More Hoosier Traction

September 2, 2015September 16, 2015David Sadowski 7 Comments

Gary Railways #17 and #3. The body of a sister car, #19, is preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum.

The next Hoosier Traction Meet (see below) will take place in Indianapolis on September 11 and 12, the weekend after Labor Day. We thought it would be a good idea to give that event another plug, and at the same time, this gives us an excuse to some examples of Hoosier traction from days gone by.

We are fortunate to have found some great pictures, including a couple original negatives from some of the earliest fantrips by Central Electric Railfans’ Association on Gary Railways. CERA* is one of the premier railfan organizations, and it is our considered opinion that if you are not already a member, you ought to become one.

In general the Chicago Surface Lines did not operate outside of the City of Chicago, but there was an unusual joint operation, as described by the Chicago Railfan web site:

Service into Indiana was jointly operated with the Hammond Whiting & East Chicago Railway, later Calumet Railways, and finally Chicago & Calumet District Transit Co. Originally, route duplicated Windsor Park route between 63rd St. and Stony Island and 92nd/Commercial. In 1913, route was revised to operate via South Chicago from a new terminal at 63rd St. and South Park (now King Drive), using South Park south of 63rd St. After streetcars were discontinued, Chicago & Calumet District Transit Co. continued to operate replacement bus service, while streetcar service within Illinois was replaced with South Chicago-Ewing route, which evolved into present CTA route 30.

Service into Indiana was discontinued on June 9, 1940. Fortunately, we were able to hunt up a few pictures.

Indiana Railroad car 65 was the first piece of equipment acquired by the Illinois Railway Museum (then called the Illinois Electric Railway Museum). This is a wonderful lightweight, high-speed interurban car and is a joy to ride. It has recently been fitted with reupholstered leather bucket seats.

We tracked down a picture showing sister car 63 from the IR. The only other survivor from that order is car 55, which was turned into Lehigh Valley Transit Company car 1030, now at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine.

Bill Shapotkin: “Gary Railways car 19 at Indiana Harbor (that is the Pennsy’s Indiana Harbor passenger station at right, by the way). taken on March 19, 1939 — the day AFTER the last day of service on the Indiana Harbor (and Hobart) lines. (See CERA Bulletin 137, Pages 229-233, which includes a similar pic to above on Page 230.)”

Gary Railways car 19 crossing the EJ&E near Valparaiso on the very first CERA fantrip, May 1, 1938. Bill Shapotkin: “This is a different vantage point to the one shown on Page 224 of CERA Bulletin 137.” The body of this car is now preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Chicago Surface Lines #3219, a one-man car built by CSL, as it looked on September 8, 1940. This car had formerly been used on the line to East Chicago, Indiana, which was abandoned three months before this picture was taken. This is also known as a “maximum traction” car because of its trucks. The white stripe on the end indicated it was a one-man car. Bob Lalich says this is “106th and Indianapolis. The car is eastbound.”

Chicago and Calumet District Transit Company #70, the last car to be scrapped. It was built by the St. Louis Car Company. We see it here at the Hammond Barn on September 8, 1940. These lines were abandoned in June 1940.

Chicago and Calumet District Transit Company #70 at Hammond in February 1939.

A Chicago and Calumet District transfer.

Hammond, Whiting and East Chicago car 74.

Indiana Railroad lightweight high-speed interurban car 63 at Bluffton in 1936. (C. Edward Hedstrom, Sr. Photo) Car 65, a sister to this one, is preserved in operable condition at the Illinois Railway Museum.

-David Sadowski

PS- We occasionally add photos to old posts. Here are a couple of recent examples:

This photo was added to Trolley Dodger Mailbag, 8-12-2015, since it goes along with the photos of the Chicago, Ottawa and Peoria.

Chicago and Joliet Electric Railway #242, shown at the Archer and Cicero station in Chicago in September 1933. (Robert V. Mehlenbeck Photo) Mehlenbeck was member #11 of Central Electric Railfans’ Association. According to Don’s Rail Photos, “242 was built by Cummings Car & Coach Co in 1927.” Service on this line, which connected to the Chicago, Ottawa & Peoria, was abandoned on November 16, 1933.

Somehow we managed to leave this photo out of our recent post A North Shore Line Potpourri, Part Two:

CNS&M 168 heads up a three-car Chicago Local on the Shore Line Route, stopping at Linden Avenue in Wilmette. The date is February 11, 1939.

It would be interesting to know whether the train is heading north or south. Going north, it would turn west onto street running on Greenleaf Avenue before turning north to run parallel with the Chicago & North Western. Heading south, it would begin running over the Chicago “L” system’s Evanston route. I am sure one of our keen-eyed readers can provide the answer.

Val Ginter writes:

The question on the page had to do with the direction of the train. I haven’t been there in many, many years; however, it looks like the train is northbound, and will turn left–or to our right–onto Greenleaf Avenue, where it will travel in the middle of the street for about three-fourths of a mile, before turning north onto its own right-of-way and the Wilmette station. I miss that whole thing: a big bite out of the Chicagoland apple.

On the other hand, Myron Moyano says:

Relative to the direction of the train at Linden Avenue on the Shore Line Route, take a close look at the angle of the sun and also the destination sign of the lead car. The picture is looking north at a southbound train.

The building at left in the North Shore Line picture is still there, located just north of where the CTA line ends at Linden Avenue. This proves the photographer was indeed looking north and the train was heading southbound.

So now we have a real difference of opinion. They can’t both be right.

HOOSIER TRACTION 2015

This September, a group of men and women will converge upon Indianapolis, IN for the annual gathering of the Hoosier Traction Meet. Considered by many to be the premier event of its kind, this conference of interested enthusiasts, historians, published authors and rail and transit professions consists of two complete days of audio/visual presentations on the history, operation and technology of electric railway and transit operations throughout the Midwest. In addition to the numerous auditorium events, there is an exhibition of electric rail and transit, where items of interest from transfers and photographs to fare boxes and operating models are for sale.

This year marks the 32nd annual Hoosier Traction Meet. Founded by Dr. Howard Blackburn, the Hoosier Traction Meet features, in addition to its auditorium events and exhibition hall, a opportunity for those interested in electric railway and transit to exchange ideas and swap stories with old acquaintances and meet new friends.

Allow me to take this opportunity to cordially invite each and every one of you to this special event — an event which has been the rail and transit highlight of my year for nearly twenty years. Attached you will find a copy of the Prospectus for this year’s gathering. Note that by mailing in your reservation in advance, the admission price is half that paid at the door — now that’s a bargain in anybody’s book! In addition, there are numerous restaurants and shops nearby, allowing plenty of opportunities to and have lunch or supper with your fellow enthusiasts.

Please consider joining us for this year’s event.

Wm Shapotkin
Auditorium Manager
Hoosier Traction Meet

Mr. Shapotkin is co-author of Faster Than the Limiteds:
The Story of the Chicago – New York Electric Air Line Railroad
and Its Transformation into Gary Railways

Central Electric Railfans’ Association* Bulletin 137

By Dr. Thomas R. Bullard and William M. Shapotkin

Published in 2004 – now out of print

*Trolley Dodger Press is not affiliated with Central Electric Railfans’ Association.

As an added bonus, here is some authentic 1920s jazz, courtesy of Bix Beiderbecke. Although the legendary Bix (1903-1931) hailed from Iowa, he did spend at least one summer blowing his cornet (which is now in the collection of the Chicago History Museum as far as I know) at Hudson Lake in Indiana, and I’m sure he got there via what we now know as the South Shore Line interurban.

Chicago PCC Updates

August 30, 2015August 31, 2015David Sadowski 9 Comments

CTA 7261 is southbound on Halsted, at the intersection with Grand and Milwaukee Avenues. This car is incorrectly signed for route 42 (should be 8).

One of the advantages of an electronic book is that it can be updated and improved as new information becomes available. Today’s post features the latest updates to our E-book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story, which is available in our Online Store.

First off, we have acquired another rare supervisor’s track map from December 1946. Now, our E-book includes the CSL maps from 1941, 1946, and the CTA versions from 1948, 1952, and 1954.

These maps are much more detailed than the usual route maps and show the locations of crossovers, wyes, loops, stations (car barns), etc. etc. in great detail. They include the trolley coach and motor bus routes as well as streetcars.

Our E-book now includes five supervisor’s track maps, from 1941, 1946, 1948, 1952, and 1954.

Detail from the Chicago Surface Lines supervisor’s map from 1941, as featured in our E-book.

We have also added more photos, some of which are reproduced here. Over the last few months, we have added at least 30 new photos to the book.

E-book Update Service

If you purchase a copy today, you will receive most current version of the book. If you already bought one, we can provide you with an updated version at little or no cost. We can set you up to download the new files via Dropbox, a free file sharing service, at no additional charge.

If you would prefer an updated disc, we can send you one for just $5 to addresses within the United States. Contact us at thetrolleydodger@gmail.com for further details.

We want you to be able to buy the E-book with confidence that you will not miss out on any future improvements.

PCC Correspondence

Frank Weed writes:

I enjoyed the DVD Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story. I especially like the track maps of the system. My question — Is there any diagrams of the shops and barns? I am interested in the track arrangement of the yards.

The Surface Lines had numerous “stations,” as the car barns were called. If we can get hold of the information, we will add it to the E-book, thanks.

George Trapp writes:

The revised disc arrived the day after you mailed it, which was quite surprising. The list of scrapping dates for each individual car was very interesting, hopefully the inservice dates for each individual car can be found and published in the future.

Regarding the Pullman built cars, Lot 6749 for series 4062-4171, car 4062 was photographed at Pullman’s former Osgood-Bradley plant on 9-3-46, while car 4067 was photographed over a month later on 10-8-46, leaving me to believe that 4062 was shipped over a month before the rest of the cars started delivery.

The Lot 6786 cars series 4172-4371, car 4172 was photographed by Pullman’s studio the E. B. Luce Company on 9-16-47 and car 4306 hoisted up by the plant crane has a photo date of 11-20-47. In the series cars 4172-4196 were delivered first, then deliveries jumped to 4272-4371 with 4197-4271 being the last. This may have been done because of the CTA trying to cancel the order.

On your disc, Post War PCC’s #1, on Page 12 lower, page 15 upper and page 28 both views have photos dates of Oct. 1, 1949. I think they were taken later, probably 1951 or 1952. Per the Aug. 1950 issue of MASS TRANSPORTATION outside advertising on the CTA wasn’t authorized by city ordinance until 4-13-1950. Also, I doubt if any cars were painted dark green before the arrival of the propane Twin Coach 5000 series buses in late 1950.

On page 13, believe location is Clark and Roosevelt.

On page 26, lower view is of car 4055 not 4065.

On PostWar PCC’s #2, Page 2, upper photo of car being towed, it’s probably headed to West Shops for repair, I have this print as well from the late Joe Diaz and it looks like there’s some body damage on the PCC.

Pages 38 bottom view and page 46 upper view are 81st street looking east from Halsted.

Thanks… we will make corrections to the captions you cite. Sometimes the information written on a print or slide turns out to be wrong.

We know that the Chicago Transit Authority did try to cancel the PCC order, since this was reported in the press (see page 39 of Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: The PCC Car Era, 1936-1958, Bulletin 146 of the Central Electric Railfans’ Association*), but I believe this happened in 1947, not 1946.

