A Tribute to Jeffrey L. Wien

January 10, 2021February 14, 2021David Sadowski 3 Comments

In 2016, Jeff Wien hired Rick Foss to add realistic color to what had been a black-and-white image, a rare shot of a PCC streetcar passing the entrance of Riverview Amusement Park on Western just north of Belmont in 1956. The results were spectacular. (Wien-Criss Archive)

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A Tribute to Jeffrey L. Wien

Like many, I was recently shocked and saddened to hear that longtime Chicago railfan Jeffrey L. Wien had died at the age of 79. I had known Jeff for more than 40 years. While I mourn his passing, this post celebrates his lifelong interest in electric railways, which was so important to him.

Some time ago, he had asked me to compose his obituary, and this is what I came up with:

Jeffrey Lawrence Wien of Chicago died from a heart attack at Rush University Medical Center on January 6, 2021 at the age of 79. He had been hospitalized for about ten days suffering from pneumonia. Jeff was born in Chicago on April 3, 1941, the son of Jerome Lester Wien and Helen Louise Kraus. He grew up on the south side of Chicago near 47th Street until 1950, when the family moved to Evanston. He was a graduate of Evanston Township High School (class of 1959) and Northwestern University (class of 1963). He served his country as a Lieutenant in Naval Intelligence from 1963 to 1967. By profession, he was an accountant, and worked for Blue Cross-Blue Shield and at Provident Hospital. He was smart, funny (with an acerbic wit), opinionated, and loyal to his friends. Although he was talented in many areas, he was very modest and never boastful. He did not suffer fools gladly, but if you knew him, he was your friend for life. He loved to travel and was an avid and accomplished photographer and filmmaker, whose work appeared in many publications. His interest in historic preservation, architecture, and nostalgia drew him to street railways, interurbans and railroads. He was a passenger on the last Chicago streetcar in 1958 and was one of the last living employees of the Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee interurban. He was the author of Chicago Streetcar Memories, a DVD produced by Chicago Transport Memories LLC in 2009. Jeff was a co-author of the very comprehensive book Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: The PCC Car Era, 1936-1958, issued as Bulletin 146 of the Central Electric Railfans’ Association in 2015. Jeff was a voting member of the Illinois Railway Museum and a generous contributor to its activities. He was also a director and officer of Central Electric Railfans’ Association for 37 years. CERA is a not-for-profit technical and educational association founded in 1938. Along with Bradley Criss, he established the Wien-Criss Archive, an important photographic collection and resource that will continue to aid historical research in the future. Jeff will be very much missed and long remembered by everyone who knew him. He believed that life is the single most important thing, so you must protect it. He was predeceased by his spouse Bradley Scott Criss, and is survived by his sister Helen Jo Wien (Lotsoff), a niece and nephew. Interment is at the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery in Elwood, Illinois. Donations can be made in Jeff’s memory to the Illinois Railway Museum CTA 4391 Restricted Fund.

Jeff became interested in streetcars at an early age. Ray DeGroote recalls answering a letter requesting more information from Jeff in 1955 while volunteering at CERA (Central Electric Railfans’ Association). They became lifelong friends, and brought Jeff in touch with what Ray has called the “intelligence network” of railfans, in those pre-Internet days. Jeff participated in his first fantrip in December 1956, one of several that were held in the declining years of Chicago streetcars, as the last lines were replaced by buses one by one.

His family lived at 48th and Woodlawn on Chicago’s south side until 1950, when they moved to the north end of Evanston. The closest “L” station was Isabella, a lightly patronized ground-level station that closed in 1973. It was made somewhat famous by being featured in the opening credits of the original Bob Newhart Show in the early 1970s.

Jeff’s initial interest was in taking 8mm color motion pictures. One roll would yield about three minutes of silent movie film. He taught himself photography by trial and error. Sometimes, people watching him would ask, incredulously, why he would want to take pictures of a streetcar?

Once Jeff discovered that the Western Avenue line would soon be replaced by buses, he did everything possible to document it, and the other remaining Chicago streetcar lines. Late in life, he could still recall how disappointed he was to discover that Western Avenue streetcars had been replaced by buses in June 1956.

This was followed by the loss of the final two north side lines in 1957 (Broadway and Clark), and finally Wentworth on the south side in 1958. In each case, Jeff rode the last car. By then, he had met other friends his own age who shared the same interest. Together, they decorated the last Chicago streetcar with crepe paper and a sign bidding farewell to Windy City trolleys. (This was no doubt inspired by “last cars” from other cities, some of which commemorated those events by decorating the cars, which the Chicago Transit Authority did not do.)

Until Jeff was 14, interurban trains of the Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee (aka the North Shore Line) passed near to his house in Evanston on the Shore Line Route. The North Shore Line became another of Jeff’s great interests, and he rode the last southbound car on a very cold January 21, 1963 along with his sister, although not to the end of the line at Roosevelt Road. (As the hour was so late, Jeff and Helen Jo got off at Howard Street to take the Evanston shuttle back to Isabella.)

During the summer of 1961, Jeff had a summer job as a ticket-taker for the North Shore Line at the Adams and Wabash station downtown, making him one of the interurban’s last living employees. Several years ago, he purchased a rare North Shore Line ticket cabinet from the Dempster Street station on that line. It was one of his prized possessions, and I persuaded him to write an article about it, which you can read here.)

Jeff started shooting color 35mm slides in 1959. His favorite film was Kodachrome, which then had a film speed of 10, meaning it was largely restricted to sunny days. Jeff would say, “I worship the sun,” and his favorite type of photo was the “three quarter” view, taken on a sunny day. He became a master at this type of photo. He favored all-mechanical Pentax cameras, as he did not trust batteries. He learned how to expose film by using the tried and true “Sunny f/16” rule.

Many other “last rides” in different cities followed. From 1963 to 1967, Jeff served in the Navy, and was stationed in Washington, DC. He was in Baltimore when their last streetcars ran in 1963, and Los Angeles when they ended both streetcar and trolley bus service the same year. Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were also among Jeff’s favorite cities, as they both had extensive streetcar systems that were gradually reduced in size and scope over the years.

It was, for many years, a hobby with many “lasts,” but after reaching a low point in the mid-1970s, things began to turn around, with the start of the new San Diego Trolley in 1981. Soon this was joined by a host of other new “firsts,” light rail and streetcar lines across the country, and Jeff traveled to many of these places, to ride, photograph, and film them.

