-man as they were rear-entrance/exit. The 1930’s Double-deckers were one-man, with a front entrance. The rest of the CMC single-level fleet, from the early 20’s onward, were always one-man, as they were relatively small.
CSL never had two-man buses, as before CTA took over, CSL buses were really rather tiny by comparison to a streetcar, and were used strictly on what would be considered minor and feeder routes. However, in 1950 when the CTA ordered the 5000 Twins, there was some question whether two man buses would be needed to convert the remaining streetcar routes, as some were very heavy, and it was thought a one-man bus would suffer from excessive dwell time at stops loading and unloading, resulting in extremely slow schedules. However, as “luck” would have it, riding fell so dramatically in the early to mid 1950’s that by the time the heaviest main lines were being converted, buses were quite able to handle the loads on a reasonable schedule.
I replied:
I have seen a picture, taken in the 1950s, showing a CTA employee standing outside a trolley bus, taking fares and letting people in through the back door.
This was a practice that CTA also seems to have done, at least at first, at certain times and certain points along streetcar routes that had recently been converted to one-man.
Chances are the practice did not last too long, for the reasons you mention– surface ridership was in decline, and as a result, there was less crowding on the buses.
Andre again:
The last remnants of this lasted into the 1980’s. Last place I know of was at Belmont/Kimball L stating in the PM rush, mostly on WB Belmont buses. In the 1960’s there were a lot of loaders at L stations (and also at high schools). From what I gather, many of these guys were “medical cases”, drivers who could no longer drive buses for one reason or another, and they were given part-time work to help out with their work-related disability pensions. Towards the last years, there were also regular drivers doing this as overtime.
There is still a very minimal version of this to this day at one location that I know of – Belmont/Sheffield L station, where in the PM rush they send a guy with a portable Ventra reader to help load up westbounds, but as far as I know it is somebody from the office detailed to do this. On Cubs game days they also use this same portable reader at Cubs Park to help load westbound extras.
robyer2000 adds (on Chicagotransit):
CTA used to have collectors at choke points and major events, like the ball parks, to take fares and admit people using the rear doors. I saw it many times.
THE RAILROAD RECORD CLUB & THE 60th ANNIVERSARY CD
By Kenneth Gear
I’ve been a fan of the Railroad Record Club albums ever since I played the first one. That was in the late 1970s when my Uncle, a huge PRR fan, loaned me his copy of RRC # 10. That record contained the sounds of Pennsylvania RR steam and I enjoyed it so much, that I wrote to Hawkins, Wisconsin to find out if I could buy my own copy. I could and did. I was in high school then and funds were rather scarce, and I was only able to buy a few more LPs before the Railroad Record Club ceased to exist.
Just a year or so ago, my interest in these recordings was rekindled. I began bidding on the RRC LPs on eBay, then sending them out to a sound lab to be converted to CD. The resulting CDs were disappointing because the sound lab employees had no idea what to do to improve these sounds, they were used to working with music, not the traction motor sounds of a CSS&SB MU car.
Enter Trolley Dodger Records!
When I found out that David Sadowski was releasing CDs of the old RRC albums I couldn’t wait to buy some. Not only was I now able to get many of the albums that I never bought on vinyl, but David made these recordings sound better than they ever had before! I sent him my entire RRC collection (and searched eBay for more) and he converted them to digital, improved the sound quality, and made those great recordings available again!
Now David has taken the next step and has recorded a brand new Railroad Record Club album, RRC # 37, a 60th anniversary tribute to William A. Steventon and his legacy of preserving the sounds of America’s railroading history.
This new CD was recorded at the Illinois Railway Museum, a place that I’m sure the late Mr. Steventon would have been be very fond of. The Railroad Record Club released many recordings of traction sounds over the years and the new CD pays tribute to that legacy. It contains the sounds of a large assortment of Chicago area trolleys and interurban cars including CTA single car units, CA&E wood and steel cars, a PCC (a favorite track of mine since I rode PCCs in revenue service on the Newark, NJ City subway) and many others. There are even a few cameo appearances from Frisco 2-10-0 #1630!
Some of the tracks on the CD contain a brief history of the cars being ridden as told by the conductor on the train. The inclusion of this bit of narration gives the listener a better appreciation of the equipment and puts a historical context to the sounds that follow.
Tracks 4, 5 & 6 on disc one of the CA&E steel cars making a main line run really invokes the “on train” recordings of the RRC interurban records! The sounds of these wonderful cars come through perfectly, so crisp and clear that you can almost feel the bounce and sway of the cars as they hit each rail joint. It’s not hard to imagine how it felt to ride on the “Roarin’ Elgin” albeit at a slower speed.
Another interesting nod to the original RRC recordings is track 7 of Commonwealth Edison electric locomotive # 4. Just as the train was leaving the station, a gusty wind began to blow and the resulting wind noise is plainly audible. This reminded me instantly of a favorite track on RRC # 10, the PRR album. Track 3 is of PRR # 4249 at Paxinos, PA on a windy day in 1954. Here, as on the PRR LP, the wind is as much a part of the “sound picture” as the locomotive on the train.
Track 9 is a great but much too short “on train” speed run of CTA single unit cars # 22 & 41.
Track 3 on disc 2 is a real treat! It’s another trip on the “Roarin’ Elgin”, this time on board the wood cars. Every little moan, creak, bang, & rattle of these 100 year old cars is splendidly recorded in digital audio. Also of note on this track is a “meet” between the train of CA&E “woods” and Frisco 2-10-0 # 1630. Heard here is the sound of a steam locomotive recorded from inside a transit car. Mr. Steventon did a very similar thing in May of 1954 when he recorded a NYC 4-8-2 in Cleveland, OH from a Shaker Heights Rapid Transit car. This track is on RRC # 20 NYC/C&IM.
Track 4 is also reminiscent of RRC recordings of the past. In this case, CSL red Pullman car 144 departs the depot. The gear noise is plainly heard but the best part is when the sound of the departing transit car mixes with the high pitched excited voices of young children, just as they did on RRC # 18. The first track on RRC # 18 has the sound of CNS&M car 754 at Racine, WI leaving the station to a chorus of children’s shouting.
Another fine recording of CSL car 144 is track 6. This is a complete trolley loop circuit and the gear nose couldn’t come through any clearer.
The last track, number 11, contains another mix of traction and steam. On RRC # 7 the last track is also a traction/steam mix but there IC # 2507, a 4-8-2, is at center stage while a IT interurban is heard in the background. On the new CD the roles are reversed and the traction is in the lead role and the steamer reduced to the background.
These CDs are great modern digital recordings of vintage railroad equipment with more than a little inspiration coming from those wonderful old Railroad Record Club recordings!
Another interesting comparison between the new CDs and the old RRC LPs. These new CDs contain as much audio as five of the original RRC LPs and costs $19.95. According to a 1966 Railroad Record Club catalog, 5 LPs would cost $21.00. What else can be bought today at lower than 1966 prices!
RRC #37
Railroad Record Club
60th Anniversary Tribute
# of Discs – 2
Railroad Record Club #37:
We celebrate the Railroad Record Club with a 60th anniversary tribute containing all new audio of vintage streetcars, interurbans, trolley buses, and even a bit of steam, recorded in 2016 at theIllinois Railway Museum. Electric equipment featured includes CTA PCC 4391, CSL red Pullman 144, CSL “Matchbox” 1374, CTA “L” single car units 22 and 41, CTA trolley bus 9553, and the interurbans of the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin, and Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee (North Shore Line). Steam sounds are provided by Frisco 1630. Recorded with the finest quality digital equipment of today, this is a fitting tribute to the late William Steventon and the Railroad Record Club of Hawkins, Wisconsin, with all the bells and whistles, dings, and gear sounds we could fit onto a pair of CDs. The material presented here is equivalent in length to about five of the original RRC LPs.