The newly-formed CTA, you may recall, was instrumental in getting the 600 Postwar PCC cars ordered in 1945. This was part of a long-range plan to modernize all of Chicago’s transportation systems, first published in 1937 (and detailed in our E-book). Philip Harringon, the main author of what was commonly called the “Green Book,” became the first chairman of the Chicago Transit Board. It should therefore be no surprise that the City of Chicago’s plans were carried over into the early days of the CTA.

Chicago Surface Lines believed in the superiority of the streetcar for use on the busiest routes. Following national trends, the Green Book plan of 1937 envisioned replacing about half of Chicago’s streetcars with buses. By the time CTA took over in 1947, this “busstitution” plan had increased to 75 or 80%.

In 1945, CTA was all in favor of ordering 800 modern streetcars– 600 to start, and 200 more within a few years. Along with the 83 Prewar PCCs and the 100 Peter Witt “Sedans,” this would have given CTA a fleet of nearly 1000 modern cars. The City of Chicago had been very much involved in determining the specifications for the new postwar cars, which were finalized in 1941.

Since CSL had a modernization fund available, the CTA had no difficulty persuading the bankruptcy courts, which were in control of CSL, to approve orders for new equipment. And even though CTA did not take official control until October 1, 1947, they were very much involved in deciding not only what was ordered, but where and when it would run once delivered. CTA felt it had been given a “mandate” by the State and the voters to make transit improvements as soon as possible.

If not for World War II, there might have been a slower and more orderly transition to rubber tired vehicles. But with wartime shortages, orders for new buses were put on hold for four years. War’s end coincided with the creation of the CTA, and there was a pent-up need for change. But the winds of change in local transit circles changed very quickly.

Even as the first of 600 Postwar PCC cars were delivered in 1946, you can sense a certain ambivalence in such things as Chicago Tribune editorials, as this example from November 20, 1946 shows:

The street car is dead. With the exception of a few long haul, heavy traffic routes, street cars, which came in before paved streets, are obsolete. They should be replaced by buses.

You can read the rest of this editorial in our post Chicago’s Postwar PCCs (June 9th).

A year later, Walter J. McCarter, new General Manager of the CTA, reported that CTA had tried to cancel the remainder of the PCC order, but had been unsuccessful. Chances are this action could not have been taken prior to October 1, 1947. Until then, CTA would have needed to work through the courts and the Surface Lines.

These issues, and many more, are covered in detail in our E-book, which can be read on any computer with Adobe Acrobat Reader installed.

We will continue to improve Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story as new information becomes available. We are committed to making this the best book possible and a real (albeit unofficial) companion piece to Bulletin 146, which is itself a must-have for any railfan who is seriously interested in Chicago streetcars.

-David Sadowski

*Bulletin 146 is available directly from CERA. Trolley Dodger Press is not affiliated with Central Electric Railfans’ Association.

PS- We thank our readers for their continued support as The Trolley Dodger has reached another milestone, with more than 65,000 page views (from nearly 20,000 individuals) since our first post in January.

CTA 4282, a Pullman, passes the Congress expressway construction site on Halsted in 1952. In general, bridges were built first, and areas around them dug out afterwards. This section of highway opened in late 1955, by which time the streetcars had been replaced by buses.

CTA Prewar PCC 4032 being shipped out from South Shops for scrapping. According to the list compiled by Andre Kristopans, the date is around August 13, 1956, about two months after streetcar service ended on route 49 Western.

CTA 4346, built by Pullman-Standard, on route 36 Broadway-State.

CTA 4406, a product of St. Louis Car Company, in charter service on Clark Street north of Cermak Road, October 21, 1956.

A two-car train of “flat door” 6000-series cars at the ground-level Oak Park Avenue station on the Garfield Park “L” in the 1950s. These used PCC technology and were built with all new parts, unlike the later curved door cars that were partly built with parts salvaged from PCC streetcars. The building at rear, located at approximately 814 Harrison Street, is still standing in Oak Park.

The approximate location of the last picture as it looks today. The Forest Park branch of the CTA Blue Line is in the foreground. The old Garfield Park alignment, at ground level, would be about where the truck is in this picture.

The building at 814 Harrison as it looks today.

Railfan Ephemera

August 26, 2015October 27, 2015David Sadowski 19 Comments

Closeup of CA&E wood car 309, now restored to operating condition at the Illinois Railway Museum.

According to the Wikipedia:

Ephemera (singular: ephemeron) is any transitory written or printed matter not meant to be retained or preserved. The word derives from the Greek, meaning things lasting no more than a day. Some collectible ephemera are advertising trade cards, airsickness bags, bookmarks, catalogues, greeting cards, letters, pamphlets, postcards, posters, prospectuses, defunct stock certificates or tickets, and zines.

In library and information science, the term ephemera also describes the class of published single-sheet or single page documents which are meant to be thrown away after one use.

Today’s post features some railfan ephemera, things that were designed for transitory use, that few people would have considered worth saving. We can be thankful that they were saved, since these items can sometimes tell us important things we would not know otherwise.

There are several tidbits of information in the brochures and flyers we’re presenting today. A CTA brochure from 1949 includes a very good statement of how that agency intended to speed up rapid transit service.

An early (1959) fundraising flyer from an early version of the Illinois Railway Museum calls CA&E car 309 the “jewel” of the Roarin’ Elgin’s fleet. This car was eventually purchased by the museum and, after surviving a later fire, restored back to operating condition.

Don’s Rail Photos says, “309 was built by Hicks Locomotive Works in 1907. It was modernized in October 1941 and acquired by Illinois Railway Museum in 1962.”

You can read the 309 story on the excellent Hicks Car Works blog here.

We have several other CA&E-related items. A timetable from late 1939 pinpoints the date when the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin interurban switched their route into Aurora from street trackage to a new private right-of-way along the Fox River.

Finally, there are some vintage CTA flyers that describe how to troubleshoot various problems on the venerable 4000-series “L” cars that were, for so many years, a mainstay of the system before their retirement in 1973. Two cars from that fleet are still on the CTA property today and are occasionally run, as they were last year, when they celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Skokie Swift, today’s Yellow Line.

-David Sadowski

A flyer from the Illinois Electric Railway Museum, circa 1959, attempting to raise funds to save car 309, described as the “jewel” of the CA&E fleet.

The interior of CA&E car 300, as it appeared on February 25, 1962, shortly before this car was scrapped.

CA&E 36, built by John Stephenson in 1904. After the interurban’s demise, it was purchased by Trolleyville USA in Ohio. It came to the Illinois Railway Museum in 2009 where it remains in operating condition.

A flyer advertising a 1939 CA&E fantrip that included the street trackage in Aurora, shortly before this was eliminated.

A CA&E timetable announcing a change in the right-of-way entering Aurora, effective December 31, 1939.

A pass from an early CERA fantrip.

Itinerary for a 1942 fantrip on the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin.

An advertising insert for the Electric Railway Pictorial (1945).

The advert for the Electric Railway Pictorial includes what is probably a builder’s photo from St. Louis Car Company, showing one of the curved-side CA&E cars delivered in 1945-46.

Once A/B service proved successful on the Lake Street “L”, the CTA extended it to other routes.

Those 4000s sure got around in their day. Here is a rare shot of Chicago Rapid Transit Company “L” car 4432 heading up a train in North Shore Line street running territory on Greenleaf Avenue in Wilmette. It was probably pressed into service hauling the military during World War II.

The illustration on the CTA brochure is patterned after the statue Flying Mercury by Giovanni da Bologna (1529-1608).
The messenger of the gods and patron of commerce and trading, winged Mercury speeds through the skies carrying the caduceus that symbolizes both immunity during war and the practice of medicine. Bologna, working in the Medici court in Florence in 1580, composed his subject in the figura serpentine that masterfully guides the eye.

Closeup of a 1949 CTA brochure announcing the expansion of A/B “skip stop” service to North-South routes.

Construction of a turning loop at Howard Yard, 1949-50. This photo was the subject of the correspondence that follows.

The institution of A/B service led to other changes. As the following correspondence shows, it impacted where CTA stored rapid transit trains. As the CTA’s Tom Buck pointed out, prior to this, trains terminated at various places along the North-South line, and service was overlapping. Once “Skip Stop” service began, there was a need for improved facilities at the ends of the line.

Thus, a turning loop was installed at Howard Yard between 1949 and 1950, so that trains could be turned around quicker.

Nowadays, the term “cc” (short for carbon copy) is widely used in e-mail. But there was a time when it had a more literal meaning. Back in the days when people corresponded via typewriters, if you wanted to keep a record of letters written, you would make a carbon copy.

You would place a piece of blue carbon paper behind your stationary, and behind that, a very thin sheet. Here are two such carbon copies.

These letters date from 1975, in the years before home computers, in the days when people still wrote actual letters to each other and mailed them. Before he worked at the CTA, Tom Buck (1917-2004) wrote about transit matters for the Chicago Tribune.

-The Editor

Chicago PCC Q&A with Andre Kristopans

August 19, 2015March 20, 2016David Sadowski 5 Comments

The cover of the 1957 version of Chicago’s Mass Transportation System, which is included as a Bonus Feature of our E-book.

Andre Kristopans is well-known in railfan circles as one of the most knowledgeable transit historians in the United States, certainly the foremost concerning buses used here in Chicago. He recently shared a complete list of Chicago PCC delivery dates and scrapping dates with The Trolley Dodger, which we added to our e-book Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story, available through our Online Store.

E-book Update Service

One advantage an electronic book has over a printed one is that it can be improved upon. We have always intended that to be the case with Chicago’s PCC Streetcars: The Rest of the Story.

If you have already purchased a copy of this e-book, and wish to get the most updated version, we can send you a link so that you can download it at no additional charge via Dropbox. Dropbox is a free service that allows people to transfer large files via the Internet. The book is about an 850mb download. Even better, as further improvements are made the updated files can be automatically downloaded onto your computer via Dropbox if you wish.

Besides the list of delivery and scrapping dates, we have also added about 25 more photos to the book since it was first published, plus a system map for the Chicago Motor Coach Company. We have additional updates planned for the future, and want to make sure that whenever you purchase your copy, you will be assured of having access to these updates as they become available.

If you would prefer not to download 850mb and would prefer a new disc with the most current version, simply keep what you already have, and we can send you an updated DVD data disc for just $5. If you are interested in these offers, drop us a line at:

thetrolleydodger@gmail.com

Sales of this and our other fine products help support the original research we feature here on The Trolley Dodger blog. You can also make a donation via our Online Store.

All the images used in this post are recent additions to our E-book.

Thanks.

-David Sadowski

The cover illustration from a Surface Lines brochure printed in August 1947.

Chicago PCC Q&A with Andre Kristopans

Studying Andre’s list brought up a number of different issues, which we discussed with him in the following exchange:

DS: Were the cars that had fareboxes installed the same ones that were converted to one man, or did some two-man cars also get some?

AK: All cars that were going to be around for a while got at least the pedestals for fareboxes installed. One thing I am not certain of is when CTA decided to get rid of the fare registers and replace them with (used) J-boxes. I know the buses all got fareboxes around this time, but I don’t know if, or when, the 2-man PCC’s did. Would have been by conductor’s station.

DS: What is a J-box?

AK: J-boxes were the 1940’s fareboxes that were only able to take quarters and tokens. Made by Johnson Farebox as model J, they actually showed up at CTA in around 1950 as they were bought second-hand from somewhere unknown (and later sold off after CTA went to exact fare in 1969!). The more modern ones from the 1960’s that were bigger and took all types of coins were Johnson type K’s. Johnson later became Keene Farebox.