Jeff was an avid collector of other people’s photos in addition to his own. Ray DeGroote gave him the William C. Hoffman collection, after the latter’s death in 1988. Hoffman had extensively documented Chicago’s streetcar, interurban, and “L” lines in photographs and in movies during the 1950s, which are now invaluable historical artifacts. These, he freely shared with others.

Jeff was very active in the Central Electric Railfans’ Association, a not-for-profit technical and educational group, and served as a director for 37 years. This culminated in the 2015 publication of CERA Bulletin 146, Chicago Streetcar Pictorial: The PCC Car Era, 1936-1958, which I co-authored. For Jeff, this was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream, and the book was well received.

In the book, I wrote a tribute to Jeff, since I really thought of it as being his life’s work. I compared him to the late Richard Nickel, one of the pioneers of architectural preservation here in Chicago. Jeff was a pioneer as a transit preservationist. His influence was profound and extensive in his field. It’s fine that people will pay tribute to him now that he is gone, but I felt it was just as important to do this while he was still alive and able to read it himself.

Fantrips were one of Jeff’s major interests, and the last one he was involved with was on February 19, 2017, when CERA sponsored a trip on the CTA “L” system with four cars wrapped temporarily to celebrate the Cubs winning the 2016 World Series. This was made possible in large part by Jeff’s $2000 contribution.

He was also quite active at the Illinois Railway Museum, as one of only 100 voting members, and through his preservation activities. He helped bring Chicago Surface Lines motor coach 3407 to the museum, and in 2019, made a substantial contribution to bring Chicago Aurora & Elgin car 453 to IRM.

Along with his late partner Bradley Criss, Jeff produced two feature-length videos, Chicago Streetcar Memories, and A Tribute to the North Shore Line.

Jeff’s final activities were to add slides and negatives to his collection that either interested him, or filled gaps in his collection. Some of these were pictures that he was unable to take himself, and gave him immense pleasure. This included his purchase of a large portion of the late Bob Selle’s black-and-white negatives in 2018 and numerous rare Kodachrome slides taken by others, including the late Charles L. Tauscher.

Jeff’s was a life well lived, and a blessing to those who knew him. What follows are some highlights from Jeff’s life in our hobby. He will be sorely missed.

-David Sadowski

Here is Jeff at 15, taking part in a fantrip on a red Chicago streetcar on February 10, 1957.

On February 16, 1957, CTA 7201 was the last streetcar to run on Route 36. Here it is seen at Clark and Devon. (Charles H. Thorpe Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

On February 16, 1957, CTA 7201 was the last streetcar to run on Route 36. Here it is seen at State and Madison. (Charles H. Thorpe Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA PCC 7201 is heading northbound at Clark and Wells on February 16, 1957, in this photo by Charles H. Thorpe, from the Wien-Criss Archive. It was the last streetcar to operate on the State-Broadway portion of Route 36.

I believe this iconic picture of CTA 7213, leaving Clark and Kinzie on the last Chicago streetcar run in the early morning hours of June 21, 1958, is a CTA photo.

Jeff was amazed a few years ago, when he found out that the late Charles Keevil had shot 16mm film of the last Chicago streetcar in 1958. This was transferred to digital and released by the CTA:

Jeff and his young friends decorated car 7213, no doubt inspired by what other cities had previously done for their last runs:

LVT 912, dressed in bunting at Fairview car barn for the last run of an Allentown streetcar, on June 7 1953.

A mother and her two kids have just gotten off a northbound Evanston train of 4000s at Isabella in January 1972. This station closed on July 16, 1973 and within a short period of time, all traces of it were removed, as it was a short distance from the Linden terminal and had low ridership. That same year, the Evanston branch was converted to third rail operation, and overhead wire was removed.

CTA 9361 is westbound on Irving Park Road, passing under the north-south “L”. The tracks it is about to cross belonged to the Milwaukee Road, and were used to interchange freight with the “L” until 1973. (Jeff Wien Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 9378 is heading south on Broadway, about to turn west on Montrose (Route 78). (Jeff Wien Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 9375 at the east end of the Montrose trolley bus line, near the Wilson Avenue “L” station… about to turn south on Broadway. (Jeff Wien Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

I believe we may have run a similar picture before. This shows the North Shore Line station adjacent to the CTA “L” station at Adams and Wabash. (William Shapotkin Collection)

Jeff and his sister Helen rode the last southbound North Shore Line train as far as Howard Street. His friend Charles Tauscher continued with it to the end of the line, and snapped this historic picture:

A truly historic photo that probably hasn’t seen the light in 57 years. The late Charles L. Tauscher rode the last North Shore Line train ever, which ended its run at Roosevelt Road in the early morning hours of a very cold January 21, 1963. Motorman Bill Livings has just taken off the headlight and poses for a few pictures. This must be a long exposure (this was Ektachrome, and the film speed was 32) and you can see some motion blur on other parts of the platform. Truly the end of an era. (Wien-Criss Archive)

The North Shore Line’s Milwaukee Terminal on a wintry night in January 1963. This is a remarkable photo for the time, as it surely involved a long exposure time of at least a few seconds, with the camera held perfectly still on a tripod. Film speeds for color slide film were very slow and those films were designed for use in bright sunlight. (Wien-Criss Archive)

A northbound North Shore Line train stops at Dempster in January 1963, the final month. Just over a year later, after the abandonment, the CTA resumed service between here and Howard as the Skokie Swift. Note the sign at left for a yarn store in the terminal building. (Wien-Criss Archive)

This, and the next three images are from "superslides," meaning film larger than 35mm, but still able to fit in a regular 2x2 slide mount. This was possible with both 127 and 828 film, but it's the latter here, in this shot by W. H. Higginbotham showing an Electroliner at Grange Avenue in Milwaukee County. (Wien-Criss Archive)

This, and the next three images are from “superslides,” meaning film larger than 35mm, but still able to fit in a regular 2×2 slide mount. This was possible with both 127 and 828 film, but it’s the latter here, in this shot by W. H. Higginbotham showing an Electroliner at Grange Avenue in Milwaukee County. (Wien-Criss Archive)

NSL 741 creeps south along the old 6th Street viaduct in Milwaukee, next to a 1958 Chevy. (Wien-Criss Archive)

An Electroliner at 6th and Oklahoma in Milwaukee in 1962. (W. N. Higginbotham Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

An Electroliner at Edison Court in Waukegan on May 26, 1959. (Wien-Criss Archive)