Total time:
Disc 1- 79:38
Disc 2- 79:55
Editor’s note: This title is no longer available for purchase.
NOW AVAILABLE, DIGITALLY REMASTERED ON COMPACT DISC:
Steam Echoes:
First published in 1959, and long out of print, Steam Echoes captures the unforgettable sound drama of steam engines in action. Like Whistles West, it features the recordings of E. P. Ripley, made in the waning days of steam during the 1950s.
The scenes were selected for listening pleasure as well as to create an historical document. They represent the everyday workings of our old steam friends, selected for the most interest, or the most beauty. The series are purposely kept short to preserve their brilliance. They show the steam engine in all four of the ways it may be heard at work– riding in it, on the train behind it, traveling along beside it, and standing at trackside while it goes by, or stops and takes off again.
Railroads featured include Southern Pacific, Union Pacific, and Canadian National.
Ghost Train: Ghost Train, first issued in 1962 and also long unavailable, is a Hi-Fi stereo sound panorama of haunting memories, highlighting the final days of steam railroading. Railroads featured include the Grand Trunk Western, Norfolk & Western, Nickel Plate Road, Union Pacific, and the Reading Company. A particular highlight is a special whistle recording, demonstrating the famous “Doppler Effect” in true stereophonic sound.
Total time – 79:45
Help Support The Trolley Dodger
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Chicago Union Traction car 4858. According to Don’s Rail Photos, “These cars 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.” This car was probably renumbered to CSL 1329 and thus would be part of the same series as 1374, which has been restored to operable condition at the Illinois Railway Museum. The 1374 is one of the cars heard on our new Railroad Record Club tribute.
Recent Correspondence
Gina Sammis writes:
I am doing research on Gustav Johnson, who was a “motorman” in Chicago for the Chicago Surface Lines for many decades. He is listed this way in the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 census records. Do you by any chance have a photo of what a street car (am I using the right word or is it trolley?) looked like on the streets of Chicago in those days? He immigrated from Sweden in about 1880.
Thanks for writing. We have included a picture in this post showing one of these early streetcars as it appeared prior to 1914, when the Chicago Surface Lines became the “umbrella” operating entity for several local companies. Our previous post IRM Times Two (July 7, 2016) has some color pictures in it of CSL 1374, which has been restored to how it appeared starting in the early 1920s. That’s when Chicago”s streetcars were painted red, in order to make them more visible to motorists. Prior to that, the main color was Pullman green, which is rather dark.*
Here is another picture dated 1914, showing early Chicago streetcars in this darker green. Of course, this is a hand-colored image as color photography did not become popular until the late 1930s with the development of Kodachrome.
The word streetcar is interchangeable with trolley. Back in the day, newspapers like the Chicago Tribune typically had it as two words, i.e. “street car.”
I hope this helps.
*You can read a discussion of what Pullman green is here.
Charlie Vlk writes:
Just found the info via Facebook. Have found better link on YouTube. What goes around, comes around….
Interesting… the same idea as a trolley bus, adapted to trucks. Thanks for sharing.
Andre Kristopans writes:
Here is a complete list of CTA streetcar retirements to put on your blog. I might also suggest you take the list of one-man conversions that I sent you some months ago and move it to the same installment.
Thanks very much. We are always very appreciative of Andre’s hard work in researching these things, and sharing them with our readers.
102 01/08/46 105 02/19/46 108 12/10/45 111 01/04/46 116 01/26/22 Devon Fire 139 01/26/22 Devon Fire 159 01/26/22 Devon Fire 162 01/26/22 Devon Fire 164 01/26/22 Devon Fire 166 01/26/22 Devon Fire 168 01/26/22 Devon Fire 169 01/26/22 Devon Fire
179 01/26/22 Devon Fire 189 01/26/22 Devon Fire 193 02/08/46 198 01/26/22 Devon Fire 210 06/05/47 212 01/26/22 Devon Fire 226 01/26/22 Devon Fire 231 12/10/45 244 01/18/46 247 01/14/46 264 02/01/46 266 01/26/22 Devon Fire 268 03/24/38 Fire 02/14/38 Lawndale 294 02/08/46 300 01/14/46 316 01/26/22 Devon Fire 332 01/26/22 Devon Fire 351 02/08/46 360 07/17/45 371 01/26/22 Devon Fire 376 01/26/22 Devon Fire 386 02/08/46 387 01/26/22 Devon Fire 394 12/10/45 404 01/26/22 Devon Fire 405 01/26/22 Devon Fire 406 01/26/22 Devon Fire 408 01/26/22 Devon Fire 413 01/18/46 420 01/26/22 Devon Fire 428 02/08/46 438 01/26/22 Devon Fire 454 01/26/22 Devon Fire 456 01/26/22 Devon Fire 457 01/26/22 Devon Fire 464 01/26/22 Devon Fire 465 02/01/46 466 01/26/22 Devon Fire 467 02/01/46 468 01/26/22 Devon Fire 471 01/26/22 Devon Fire 472 01/14/46 476 01/26/22 Devon Fire 487 09/20/47 502 01/26/22 Devon Fire 505 01/14/46 516 01/26/22 Devon Fire 519 01/26/22 Devon Fire 524 01/26/22 Devon Fire 539 01/26/22 Devon Fire 552 01/18/46 564 01/26/22 Devon Fire 576 01/26/22 Devon Fire 583 01/26/22 Devon Fire 589 02/08/46
3262-3281 Brill 09-10/26 6240-6252 Brill 10/26 3282-3301 St Louis 09-10/26 6253-6265 St Louis 10/26 3302-3321 Cummings 09-10/26 6266-6279 Cummings 10-11/26
4052-4061 St Louis 07-08/47 4062-4171 Pullman 09/46-02/47 4172-4371 Pullman 09/47-02/48 4372-4411 St Louis 05-10/48 7035-7114 St Louis 03-06/47 7115-7274 St Louis 12/47-05/48
1994-1999 to convertibles (can be operated one or two man) 1936 2841,2842,2845 to one-man 1926-27 5703-5722 to convertibles 1933 5723-5731 to convertibles 1935 6000-6019 to one-man 1945, back to 2-man 1946 6061-6065 to convertibles 1936 1721-1726,1728-1737,1739-1753,1755-1762,1764-1769,1771-1785, 6155-6158 to one-man 1949-50 3119-3129,3131-3132,3134-3149,3151,3153,3154,3156-3158,3160, 6159-6186 to one-man 1949-50 3161-3169,3171-3175,3177,3178,6187-6196,6198 to one-man 1949-50 3179 to convertible 1935 3200-3201 to convertibles 1936 3202-3231,6199-6218,3232-3261,6219-6238 to one-man 1932 3204-3206,3210-3216,3220,3222-3224,3227,3229,3244,6219-6221,6223-6227,6229,6235 return to 2-man 1948, back again to 1-man 1949 3262-3281,6240-6252 to one-man 1932 3262,3264,3265,3267-3270,3275,3276,3278,3279,6241-6252 return to 2-man 1948, back again to 1-man 1949 3282-3301,6253-6265 to one-man 1932 6253,6255,6257,6258,6261,6264,6265 return to 2-man 1948, back again to 1-man 1949 3302-3321,6266-6279 to one-man 1932 3319,3321 return to 2-man 1948, back again to 1-man 1949 3325,3347-3349,3351,3352,3354,3355,3357,3360,3361-3363,3368,3372,3378,3379,6303,6305,6310,6319 to one-man 1952, never operated as such 4002-4051,7002-7034 to one-man 1952 4052-4061 to one-man 1952, 4059-4061 back to 2-man 1954, then all 4052-4061 to convertibles 1955 7035-7044 to one-man 1952, back to 2-man 1954, to convertibles 1955 7049,7052,7053,7057,7058,7060,7062,7064,7066,7067,7070-7074 to one-man 1952, but back to 2-man same year 7235-7249,7251,7253-7259 to convertibles 1955
Barry Shanoff writes:
Here is my list of items for sale. You’ll note that it has my e-mail address for direct contact by anyone interested. Please post at your convenience. Thanks for your assistance.