DS: Also, how would this list be affected by the postwar PCCs that were renumbered? (The list is in my e-book—there were 13 such cars.)

I believe the renumberings were caused by CTA having entered into contracts with St. Louis Car Company that specified certain car numbers for shipment as part of the so-called “conversion program.” Then, for whatever reasons, CTA wanted to send a different car instead of one that was specified, so they took another one and renumbered it to fit the sequence of cars being shipped.

AK: Exactly. CTA had no official record of any renumberings. What it was loaded on the flatcar with was how it was entered on the property card.

DS: Later on, I think the contract wording was changed in later orders so that CTA was allowed to substitute.

AK: The numbers are very specific in the AFR’s – these cars under this AFR*.

DS: We already know what the renumberings were. Roy Benedict had the information, which had been compiled by the late James J. Buckley.

Most of the cars were renumbered in 1956-57, but there were also a couple in 1954.

So there would be a “first” 7210 and a “second” 7210, etc. etc., and I would expect that the information on your list of scrappings would somehow correlate with the renumbering list.

AK: Remember though as far as property accounting department was concerned, this NEVER HAPPENED! This was done by S&E** at South Shops on an ad-hoc basis, with downtown never being the wiser! Some railroads were notorious for this, Milwaukee Road being probably the worst offender, as when HQ sent a work order to shops to “scrap 800 and 801”, shops would find two dead ones, renumber them 800 and 801, renumber the “real” 800 and 801 to the numbers they picked out, and sent a notice back to HQ “800, 801 scrapped”. Now where it got really funny was when they picked two replacements that were of a different though similar model, and the “rescued” ones stuck around for years to railfans’ delight!

DS: If as I recall the later contracts with St. Louis Car Co. were revised to allow for substitutions of different cars, this would mean somebody was aware of the renumberings. I think I read this when I studied the Chicago Transit Board minutes from the 1950s.

AK: Maybe, but nothing was ever recorded on the property cards, which I copied.

DS: Interesting that car 7213, the last car to run, actually was shipped off to St. Louis as part of the contract that built the 1-50 cars, while the other 25 cars that were still on the property simply were sold for scrap.

It is also interesting that the 4391, the one postwar car that was saved, was designated for scrapping along with one other car, while an additional 20 were scrapped as part of a later order.

AK: Bus scrapping is an even more convoluted matter – why a vehicle goes on a specific AFR is sometimes hard to understand. I suspect 4391 was retired “early” because it had some sort of failure. Not necessarily anything major at that point, but something happened to it. When IRM restored it to operation, they probably had to fix more than a few problems, and one of them was likely the reason car was retired.

DS: Is it possible that CTA held off on selling the final 20 until they were certain that there was no chance that CTA would get control of part of the CA&E? I know there was a 1956 plan where service would have been temporarily operated between Forest Park and Wheaton using some prewar PCCs, with construction of a turning loop in Wheaton.

AK: That was one really sad episode. CTA was willing, CA&E was willing, but not without subsidy, and the towns along the line could not agree on who would pay how much. The off-line town like Addison refused to pay anything, but online towns said residents of off-line towns used the line too, so those towns should pay too. So in the end nothing happened.

DS: CTA’s efforts to operate a portion of CA&E continued through 1959. The idea was to use PCCs for about 18 months, which would have bought the CTA time to order new rapid transit cars that presumably would have been able to operate downtown over the new Congress rapid transit line.

I assume these cars would have been versions of the 1-50 single car units, with possibly more plush seats and high-speed motors.

AK: Most likely not “high speed” as CTA would have most likely run all-stops, with a stop every mile or so. Basically would have been just another “L” route.

DS: CTA spent several years working with various manufacturers to test and develop high-speed trucks. It seems that construction of the Congress rapid transit line led to a lot of interest, among the public and various officials, in having rapid transit cars that could go as fast as the autos on an expressway.

CTA held a public hearing in the early part of 1958 in conjunction with the purchase of the final 100 cars in the PCC conversion program, and the only negative comments were that these were not going to be high-speed cars. CTA officials pointed out that high-speed cars would only provide a small amount of time savings over regular cars, and that they did not want to waste the perfectly good motors being salvaged from 100 PCC streetcars.

CTA’s experiments with high-speed motors continued after this and eventually resulted in the 2000-series cars delivered in 1964.

If CTA had been able to extend service over a larger portion of the abandoned North Shore Line, they would have ordered more cars, high-speed versions of the single car units, pretty much the same as the 1-4 cars used to provide initial service on the Skokie Swift.

I guess the high-speed motors weren’t really perfected yet when CTA might have taken over portions of the CA&E. Simply extending service west of Forest Park using existing equipment would have been the simplest and made the most sense. Not sure why CTA felt it necessary to propose operating it as a feeder operation using PCCs.

AK: Here is another tidbit:

The Pullmans came with B-3 trucks and GE motors and St Louises with B-2’s and WH motors. Before they were shipped to SLCC the Pullmans and St Louis swapped trucks and motors as the B-3’s were considered less suitable for high speed operation. However, only 288 B-2’s were actually used, as 6489-6490 which should have had B-2’s came with B-3’s.

Later, of course, B-3’s were indeed used under 6491-6720 and 5-50, though it is true that these cars did indeed vibrate more at higher speeds, such as on the O’Hare Extension.

As far as I can figure the following groups were swapped out:

4102-4371 (270) swapped with 7115-7274 (160), 4372-4411 (38), 7045-7114 (69), plus trucks/motors from the three retired cars 7078, 4381, 4394

4062-4101 (40) swapped with 4052-4061, 7035-7044 (20), with last 20 going with original trucks/motors as trades on 6491-6510. Now where the two extra sets of GE motors for 6489-6490 came from is a good question, possibly spares.

Later “L” cars, 6511-6720 and 1-50 came with B-3’s and GE’s, except of course 1-4, of which 1-2 were GE, 3-4 were WH. Also, for a while 6483-6488 had GE motors, too, swapped with 23-26, 29-30 when they went into Skokie Swift service.

DS: If you read the narrative about how PCC 4391 was saved (which is also reproduced in CERA Bulletin 146):

http://hickscarworks.blogspot.com/2009/01/erhs.html

It says that there were 18 cars that were in operable condition at the end of service, which CTA put out for bid, and two cars that were not in operating condition, which were a separate bid. You could bid on them as a whole lot or otherwise.

That would seem to imply that 4391 was one of the two cars that were inoperable. Maybe the narrative about the 18 cars really should read 20 cars, to match your list.

AK: I do believe so!

DS: However, according to CERA B-146, car 4391 was operated on the last day, as the third-to last car in service.

AK: Just because a car ran on the last day does not mean the motorman didn’t put in a defect ticket after pulling in.

DS: According to the narrative, the ERHS crowd wanted to buy 4391 from the scrap dealer, who had failed in his attempt to sell the cars to Mexico City. His next idea was to scrap the cars and sell components to Belgium.

CTA still had some damaged cars that it needed to sell, and so the ERHS people bought 7218 and swapped it for the 4391.

The 7218 appears on your list but with a somewhat higher work order than the final batch of PCCs operated on Wentworth. Did the CTA change their numbering sequence for these work orders at some point?

AK: Yes – after the AFR’s in the 19000’s, they went back to 10000’s.

DS: You had also at one point mentioned that you heard that part of the 7078 body (damaged in a May 25, 1950 crash with a gasoline truck, the so-called “Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster” of the book by the same name) was actually used to put another car together that was seriously damaged. Any idea which car this might have been?

AK: The one that wrapped itself around the safety island at State/Root (the number escapes me at the moment).

DS:

Found this online in a forum:

“Parts from 7078 were used to rebuild car 7205, which wrapped itself around a pole at State and Root the previous summer (1949) after splitting a switch.”

“I often wonder which of its parts were used to rebuild 7205. That car suffered a gash right in the middle by the center exit doors resulting in a badly bent frame. Maybe they cut the frame off 7078 as well as some body panels and grafted them onto 7205.”

AK:

Probably correct, in that 7078 basically burned above the floor line and the frame appears to have survived relatively intact. Also, in that era (and really much later, into the 1980’s) repairs were done locally and if things didn’t come out exactly “as new”, that was not a problem. For instance, there was a Gary Transit fishbowl that got into a major wreck of some sort in the late 70’s and when they fixed it (themselves), they couldn’t quite get the left side of the body straight, so it had a definite “dip” in the sliversiding near the back door. But nobody seemed to mind.

On July 18, 1949, the Chicago Tribune reported on the accident where CTA PCC 7205 was damaged. It was later apparently repaired using part of the body from car 7078, from a disastrous crash the following year, where 33 people were killed.

DS:

Another thing that I discovered, while perusing the Chicago Transit Board minutes, is how much information they contained early in the CTA era, and how little was included later on.

Early in the CTA’s history, it seems as though the Chicago City Council was voting to approve each and every bus substitution on a streetcar line, but later on, the CTA was acting pretty much on its own regarding a lot of these decisions.

In 1952, as I recall, there was a local judge who said that CTA, having been created by act of legislature and a referendum of voters, was pretty much a law unto itself as regards what type of service to offer the public, and how much. So, if they wanted people to ride the North Avenue trolley bus, instead of the Humboldt Park “L”, the public had no recourse through the courts.

So when CTA decided in 1955 to end the Broadway-State through-route and substitute buses on southern half, the City seemed to be caught somewhat by surprise. Newspapers reported that the City had not been given time to study the matter. CTA said they were going ahead with it anyway because the new employee “pick” had already been made.

When they did the same thing to Clark-Wentworth in 1957, apparently there was no public outcry. Despite the fear in 1955 that this might inconvenience 5000 riders, who in theory took advantage of the through-route, the 1957 change was done with very little fanfare.

And when CTA approved the conversion of Wentworth to bus, this was done about two weeks before it took effect.

AK: This was one of the big deals that was highly touted when CTA was formed – that it was not beholden to the state or the city but could do pretty much as it pleased. In the early days, CTA went to the trouble of asking the city’s “acquiescence” on conversions, as it did after involve streets and who was obligated to maintain and plow them. However, at some point around 1950 or 1951 amid the mass abandonments, CTA got the city to agree to a mass takeover of responsibility for maintenance, so CTA no longer felt obligated to ask for city “approvals”. By 1955, the system was pretty well stabilized, and there was little talk of protesting changes, because there weren’t many.

DS: One of the cost savings claimed from substituting buses for streetcars came about by convincing the State legislature to exempt CTA from having to pay fuel taxes. They were unsuccessful in obtaining a subsidy, but they were able to do this much.

*Authorization For Retirement. (AFE is Authorization For Expenditure.)

**Shops & Equipment – the official name of the Shops Department.

CSL 7027 is southbound at Dearborn and Monroe, the east end of route 20 Madison, in June 1946. (Ohio Brass Photo, John F. Bromley Collection)

CSL 4010 and 4035 in experimental paint at the Madison-Austin loop on November 24, 1945. (John F. Bromley Collection)

CTA 4399 heads south at Clark and Roosevelt on July 16, 1957.

CSL 4062, the first postwar Chicago PCC, shown at South Shops shortly after delivery from Pullman, probably in September 1946. It is signed for Clark-Wentworth, the first route where the new cars were assigned.

CSL 4040 at the Madison-Austin Loop on December 15, 1942.

CSL 4004 at the west end of route 20 on May 15, 1940.