This picture of the CTA Stockyards line was taken in September 1957, shortly before the line was abandoned. There is little in this picture that still exists today, except for the shuttered Stock Yards National Bank Building, at 4146 S. Halsted Street. (Wien-Criss Archive)

A gate car (345) and a Met car are in the process of being scrapped at Skokie Shops in September 1957. (Wien-Criss Archive)

Riverview Park at Western and Roscoe on June 10, 1956. (Wien-Criss Archive)

PCC meets PCC in this famous Bill Hoffman photo, showing CTA PCC streetcar 4373 on Western Avenue, while a Garfield Park “L” train crosses on Van Buren temporary trackage. The date is June 16, 1954. (Wien-Criss Archive)

The “Streetcar Waiting Room” at Archer and Western on November 15, 1954. (Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 153 is northbound at Halsted and Congress on October 5, 1953. (Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 4227 is on the turnback loop at Clark and Howard, the north end of Route 22. This is now the outdoor seating area for a restaurant. Buses terminate at the nearby Howard “L” station. (Wien-Criss Archive)

Bill Hoffman and his sister Dorothy at their home at 6622 S. Maplewood Avenue in Chicago on December 26, 1981. Two nicer people, you will never meet. Both are sadly long gone. (Wien-Criss Archive)

On May 24, 1958 the Central Electric Railfans’ Association operated a fantrip on the South Shore Line, using Illinois Central equipment. Normally, South Shore cars ran on the IC, but not the other way around. Here, they are having a photo stop at the “new” East Chicago station, parallel to the Indiana Toll Road, which opened in 1956. It replaced street running in East Chicago. The view looks east. (Robert Selle Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

On November 9, 1952, a two-car CTA “L” train, headed by car 1019, is on the trestle at Central on the Evanston branch. (Robert Selle Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

Chicago & North Western steam loco 555, a 4-6-2, heads up a northwest line commuter train at Kinzie and 400 West on August 20, 1953. (Robert Selle Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

This and the following picture show DC Transit pre-PCC 1053 in June 1961. n This historic car survived for many years before being destroyed in a museum fire. (Charles L. Tauscher Photo)

On June 26, 1960 a pair of CTA single-car units went out on a portion of the Lake Street “L”, but apparently did not go on the ground-level portion of the route. Here, we see the train heading westbound at Clinton and Lake. (Charles L. Tauscher Photo)

This photo of CTA 4391 in Chinatown appears on CERA’s 2014 membership card. The only surviving Chicago postwar PCC car is now at the Illinois Railway Museum. (Photo by Charles L. Tauscher, Wien-Criss Archive)

Jeff purchased this slide in 2018. It was processed in September 1965, and shows Pittsburgh streetcars near the Edgar Thomson Steel Works in Braddock, east of Pittsburgh, along the Monongahela River. The location was a mystery until it was identified by some of our readers.

Jeff bought his first Pentax MX camera at Helix in 1979, and continued using this model for the rest of his career.

Bradley Criss on March 3, 2012 at the end of the St. Charles Car Line at Carrollton and Claiborne Avenues in New Orleans. (Jeff Wien Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

Jeff Wien was, in large part, responsible for a fantrip on February 19, 2017, where four CTA rapid transit cars were posed at various places on the system for photo stops, wrapped to celebrate the first Cubs World Series championship since 1908. I purchased this original slide on the very day he died, with the intention of giving it to him on his upcoming 80th birthday. It is also an excellent example of the type of shot he excelled at himself– a 3/4 view in sunlight. (Bruce C. Nelson Photo)

On September 5, 2020, Jeff made his last trip to the Illinois Railway Museum to participate in their annual meeting. Here he is with his beloved CTA 4391, the only surviving postwar Chicago streetcar. (Jose Martinez Photo)

Recent Finds

Here are some of our own recent photo finds:

We are looking west along South Boulevard in Oak park on June 8, 1962, just west of Ridgeland Avenue. The CTA Lake Street “L” ran at ground level here, using overhead wire, until October of that year, when it was relocated to the nearby Chicago & North Western embankment. I assume the commuter station you see here closed in 1958 along with several other close-in stations, in part to make way for this relocation project.

The same location today.

I thought this was interesting as it is an unusual view, one that you could only get by taking a picture on a moving train. This is near the Cermak station on the CTA Dan Ryan Line on May 14, 1979. A northbound train of 2000s approaches, and old Comiskey Park is visible to the south.

Mitch Markovitz: “Westbound (South Shore Line) train at Hammond. Has to be about 1949 as 108 has only been lengthened but not streamlined and air conditioned, and the gates are white and black but not yellow and black. The car behind it has been lengthened and streamlined.”

CA&E 2001 and 2002 at Wayne on June 29, 1957.

CA&E 2001 and 2002 in Lombard in October 1955.

CA&E freight locos 2001 and 2002 in Glen Ellyn in March 1959.

A CA&E freight train in Maywood. If that is correct, I would guess this is westbound crossing First Avenue, where the Illinois Prairie Path starts today. The tracks at left belong to the Chicago Great Western. The date is April 8, 1951.

CA&E freight locos 2001 and 2002 at an unknown location in the summer of 1957.

CA&E freight locos 2001, 2002, and a caboose in Elgin on March 30, 1957. A passenger car is also visible.

CA&E freight in Oak Park on November 18, 1951, with locos 2001 and 2002. In the background, you can see apartment buildings at around 600 Harrison Street. The Eisenhower Expressway runs here now, but the buildings seen still remain.

The same buildings today.

CA&E freight in Lombard on November 23, 1957. John Nicholson points out that with a passenger train in the distance, most likely the date is wrong. Perhaps it was really 1956.

CA&E freight in Maywood, with locos 2001 and 2002, on November 18, 1951.

The back end of the same train.

A CTA train from the 5001-5004 series (not to be confused with the current 5000s) heads southbound approaching Central Street in Evanston on January 7, 1951, having just crossed the North Shore Channel, not far from where the Wien family was living.

I recently purchased this original medium format negative of the Travel and Transport Building, one of the most distinctive structures at A Century of Progress, the 1933-34 Chicago World’s Fair.

This brochure was issued by the Chicago Surface Lines a short time before the October 1, 1947 Takeover by the Chicago Transit Authority, and spells out the locations where “walking transfers” were available between various CSL routes that were not directly adjacent to each other, and included some Chicago Rapid Transit Company stations on the “L”/Subway. But notice they did not include any such transfers to the Chicago Motor Coach lines, which continued to be privately owned for another five years after this.