Three more documents have been added to our E-book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story, available in our Online Store.
A 60th ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE TO THE RAILROAD RECORD CLUB
The Railroad Record Club, of Hawkins, Wisconsin was active from the mid-1950s through the early 1980s. They issued about 40 LPs of steam and traction recordings over about a ten-year stretch, starting in 1956. Some of the recordings were made a few years before that.
The development of wire recorders, which had a brief heyday circa 1946-54, made “field” recordings of train sounds practical. Previously, portable disc cutters were used and these obviously would have been impractical on a moving vehicle. Wire recorders were soon replaced by portable tape recorders that could be powered by batteries.
William A. Steventon became interested in such recordings. He began making some himself, and this naturally brought him into contact with others who did the same. Collectors swapped recordings and eventually, the best of these were culled onto 10” vinyl discs, pressed especially for the Railroad Record Club by RCA. Each LP had about 30 minutes of audio.
Club members received three or four LPs per year, and these records were also advertised through train magazines, and sold to the general public. During the 1950s and 60s, steam trains more or less disappeared from American rails, as did the great majority of streetcars. Perhaps, over time, it became more and more difficult to find subjects for new recordings.
Train videos are very popular today, but interest in sound recordings continues. While the technology has improved, the ultimate aim is still the same—to paint a picture with sound, using interesting sounds that are music to the ears of railfans, instead of the “noise” others may think them. The sounds have to stand or fall on their own, without the benefit of pictures.
We present these new recordings in the spirit of the Railroad Record Club, as a 60th anniversary tribute. Here are the sounds of vintage streetcars, interurbans, and steam engines, recorded using today’s digital technology. We would like to thank the volunteers at the Illinois Railway Museum, whose hard work and dedication in creating a “demonstration railroad” helps keep history alive for future generations.
Several hours of audio got recorded each day, using two digital recorders. The results were synched up, and the four channels mixed to stereo to provide a full dimensional recording with excellent fidelity to the original sounds. We selected the best of what we captured to provide you with an audio “snapshot” of these events.
In spite of the occasional wind noise here (this is, after all, the “Windy City”), we’d like to think the late William A. Steventon would approve of our efforts.
Electronic Memory is truly one of the most useful additions to the modern home. Not only does it afford never ending amusement of hearing ones voice or dramatic productions, but it is also invaluable for wire recording outstanding programs and fine music from radio or record discs, speech development, family events, the voices of growing children and home movies. The Electronic Memory is extremely easy to use and comes complete with microphone and three spools of wire in an attractive light weight carrying case and gives beautiful results. Wire recordings may be played indefinitely or erased by recording over the same wire. Webster-Chicago $149.50 Prices slightly higher west of the Rockies Copyright 1948
An early Wollensak-3M portable tape recorder.
Chicago, Aurora & Elgin car 36, looking rather shopworn at Trolleyville USA in 1962. Now restored at the Illinois Railway Museum, this car is among those hear on our new Railroad Record Club tribute recording.
A color version of the same badly faded Anscochrome image. Frank Hicks adds, “Neat photo! The car is definitely still in CA&E red and light blue/gray. The color is badly washed out but that’s definitely the same lettering that the car left Wheaton with (Brookins lettered the car for Columbia Park & Southwestern as soon as they repainted it green). It looks like the car has been rigged for road transport. I’m guessing that this photo was taken when the 36 arrived at the Columbia Park trailer park for the first time. If memory serves, the CA&E cars that went to Brookins traveled to Ohio on their own wheels and sat on a siding near Columbia Park for a period before being trucked over to Trolleyville. I’d guess that the splotchy appearance is due to white primer or paint being applied over bad spots in the original paint during its period on the siding.”
RRC #37
Railroad Record Club
60th Anniversary Tribute
# of Discs – 2
Railroad Record Club #37:
We celebrate the Railroad Record Club with a 60th anniversary tribute containing all new audio of vintage streetcars, interurbans, trolley buses, and even a bit of steam, recorded in 2016 at theIllinois Railway Museum. Electric equipment featured includes CTA PCC 4391, CSL red Pullman 144, CSL “Matchbox” 1374, CTA “L” single car units 22 and 41, CTA trolley bus 9553, and the interurbans of the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin, and Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee (North Shore Line). Steam sounds are provided by Frisco 1630. Recorded with the finest quality digital equipment of today, this is a fitting tribute to the late William Steventon and the Railroad Record Club of Hawkins, Wisconsin, with all the bells and whistles, dings, and gear sounds we could fit onto a pair of CDs. The material presented here is equivalent in length to about five of the original RRC LPs.
Total time:
Disc 1- 79:38
Disc 2- 79:55
This title is no longer available for purchase.
Help Support The Trolley Dodger
This is our 147th 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 178,000 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.
As we have said before, “If you buy here, we will be here.”
We generally try to get out to the Illinois Railway Museum at least a few times each year. Here are some pictures from two recent visits (June 18th and July 3rd).
These were “themed” days to some extent. June 18th was Chicago Day, commemorating when the last Chicago streetcar ran on June 21, 1958. July 3rd was the 59th anniversary of the end of regular passenger service on the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin interurban.
As part of that anniversary, the museum staged a “re-enactment” of sorts of the line’s quick abandonment. Once a judge had issued an order allowing the railroad to temporarily suspend passenger service, the order went out for all trains to let out their passengers and deadhead back to Wheaton.
Thousands of commuters were left stranded. In the 2016 version, two trains of CA&E cars (one steel, one wood) brought passengers out on the main line and left them there to be picked up by a steam commuter train. (In real life, steam had already been replaced by diesel on the Chicago & North Western, which ran parallel to the CA&E along part of its route through Chicago’s western suburbs.
While we did not get stranded ourselves, we did a lot of trolley riding on those two days. All photos in this post are mine. We hope you will enjoy them.
If you have not visited the Illinois Railway Museum, we hope that you will soon. It is always worth the trip. IRM is also unique in having an operating trolley bus loop. I got to ride a Chicago trolley bus for the first time in many years last Sunday. That brought back many fond memories.
-David Sadowski
PS- We have a new trolley CD– a 60th anniversary tribute to the late lamented Railroad Record Club. You will find the details at the end of this post, and, as always, the proceeds from the sale of these recordings help cover part of the cost of running this site. We thank you in advance for your support.
June 18, 2016:
Autographed copies of CERA B-146, which covers the entire history of PCC streetcars in Chicago in voluminous detail, are available in the IRM bookstore.
July 3, 2016:
RRC #37
Railroad Record Club
60th Anniversary Tribute
# of Discs – 2
Railroad Record Club #37:
We celebrate the Railroad Record Club with a 60th anniversary tribute containing all new audio of vintage streetcars, interurbans, trolley buses, and even a bit of steam, recorded in 2016 at theIllinois Railway Museum. Electric equipment featured includes CTA PCC 4391, CSL red Pullman 144, CSL “Matchbox” 1374, CTA “L” single car units 22 and 41, CTA trolley bus 9553, and the interurbans of the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin, and Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee (North Shore Line). Steam sounds are provided by Frisco 1630. Recorded with the finest quality digital equipment of today, this is a fitting tribute to the late William Steventon and the Railroad Record Club of Hawkins, Wisconsin, with all the bells and whistles, dings, and gear sounds we could fit onto a pair of CDs. The material presented here is equivalent in length to about five of the original RRC LPs.
Total time:
Disc 1- 79:38
Disc 2- 79:55
Editor’s note: This title is no longer available for purchase.
Help Support The Trolley Dodger
This is our 146th 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 176,000 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.