CSL 7062 at St. Louis Car Company in a builder’s photo prior to shipment to Chicago, most likely in April 1947. Andre’s list gives a scrap date of December 16, 1955, when this car was sent back to SLCC as part of the “PCC conversion program” for “L” cars 6471-6550.

Postwar Chicago PCC 4065 being delivered to South Shops by CSL locomotive S-202 in late 1946.

CSL 4010 in experimental colors in April 1946. This car is turning out of the loop at Madison and Austin to head east.

CSL 4052 at 81st and Halsted, the south end of route 22 Clark-Wentworth, most likely in 1947.

81st and Halsted today. We are looking to the southeast.

Here are some examples of Johnson fareboxes:

Railfans, Their Cameras, and Camera Stores

August 6, 2015August 14, 2015David Sadowski 9 Comments

The iconic facade of Central Camera, one of the last remaining old-style camera stores in the Midwest.

Today we will explore the close relationship between railfans, their cameras, and their favorite camera stores. Nowadays, photography has truly become both easy and democratic, in the sense that most people now carry around with them a cell phone that is capable of taking surprisingly good pictures. You see the results immediately, so there is a very short learning curve. If your picture doesn’t come out as intended, you simply take another.

‘Twas not always thus.

Chances are most railfans became photographers out of sheer necessity. They were fascinated by railroads and wanted to study pictures of them, yet had no idea where to find such pictures. So, they bought a camera and went out and made every mistake imaginable.

They learned by doing, and over time, many railfans became excellent photographers, whose work is on a par with, and every bit as important, as any other shutterbug’s.

Pieritz Brothers office supply store in Oak Park, in business since 1895, has a sign in the window that says, “If you buy here, we will be here.” The same is true of camera stores, which were once commonplace but have now largely disappeared from the American scene.

Perhaps in the future everyone will order their goods online and have them delivered to their door by drone aircraft, but time was, if you needed to buy film, have film developed, buy a camera, or learn how to operate it, you went to your friendly neighborhood camera shop.

There was a time when cameras were not commodities, and people depended on the experience and expertise of the over-the-counter sales person, who would spend time going over the features and even critique their pictures.

In my own Chicago neighborhood, there was the Montclare Camera Company, on the same block as the Montclare Theatre. In the early 1960s, when I was in grade school, perhaps 25% of a camera store’s business involved home movies.

It was a common thing to joke about back then how your friends or relatives would invite you over to their place for an evening of really bad home movies of their latest vacation or someone’s backyard birthday party. You could only record about three minutes of film on an entire reel. For some reason, the market for home movies had largely dried up even before portable video camcorders became available.

In the early 20th century, enlargers were not commonplace. If you took your roll of film to the photofinisher, a camera shop or drug store, they would make contact prints of your black-and-white film that were the same size as the original negative. To yield a decent sized print, the film had to be very large as a result. Sometimes these large negatives can yield extremely sharp images today.

Many people would take these prints and put them into photo albums purchased at their local dime store, often using paper corners to adhere them to the black paper. By the 1930s, railfans began trading and selling photos to each other. In some cases, they put together elaborate dossiers about certain railroads, complete with original photos and clippings from newspapers and magazines. Others tried to compile complete sets of “roster shots” showing entire fleets of streetcars and interurbans.

Among these early railfans is the venerable Malcolm McCarter, last living survivor of the original 10 founding members of the Illinois Railway Museum. He has been selling railfan photographs for 76 years now and may very well still print them himself, from his vast collection of negatives. You will find his catalog online here.

There was so much to ride at one time, and yet those years must have been, in some sense, depressing. There was one abandonment after another, a nearly endless litany of bad news. We can be thankful for those early fans who were involved, in one way or another, in historic preservation, either through the fledgling railway museums, documenting things through photographs, or both.

Fortunately some of these same fans have lived long enough to see electric railways undergo a world-wide renaissance, with new systems and extensions cropping up all over. Their hard work in preserving this history has now been more than validated.

The changeover from black-and-white to color photography meant a change in approach. When shooting black-and-white, you can expose for the shadows and often retain the highlights, while the opposite is true with color slide film. An overexposed black-and-white negative may still be printable, but with reduced contrast. An overexposed slide will have washed out highlights.

Naturally, over the years, railfan photographers had their favorite camera stores. The biggest and best in Chicago were downtown.

Altman’s was legendary and was like a “Noah’s Ark” of camera stores, with two of every camera or lens imaginable– one to show and one to go. I am sure there are still many Chicagoans “of a certain age” who have fond memories of Shutan, Helix, Standard Photo, Lion Photo, Terminal Photo, and many others that are now gone by the wayside.

And of these, Central Camera on Wabash somehow remains, after 116 years in business. It has become part of history itself.

There is a photo of a prewar Chicago PCC streetcar, taken by the late Robert W. Gibson, on page 61 of Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: The PCC Car Era, 1936-1958, with Central Camera in the background. The store is still in the same location today.

The book collects the work of many unheralded railfan photographers who all turned out to be, in their own way, both transit historians and historic preservationists.

As a co-author, I was recently pleased to discover that Central Camera is now selling copies of the Chicago Streetcar Pictorial and has one on display in their front window, alongside the old Kodak Six-Twenty folding camera, the twin-lens Rolleiflexes, Leicas and such.

Yes, I know that in the long run, it is an uphill battle to keep up with the Amazons of the world. But even in the 21st century, shouldn’t there be enough room left in this world for a few old-fashioned camera stores?

As the sign says, “If you buy here, we will be here.”

-David Sadowski

PS- You can help keep our own doors open by checking out the many fine offerings in our Online Store. You can also make a donation there. We thank you for your support.

Further Information:

Remembering Altman Camera 40 Years Later

Ralph Altman Obituary

A typical folding camera of the early 20th century, this Kodak Autographic camera too very large size 116 black-and-white roll film. The “autographic” feature allowed the photographer to write notes on the actual film negative itself through a door on the back of the camera. The roll film was protected by a paper backing.

This streamlined Bakelite Kodak Bantam camera, which used size 828 film, was the state of the art in 1938 but few railfans could afford to buy one.

Thousands of railfans across America got their start with an inexpensive Argus C3, commonly referred to as “the Brick.”

Truman Hefner took many great pictures with a German Karomat camera similar to this one, which has a high-quality Schneider lens.

The late Bill Hoffman’s last camera was a late 1950s screw-mount Leica IIIg similar to this one. After his passing in the late 1980s, I received his Leica as a gift.

My own first camera, a Kodak Brownie Holiday Flash camera, circa 1963. It took size 127 roll film, then the most popular format on the market.

A Kodak Brownie 8mm movie camera.

For many years, Ray DeGroote took pictures with a German circa-1965 Kodak Retina Reflex III like this one. The gridlike patch at top left is a chemical-based light meter.

Even when there is no other dating information on an original 35mm Kodachrome slide, it can be dated to some extent by the type of mount used.

Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: The PCC Car Era, 1936-1958, published by Central Electric Railfans’ Association, can now be purchased at Central Camera. (Trolley Dodger Press is not affiliated with either Central Camera or Central Electric Railfans’ Association.)

One anonymous railfan’s album on clippings, titled “Roads which have Chicago as their first name.” This title is written out twice, followed by “except CNS&M in separate album.” Interestingly, the album has a section on the Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric, which does not have Chicago in its first name.

Chicago, Aurora & Elgin car 408 is in pretty sad shape in this photo taken just prior to its scrapping in 1962. It was a sister car to 409, which was sold to Trolleyville USA and came to the Illinois Railway Museum in 2009. We can be fortunate that there were enterprising railfan photographers who documented the last days of the “Roarin’ Elgin.”

Car 102 of the the Elgin Belvidere & Rockford sits forlornly in Marengo in this June 1937 photograph. By then, the line, which quit service on March 9, 1930, had been abandoned for more than seven years. Owner Bion J. Arnold kept these cars in storage in the futile hope that a buyer could be found. We can thank the unknown photographer who preserved this small slice of history.

Elgin Belvidere & Rockford car 203 was built by St. Louis Car Company in 1906. It was 31 years old when this photo was taken in 1937 in Marengo. A portion of the Elgin & Belvidere interurban right-of-way now serves as the main line for the Illinois Railway Museum in Union. An original Elgin & Belvidere motorman lived long enough to operate a car over the new right of way when the museum began operations here in the 1960s.

The CA&E in Black-and-White

July 31, 2015August 1, 2015David Sadowski 12 Comments

#1 – CA&E 460 in Elgin on May 14, 1953. Nowadays, 460 can be found operating at the Illinois Railway Museum.

Following up on our two recent posts that featured nearly 100 color photos of the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin, we end July with 25 classic black-and-white views of that fabled interurban railroad.

We have also included a few related pictures, a couple from the Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric, and a Metropolitan West Side “L” car on the CA&E Batavia branch.

A portion of the AE&FRE right-of-way is now occupied by the Fox River Trolley Museum in South Elgin. Former AE&FRE car 304, sister to the 301 shown here, has found its way back to its original rails, and you can ride it at the museum. Meanwhile, the Illinois Railway Museum in Union has the largest collection of CA&E cars anywhere.

Historical color pictures are naturally more popular than black-and-white, but are naturally limited to the era when Kodachrome and other slide films were available. Personally, I find there is much to appreciate in these black-and-white photos, which often date to an older era that predates the availability of color. The original negatives were usually larger than 35mm, which means the picture has the potential of being a lot sharper than a slide.

We hope that you will enjoy this trip down memory lane. If these images inspire you to add your own insights or comments, do not hesitate to write to us, either using the “comments” function here, or to:

thetrolleydodger@gmail.com

Thanks.

-David Sadowski

PS- We thank Don Ross and Don’s Rail Photos for providing much of the information on the history of individual cars via his very comprehensive web site.

#2 – A three-car CA&E train heads west over Union Station, having just left Wells Street Terminal. (B. H. Nichols Photo)

#3 – CA&E freight motor 15 at Wheaton on February 1, 1954. (Arthur B. Johnson Photo)

#4 – Aurora, Elgin & Fox River #49 at Coleman on September 1, 1940, with the Illinois Central overhead. This was one of the earlier CERA fantrips. By then, the line was freight-only, although still operating under wire. (Roy Bruce Photo)

#5 – Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric 301 in 1929. According to Don’s Rail Photos, “301 was built by St Louis Car in 1924, (order) #1308. In 1936 it was sold to CI/SHRT as 301 and to Speedrail in May 1950. It was scrapped in 1952.”

#6 – CA&E snow plow 3 at Wheaton Shops. According to Don’s Rail Photos, “3 was built in the company shops in 1909 as a plow.”

#7 – CA&E 10. According to Don’s Rail Photos, “10 was built by Niles Car in 1902. It was rebuilt with a baggage compartment in 1910. It was later removed, but then reinstalled in April 1933 for funeral service. It was wrecked September 10, 1948, and scrapped.” (James B. M. Johnson Photo)

#8 – Metropolitan West Side Elevated car 800 and train at Glenwood Park on the CA&E Batavia branch on a charter. This car was built by Barney & Smith in 1901 and was renumbered to 2800 in 1913. This photo must predate that renumbering.

#9 -CA&E line car 11. According to Don’s Rail Photos, “11 was built by Brill in 1910, (order) #16483. It was rebuilt to a line car in 1947 and replaced 45. It was acquired by Railway Equipment Leasing & Invenstment Co in 1962 and came to Fox River Trolley Museum in 1984. It was lettered as Fox River & Eastern.