The former Asbury station on the Niles Center “L” branch (unused by transit since 1948), as it looked in July 1970. The picture was taken along the right of way of the CTA Skokie Swift (today’s Yellow Line). The building has long since been demolished. A train in the 5001-5004 series is visible in the distance.

This picture was taken around the time the CTA Dearborn-Milwaukee-Congress Subway opened in 1951, and shows where trains crossed over and turned back near LaSalle Street, which was the end of the line until 1958, when the Congress median line opened.

We previously ran another version of this same image on a post in 2016, but I thought it was worth getting a second copy. This one has somewhat less contrast, so you get a better view of the platform. The original caption was: The CRT Westchester branch at Roosevelt Road, circa 1929-1930. Service along this line opened in 1926, and when the line was extended, local officials insisted that tracks not cross Roosevelt at grade, thereby necessitating this grade separation project. The platform at left was later moved into the open cut, although the original station house was retained. Service to Mannheim began in 1930. The line was abandoned in 1951. We are looking north.

I find this photo by Edward Frank, Jr. interesting for a number of reasons. It most likely is from before 1943, as a CRT steel car (4312) is coupled to a wood car (2157). This is along the Garfield Park line and the notation “XO” on the side probably means this train is turning back just west of the DesPlaines Avenue station in Forest Park (which would also explain why there is a cemetery visible behind the train). The platform that’s visible may have been only for the use of train crews. The Eisenhower Expressway is located here now. It is unusual that Ed Frank put his name directly on the negative– he generally rubber stamped it on the back. He was taking pictures as early as 1934.

The North Shore Line began running into Chicago via the “L” in 1919, and had phased out use of wood cars by 1936. This shows car 130 at Roosevelt Road in that time frame, signed for the Shore Line Route. During WWII, NSL leased this and some other wood cars to the Chicago Aurora & Elgin. A train of woods ran a fantrip on the North Shore Line in 1946, and then these cars were sold to the CA&E, which continued to operate them until service was cut back to Forest Park in 1954. The glare may indicate this picture was taken looking through the window of another train.

A two-car CA&E train at the Wells Street Terminal. This might be car 412, built in 1923 by Pullman.

New Steam Audio CD:

FYI, we have digitally remastered another classic steam railroad audio LP to Compact Disc. Many additional titles, including the complete output of the Railroad Record Club, in our Online Store.

STEAM CDs:

RGTS
Rio Grande to Silverton:
A Sound Portrait of Mountain Railroading
Price: $14.99

These are vintage 1960 narrow gauge steam train recordings, in true stereo, and originally released on LP in 1961. It is long out of print.
Includes:
01. Riding The Train To Silverton
02. Photo Run At Elk Park
03. Arriving At Silverton
04. Train Time At La Jara
05. Illini Special At Cumbres Pass
06. Doubleheader Starting At Monero
07. Eastbound Freight
08. Arriving At Chama
09. Whistles At Coxo
10. Freight With Pusher At Coxo

Gone are the nostalgic sounds of steam echoes and thundering exhausts, but the memory is immortal. May they live on in the locomotive lexicon, as a monument to the era when trains were pulled by STEAM POWER.

As with all of our recordings, this CD comes with the complete, original liner notes.

Total time – 45:49

Chicago, Illinois, December 17, 1938– Secretary Harold Ickes, left, and Mayor Edward J. Kelly turn the first spadeful of earth to start the new $40,000,000 subway project. Many thousands gathered to celebrate the starting of work on the subway.
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There were three subway anniversaries in 2018 in Chicago:
60 years since the West Side Subway opened (June 22, 1958)
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To commemorate these anniversaries, we have written a new book, Building Chicago’s Subways. While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. The City of Chicago broke ground on what would become the “Initial System of Subways” during the Great Depression and finished 20 years later. This gigantic construction project, a part of the New Deal, would overcome many obstacles while tunneling through Chicago’s soft blue clay, under congested downtown streets, and even beneath the mighty Chicago River. Chicago’s first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. It grew to encompass the State Street, Dearborn-Milwaukee, and West Side Subways, with the latter modernizing the old Garfield Park “L” into the median of Chicago’s first expressway. Take a trip underground and see how Chicago’s “I Will” spirit overcame challenges and persevered to help with the successful building of the subways that move millions. Building Chicago’s subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pride–making it a “Second City” no more!

Redone tile at the Monroe and Dearborn CTA Blue Line subway station, showing how an original sign was incorporated into a newer design, May 25, 2018. (David Sadowski Photo)
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The Photography of Mel Bernero

December 2, 2020February 14, 2021David Sadowski 20 Comments

CTA 4000 series fan trip Chicago Avenue Station (this probably took place on a Sunday, at a time when the Ravenswood wasn’t running any further south than Belmont).

In our last post, we noted the recent death of Mel Bernero, who was active in several organizations, most notably the Omnibus Society of America. He leaves a rich photographic legacy, and one he freely shared– 34,343 pictures uploaded to Flickr in the last 13 years.

Reflecting his interests, the great majority of these are bus pictures, but he took lots of CTA “L” pictures as well, beginning in 1969. Mel was a talented photographer, and in the late 1960s and early 70s there was quite a lot to take pictures of.

As a tribute to Mel Bernero, we present a generous selection of his work. The great majority of images here are his, nearly all the color images in fact. The black-and-white pictures are things he collected, taken by others. We hope you will enjoy them.

-David Sadowski

PS- We have tweaked a few of these images when it was possible to make them look better, and added a bit of missing caption information here and there as well.

The Photography of Mel Bernero

CTA fan trip Lake Street crossing Lake Street 8-1972

CTA Logan Square yard

CTA 1101 OSA fan trip Logan Square 10-10-1961 Richard Kaplan Photo

CTA 413 Logan Square 6-1966 Ronald Sullivan-John LeBeau Collection

CTA 8479 is on Grand Avenue, near the old “L” station, which closed in 1970.

CTA 5167 by the Logan Square “L” terminal, which closed in 1970.