As we have said before, “If you buy here, we will be here.”
CTA Sedans (Peter Witts) 3360 and 3347 are shown here at south Shops in 1952, having been converted to one-man with the removal of some center doors. There were 25 cars so modified, but as far as I know, none ran in regular service in this setup. (Robert W. Gibson Photo, John F. Bromley Collection)
Recent Correspondence
Anthony Waller writes:
Re: The possible role played by the Sedans in the termination of Chicago streetcar operations
I was only seven when the Chicago streetcars quit, but I still have memories of riding them. Best of all was a 1957 excursion with my mother to Lincoln Park Zoo from 81st & Halsted. We came home via the 151 bus and the Rock Island commuter train, however.
While looking through the numerous Trolley Dodger photo sets, I came across one with several recently rebuilt and repainted Chicago “Sedan” cars sitting, apparently, at South Shops. Years ago I came across material whose source I can’t recall. It seemed to show that there was a battle within CTA between pro and anti-streetcar forces. I don’t know if you will have any of this material, but I’ll tell you here what I recall of it. I was reminded of it when I saw that photo of the Sedans rebuilt for one-man operations and painted Everglade green and cream.
The first point was the fact that some of the original CTA bond money went for new equipment for CSL in lieu of cash. This was for the 600 PCC cars and the simultaneous order of new motor and trolley buses. The thought that was expressed in my long-forgotten source was that CSL personnel moving into positions at CTA (remember this was pre-McCarter) were convinced that there was a future for streetcars to such an extent that they were confident that the entire rapid transit system could be replaced by fast-accelerating PCCs. Hence, very little new equipment for the Chicago Rapid Transit company was purchased with the bond money (only the four experimental articulated trainsets). The pro-streetcar people were proposing the “Social Good” of getting rid of the noisy, unsightly, blight-inducing elevated structure. That view of elevated structure was commonly held at the time.
The second point is more indicative of a battle within the CTA bureaucracy between McCarter and the pro-streetcar personnel. The source had stated that in addition to pre-and post-war PCCs, the Peter Witt cars or ”Sedans” as they were called in Chicago, also would have remained in service at least somewhat longer than all the pre-1929 red streetcars. They were shifted from Clark-Wentworth and Madison to Cottage Grove-Pullman when the first batch of post-war PCCs arrived (In James Johnson’s CSL book, there is a photo of one on Cottage Grove/South Chicago.).
The Sedans had leather seats inside, and much faster acceleration than the older red streetcars. Their only difference from PCCs was their noisier operation. The caption for the map on page 38 of the CERA book is in error, as there was no plan to put PCCs on Cottage Grove at that time (1950). The Sedans were regarded by CTA at the time as modern streetcars, having two of the three characteristics of a modern streetcar.
This source stated that it was a battle over the Sedans that held the fate of of Chicago’s streetcars! The conversion of the pre-war PCCs (and a few post-war cars) to one-man operation was a step embraced by the pro-streetcar people to reduce operating costs. Eventually, all of the post-war PCCs would have been rebuilt, as part of the program proposed by the Deleuw Cather consultant study.
However, the Sedans were included in the program by the pro-streetcar elements. They were to be assigned to 63rd St., which was being operated by old red streetcars after the pre-war PCCs were taken off to be rebuilt for one-man service. Reportedly there were howls from the community, first by the return of the old red cars after several years of modern service, and then seeing their PCCs assigned to Cottage Grove.
The conversion work on the Sedans began after they were replaced on Cottage Grove by the pre-war PCCs in May 1952. The caption on the photo said that 25 were so completed. The rebuild program halted after 25 or so had been so altered (the hand of McCarter?). Meanwhile the howls from the community along 63rd St. continued. Finally, CTA proposed a meeting with the 63rd St. businessmen’s group where they could vote on alternatives. The meeting was held in October of 1952.
Two Sedans thoroughly rebuilt on the interior, set up for one man operation, with additional seats replacing the conductor’s position and two of the center doors, and painted in CTA’s new darker Everglade green and cream color scheme were used to gather up all the members of the businessmen’s group in a special charter move. One car started at the east end of the route (Stony Island Ave.) and one from the west (Narragansett Ave.); picking up the business owners and bringing them to a private banquet hall centrally located along 63rd St. (Western Ave. is the central point, but it may have been in the then-busy 63rd & Halsted shopping district.)
At the luncheon meeting, the businessmen were offered the alternative of rebuilt Sedans similar to what they had ridden, or buses. PCCs were off the table. The businessmen voted for buses. No doubt Walter McCarter trumpeted the vote as a victory for his point of view.
The result of that October 1952 meeting was felt within CTA immediately. Two post-war PCCs were sent to Pullman and St. Louis Car Co. respectively; to determine if they could be directly rebuilt into rapid transit cars. An internal staff study at CTA commenced about the future of Chicago streetcars. Released in January 1953, it stated that street congestion was hampering streetcar operations and that buses replace them all as fast as possible. The 1,000 bus order was placed with Flexible for propane buses, and the back-up plan to use parts salvaged from the post-war PCCs for building new rapid transit cars was developed.
As for the Sedans? The 25 rebuilt for one-man operation never ran a mile in revenue service. Amazingly, some of the non-rebuilt cars were taken out of their five-month storage and placed in service on 63rd St.; running alongside Red Pullmans and a few post-war PCCs diverted from Western Ave. after peak periods (with buses taking over on weekends and holidays). They were used there until full bus service on the route began in May, 1953.
Any thoughts?
Thank you for your very interesting and detailed query. I actually have a lot of thoughts, and will try to respond point-by-point. There are things you say that I agree with, some I disagree with, and others that cannot be proven definitively one way or the other.
The map you refer to in CERA B-146, in the “key,” states correctly that Cottage Grove did not get PCCs until 1952. We wanted to choose a date that would still show a lot of the red car lines, so we chose 1950 as being representative with that caveat. However, as it turns out, the map shown is accurate as of early December 1949 and not 1950. It is a color-coded version of one found in the 1949 CTA Annual Report.
A Note on Source Documents
I did some additional research to check the facts, in order to establish a timeline for events. I studied contemporary newspaper articles and Chicago Transit Board minutes, and then compared these to various photographs from the period.
Having been on some boards myself over the years, I realize that there is a lot that does not appear in such minutes. In general, board minutes cover resolutions, and, if there are dissenting voices, may or may not document some of the discussion.
In the case of the CTA, much went on behind the scenes. Boards, generally speaking, set the policy and direction that management puts into practice. Oftentimes, the board was considering motions in light of management recommendations that are not always detailed in these minutes.
In particular, there is a reference to a CTA Five Year Plan that most likely covered the years 1953 through 1957. It is implied that this was something developed by General Manager Walter J. McCarter. It would be very interesting and informative to read this document, but I have not found a source for it at the present time.
If there were disagreements, these were almost always worked out behind the scenes. Most votes by the Chicago Transit Board in this era were unanimous. Even the most contentious issues CTA dealt with at these board meetings were generally resolved by a unanimous vote, although some members offered reservations before doing so.
There are two such instances from the 1950s that come to mind. First, there was the very controversial and much criticized CTA purchase of the Chicago Motor Coach Company assets in October 1952. Then, there was the rather rushed decision to cut the Broadway-State streetcar line in half in 1955 and substitute buses for the southern portion.
Now, it may be that the change in Broadway-State was rushed through intentionally, in order to stifle potential opposition. Board Chairman Virgil Gunlock stated that the employee “pick” for the revised route had already been made. A City of Chicago spokesman said that they had not been given enough time to properly study the issue.
Since Gunlock estimated that as many as 5,000 riders would have to transfer daily as a result of the elimination of the through-route, some board members were uneasy about the change. In fact, some claimed not to know very much about the so-called “PCC Conversion Program” that made the change necessary.