#10 – CA&E 603 at Wheaton on April 2, 1957. Don’s Rail Photos says, “In 1937, the CA&E needed additional equipment. Much was available, but most of the cars suffered from extended lack of maintenance. Finally, 5 coaches were found on the Washington Baltimore & Annapolis which were just the ticket. 35 thru 39, built by Washington Baltimore & Annapolis in 1913, were purchased and remodeled for service as 600 thru 604. The ends were narrowed for service on the El. They had been motors, but came out as control trailers. Other modifications included drawbars, control, etc. A new paint scheme was devised. Blue and grey with red trim and tan roof was adopted from several selections. They entered service between July and October in 1937. “

#11 – Although this is a double exposure, it does show an unnumbered wooden interurban, ex-Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee in Wheaton in 1946. It was part of the 129-144 series, the last passenger cars purchased by CA&E. Don’s Rail Photos says, “In 1936, the CA&E leased 11 surplus cars from the CNS&M. These cars were modified for service by raising the coupler height, installing electric heat instead of the coal-fired hot water heaters, modifying the control, and adding jumper receptacles and other minor fittings to allow them to train with the other CA&E cars. Since these were 50 mile per hour cars, and the CA&E cars wer 60 MPH cars, they were soon operated only in trains of their own kind rather than mixed in with other cars. In 1945 they were returned to the North Shore where they operated briefly. They were purchased in 1946 and last ran in regular service in September, 1953.”

#12 – CA&E 402 at Laramie in March 1946, with CRT 2893 at left. 402 was built by Pullman in 1923 as one of the first steel cars on the CA&E.

#13 – The Chicago & North Western station at Wheaton. CA&E paralleled C&NW in this area and its tracks are off to the left.

#14 – CA&E wood cars 310 and 309 at Batavia station on a May 19, 1957 fantrip. According to Don’s Rail Photos, 309 and 310 were built by Hicks Car Works in 1907 and modernized in October 1941. Car 309 was acquired by the Illinois Railway Museum in 1962.

#15 – Car 134 under a 90 foot stretch of trolley wire at State Road on the Batavia branch on August 31, 1941. According to Don’s Rail Photos, “134 was built by Jewett Car Co in 1907 as Chicago & Milwaukee Electric 134. It was rebuilt in 1914 retired in 1948.” When this picture was taken, this car was being leased by CA&E from the North Shore Line.

#16 – CA&E 453 at Des Plaines Avenue terminal in August 1955. Cars 451-460 were ordered in 1941 but delayed by war. They were built by St. Louis Car Co. in 1945-46 and are considered the last “standard” interurban cars built in the US, although this is a somewhat debatable point.

#17 – CA&E 312 (described as “part steel”) just west of Wheaton in August 1952 on the way to Aurora. This appears to be the same location (Childs Street) as Photo #88 in Part 2 of our recent CA&E Mystery Photos Contest.
Randy Hicks: “the lead car is the 309; the train is eastbound.”

#18 – CA&E 318 in Warrenville on a July 4, 1956 fantrip. Don’s Rail Photos says, “318 was built by Jewett Car Co in 1914. It had steel sheating and was modernized in 1944. It was sold to Wisconsin Electric Raiway Historical Society in 1962. It was wrecked in transit and the parts were sold to IRM to restore 321.”
Randy Hicks: “the second car on this fantrip was the 300. This car was not preserved, but its seats were acquired by North Freedom and are now at IRM.”

#19 – CA&E 422 at Wheaton in February 1952.

#20 – CA&E 406 at State Road on the Batavia branch in 1954.

#21 – CA&E 404 and 453 at Forest Park sometime between 1953 and 1957.

#22 – CA&E 460 at Lakewood in 1954.

#23 – CA&E 10. This car was wrecked on September 10, 1948 so this photo must predate that.
Randy Hicks: “the 10 is at the end of the train; the next car is the 320. I doubt this was a fantrip, as I’ve never seen five (or more) cars used for this purpose.”

#24 -CA&E 417 at Batavia Junction.

#25 – CA&E 406 in Aurora. (R. J. Anderson Photo)

CA&E Mystery Photos Answers – Part 2

July 25, 2015July 26, 2015David Sadowski 5 Comments

#49 – JN: Westbound near Hannah Ave. east of the B&OCT crossing.
EM: CAE 20 (Niles, 1902) which is the oldest CAE car still in existence (preserved at the FRTM), leads a consist on the west side of Laramie Av. The following car is CAE 304 (Niles, 1906).
(Here we have a real difference of opinion. However, it’s difficult to determine who is correct, since both areas were obliterated by expressway construction. Laramie seems more likely due to the presence of large apartment buildings.)

Today we have the answers to Part 2 of our recent Chicago, Aurora & Elgin interurban Mystery Photos Contest.

We are grateful for all your excellent submissions. I always find it remarkable just how much detail our eagle-eyed readers can find in some of these vintage images. Thanks to everyone who took the time to send in an entry or post a comment.

While there were only two complete entries, by John Nicholson and Edward Maurath, they were both excellent and comprehensive. And while there are a few photos where they have a real difference of opinion, what’s surprising to me is how much they were able to agree upon, given the obvious difficulty of identifying some of these locations 60 years on.

Based on the criteria of best overall submission, John Nicholson is the winner of Part 2. Congratulations!

He will receive a copy of our Railroad Record Club #35 and 36 compact disc, which includes vintage audio from both the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin and the CTA Garfield Park “L”. You will find this and much more in our Online Store.

Mr. Maurath was the winner of Part 1, and you can find those answers here.

Both of their submissions are in the captions, with a few minor edits. To simplify matters a bit, we will refer to them by their initials (JN and EM). We have also added a few additional comments.

Thanks.

-The Editor

PS- Since there are several photos here showing the Batavia branch, it’s worth pointing out that this was once considered as a location for the Illinois Electric Railway Museum, as it was then called. You can read about that on the excellent Hicks Car Works blog.

Don Ross, who runs the Don’s Rail Photos website, was very much involved in IERM’s search for a new home.

Here is an article about the museum’s early days from the December 27, 1957 Chicago Tribune:

Railway Fans Ride Hobby in Old Electric Trains

Just as model electric trains occupy the time of many families at Christmas time, old electric trains take up many hours of the members of the Illinois Electric Railway museum.

The museum’s latest endeavor is one dear to the hearts of many Chicago commuters– it is to save for posterity one of Chicago’s open platform elevated cars.

Want $750 for Them

The last of the open platform cars was decommissioned recently by the Chicago transit authority. The CTA is asking $750 each for them. The museum has raised more than $460 toward buying one.

The museum was founded in 1953. It is temporarily located in the south yard of the Chicago Hardware Foundry company in North Chicago. About a dozen pieces of equipment have been collected so far.

Every Saturday museum members are on the job rehabilitating the equipment in which they have approximately $10,000 invested. Next year, the museum hopes to obtain a railway line on which to operate its cars. Among the equipment is a 60 ton air conditioned interurban car of 1913 vintage which used to run between St. Louis, Mo., and Peoria. There is a small, four wheel street car built in 1921 and a pump type hand car with both a flat and a hopper trailer.

Other Things Collected

Other pieces include a 35 ton center door interurban car built about 1917 which ran between St. Louis and Alton, an aluminum interurban car built in 1931, and two cars from the old Milwaukee Electric line.

The museum also has an old Chicago red street car it keeps in the CTA car barn at 79th st. and Vincennes av. Rail fans use it occasionally for excursions.

Approximately 50 regular members take part in museum activities, said R. Don Ross of West Allis, Wis., its publicity director. Some are railroad men, some craftsmen, and some are interested in the history of rail equipment.

#50 – JN: Westbound between Racine Ave. and Aberdeen St. Pilings for future ramp to ground level operations appear in background.
EM: CAE 205 (Niles, 1904) is westbound between Racine and Halsted on tracks that will soon be torn down for construction of the Congress Expressway. I believe the wooden posts show the beginning of construction of the ramp at the east end of the infamous “stop light express” where the Garfield PK trains (and no others) will run in a fenced off portion of Van Buren street for the next five years or so, causing what was a dream of a ride to become a nightmare. This is the same location as #41 in part one, only slightly earlier.

#51 – JN: Wells St. terminal.
EM: CAE 456 (St. Louis, 1945).

#52 – JN: Bridge over the PRR/C&NW on Garfield “L”.
EM: CAE 452 (St. Louis, 1945).
(This is the same location as photo #3 in Part 1 of this series, from a different angle.)

#53 – JN: Throat of Wells St. terminal—portion over Franklin St.
EM: CAE 423 (Cincinnati, 1927) is crossing Franklin St on its way to Wells St. station. Looking north.

#54 – JN: Sacramento curve on the Garfield “L”
EM: CAE 460 (St. Louis, 1945) leads an outbound train followed by 423, 422, and 418, all 1927 Cincinnati cars. Looking NE. At left can be seen construction of the east end ramp for the infamous “stop light express” to get CTA Garfield Pk traffic out of the way of the construction of the Congress Expressway (now know as the Eisenhower Expressway). Soon the CAE will terminate at Des Plaines Av, Forest Pk, confining it to ground level traffic only.

#55 – JN: CA&E trains passing at Western Ave. on Garfield “L”
EM: CAE 408 (Pullman, 1923) approaches Western Av station. Looking East.

#56 – JN: Westbound train at Kilbourn Ave. curve.
EM: CAE 457 (St. Louis, 1945) leads a three-car consist somewhere between Laramie and Marshfield.

#57 – JN: Batavia terminal
EM: CAE 431 (Cincinnati, 1927) sits at the Batavia Terminal.

#58 – JN: Westbound train leaving Batavia Jct.
EM: At Batavia Jct, formerly know as Eola Jct, a red and grey car heads for Aurora while the blue car at the station is ready to depart for Batavia. Looking SE.

#59 – JN: Crossing under CB&Q on Batavia branch.
EM: CAE 460 (St. Louis, 1945) on the Batavia branch somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

#60 – JN: Eastbound under short stretch of trolley wire on Batavia branch.
EM: A single car travels along the Fox River in the snow.

#61 – JN: Glenwood Park on Batavia branch (by old powerhouse).
EM: CAE 406, probably on a fan trip, stops at Glenwood Park. Notice the nice new red paint job, meaning this picture is later than the picture in part 1 of 406 still painted blue.

#62 – JN: Batavia bound car having departed from Batavia Jct. (in distance).
EM: CAE 141, a car obtained second hand from the North Shore Line travels through the middle of nowhere, I would guess on the Batavia branch.
Bob Campbell says, “141 is on the Aurora branch; not Batavia branch. West of Batavia Jct. was tangent on the Aurora branch. Batavia line just west of BJ was on a curve (see photo #66).”
Bill Shapotkin writes, “While not disputing that this photo is taken on the Batavia Branch, the remark: “car having departed from Batavia Jct. (in distance)” I believe is incorrect. The reason I say that is that upon departing Batavia Jct (enroute to Batavia), the line IMMEDIATELY goes through a long sweeping curve to the N/W (as can be see in Photo 58). While I do not know exactly where this photo was taken, be assured that the distant station in photo is NOT Batavia Jct.
By the way, this is NOT “pull-in” trip of the Batavia car (enroute to Wheaton after the PM rush). If it were, the platform of Batavia Jct would be to the right (not to the left).
I believe the photo is at either one of two locations:
1. A point JUST north of Bilter Rd (as the State Rd station would be on west side of R-O-W),
or
2. A point JUST N/W of the sweeping curve out of Batavia Jct — approx where East-West Tollway intersects the line today (thus station in distance is Bilter Rd (which, like State Rd was located on west side of R-O-W).
In either case, believe this is a morning photo (of an E/B car) and that we are facing geographically N/W.”