Chicago Motor Coach 810 63rd & Loomis. Our resident South Side expert M.E. adds, “This photo, looking south, shows the 63rd and Loomis L terminal before one track was extended out over the street. The auto on the street seems to have huge horns on each side of the hood. I think it is a late 1940s Cadillac. Also interesting is that the bus sign reads “Marquette Rd. Limited, (to) Washington and Canal.” How did it get there? I found a decent map:
https://www.cmap.illinois.gov/documents/10180/213749/ChicagoBoulevardSystem_20120312_version1-0.pdf
This route used Loomis Blvd. (1400 W.) between Marquette Rd. (6700 S.) and Garfield Blvd. (5500 S.), where it turned east on Garfield. Beyond that, the route probably turned north on Michigan Ave. (which never had streetcars anywhere north of 95th St.), then all the way into downtown.

CTA 3339 Jeffery & 71st St. in 1968, running parallel to the Illinois Central Electric’s South Chicago branch (now the Metra Electric).

CTA 9368 (aka CSL 368) unloading from flat car at South Shops

CTA 9368 (aka CSL 368) after unloading from flat car at South Shops

CTA 9375 at the east end of the Montrose trolley bus line, near the Wilson Avenue “L” station… about to turn south on Broadway. (Jeff Wien Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 9378 is heading south on Broadway, about to turn west on Montrose (Route 78). (Jeff Wien Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 9193, on a March 2, 1958 fantrip for the Ominbus Society of America. This looks like the Roosevelt Road viaduct to me.

CTA 1726, 9565 at Grand and Nordica

CTA 7616 63rd-Stony Island (east terminal of the Jackson Park “L”) in 1974.

CTA 4271-4272 Washington-Wabash (celebrating the CTA’s 70th anniversary, presumably on October 1, 2017)

CTA 1608-4000 Series L cars (this is where the Lake Street “L” descended to ground level, just west of Laramie, which it did until October 1962).

CTA fan trip Hamlin Yard Lake Street 8-1972

CTA Jefferson Park 11-1973

CTA 5000 series Skokie Swift Ridge Avenue 1972

CTA 4000 series work equipment Lake-Wells 6-1969 (this is probably when the original Tower 18 was being replaced, and new track added, in conjunction with the opening of the Lake-Dan Ryan service a few months later).

CTA 4000 series Evanston Express service s-b

CTA 4271-4272 fan trip Main Street Evanston 7-1975

CTA 4455 Evanston Express Lake-Wells 9-1971

CTA 4000 series fan trip Kedzie Station 4-1973

CTA 4271-4272 fan trip Harlem-Lake Terminal 11-9-1974

CTA 4000 series Evanston Express Randolph-Wabash 5-1971

CTA 4000 series Lake-Wells 9-1971

CTA 4271-4272 fan trip Harlem-Lake Terminal 11-9-1974

CTA 4271-4272 fan trip Randolph-Wells 11-9-1974

CTA 4437 Evanston North of Main Street Station 9-1969

CTA 4000 series fan trip 3-1975

CTA 4000 series Evanston Express Main Street Evanston 2-1970

CTA 4271-4272 fan trip Skokie Swift Dempster Terminal 11-9-81

CTA 4 Skokie Swift Dempster Terminal 11-1971

CTA 29 Skokie Swift Dempster Terminal 11-1969

CTA 53 Yellow Line Dempster Terminal 2-1979

CTA 23 Skokie Swift Dempster Terminal 6-1971

CTA 52 Skokie Swift Dempster Terminal 1-1970

CTA 54 Yellow Line Howard Terminal 7-1981

CTA 2000 series Logan Square Station showing construction for the Kimball subway extension in 1969.

CTA 1-50 series Evanston Central Street Station 7-1981.

CTA 1-50 series Evanston Express Isabella 4-1971

CTA 1-50 series Evanston Howard Terminal 3-1974

CTA 1-50 series Evanston service n-b at Foster 7-1981

CTA 1-50 series Skokie Swift Oakton Street 1-1970

CTA 1-50 series Skokie Swift Kostner Ave 11-1971

CTA 1-50 series Evanston Howard Terminal 9-1969

CTA 1-50 series Purple Line Isabella Station 1-1970

CTA 1-50 series Skokie Swift Crawford Ave 1-1975

CTA 42 Evanston North of Main Street Station 9-1969

CTA 1-50 series Evanston Central Street station 7-1981

CTA 24 Skokie Swift Oakton Street 3-1974

CTA 25 Skokie Swift 7-1981

CTA 29 Skokie Swift Dempster Terminal 12-1971

CTA 1-50 series Evanston Howard Terminal 11-1971

CTA 1-50 series Skokie Swift Prairie Avenue 4-1970

CTA 6000 series 14th-State 6-1982

CTA 5000 series Skokie Swift 7-1969

CTA 5000 series Skokie Swift Kostner Avenue

CTA 4000 series Evanston Express 11-1969

CTA 4000 series fan trip Desplaines Terminal Forest Park 3-71

CTA 4409 fan trip Main Street Evanston 3-1975

CTA 4000 series Evanston Express North Shore Channel

CTA 4000 series Evanston Express Southbound 5-1970

CTA 4000 series Evanston Express Wabash-Lake 5-1971

CTA 4000 series Evanston Express Main Street 9-1969

CTA 4271-4272 fan trip Sedgwick Station 4-1973

CTA 4271-4272 fan trip Randolph-Wells 11-9-1974

CTA 4000 series Evanston Linden Terminal 9-1969

CTA 4410 fan trip 10-21-1973.

CTA 4000 series work equipment Lower 63rd Material Yard

CTA 4271-4272 fan trip 63rd-Ashland Terminal 11-9-1974a

CTA 4000 series North Branch Chicago River 9-1969

CTA 4271-4272 fan trip Howard Terminal 7-1975.

CTA 29 Skokie Swift Dempster Terminal 11-1969

CTA 24 Skokie Swift Dempster Terminal 4-1974

CTA 42 Evanston service n-b at Foster 7-1981

CTA 52 Skokie Swift Dempster Terminal 7-1981

CTA 52 Skokie Swift Howard Terminal looking south 7-1981

CTA 54 Ridge Avenue 7-1969

CTA 29 Skokie Swift Howard Terminal 7-1981

CTA 2000 series Wabash-Lake 5-1971

CTA 1-50 series Skokie Swift Dempster Terminal 1-1970.

CTA 1-50 series Evanston Express Isabella 5-1970

CTA 1-50 series Evanston Isabella 1-1970

CTA 1-50 series Evanston service Maple Avenue

CTA 1-50 series Purple Line Isabella Station.