In 1960, there was an even more contentious internal debate on the CTA board regarding the relative merits of propane buses versus diesel. This actually spilled out into the public, as board members took sides. Although the cost differences between these types of fuels were small, CTA ultimately decided to abandon propane, and began purchasing “New Look” GM diesel buses.
Purchase of Postwar Cars
The Chicago Transit Authority was created in 1945 by an act of the Illinois legislature, and passage of a referendum. Although the CTA did not purchase the Chicago Surface Lines and the Chicago Rapid Transit Company until October 1, 1947, the fledgling Chicago Transit Board felt that it had been given a mandate to hit the ground running and make transit improvements immediately.
Therefore, the period from June 1945 through September 1947 can best be considered a transition period between private and public ownership. I have seen references to a CTA-CSL “joint operating committee,” and for all I know, there may have been one for CRT as well.
CSL management knew that a purchase was inevitable and thus cooperated with the CTA and the courts (they were under bankruptcy protection) to coordinate their efforts.
While the 600 postwar PCC streetcars were technically ordered by CSL, with judicial approval, it and other 1945-47 equipment purchases were “stage managed” by the CTA. Over the years, CSL had accumulated a large modernization fund, and the Chicago Transit Authority wanted to put it to use immediately. The CTA assured CSL that such purchases would have no effect on the buyout price ($75m) eventually paid. (In other words, the new cars were counted as assets for the purposes of the CTA buyout.)
In the mid-1950s, CTA board member Werner W, Schroeder, in his 12-chapter Metropolitan Transit Research Study, pointed out that the actual purchase price was far less than $75m, because it included $30m in cash (or the equivalent) that CSL had. It was some of this cash that was used to leverage the purchase of 600 postwar PCC streetcars that were delivered in 1946-48. (This cash amount had been reduced to about $25m by the October 1, 1947 takeover.)
Although the rapid transit system had needs of its own that were as great, or even greater than CSL’s, they were a financial basket case by 1945 and thus could not afford to buy large numbers of new all-steel rapid transit cars. As it was, four sets of articulated cars were ordered (the equivalent of about eight individual cars) at a cost of about $100,000.
While the PCC streetcar had been around for nearly a decade when the postwar order was made in November 1945, and specifications for the Chicago cars had been finalized in 1941 (and delayed by the defense buildup to WWII), the situation was different with regard to rapid transit cars.
By 1945, the only rapid transit cars that used PCC technology were the six sets of “Bluebird” compartment cars for the BMT (Brooklyn-Manhattan Transit), circa 1939-40. And while these were the “state of the art” for their time, once the BMT came under municipal ownership in 1940, the order was truncated and the cars were never utilized to their full potential on the New York system. They quickly became orphans.
Since there was no standardized PCC rapid transit car available, it is just as well that the Chicago order was limited to a small number of experimental cars. As it was, the CTA’s experience with these cars led to numerous improvements (including a change from articulated cars to “married pairs”) that were incorporated into the 6000s that were first ordered in 1948.
CTA Management
Various civic groups in Chicago had been pushing for a unified transit system since the World War I era. Although transit was provided by private companies, which by the 1920s included the Chicago Motor Coach Company, there was substantial involvement by the City of Chicago. The City and CSL jointly ran the Board of Supervising Engineers, Chicago Traction. During the 1930s the BoSE was very much involved in the development of the PCC streetcar.
The Chicago City Council passed a transit unification ordinance in 1930, and work nearly began on the State Street subway at this time, but this and other attempts to form a new private company (to be called the Chicago Local Transportation Co., and later the Chicago Transit Co.) were stillborn. Once it became clear that the Illinois Commerce Commission would not approve such an arrangement, since it did not make financial sense, the City decided that municipal ownership was the choice of last result in 1943.
Once the CTA became a reality in 1945, Philip Harrington, principal author of the 1937 “Green Book” plan to improve Chicago’s transportation system, became the first chairman. At first, the CTA was an offshoot of the city’s Department of Subways and Superhighways, and rented office space from them.
When the takeover finally did become a reality on October 1, 1947, the CTA had its own bureaucracy and management in place. It wasn’t simply a matter of using the existing CSL and CRT management.
As this was municipal ownership, the CTA’s interests were, in the beginning, pretty much the City of Chicago’s interests. The City Council was, for a time, micro-managing transit, voting on ordinances for things like converting a streetcar line to bus.
Things changed over time, with the CTA flexing its muscles and taking on more of an independent role. Eventually, local politicians found they could adopt a sort of “good cop, bad cop” stance towards the CTA, taking credit for themselves when things went right, and blaming the authority when things went wrong.
Mayor Martin H. Kennelly‘s response to the CTA’s impending purchase of the Chicago Motor Coach Company assets in 1952 is instructive. Privately, Kennelly is said to have supported the buyout. But he feared the GOP would try to use it against the Democrats in the upcoming elections, so he wrote a highly critical letter to the CTA just before the takeover became official, suggesting they were paying too much. Of course, the letter was widely reported in the newspapers, but came much too late to have any effect in stopping the sale.
The CTA hired Walter J. McCarter to be their first general manager on June 27, 1947, a few months prior to the operations takeover. He had been general manager of the Cleveland streetcar system when it became publicly owned in 1942. A 1947 Chicago Tribune article said he had been hired here because of his success in “rubberizing” the Cleveland system. In the same article. McCarter stated his opposition to any additional streetcar purchases.
This was at a time when only about 1/3rd of the 600-car order had been delivered.
Much of the CTA’s original Modernization Program originated years earlier. As far back as 1930, it anticipated buying 1000 new streetcars and 1000 new rapid transit cars. By the early 1940s, this amount was reduced to 800 streetcars, which is the number used in the 1947 CTA Modernization Plan. 600 cars were delivered in 1946-48 and an additional 200 were supposed to be purchased a few years later.
The same CTA 10-year plan, which covered the years 1946 through 1955, called for continual conversions of streetcar lines to bus, so that by 1955 only three PCC lines would still be operating. Presumably, even these were to be phased out eventually. For purposes of depreciation, the CTA assumed that streetcars had a 20-year useful life. Even without the PCC Conversion Program, this time would have been up by 1966-68.
The wholesale scrapping of PCCs speeded up the trolleys’ demise by about 8-10 years. But many American cities have gotten way more than 20 years of life out of their PCCs, and some are still in daily use.
The CTA’s First Five Years
As I mentioned, the CTA’s Modernization Program had largely been developed some years before it was implemented. Meanwhile, due to the Great Depression and the war years, there was a lot of pent-up need for change in the system.
If not for these factors, it is likely that Chicago’s transition from streetcars to buses would have been more gradual than what did take place. But these types of changes were already occurring and had started as far back as 1930, when the Surface Lines established several successful new lines in Chicago’s northwest side using trolley buses.
At first, the CSL said these lines would eventually be converted to streetcars, but this never happened.
During the years 1947-52 the CTA attempted to put the Modernization Program into effect, and this included the 600 new PCC streetcars. However, with the end of the war, certain trends started to take place that would undermine their use here.
Surface system ridership declined as automakers began producing new cars in large quantities. The five-day workweek became standard, which reduced weekend ridership, as did increased automobile use.
The CTA was under a lot of pressure to increase wages, and fares doubled during the first five years, which further depressed ridership. One of the main ways that CTA tried to keep expenses down in this period was by reducing the number of employees.
This was largely done by replacing two-man streetcars with one-man buses. It is a process that was largely completed in 1954, when the last red streetcar ran. At that point, CTA estimated that there were no more such savings to be had– by then, some PCCs had already been converted to one-man, and the two-man cars were on the busiest lines, where they were still advantageous.
CTA estimated that it took 1.5 buses to replace each streetcar. The 600 postwar PCCs were eventually replaced by 900 buses, but as funds were tight, CTA ended up leasing 100 of these instead of outright purchase.