#63 – JN: Batavia terminal
EM: This is a companion picture to picture 57. Same CAE 431 (Cincinnati 1927, now preserved at the IRM) and same automobile. The bridge over the Fox River is clearly visible.

#64 – JN: Glenwood Park stop on Batavia branch
EM: CAE 406 (Pullman, 1923), again painted red and grey, at Glenwood Park flag stop on its way to Batavia.

#65 – JN: Crossing under CB&Q on Batavia branch
EM: CAE 428 (Cincinnati, 1927) on the Batavia branch. Notice how the grass is grown up in the track bed. This must be near the end when Batavia service was minimal and sometimes served by bus.

#66 – JN: Westbound car is just departing Batavia Jct.
EM: CAE 141, an ex-North Shore Line car most likely in Kane county on the Batavia branch.

#67 – JN: 427 eastbound at Gary Siding on Aurora branch
EM: CAE 427 (Cincinnati, 1927) pretty much in the middle of nowhere. Probably on the Batavia branch.
(Here we have a difference of opinion.)
Bob Campbell writes, “Photographer on the north side of Butterfield Road overpass. Not all of 427 was scrapped – I have one of the end numbers (on the right, retriever side) in my “Oklahoma Basement” (out building).”

#68 – JN: 2001-2002 working CB&Q interchange at Aurora
EM: CAE 2001 and CAE 2002 (General Electric, 1920 and 1922) in the north yard at Wheaton.
(Again, here we have a difference of opinion.)
Bob Campbell writes, “Definitely the CB&Q interchange at Aurora; Aurora Avenue/Route 25 in foreground.”
Chuck Amstein adds, “I think JN is correct here. This is looking WNW from the side of Route 25, just south of the CB&Q-CA&E (double-tracked, trolley wires visible in background) crossing. The positions of the electrical tower (still there), smokestack, and water tower, plus several visible buildings in the background, match those on current or historical aerial images. Probably photographed along with #70.”

#69 – JN: Car under very short stretch of wire at State Rd. This was to help a car over the gap after it stopped at station westbound.
EM: CAE 406 (Pullman, 1923) painted red and grey, at the State Road flag stop.

#70 – JN: Eastbound crossing Aurora Ave. near CB&Q interchange at Aurora
EM: CAE 2001 and 2002 (General Electric, 1920 and 1922) pulling freight.

#71 – JN: Eastbound Aurora branch car at Batavia Jct. Note one of the clearance boards on platform has been flipped over.
EM: CAE 453 (St. Louis, 1945) at Batavia Jct, formerly known as Eola Jct. That was tough!

#72 – JN: Westbound at bridge over Winfield Creek on Elgin branch (near Lincoln Ave.)
EM: CAE 454 (St. Louis, 1945) in the middle of nowhere.

#73 – JN: Eastbound train at Warrenville. Station later served as Warrenville city hall.
EM: CAE 458 (St. Louis, 1945) at Warrenville.

#74 – JN: Aurora terminal
EM: CAE 414 (Pullman, 1923) and two Cincinnati cars along the Fox River at the Aurora station. Observe the raised trolley poles.

#75 – JN: On Cook County branch along Mannheim Rd.
EM: CAE 310 (Hicks, 1907) on the west side of Mannheim Road by a stone quarry. Most likely the same fan trip as several pictures in part one of this contest. Passenger cars did not normally use this track after 1926. Notice the raised trolley pole. the Cook county branch, a.k.a. the Mount Carmel branch had no third rails.

#76 – JN: Westbound at State Rd on Batavia branch under short section of wire to clear the gap in third rail while crossing the road.
EM: CAE 406 (Pullman, 1923) again painted red at the State Road flag stop.

#77 – JN: Westbound train crossing B&OCT east of Desplaines Ave. station.
EM: CAE 428 (Cincinnati, 1927) crosses the B&OCTRR just east of Des Plaines Av. The branch going west along side the CAE tracks in the distance were for the Chicago and Great Western. Notice the old style crossing gate at left in the foreground. View is looking mostly west and slightly NW.

#78 – JN: Westbound car has just departed from Desplaines Ave. terminal. This section of track was moved north and rebuilt due to expressway construction. CA&E trains never operated on rebuilt track.
EM: CAE 419 (Pullman, 1923) heads west towards 1st Av. Maywood having come from Des Plaines station. Looking NW.

#79 – JN: Eastbound train has left Desplaines Ave. station and crossing B&OCT
EM: CAE 428 (Pullman, 1923) at the same B&OCTRR crossing as in picture #77, but this time it is headed east. View is looking west.

#80 – JN: Westbound nearing 1st Ave, in Maywood. Note Montana Charlie’s gas station in background.
EM: CAE 454 (St. Louis, 1945) has just crossed 1st Av, Maywood heading east. View is looking NW.
Dan Hagstrom adds, “#80 is on the main line approaching First Avenue from the east, from behind Commonwealth Edison. Again, the Refiner’s Pride gas station is visible. I was 10 1/2 years old when the Aurora stopped passenger services, so I have some pretty good memories of where the Aurora passed through Maywood. I lived about 4 blocks south on 4th Avenue.”

#81 – JN: Westbound Wheaton local at Pulaski Rd. on Garfield “L”
EM: CAE 428 (Cincinnati, 1927) is at the Pulaski Road station on its way to Chicago. View is looking NE.

#82 – JN: Westbound near Racine Ave. (same location as photo #50). Note ramp to surface trackage now in place.
EM: CAE 52 (Stephenson, 1903) is leading a three-car consist westward at the same location between Racine and Halsted as in picture #50. The track in the foreground is about to be torn down because of Congress Expressway construction. Notice the other trains in the picture. Soon only the Garfield Pk trains will be using the tracks in the distance.

#83 – JN: Westbound train at Austin Ave. near B&OCT interchange.
EM: CAE train of two St. Louis cars with CAE 451 (still in existence at IRM) at the rear approaching Hannah station. View is looking NW. Hannah station was somewhat unusual for the CAE in that both platforms were on the same side of the cross street.
(Editor’s note: I believe this is Austin and not Hannah. Hannah was a “B” station near the end, while this station, and Austin, were “A.” And while the cityscape has changed a lot due to expressway construction, there would be single family homes near Hannah and not the large apartment buildings we see here. The Austin station did have both platforms on the same side of the street.)

#84 – JN: Aurora terminal
EM: CAE 460 (St. Louis, 1945) is at the end of a four-car consist sitting at the Elgin Terminal by the Fox River. View is looking SW.
V. Hallas writes, “Picture # 84 is definitely Aurora. I Googled American Well Works, they started there in 1869. I also say this as the train is facing north on the east side of the river. if this was Elgin, it would be facing south.”
Bob Campbell adds, “Definitely Aurora terminal.”

#85 – JN: Wells St. terminal facing east
EM: In the caverns between the tall buildings of downtown Chicago looking east at the Wells Street Terminal. At the time this picture was taken, and for quite a few years earlier, this terminal was used only by the CAE. CTA trains turned south after crossing the river to Van Buren street to enter the loop at this time.

#86 – JN: View west of 11th Ave. in Maywood
EM: Station at 11th Av. in Maywood. The red railings show that this is a late picture, since they were painted green when the CTA trains of the Westchester branch stopped here for the last time December 8, 1951. Notice the newer automobiles crossing 11th Av.
Dan Cluley adds, “the cream colored convertible is a 1957 Olds. So given the bare trees this must have been taken in the Winter or early Spring of ’57.”

#87 – JN: Freight at Wheaton yard by new dispatcher’s tower
EM: East end of the Wheaton yard. Notice the “new” dispatch tower.

#88 – JN: Westbound train on Aurora branch at Childs St., Wheaton
EM: Now this is truly a “mystery” photo! The street crossing looks like something out of the 1920’s, but the Pullman car is painted in the last livery! Someone else will have to explain this one!
Bob Campbell writes, “Agree Childs Street, Wheaton looking east.”

#89 – JN: Eastbound train at Bellwood.
EM: CAE 433 (Cincinnati, 1927) is headed for Chicago having passed under the Indiana Harbor Belt RR. View is looking NW.
Bill Shapotkin adds, “While the captions “Eastbound train at Bellwood” and that: ” CAE 433 (Cincinnati, 1927) is headed for Chicago having passed under the Indiana Harbor Belt RR. View is looking NW.” are both correct — the location should be specified as being at 25th Ave (which IS in Bellwood), which is the first grade xing east of the IHB/B&OCT overcrossing.”

#90 – JN: Eastbound train departing Glenwood Park and heading towards CB&Q underpass.
EM: CAE 460 (St. Louis, 1945) travels along the Fox River near Batavia, headed for Chicago. Notice that it is running with third rail power.

#91 – JN: Eastbound train departing Batavia terminal at Wilson St.
EM: CAE 460 (St. Louis, 1945) still is running under wire along the Fox River. It has just left the Batavia station, headed for Chicago. View is looking NW.

#92 – JN: Eastbound car crossing under CB&Q on Batavia branch. Old powerhouse can be seen on right through trees.
EM: CAE 460 (St Louis, 1945) is on track curving away from the Fox River on the Batavia branch.

#93 – JN: Westbound on Batavia branch under short section of overhead wire.
EM: CAE 457 (St. Louis, 1945) is traveling under wire along the Fox River.

#94 – JN: Train on outbound platform at Desplaines Ave. Note “baldy” heading to Chicago in background.
EM: CAE 401 (Pullman, 1923) leads a two car consist at the new (1953–1957) station on the west side of Des Plaines Av. At this time the CAE trains turned around without crossing Des Plaines Av. The CTA trains discharged all passengers at this station. Those who want to go further west boarded a CAE train here and paid another fare. The green and cream train in the background has just come from their station (color-coded green) on the other side of the loop where the CAE trains discharged all their passengers. Those wishing to continue east had to pay another fare to the CTA. the loops did not cross at grade, there was a wooden structure to carry the CTA trains above the tracks of the CAE. All the tracks east of Des Plaines Av, formerly owned by the CAE as far as Laramie Av, were sold to the CTA.

CA&E Mystery Photos Answers – Part 1

July 24, 2015November 23, 2015David Sadowski 14 Comments

#1 – WS: Met ‘L’. View looks east from Halsted Station. FH: note the pre-rebuild Cincinnati. EM: South end of Halsted curves. CAE train is outbound, Looking NE, late morning.

Here are the long-awaited answers to Part 1 of our recent Chicago, Aurora & Elgin interurban Mystery Photos Contest.

There were several great entires, and in particular, I would like to single out Andre Kristopans, Frank Hicks, and William Shapotkin, who all made significant contributions. Sorting out these answers was quite a job– I had to make a spreadsheet to keep it all straightened out.

Based on the criteria of best overall submission, Edward Maurath is the winner of Part 1. Congratulations on a difficult job well done!

We have combined some of the best answers about the “Roarin’ Elgin” in each photo caption. To simplify matters a bit, we will refer to the four main entrants by their initials (AK, FH, WS, and EM).