CTA 1-50 series Evanston Linden Yard 7-1981

CTA 1-50 series Skokie Swift Dempster Terminal 1-1975

CSL 1412 26th-Stewart EB (Mike Charnota Collection)

CSL 2909 Racine-16th SB (Mike Charnota Collection)

CSL 3093 Grand-Racine (Mike Charnota Collection)

CSL 3098 Throop-26th SB 8-25-1946 (Mike Charnota Collection) Correction: Robert Tuggle writes, “the streetcar is actually heading south on Racine at Grand Avenue.”

The same location in 2019.

CSL 1401 87th-Vincennes RI station in background (Mike Charnota Collection)

CSL 3108 Sangamon-Adams (Mike Charnota Collection)

CSL 1400 Canalport-18th (Mike Charnota Collection)

CSL 3295 Montrose-Wells Park (Mike Charnota Collection)

CSL 3304 Montrose-Chicago River (Mike Charnota Collection)

CSL 3098 Sangamon-Adams (Mike Charnota Collection)

CSL 3294 Montrose-Ravenswood RT (Mike Charnota Collection)

CSL 3307 Montrose-Ravenswood (Mike Charnota Collection)

CSL 123 working on wire April 1944

New Steam Audio CD:

FYI, we have digitally remastered another classic steam railroad audio LP to Compact Disc. Many additional titles, including the complete output of the Railroad Record Club, in our Online Store.

STEAM CDs:

RGTS
Rio Grande to Silverton:
A Sound Portrait of Mountain Railroading
Price: $14.99

As with all of our recordings, this CD comes with the complete, original liner notes.

Total time – 45:49

Bibliographic information:
Title Building Chicago’s Subways
Images of America
Author David Sadowski
Edition illustrated
Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2018
ISBN 1467129380, 9781467129381
Length 128 pages
Chapter Titles:
01. The River Tunnels
02. The Freight Tunnels
03. Make No Little Plans
04. The State Street Subway
05. The Dearborn-Milwaukee Subway
06. Displaced
07. Death of an Interurban
08. The Last Street Railway
09. Subways and Superhighways
10. Subways Since 1960
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Redone tile at the Monroe and Dearborn CTA Blue Line subway station, showing how an original sign was incorporated into a newer design, May 25, 2018. (David Sadowski Photo)
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Loose Ends, Part One

July 16, 2020July 27, 2020David Sadowski 5 Comments

On February 6, 1941, the North Shore Line ran some special trips to introduce its new, streamlined Electroliners. Here we see one of the two sets at the North Water Terminal on Chicago’s “L” system.

With this, and our next post, we are tying up some loose ends, so to speak. We have collected a great number of images over the last five years, and haven’t always had an opportunity to finish working on them and present them to you here. Just the caption writing alone takes a long time, and there is often research involved.

This is in addition to our usual work in scanning, cropping, straightening, color correction, spot removal, etc., which also takes a considerable effort. There are times when the images pile up, and there are various things that need to be done to them. We recently got around to some of those things.

We hope you enjoy the results, and if you have any questions or comments about these images, be sure to drop us a line. Be sure to refer to each image by its identifying file name. You can generally see what that is by moving your mouse over the image itself.

We also thank our various contributors to today’s post, Jeff Wien of the Wien-Criss Archive, Craig Berndt, and Bill Shapotkin, who have generously shared images from their collections.

I would also be remiss if I failed to note that July 15th was Ray DeGroote’s 90th birthday. Ray is a longtime friend and mentor. He is the dean of Chicago railfans, and has traveled all over, taking unforgettable pictures, sharing his wisdom and experience with others, for a lot longer than most of us have been alive. We wish him all the best.

-David Sadowski

Recent Finds

Through an act of serendipity, at almost the same time that we acquired the Electroliner picture above, we also obtained a souvenir ticket from that same event.

After the North Shore Line abandonment in 1963, the two Electroliners were purchased by the Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company (aka Red Arrow), for use on their 13-mile-long Norristown High Speed Line. Liberty Liner “Valley Forge” at Bryn Mawr in September 1964. (Richard S. Short Photo)

Although the Chicago Aurora & Elgin had an admirable safety record, I am sure, sometimes there were accidents. Here, we see cars 400 and 318 have collided. 318 must have been repaired, as it did survive the interurban, at least for a while. Don’s Rail Photos notes: “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.” This picture was taken at Lockwood Yard, just west of Laramie, in June 1945. Not sure if the modernization was actually done prior to the crash, or as a result of it. Dates for these things are sometimes approximate. (Don Mac Bean Photo)

Here, we see the Chicago, South Shore & South Bend interurban (commonly known as the South Shore Line) running down the street in East Chicago, Indiana, in the late 1920s.

This is a Chicago & West Towns Railway streetcar, signed for the La Grange line, circa 1915.

The names of the two C&WT employees shown in the previous photograph.

Here is a mystery photo, It was identified as Chicago “L” workers, but Andre Kristopans doubts that this is actually Chicago. Such vintage pictures usually have the employees wearing darker uniforms than this, and where would there have been such a structure as is shown here?

The lone gate car we see in this picture is identified as work car S-2, and the date is September 9, 1957. Can this be 61st Yard?

Our resident south side expert M.E. writes:

You might be correct that this is the 61st St. yard on the Jackson Park line. I didn’t ride that line very much, because I lived along the Englewood line, so I can’t be sure. If it is 61st St., the view looks southeast.

In the 61st St. yard, I recall the long diagonal track in your picture. I also remember this track seemed to cleave the yard into two parts, such that the trains stored in the northern part would first have to move to the southern part, then onto the diagonal track to reach the mainline. That was rather clumsy.

I tried to recollect the big building in the background on the right. Or maybe there are more than one building. Either way, I think the building(s) could have been low-income project buildings that showed up on the South Side in the 1950s. The building(s) in this picture would be located south of 63rd and west of South Park Way (now King Drive).

The most convincing reason this might be 61st St. yard is, believe it or not, the way the switch is set in the lower right. That switch is set for mainline operation, in particular the northbound track. With this in mind, everything else in this picture falls into place correctly.

UPDATE: After writing all the above, I consulted my Central Electric Railfans Association (CERA) bulletin 115, dated June 1976, which covers the L system between 1947 and 1976. In the back of that book are numerous trackage layouts, including — yes — the 61st St. yard. And that trackage looks exactly like what is in your picture.