When a two-man streetcar was replaced by 1 1/2 buses, that was a labor savings, but when a one-man car was replaced by bus, that was a labor loss. In many cases, CTA could profitably replace streetcars with buses on the weekends, as they had surplus buses available then, and ridership was much reduced. The PCCs, with their higher capacity, were not needed as much.
The 1951 Consultant’s Report
In 1951, CTA retained the respected consulting firm of DeLeuw, Cather & Company to do a thorough review of the entire agency and its operations. Among their recommendations were the conversion of all PCC streetcars to one-man operation, and their indefinite retention.
On the other hand, the report argued against purchasing any additional electric vehicles, due to the high cost of electric power. According to documents associated with the 1952 CTA $23m bond sale, most of which went to purchase the Motor Coach, Commonwealth Edison had increased the cost of electricity by about 35% between 1948 and 1952.
During this same period, the CTA enthusiastically embraced propane as a very cheap fuel for buses. Many streetcar lines were replaced by propane buses, but their performance was poor and the buses were very much under-powered.
CTA ordered 349 trolley buses in 1951, the largest single order of its kind at the time, but those were the last such buses ordered. The trolley bus system began to be phased out starting in 1959 and the final such bus ran in 1973.
By October 1, 1951 CTA had purchased 551 propane buses, the largest fleet in the nation.
One-Man Conversions
In line with the 1951 consultant’s report, CTA began converting streetcars to one-man. The Chicago Transit Board authorized conversions of potentially all 683 PCCs and the 100 1929 Sedans in early 1952, although the actual numbers of cars converted was actually much less than this.
In early 1952, the CTA proposed converting both the Cottage Grove and 63rd Street car lines to one-man. The City of Chicago requested that public hearings be held. This is most likely due to the influence of 13th ward Alderman John E. Egan, whose territory covered a large part of route 63 (the entire portion west of Kedzie). He appears to have mobilized the business community against the conversion on the grounds that it would be ponderously slow and unsafe.
The Chicago Tribune reported on February 7 and 8 on community opposition to one-man PCCs on 63rd Street. In spite of this, CTA GM McCarter stated in the March 4th Trib that they still intended to convert both lines. He also said that about 110 cars would be needed, which works out to the 83 prewar PCCs and 25 of the 100 1929 Sedans. (Andre Kristopans has done some research, which you can read in the Comments section of this post, indicating this was the number of cars needed on Cottage Grove only.)
Similar opposition does not seem to have materialized along the Cottage Grove line. The public hearings were closed as of April 30, 1952, and the CTA board approved conversion of Cottage Grove the following day. No action was taken at the time regarding 63rd.
While I did not find any record of an October businessmen’s meeting with CTA, as described by Mr. Waller, there is nothing I found that would prevent such a meeting from having taken place. It’s very possible it did happen, as he described, and that local leaders were given the choice of one-man streetcars, or one-man buses. If so, they chose buses, perhaps Egan had feared that one operator would be hard pressed to handle fares, transfers, unruly passengers, and safely handle the very fast PCCs.
Another factor may have been the change in routing between Central and Narragansett that buses made possible. The streetcars ran on private right-of-way for the westernmost mile of the route via 63rd Place, the next block south of 63rd Street. The trolley line had been built at a time when the area was largely undeveloped, as numerous pictures show.
By 1952, development was underway, and once the bus began operating the following year, the route was shifted over to 63rd Street for this last mile, which would have been advantageous to local businesses. 63rd Place became a quiet residential street, which it remains today.
As it was, CTA took no further action until they had enough buses on hand to operate the replacement service. This was approved by the board on April 13, 1953 and went into effect on May 24th the same year.
By then it would seem that CTA was afraid of negative public reaction if the fast PCCs were replaced by slow propane buses. Therefore, it should perhaps be no surprise that PCCs were withdrawn months earlier and replaced by slower, much older red streetcars.
Although Mr. Waller says that some of these replacement cars were two-man Sedans, I was unable to find a picture showing any. All the pictures I have seen of this late trolley service show Pullmans. That does not mean, of course, that this did not happen.
In similar fashion, PCCs were later withdrawn from the busy Halsted line and replaced temporarily by older red cars before bus substitution went into effect on May 30, 1954. Likewise, red cars temporarily replaced PCCs on the Madison-Fifth portion of route 20 in December 1953 before that service was terminated the following year, a victim of expressway construction.
Effect of the Motor Coach Purchase
With the CTA’s controversial purchase of the Motor Coach lines, effective October 1, 1952, its first five years of operations came to an end. By then, the agency was awash in red ink and had to take drastic action to increase revenues and reduce expenses.
Buying out their only remaining competitor was seen as a necessary move, whatever the cost. Motor Coach was profitable, and its ridership was increasing, at a time when CTA’s was decreasing. It was natural that CTA would claim that CMC was siphoning off profits that should have been CTA’s. However, the privately owned Motor Coach balked at selling, and only agreed to it after getting CTA to substantially increase their offer.
As a result, the agency’s intended $20m bond issue was increased to $23m at the last minute.
The Motor Coach purchase was not popular with the general public, mainly because it meant an instant fare increase to CTA’s higher levels. That a public entity would put a profitable competitor out of business was also bothersome to many. Yet CTA had little choice, and previous transit unification plans had always anticipated including the Motor Coach along with CSL and CRT.
Perhaps because of this criticism, the CTA was very much in need of a public relations “coup,” one that would show the agency could achieve millions of dollars in future savings to atone for the CMC acquisition.
This is the climate in which the so-called PCC Conversion Program was hatched. In fact, the beginnings of this plan became the Chicago Transit Board’s first order of business after approving the Motor Coach purchase.
The February 1951 opening of the Dearborn-Milwaukee subway had been very successful in speeding up service and increasing ridership. Meanwhile, even with modern, fast PCC equipment on the streets, CTA operations were hampered by traffic congestion that it could not control.
This brought about a “sea change” in the agency’s priorities. From this point forward, with their last remaining competitor out of the way, CTA devoted 70% of their investments towards the rapid transit system, which had only represented about 15-20% of overall system ridership in 1947.
The agency became convinced that the best way for transit and traffic to coexist was via low-cost rapid transit lines in the medians of the new expressways that were then being planned. The Congress line was already under construction, and such lines were eventually opened in the south and northwest side expressways in 1969-70, once Federal funding became possible.
Once CTA had made this change in priorities, the surface system was downgraded, relatively speaking, in the overall scheme of things. After all, it no longer had any competitors, and the public would have no choice but to accept whatever type of service that CTA would offer. This had been upheld by the courts when activists had protested the CTA’s abandonment of the Humboldt Park “L” branch. If the CTA wanted riders to use trolley buses on North Avenue instead of the “L”, they were within their rights and the courts did not want to interfere. If transit problems were really a concern, the voters had remedies through their elected representatives and the legislature.
Once the cost of electricity increased, and propane became a cheap alternative, PCC cars were no more attractive to CTA than the old red streetcars were. Their days were numbered, since CTA did not have any taxing power and had to live out of the farebox.
A noted transit historian once pointed out to me that in the 1950s, the CTA did everything possible “on the cheap.”
This is the context in which CTA Chairman Virgil Gunlock’s 1959 statement should be viewed, when he remarked on a radio program that the PCCs were the finest transit vehicles ever to operate on the city streets, but they “cost too much to operate.”
Unintended Consequences
While these were the motivations that led to CTA’s decision, starting in October 1952, to abandon streetcar service as soon as possible, there were unintended negative consequences that undermined any advantages that might have been realized as a result.
From a labor standpoint, CTA knew that it would not realize any additional savings by eliminating PCCs, once the last of the two-man red cars was retired in 1954. In fact, if a one-man car was replaced by a one-man bus, that was a net loss in labor cost, since it took 1.5 buses to provide the same capacity.