I feel confidant that the great majority of answers are correct, but inevitably some of them are going to be educated guesses and if additional information comes up that can clarify matters, we will update the captions accordingly. As Ronald Reagan once said, “Trust, but verify.” As we all know, the majority opinion is not always the right one.

Answers for Part 2 are here.

Thanks.

-The Editor

PS- We apologize for inadvertently posting the same image twice (#40 and 47).

#2 – Same location as #1. In fact, this picture was probably taken seconds later.

#3 – WS: W/B train x/o the C&NW/PRR at Rockwell St. Photo taken just before ‘L’ was closed (notice the surrounding buildings are gone). View looks N/E. EM: CAE 458, 458 and 454 (St. Louis, 1945)

#4 – WS: W/B train (PM rush?) at Glen Oak station. View looks east off Hill Ave bridge. What is even more interesting is that in distance (at right) is the Shapotkin house (where I grew up.)
FH: a great shot of a six-car train of “shorties” westbound at Glen Oak. The lead car is either the 36 or the 46 (the number is badly worn but I think it’s the 46) as those were the only two motor cars with the smaller “flap” style ventilators. The train includes five motors and a trailer and the trailer, right behind the lead car, also has that style ventilators while the rest of the cars – like the rest of the wood fleet – have normal boxy Utility ventilators. The train is an interesting mix; the last car is in red, the rest in blue, and the second-to-last car hasn’t had its roof tarred yet while the rest have.
Gary Kleinedler adds, “Photos 4 and 18 are at the east side of Glen Ellyn, taken from the Hill Avenue bridge looking east toward Lombard. Both trains are westbound at Glen Oak Country Club stop (the golf course is to the right and behind the shelter). The CA&E bridge over the East Branch of the DuPage River and the concrete bridge over two-lane Illinois Route 53 (Columbine Avenue) are in the distance. The trailing switch just behind the communication(?) box to the left rear of the train leads to a short Public Service of Northern Illinois stub siding. I lived less than a mile from this location (my grandparents lived even closer). Although the CA&E station was on the south end of Lombard (we lived on the north side), I still occasionally used the interurban to travel home from Glenbard High School in Glen Ellyn (1951-1955) when I missed the last school bus.”

#5 – EM: CAE 459 (St. Louis, 1945) at Racine Station. CRT cars, including 2880, also visible.
BS: E/B train of St Louis cars passing the Met shop at Racine Ave. View looks west.
AK: Throop shop – note that while shop had quite a bit of inside capacity, there was almost no outside storage.

#6 – EM: CAE 460 (St. Louis, 1945) at north Sacrimento curve with three Cincinnati cars including 422 and 428, outbound. Looking NE.
AK: coming into Sacramento WB. Stationhouse burned out a few weeks before Van Buren surface diversion started and was closed early.
FH: Sacramento curve, note that the second car is a rebuilt Cincinnati and the third is an un-rebuilt one.

#7 – FH: (and #29, #42) – Neat series of shots, taken at Lockwood Yard. The lead car, Stephenson 48, is one of a small number of “shorties” that kept its arched trim until the end. Note that it also has the blocked-off clerestory, a Wheaton modification that was made to a number of cars during the 1920s. For whatever reason this particular modification fell out of favor (like the arched trim). Behind it is Kuhlman 314 in fresh red paint, Niles 303 (today preserved in Connecticut), and two more Kuhlmans. Bringing up the rear is another Niles, either 201, 300 or 307 judging from the blocked-off clerestory. These photos also make an interesting study in storm windows. The “shorties” and the 300-series Niles cars were built withe removable storm windows, and the 48, 303 and rear car all have theirs fitted. The Kuhlmans (and Hicks cars) were built with permanent storm windows fitted inboard of the regular sash, and the 314 has its lowered. The fourth car in the strong appears to have its storm windows raised for some reason (you can see a light grey band under the drip rail) while the Kuhlman painted red has had its permanent storm sash removed in favor of removable sash (several of the Jewetts, which were built with permanent storm sash fitted outboard of the regular sash, and Kuhlmans had this modification made in the early 1950s).
EM: Notice old wooden CTA cars at far right.

#8 – WS: At left is the Commonwealth Ave yard east of first Ave, Maywood. Train at left is E/B, train at right is W/B. View looks west.
EM: CAE 428 (Cincinnati, 1927) and 452 (St. Louis, 1945) with another St. Louis car behind it in winter.
AK: Between river and First Av – Northern Illinois Public Service property on left, now site of Maybrook Court.

#9 – EM: CAE 410 (Pullman, 1923) leading another Pullman at westbound platform of 5th Av, Maywood, looking east in early afternoon. I lived less than 2 block south of this station from 1947–1954, and saw severe deterioration of service during that time. I would guess this photo to be somewhat older that the others based on the fact that the railings are painted green (just barely) rather than red, and the old crossing gates that were replaced in the late 40’s.
Dan Hagstrom writes, “#9 is looking east at the 5th Avenue Station in Maywood, my home town. The picture was taken after 1952 because I can see the newer crossing gates at 4th Avenue in the distance.”

#10 – WS: Storage Yard at Wheaton Shops (shop building is at left). Photographer is looking W-S/W off Elgin Branch (which is visible at right).

#11 – WS: Four of the ex-CNS&M woodies — sitting forlornly in the “Orchard,” storage track at west end of Wheaton Yard. View looks west.
FH: Interesting shot, I would assume from the winter of 1953-1954. If memory serves the ex-North Shore cars were retired following the cut back to Forest Park, and judging by the ties across the tracks this photo was taken post-retirement (despite the cars being mostly complete right down to flags in the flag brackets!). What I’m wondering is, what in the world is that thing in the coupler?
Charles Sontag adds, “Photo 11 of the North Shore wood repainted in CA&E colors is very useful for me. I have a 0-scale Labelle Interurban kit that I will be building to represent one and it’s nice to know how they are painted.”

#12 – FH: Nice shot at Wheaton, I’m guessing taken during the 310 fantrip. The 315 must have been one of the last 300-series wood cars in blue. Note the rebuilt Pullman in the shop at right.

#13 – WS: Wow! Rare shot of four of the freight locos (the 2000s and 3000s), all in the same paint job. Believe this is on the freight lead (located south of freight yard and west of the two main tracks of Aurora Branch) in front of Wheaton Shop. View looking S/E.
EM: North yard of the Wheaton Shops, with 3004, 3003, 2001, and 2002 lined up.
AK: Two closest are the ex Oklahoma Ry motors.
EM: The two closest locomotives were built by Baldwin-Westinghouse. The two more distant ones were built by GE. The ex-Oklahoma Ry locomotives were numbered 4005 and 4006 and are not in the picture.
Bob Campbell: “Regarding photo #13, in CERA Bulletin #105, page IV-9, the Wheaton map indicates that the four freight motors are sitting on the “passing siding” (not the yard lead in the background, at a lower grade level) which is oriented in a NE – SW direction, so the photographer is facing S-S-W, not S-E. In photo #16, the same equipment in the same location as photo #13, the photographer has changed positions and is now facing East, instead of N-E.”

#14 – EM: Two wooden cars that had been parlor cars 600 and 601, rebuilt as coaches with metal added and reconfigured to mate with steel rather that wooden cars, in the north yard of the Wheaton shops at a time when they were seeing little use.
WS: These are the two one-time parlor cars — which were built as woods and converted to operate with the steels. Photo taken at Wheaton Yard. Believe view looks N/W.
FH: Nice views of the 435-436 prior to scrapping. In the lower photo, I wonder what was cut up ahead of them; I can see a traction motor armature in the pile of metal to the left.

#15 – WS: Same two cars as above. View looks N/E at/near west end of yard trackage at Wheaton.

#16 -WS: Same as photo #13 — but looking N/E. Great pic!!

#17 – EM: East yard of Wheaton Shops again, with the tracks to Aurora visible at the extreme left.

#18 – WS: Fantrip (Maury Kleibolt trip) photo at Glen Oak. View looks E-S/E off Hill Ave.
EM: CAE 310 (Hicks, 1907) stopped at Glen Oak. This must be a fan trip, as there would not normally be that many patrons waiting there!

#19 – EM: East end of the old Des Plaines station which was replaced by a fancy interchange on the other (west) side of Desplaines in September of 1953. The shadows, including that of the photographer, indicate this picture was taken in late afternoon, with a four-car steel train with CAE 430 (Cincinnati, 1927) on the end about to cross the tracks of another railroad (B&OCTRR) on its way to downtown Chicago. After the crossing, the two different railroads run parallel almost to Laramie Av.
AK: Looking east at Desplaines Av station, B&OCT grade crossing in background, source of many, many delays.
(Truman Hefner Photo)

#20 – EM: CAE 458 (St. Louis, 1945) approaching Laramie Av station from the incline leading up to Cicero station, and just visible in the distance, Kilbourn. The view, looking east, includes a vast fleet of wooden CTA cars, with a wooden CTA train about to ascend the incline. The tracks east from here were owned by the CTA. The tracks west of here were owned by the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin. The tracks west of here to Desplaines Av. were later sold by the CAE to the CTA once CAE trains stopped going east of Desplaines in September of 1953. Notice the monitor style roofs which were distinctive to the Metropolitan line CTA cars.
WS: View looks east off footbridge.

#21 – WS: Lockwood Ave yard. Believe view looks N/W across the mainline.
FH: Interesting view of the storage tracks west of Lockwood with a couple of trains of “shorties” in what I presume is midday storage. Judging from the number of “shorties” in red I’m guessing this is pretty close to the end of service over the “L.”

#22 – EM: Gunderson Av. station with westbound CAE train approaching the station looking NW. CAE 428 (Cincinnati, 1927) is at the rear of the two-car train.
AK: Gunderson Av passing track, this is towards the end as the middle track is rusted black.

#23 – AK: EB train crossing Desplaines Av, note L staging track to left of main where L trains waited for leaving time.
EM: CAE 459 (St. Louis, 1945) leads this three-car train heading for Chicago. View is looking Northwest.

#24 – WS: Locos #3003-3004 lead an E/B frt out of Wheaton. In backgound is the “new” Dispatcher’s Office. View looks west. (Another great pic — never seen this one before.)

#25 – EM: CAE 459 (St. Louis, 1945), followed by CAE 452 and other(s), somewhere between Laramie Av and Hannah, looking NW.
AK: EB somewhere between Harlem and Austin, B&OCT in foreground.

#26 – FH: What a classic shot! I’m guessing this is the “cannonball set” (so nicknamed by the fans, not the railroad) that was often trained together in later years. This consisted of the three up-rated Jewetts, 319-321, with trailers 105 and 205 interspersed. In this view it appears to be 319-105-320-205-321 (the 321 had lost its oval window by this time so the middle Jewett is most likely the 320). Only the 105 and 320 are in red. The 319 was painted in this version of the “Early American” livery in May 1950. Taken at Racine.
AK: WB train at Racine. This station had 4 platforms, two on each side of Throop shop leads

#27 – WS: An E/B train of steel cars pass the old Met powerhouse. Surrounding buildings have all been demolished in advance of expressway construction. View looks N/W.
AK: Throop shop in its last days. Note how bricks are “leaching”.

#28 – EM: One of the ex-North Shore Line wooden cars leads a westbound train over Union Station headed for Canal Street station. The train came from the Wells Street station through the tall buildings. The tracks curving off to the right lead to the CTA station at Franklin and Van Buren. All these tracks saw heavy traffic until September of 1953.