You might wonder where the connection between the southbound mainline track and the yard is. According to CERA 115, it is right where the camera is. It is a switch from southbound to northbound mainline track. In fact, you can see part of that switch precisely where your trolleydodger label (watermark) starts.

Thanks for figuring that out.

From 1949 to 1957, the CTA operated the Kenwood branch of the “L” as a shuttle operation, and here we see three such cars at the Indiana Avenue station. By the mid-1950s, the older gate cars had been replaced by ones formerly used on the Met “L”, as those lines were equipped with more modern steel cars. Not sure why there are three cars here– Kenwood usually used one or two car trains in these days.

M.E. writes:
I learned from this picture that the Kenwood stub at Indiana Ave. had room for three cars. I thought it was just two. I guess I never saw a third (idle) car sitting in that space, because the presence of an idle car meant the passengers had to walk farther to connect between Kenwood and mainline trains. (And if Kenwood passengers wanted to connect to southbound mainline trains, they also had to use the overhead bridge between the two mainline platforms.)

I also learned from CERA 115 that the Stock Yards line did have its own yard, east of the Halsted St. station, but that was way back in 1913. No wonder I never saw it.

There is some speculation that the Stock Yards yard from 1913 was never actually used.

Regarding three cars in the Kenwood stub, it’s possible that a portion of the rear car went past the platform, and they didn’t open the rear door, as was the practice at other stations, where the trains ended up being longer than the platforms. (This could also be done with the front door on the head car in other places, but not here.)

M.E. again:

More about your Kenwood stub picture:

Judging by the space between the two cars at the left, I’d have to say the leftmost car was not connected to the other two, and was in fact sitting idle. And, as you mentioned, perhaps the rightmost car isn’t fully next to the platform.

I’d have to agree with that, for another reason: I don’t know whether old wooden cars were ever upgraded to enable a single conductor (or maybe the motorman) to control all doors. If the old cars were not upgraded, then a three-car Kenwood train would need two conductors. The amount of business the Kenwood shuttle did would never justify two conductors. This fortifies my recollection that the Kenwood shuttle never ran with more than two cars, and ran most of the time with just one car.

This picture was taken from the old Halsted “L” station on the Met main line, which was just north of the Congress Expressway footprint. That station remained open until 1958, when the CTA Congress median line opened. I believe this picture was taken in 1954, but after the end of May, when buses replaced streetcars on Route 8 – Halsted. This section of highway opened in 1955. The two subway portals at right are used by the CTA Blue Line today, but the ones at left were never used. They were intended for use by Lake Street “L” trains, if that line had been re-routed onto the highway, and would have connected to a Clinton Street Subway, forming an underground “loop” along with the Lake, Dearborn, and Congress legs. Steve D. points out that the sign has Richard J. Daley on it as mayor, which means it can’t be prior to April 20, 1955.

The old Cicero Avenue station on the Garfield Park “L” stood at regular height, but to the west, Laramie was at ground level, and to the east, the Kilbourn station was at a higher level, as the “L” crossed other railroads. Here, we are looking east around July 1, 1957. Kilbourn closed in 1953 to help speed up service on the rest of the line, which was slowed down once it started using temporary trackage in Van Buren Street, between Sacramento Avenue and Aberdeen, a distance of about two-and-a-half miles.

In this view, taken around July 1, 1957, we see a westbound Garfield Park train at the Kedzie station, which was not in the direct path of the Congress Expressway. The tall smokestack in the distance belonged to the old Garden City Laundry at 3333 W. Harrison. Here, the “L” was south of the expressway, and at other points, it was north of the highway. The station off in the distance is St. Louis (3500 W.). Both stations remained open until 1958.

The former Garden City Laundry building today.

This picture, and the next one, were taken around July 1, 1957 from the Kedzie Avenue bridge over the then-Congress Expressway, looking east towards Sacramento Boulvard. Tracks are in place for the Congress median line, and in the distance, we can also see where the Garfield Park “L” crossed the highway. East of Sacramento, there was a ramp, leading down to Van Buren, where there was a temporary right-of-way at ground level. Tracks were in place for the new line at this time, but as you can see, there was no third rail yet. There is still a crossover at this location. Notice that there were support columns for the “L” right in the middle of the highway. It is inconceivable that this would be done today.

Around July 1, 1957, a westbound CTA Garfield Park “L” train is westbound on the Van Buren temporary trackage. I believe the cross street is California Avenue (2800 W.).

This is mid-1950s view of the then-Congress Expressway, looking east from Kedzie. We see the new CTA rapid transit line in the median, then under construction, and the old Garfield Park “L” in the distance. This portion of the highway opened in 1955 as far west as Laramie. I think this picture may have been taken before the other one in this post.

This view of the Congress Expressway looks east from Central Park (3600 W.) towards Homan (3400 W.). On the right, the smokestack closest to the highway belongs to the Garden City Laundry, which was located at 3333 W. Harrison Street, and is mentioned elsewhere in this post. This may be circa 1956, as the highway is open here, but tracks appear to only recently have been added to the median.

Chicago Surface Lines 3294 near the Ravenswood ‘L’ station at Montrose (today’s CTA Brown Line)

From the Collections of Craig Berndt

Craig Berndt shared these really nice images, which he purchased from the estate of the late Ken Luttenbacher, who may be the photographer. All were taken on the north side, and many of these pictures were shot from the front of a train, looking out the window (which was most likely opened, since this was in the days before air conditioned rapid transit cars).

While we don’t see a lot of “L” cars, what we do see are some excellent shots of the rights-of-way on the Howard and Evanston lines (today’s Red and Purple Lines).

He adds:

I wrote a book about the Toledo & Chicago Interurban that operated the Ft. Wayne-Garrett-Kendallville-Waterloo line, part of which operated in freight service until May 1945. I made presentations about it at Hoosier Traction Meet a few years ago.

All the pictures in this section are from the Craig Berndt Collection.

This August 1963 view is just south of Lawrence, looking north. The overhead wire at left was used by CTA electric locomotives, a holdover from the days when the Milwaukee Road had service here, prior to this line being electrified and put up on an embankment. Apparently, North Shore Line trains sometimes used the overhead and switched over to third rail further south.

Loyola, looking north, in August 1963.

North of Loyola, looking north, August 1963.

Linden Terminal, Wilmette, in August 1963.