I have analyzed the Conversion Program in great detail in my E-book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story, available through our Online Store. But whatever grandiose claims were originally made for the $20k or $25k in savings per car that was originally claimed, in all likelihood little if any money was ultimately saved.
Numerous problems came up almost immediately. Two PCCs were sent out for potential conversion to “L” cars in late 1952, but when only St. Louis Car Company wanted to continue with the project, it was no longer being done on a competitive bidding basis.
Soon, CTA found out that the bodies would have to be scrapped, since floor heights were different, and there would be costs of $3,000 per car to modify controller equipment. Over the life of the program, costs rose due to the need to refurbish parts that had received more use, so that by 1958, when the last such order was placed, CTA was receiving just about scrap value for each PCC turned in.
One of the main benefits of the program, from the CTA’s viewpoint, was to take the only partly depreciated cars off of the books, and this is spelled out in Chicago Transit Board documents of the period. Once it became obvious that this was no “magic bullet” with $20k or $25k in savings per car, the goal changed to selling each car to St. Louis Car Company for the estimated depreciated value, and allowing the additional costs of parts reuse and conversion to simply be added in turn to each new rapid transit car purchased.
Since the 570 cars involved were purchased on a non-competitive basis, with specifications written so that St. Louis Car Company would be the only bidder (each bidder on the new car order was required to also be the purchaser of used PCCs, whih only SLCC would do), there is no way to know just how much additional cost was buried in the price of each car, but it was substantial.
Another unintended consequence was that, by offering a lesser quality service on city streets, and paving over the streetcar tracks, CTA actually made the streets more inviting to cars and trucks, which created more traffic congestion in turn, thus reducing ridership even more.
In retrospect, CTA’s best bet might have been to continue using PCCs on the major lines, with all cars converted to one-man. Additional standard PCC cars were readily available in the 1950s in good condition from other cities.
This is the approach that Toronto took, and it has served them well. Meanwhile, Chicago’s non-standard PCCs, the largest and widest single-ended cars of their type, were prescient of the changes in streetcar technology since their 1958 demise.
They are now small in comparison to the Flexitys that are gradually being introduced to Toronto streets.
Meanwhile, in some ways Chicago’s surface system has never recovered from being downgraded in 1952 at the expense of the rapid transit system. “L” ridership continues to grow while bus ridership continues to shrink.
To this day, the years of greatest decline in Chicago’s surface transit system are from 1947 to 1958, when Chicago’s once mighty streetcar system was dismantled bit by bit.
If Chicago had kept its PCCs, proposals such as the “bus rapid transit”line planned for Ashland Avenue might not be necessary, as there would still be effective crosstown transit that does not operate in a hub and spoke pattern with the center city, but instead would have helped keep Chicago’s many neighborhoods strong and vibrant.
-David Sadowski
PS- To see more pictures of Chicago’s Peter Witts, see our previous post The CSL Sedans (December 24, 2015).
The entire 48-page prospectus for the CTA’s 1952 $23m bond issue, and much more, has been added to our E-book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story, available through our Online Store.
Correspondence
M. E. writes:
Observations about 63rd St. Rumble from someone who lived half a block from 63rd St.:
I don’t remember ever seeing a sedan car on 63rd St. The 63rd St. line migrated from red cars to the pre-war PCCs that came from Madison St. Although my memory isn’t precise, I believe there were still red cars during rush hour to augment the PCCs. All of this was two-man service. To my knowledge there were never any one-man cars on 63rd St. because it was a very busy line.
I do remember seeing lots of two-man sedans on the 4 Cottage Grove Ave. line. In 1952 the 63rd St. PCCs were moved to Cottage Grove as one-man cars. I’m unsure whether sedans augmented PCC rush-hour service on Cottage Grove. The CTA would not have mixed two-man and one-man cars on the same line, so any rush-hour sedans on Cottage Grove would have had to be one-man. Ergo, if one-man sedans were actually used someplace, it would have been on Cottage Grove.
When the pre-war PCCs moved from 63rd (two-man) to Cottage Grove (one-man), two-man red cars once again had to cover 63rd St. service. This lasted until 63rd was converted to a bus line in the spring of 1953. The one-man PCC service on Cottage Grove lasted until mid-1955, when the line was converted to bus.
I do not recall seeing post-war PCCs on 63rd St., although you have photos to prove it. Because the 69th and Ashland carbarn served both 63rd (pre-war PCCs) and Western (post-war PCCs), perhaps an occasional post-war PCC was sent to 63rd.
CTA Sedan 3377, showing the original door configuration, southbound on Cottage Grove at 95th Street on May 6, 1951. (John D. Koschwanez Photo, John F. Bromley Collection)
CTA 3381, now in CTA green, near the south end of route 4 – Cottage Grove, circa 1952. We cannot tell whether it had yet been converted to one man operation. (Earl Clark Photo)
CTA 3381 at Cottage Grove and 111th, near the south end of route 4, on February 2, 1952. The landmark Hotel Florence is in the background, in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood. (Thomas H. Desnoyers Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
CTA 3381 at Cottage Grove and 115th, south end of route 4, on April 2, 1952. (Thomas H. Desnoyers Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
Prewar PCC 4016, circa 1951, may very well be the first of the one-man conversions. The rear door here is completely blocked off, but soon the City of Chicago insisted on the addition of a rear emergency exit door. This was only a year after the terrible accident where a PCC collided with a gas truck and 33 people were killed. Notice how the middle door (for exit only) has been narrowed to try and keep people from sneaking on without paying. The location is Kedzie Station (car house). (Chicago Transit Authority Photo)
CTA 4029 lays over on 64th Street near Stony Island on March 10, 1952. This was the east end of route 63. The sign says “Enter at Font,” but we don’t know whether this prewar PCC had been converted to one-man operation yet. However, this picture was taken around the time CTA held public hearings about converting 63rd to one-man operation.
CTA 7012 at the Narragansett Loop on the west end of route 63. Tony Waller adds, “In image 257, the pre-war PCC must have been photographed in December 1951. All pre-war PCCs were removed from 63rd St. in Spring 1952 and rebuilt for one man operations (with elimination of one of the center doors). They were then assigned to Cottage Grove.”
CTA 4022, with some obvious front end damage, eastbound on the 63rd Street line. There is an ad on the side of the car promoting Hawthorne Race Course, which opened in 1891. One of our readers writes, “I believe that this car is laying over on the wye at 63rd and Central Park waiting to head east to Stony Island. The car was still two man at the time, but being in Everglade Green, I would date it as mid 1952 before the cars were sent to Cottage Grove after being converted to one-man operation.” (R. Alexander Photo, Krambles-Peterson Archive)
CTA 4031 on 63rd Street.
CTA 7016 on 63rd Place near Narragansett.
Postwar CTA 7269 at 63rd Place and Narragansett on November 23, 1952. (Thomas H. Desnoyers Photo)
Prewar PCC 4027 at an unknown location. Likely possibilities are routes 4, 49, or 63. Tony Waller writes, “Image 243 is on 63rd St. Look at the pre-war PCC. It’s door arrangement is that of a two-man car. Cottage Grove and Western only had pre-war PCCs in one man operation.”
CTA 248 at 63rd and Ashland in May 1953, shortly before the end of streetcar service on route 63. Note the safety island.
CTA Sedan (aka “Peter Witt”) 6310 appears to have been converted to one-man in this view circa 1952 view at South Shops. However, it may not have been used in service this way before being scrapped. (Roy W. Bruce Photo)
CTA prewar PCC 4021, last survivor of its type, in dead storage at South Shops in the late 1950s. This car is now preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum.