#29 – EM: CAE 314 (Kuhlman, 1909) almost certainly at the north Wheaton yard, but there is nothing in the picture to confirm that.

#30 – EM: CAE 310 (Hicks, 1907) would appear to be on a fan trip about to go through the underpass between the Mannheim Road section and the Roosevelt Road section of the Mt. Carmel branch (aka the Cook County branch) which was used for freight operations only after 1926. Notice the trolley pole is up. This branch was unique in that it had no third rails anywhere from Mt. Carmel cemetery to where it joined the main line. view is looking NE.
AK: Cook County Branch south of IC underpass north of Roosevelt with a charter.
WS: Fantrip on Mt Carmel Branch. IC Iowa Division is overhead.
Bill Shapotkin writes, “The date of the photos (and there were several) of car #310 on a fantrip on the Mt Carmel Branch was (per caption on Pg 75 of SUNSET LINES (Vol1)) August 8, 1954.”

#31 – EM: CAE 418 (Pullman, 1923) is ready to lead CAE 406 out of the Elgin Terminal along the Fox River. Notice 406 has recently been painted in the final CAE livery. That means this picture is newer than other pictures in this series that show 406 still painted blue like the 418 here.
WS: Aurora terminal (the one opened 1939 along Fox River). View looks E-N/E.

#32 – WS: Nice going-away shot of a freight (locos #2001-2002). Location unknown.
Jerry P. Hund says, “I belelieve #32 was taken in Bellwood, just east of Bellwood Ave. We can also see some freight cars on the IHB track that came down the trestle from the mainline. All tracks would run parallel to the CGW mainline. This view is looking northeast.”

#33 – Here we have a real difference of opinion:
WS: Locos #3003-3004 switching in Aurora (just east of CB&Q xing). View looks N/E.
AK: Freight train on Cook County Branch around Harrison St.
Bill Shapotkin writes, “This picture appears on Page 157 of SUNSET LINES (Vol 1), by Larry Plachno. The caption reads (in part): “Here, locomotives 4006-4005 are switching the CB&Q interchange on the north side of Aurora,” which, per the map on Pg 92 of said book, puts the location as being at Aurora Ave.”

#34 – EM: CAE 310 (Hicks, 1907) southbound at the stone quary on the west side of Mannheim Road, probably the same fan trip as in picture #30. View is looking NW.
AK: On Cook County Branch around Jackson or so, next to Mannheim Rd.

#35 – EM: Same as #34 but from a slightly different angle.

#36 – EM: CAE 310 (Hicks, 1907) southwest bound having just passed through the underpass in picture #30 This picture would appear to have taken earlier the same day. The underpass is still there today, but it has been filled in some over the years.
AK: Cook County Branch south of IC underpass north of Roosevelt with a charter.

#37 – FH: The 318 and two other Jewetts, likely the 316 and 317, westbound at Kedzie with a Pullman rounding Sacramento curve in the background.
AK: Kedzie station, CAE stop because of Sears headquarters at Arthington and Kedzie. CTA ran extra buses for Sears until Sears moved downtown.

#38 – FH: Great photo of the 302 leading what appears to be a solid rake of 200/300-series Niles cars (there may be a Hicks in there somewhere, tough to tell from the sides) into the sun. The motorman has his shade pulled down pretty far!
EM: CAE 302 (Niles, 1906) leads a four-car train through the wilderness destined to become the Congress Expressway. Van Buren Street, future site of the infamous “stop light express,” can be seen.
AK: approaching CNW/PRR at Rockwell WB. Photo from PRR tracks note brick structure bases, then last few are steel. Structure was raised when PRR/CNW was elevated.
Richard Neva adds, “Number 38 appears to show Our Lady of Sorrows Church with 2 spires in the background which I was very familiar with during my early growing years.”

#39 – WS: W/B train (is that the CANNONBALL) at Kedzie station (same location as #37). View looks east.
EM: CAE 414 (Pullman, 1923) leads a westbound train at Kedzie station. It would appear to be evening rush hour. Looking east.

#40 – FH: Nice shot of a five-car rush-hour train of “shorties” at Kedzie, express to Wheaton if the sign is to be believed. The 34 is still in tattered blue and retains its light grey roof, or what’s left of the paint anyway; a lot of cars had their roofs tarred in the late 1940s/early 1950s. It looks like the motorman has drawn the curtain over the “railfan window” in the bulkhead so that the commuters don’t all have the sun in their faces. And it’s tough to tell but it looks like an ex-North Shore wood car in the background on the curve.

#41 – WS: W/B train of woodies approaching Racine Ave. Note the ramp (at left) leading down to Van Buren St trackage — places the time frame as 1953 (no earlier than June or July?). View looks east.
FH: A slightly unusual consist, as the “shorties” were often segregated and run together. But here we have two “shorties” followed by what I believe is a Jewett westbound at Racine on a local.
EM: CAE 52 (Stephenson, 1902) leads a three-car westbound train between Racine and Halsted. I suspect that the track at far left is under construction for the east end of the infamous “stop light express,” to allow the destruction of the tracks in the foreground for the construction of the Congress Express, which can be seen at the right. Looking east. These tracks will soon be far less used because of the loss of the CAE, and all CTA trains except the Garfield Pk.
AK: Looking east from Racine, track in center is Throop shop lead.

#42 – EM: CAE 48 (Stephenson, 1902) with CAE 18 (Niles, 1902) in the background, and other cars sit in the yard at Wheaton. By this time, the blue wooden cars were downright ugly.

#43 – EM: CAE 454 (St. Louis, 1945), eastbound, crosses 1st Av, Maywood. Will it turn back at Des Plaines AV? It depends on when the picture was taken relative to September, 1953. Notice the newer style crossing gates in contrast to the old gates is picture #9.
WS: An E/B St Louis car (460?) in Maywood — believe it is s/o First Ave (note CGW xing in background). View looks north.
Dan Hagstrom adds, ” #43 is a picture I never thought I’d ever get to see. This is looking north at the First Avenue grade crossing. The Chicago Great Western crossing gates are visible just beyond, and on the left is the Refiner’s Pride gas station that was situated between the Aurora tracks and the Great Western tracks on the west side of First Avenue.”

#44 – EM: CAE 422 and 434 (both Cincinnati, 1927) at Wheaton station. Notice all the fresh red paint. Also notice the jumper cables hanging from the not recently painted fence.
WS: Two trains meet at Wheaton station (note C&NW station at left). View looks east.

#45 – EM: CAE 404 (Pullman 1923) eastbound at Marshfield Jct where the Douglas Pk branch can be seen at the right. Looking west.

The same approximate view as #45, but a year or two later. This picture was most likely taken during the transition period around April 4, 1954, when Douglas Park trains were rerouted over the Lake Street “L” via what we today call the Paulina Connector, part of today’s Pink Line.
According to http://www.chicago-l.org:
“But by spring 1954, the main line elevated had to be taken out of service. The Garfield Line was running on a nonstop temporary grade-level alignment as far east as Aberdeen Street, but this arrangement would have been less than satisfactory for the Douglas operation. So, on April 4, 1954, the CTA reactivated a section of the Logan Square branch between Marshfield and Lake that had been closed for revenue operations when Logan Square trains were rerouted to downtown via the new Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway (but had been kept for nonrevenue equipment moves). Marshfield Junction was removed in favor of a straight connection from the Douglas to the Paulina Connector (as this nonrevenue leg was often called) and a new connection, Paulina Junction, was built from the Connector to the Lake Street elevated adjacent to the flyer-over and abandoned Lake Street Transfer station where the two crossed. Douglas trains would now access the Loop via this connection over the Paulina Connector and Lake Street Route.”

#46 – EM: CAE 456 (St. Louis, 1945) at the end of an evening rush-hour train bound for downtown Chicago on the Halsted curves, a popular place for photographers. Looking NE.

#47 – WS: Is this a trick or what? Appears to be same pix as #40 (car #34 leading the same train W/B at Kedzie).
(Duplicate photo, sorry! -Ed.)

#48 – EM: CAE 451 (St. Louis, 1945) leads a three-car westbound consist just west of the Des Plaines Av. interchange with the CTA. It is about to pass through the two cemeteries before crossing the Des Plaines river and turning NW towards 1st Av. Maywood.
(Editor’s note: off to the left, but not visible in this picture, would have been a large gas tank that was a Forest Park landmark for many years. This is the location of the Eisenhower expressway today.)

CA&E Mystery Photos – Part 2

July 16, 2015David Sadowski 11 Comments

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To celebrate the memory of the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin interurban, we are sharing many great color photos with you. This is the second of two parts. You can find our previous post here.

We’ve already received some great responses for the first batch, and we thank you for them. We’ll publish those once the contest has ended.

Tell us where these pictures were taken, if you can. In some cases it may not be possible to determine an exact location.

But besides that, give us some other interesting information about what you see. As usual, by clicking on each photo with your mouse, you can bring up a larger version in your browser.

Please refer to each image using the number provided in the caption. The contest deadline is midnight Chicago time on July 22nd.

You can send us your submissions as comments to this post, or by e-mail to:

thetrolleydodger@gmail.com

The contest winner will be the one who gives us the best overall submission. The prize will be a copy of our Railroad Record Club #35 and 36 compact disc, which includes vintage audio from both the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin and the CTA Garfield Park “L”. You will find this and much more in our Online Store.

Thanks.

-Ye Olde Editor

PS- I’ve known railfan historian and author Bill Shapotkin for many years and consider him a good friend. Today is his first day of retirement from his regular job. We wish him well in this new phase of life, and are sure he will keep very busy indeed. I hope you will join us in congratulating him.

Bill tells us that by some coincidence, one of the photos in our last post shows the house he grew up in. That’s what my Dad used to call “Kismet.”

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CA&E Mystery Photos – Part 1

July 14, 2015July 24, 2015David Sadowski 16 Comments

(Editor’s note: You can find the answers here.)

This month marks 58 years since the fabled Chicago, Aurora & Elgin interurban suspended passenger service in the middle of the day, stranding thousands of commuters who had taken it downtown that morning. Although there were efforts to save the railroad, or parts of it, after that fateful July 3rd in 1957, it all came to naught.

This important railroad, which ran downtown over the Chicago Transit Authority‘s Garfield Park “L” until September 1953, was abandoned in 1961 and has been turned into the Illinois Prairie Path. Several of its railcars were saved, and by far the best collection of them can be found at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, where they are operated frequently.

To celebrate the memory of the CA&E, we are sharing many great color photos with you. This is the first of two parts, and another batch will be posted on the 15th.

Although I can figure out several of the locations myself, I thought it would be best to get our readers involved, for I know there are many of you who enjoy figuring these things out. Therefore, we will have another mystery photo contest.

Tell us where these pictures were taken, if you can. In some cases it may not be possible to determine an exact location.

But besides that, give us some other interesting information about what you see. As usual, by clicking on each photo with your mouse, you can bring up a larger version in your browser.

Please refer to each image using the number provided in the caption. The contest deadline is midnight Chicago time on July 20th. The rest of the photos will be posted tomorrow (15th).

You can send us your submissions as comments to this post, or by e-mail to:

thetrolleydodger@gmail.com

Thanks.

-Ye Olde Editor

PS- The contest winner will be the one who gives us the best overall submission. The prize will be a copy of our Railroad Record Club #35 and 36 compact disc, which includes vintage audio from both the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin and the CTA Garfield Park “L”. You will find this and much more in our Online Store.

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