Excerpts from Chicago Transit Board Meeting Minutes:
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Bradley Criss on March 3, 2012 at the end of the St. Charles Car Line at Carrollton and Claiborne Avenues in New Orleans. (Jeff Wien Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)
As many of you may know, I was part of the creative team that produced CERA Bulletin 146*, along with Jeff Wien and Bradley Criss. For that book, I wrote a tribute to Jeff, who is 14 years older than I am and has long been a friend and a mentor to me in the railfan field.
Now, just one year after the book’s publication, I find myself unexpectedly penning a tribute to Bradley. Late last night I received the following note from Jeff:
It is with a sense of deep regret that I inform you of the death of BRADLEY CRISS on June 29, 2016 at 2:00am. Bradley died peacefully in hospice care at Advocate Illinois Masonic Hospital where he had been hospitalized for a month’s time fighting off infections and other problems.
Bradley was a highly talented young man who will be missed by all of us.
Bradley’s passing was a great shock to everyone who knew him. He was just 53 years old, and as he was the junior member of the B-146 troika, I had just naturally assumed that he would outlive the both of us.
That is just too young an age for someone as smart, funny, opinionated, and talented as Bradley to die. Let me tell you the story of how the book came about, and how crucial a part Bradley played in its creation.
B-146 was, somewhat improbably, the first CERA publication entirely devoted to Chicago streetcars since a roster had been put out in 1941. There were a variety of reasons why this was so, including the publication of Alan R. Lind‘s excellent book Chicago Surface Lines: An Illustrated History in 1974, the controversial demise of Windy City trolleys, and the immensity of the subject.
During my first term on the CERA board in the early 1990s, I suggested something like this, but the time was not yet ripe and nothing came of it.
About 10 years ago, Jeff and Bradley produced the Chicago Streetcar Memories DVD. Jeff provided the content, and Bradley did a terrific and very professional job putting it together. He had fantastic skills in video production, as anyone who has seen the North Shore Line program that Jeff and Bradley did a few years ago will attest.** The videos they made together are definitely the best of their type. If you have not seen them, they are highly recommended and should not be missed.
In particular, their North Shore Line video brings that storied interurban to life in a way that I would not have thought possible.
Unbeknownst to me at the time, Jeff and Bradley had originally planned a CERA book to accompany the Chicago Streetcar Memories DVD. Some work was done then, including parts of the text that would later appear in B-146, but somehow it went onto the back burner in favor of other projects.
During my second stint at CERA a few years ago, I brought up the subject of a Chicago book again, and learned not only that there were tremendous resources available, but that a “head start” had already been made by Bradley and Jeff. The time was right this time, and the project received an enthusiastic green light.
Jeff had the knowledge and had collected a lot of information over the years. I rode a Chicago streetcar once in 1958 as a three-year-old, but Jeff was already a very active fan by that time, documenting the waning days of the PCCs with his hand-held 8mm movie camera.
Over the years, his own photographic collection, together with additional material such as the late Bill Hoffman’s movies, became what is now the Wien-Criss archive. This served, along with the PCC photos that were generously shared by Art Peterson from the Krambles-Peterson archive, as the cornerstone for our book.
Jeff knew his subject inside and out, and had lots of material, and it was my job to help him organize it and flesh it out with additional images. I was sort of a “hunter-gatherer” of Chicago PCC material, a habit that has continued to this day here on the Trolley Dodger blog.
Improvements in technology over the years made a book like this possible. There is no way it could have been made in the 1970s, 80s, or 90s. And in that regard, Bradley Criss was our computer technology “maven.”
Bradley’s role was much more than just being Photo Editor. The entire design and layout of the book was his work, and I believe it is one of the most attractive railfan books ever published.
It certainly has the best color photo reproduction of any such book I have seen. And again, this was Bradley’s work. He not only had to painstakingly match the colors of the various cars with the other photos, but had to remove thousands and thousands of blemishes from these photographs via Photoshop. Bradley wrote something at the end of the book about this, but in my humble opinion he greatly minimized the actual difficulty.
The ultimate goal, of course, was to make things look as they originally did in real life, to make up for 60 years of fading and hard knocks that our original source materials had in some cases suffered.
In this, Bradley had the highest possible standards for the work. He would not let it be published until it was absolutely perfect.
If you could see the “before” vs. the “after” of some of these pictures, you wouldn’t believe it. Of course, when you see the book now, you don’t see all the hard work that went into it. You can appreciate it as the seamless whole that it is.
It did not do him any favors when we decided that there was so much great material, that we ought to make it a double length book. This took an already impossible task, and multiplied it times two. As a Chicago PCC book, it really is the “Big Enchilada.”
Eventually, under the crushing weight of such a project, he had to ask for additional help with the daunting task of “spot removal.” Some of the images we used had as many as a thousand such imperfections that had to be fixed one at a time in Photoshop, looking at a very small part of each scene under 200% magnification or more.
Along with Jeff, John Nicholson, and Diana Koester, I did some of this work myself. After spending eight hours a day on spot removal, I could barely see straight. But to take nothing away from the contributions made by other people, Bradley did most of it himself.
There were many things that could have gone wrong and derailed this book. The combination of very high standards and the sheer number of images that were used, created a daunting task, and it was only by pulling together as a team and persevering that we scaled this Mt. Everest of a book and planted our flag on the summit. All this work took longer than anyone could have anticipated at the outset.
Bradley not only had to make the pictures look good; he had to make the entire book look good, and it had to “flow” for the reader, and he had to squeeze a tremendous amount of material into a limited number of pages. But when you read the book, to quote The Wizard of Oz, you “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.”
Even if I had written a tribute such as this to him for the book, there is no way he would have wanted it printed. He was, to use a restaurant analogy, a “back of the house” sort of guy, who jealously guarded his privacy. His work was integral to making the book a reality, and helped shape it in many ways, but he was not the type of person who would stand at the front of the line and accept praise from the people who have the book and appreciate it. It wasn’t easy for me to even persuade him to sign someone’s copy.
However, in the one year since the book came out, it has been warmly and enthusiastically received. It has also sold a lot of copies, and I am sure that it will eventually sell out and join the long list of other collectible CERA publications. If you do not yet have a copy yourself, I urge you to consider it while new copies are still to be had. There will come a time when the situation will be different.
When we were working on the book, I thought of it as Jeff’s legacy to the world, which of course it is. I had no way of knowing then that it would also become, all too soon, an important part of Bradley’s legacy as well.
This is to take nothing away from the many people who contributed to the book in one way or another. I thank all of them, and am also very grateful to CERA for publishing it.
But on this day, as we mourn the passing of Bradley Criss, I am especially appreciative of what he accomplished, in spite of health issues that he had even at that time. Who knows what he could have achieved in the future.
Bradley was someone who did not suffer fools gladly. But I am glad that I could call him a friend, fortunate to have known him, and even more fortunate to have worked with him on the definitive Chicago PCC book, which may very well gain in stature as the years go by.
I will miss him greatly, miss hearing him laugh, and miss his jokes. I regret that we will never be able to share another deep dish pizza at Gulliver’s on the north side of Chicago, as it was his favorite. Now that he is gone, there is a gap in our lives that cannot be filled. I loved him like a brother.
So I thank him for everything he did, and I apologize to him for making him, for this one moment, a “front of the house” guy. I am happy that at least he lived to see the fruits of his labor.
My deepest condolences go out to his family and friends, and everyone who knew him.
Bradley’s obituary from the Illinois Valley News Tribune is here.
*Full title: Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: The PCC Car Era, 1936-1958, available from CERA and their dealers. Trolley Dodger Press is not affiliated with Central Electric Railfans’ Association.
**The North Shore Line video is not commercially available at present, but is occasionally shown at January CERA meetings. Chicago Streetcar Memories is included with B-146 and can also be purchased separately here from Chicago Transport Memories (again, not affiliated with us).
Help Support The Trolley Dodger
This is our 144th 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 173,000 page views, for which we are very grateful.
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