Here, in August 1963, we are just north of the Berwyn station on the North-South main line. Off to the left, there was Lill Coal and Oil, which used freight service on the ‘L’ until 1973. In this photo, you can see part of their siding heading off from the freight track, which has overhead wire. Lill was the last freight customer the CTA had. Once they stopped using the service, the CTA was able to eliminate freight. This was a carryover from the days when this portion of the route started out as part of the Milwaukee Road. That railroad interchanged with the rapid transit just north of Irving Park Road. Freight cars were hauled by electric locomotives using overhead wire. There was a ramp up to the ‘L’ structure near Montrose.

The same location today.

Fullerton, looking north, in August 1963.

Just south of Belmont, looking north, in August 1963.

Approaching Wilson, looking north . in August 1963. Wilson shops are visible.

Just south of Addison, looking north, in August 1963. You can see the Wrigley Field scoreboard at left.

Howard Terminal, August 1963. This station was completely redone in the early 2000s.

Morse, looking north, in August 1963. The old No Exit Cafe, a Beatnik coffehouse established in 1958, was located not far from here, starting in 1967.

Just north of Sheridan, looking north towards Wilson, in August 1963.

We are looking south off the rear of a northbound Evanston train at Foster Station in August 1963. The station in the distance is Davis Street.

Looking south from the old Isabella station on the Evanston line in August 1963. The bridge in the distance goes over the North Shore Channel.

The old Wilson Avenue Upper Yard in August 1963. The shops building burned in 1996 and was removed.

This August 1963 shot shows the yard at Linden Avenue in Wilmette, at the north end of the Evanston branch. There are overhead wires at left because this branch did not use third rail until 1973 (although the yard did). The station was behind the photographer, since moved to the left (east), I believe. To the left was also where the North Shore Line continued north on its own tracks for about a block, before heading west on Greenleaf Avenue.

DePaul University is near Fullerton Avenue on the North-South main line. There were four tracks north of Chicago Avenue on this line, with a few gaps between there and Howard Street, where the Evanston and Skokie branches begin. This August 1963 view, taken from out the window of a northbound train (as are some of the others) looks north to the Fullerton “L” station.

The Sheridan Road CTA station in August 1963. It still looks much like this today.

The Ravenswood (today’s Brown Line) terminal at Lawrence and Kimball, looking north, in January 1960.

All the trains I see here in this July 1964 scene are Douglas Park ones, leading me to think this is the old Pulaski road yard on that line. This route is now called the Pink Line, but that yard has been removed. The configuration of tracks from a map I have looks like it fits what I see in the picture. On the other hand, Steve D. says this is Logan Square, due to the building in the back with a sign for the Hollander Storage & Moving Company, which is still there on Fullerton Avenue.

This is the bridge over the North Shore Channel on the Evanston route in August 1963. We are looking south, and the station in the distance is Central Street.

From the Wien-Criss Archive

All the images in this section were taken by the late Charles L. Tauscher, and are shared by Jeff Wien, of the Wien-Criss Archive. These pictures show Kenosha buses, most on a fantrip held by the Omnibus Society of America. Bill Shapotkin notes, “OSA Fantrip 33 operated on July 9, 1967. The carrier was then known as Lake Shore Transit/Kenosha. Two different buses where used during the trip- #705 and 709.”

I recognize the former Kenosha North Shore Line station, four years after abandonment. The building still exists, but has been altered. It served as a restaurant for many years, and is now a day car center.

There are also two pictures taken in Racine, with the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Johnson Wax Building in the background.

The large Pepsi bottlecap ad on the front of one bus reminds me of the streetcars in Johnstown, Pennsylvania that had these too, in pictures taken near the end of service there in 1960.

If anyone can help identify the other locations, that would be greatly appreciated. Again, please refer to each image by file name, thanks.

Bill Shapotkin: “This photo looks east on 6th Street across Park Avenue in Racine, WI. Note that the Greyhound station is located on S/E corner of intersection. Aside from Greyhound, Wisconsin Coach (which operates a suburban bus service between Milwaukee and Kenosha) also served this station.”

How this area looks today.

Bill Shapotkin: “This photo was taken in Racine, WI facing N/B on Main JUST NORTH of 5th Street. The view looks east.”

Bill Shapotkin: “This photo was taken in ILLINOIS — on SW corner of State Line (aka Russell) Road and Sheridan Road in Winthrop Harbor. View looks south (that is Sheridan Road at left).”

Bill Shapotkin: “This photo was taken in Kenosha, WI facing east in 57th Street between 6th and 7th Streets. The building behind the bus is still standing today!” On the other hand, Russ Schultz says this is 56th Street.

A contemporary view.

From the Collections of William Shapotkin

We will round out today’s post with four excellent images shared by Bill Shapotkin. More will follow in our next post, Loose Ends, Part Two.

This and the next image: Joseph Canfield took this picture of CTA PCCs at Western and Berwyn, the north end of Route 49, on June 13, 1956, just a few days before buses replaced streetcars on this line.

CTA trolley bus 9300 at Grand and Nordica (west terminal of Route 65) in July 1969.

CTA trolley buses 9300 and 9588 at Grand and Nordica in July 1969. This was my neighborhood, and I boarded buses here all the time back then. There was a supermarket next door (I think it was a national). In recent years this is now a resale shop.

Recent Correspondence

Barry S. writes:

With reference to your material on the launch of the Electroliner, I am passing along this contemporaneous promo /faux ticket. It’s about 30″ high. Due to my inept photo skills, it took three images to capture at least some details. Use and enjoy at your discretion. If any of your readers are interested, the item is for sale. It can be removed from its frame for easier/cheaper shipping.

I will make note of that, and if anyone wants to contact you, I will be sure to forward their info your way, thanks (using my ‘good offices,’ as opposed to my bad ones I guess).

Martin Baumann writes:

I recently discovered your very interesting website. In one post you said you are not sure what happened to Aurora Fox River and Elgin 305.

According to Cleveland’s Transit Vehicles: Equipment and Technology by James A. Toman and Blaine S. Hays it went to Cleveland with the rest of the batch and was retired in 1954 after its motors burned out during a blizzard at Thanksgiving.

That’s good to know, thanks!

Steve De Rose writes:

I am (still) Steve De Rose. If I did not previously mention this, I am also a member of the _American Breweriana Association_, which *just merged* with the East Coast Breweriana Association. Issue 226 of its journal arrived here very recently. John Warnik, of the sub-organization Chicagoland Breweriana Society has a fascinating story about the Yusay Brewery (formerly of 26th St. & Albany Ave). Yusay was one Chicago brewery which did a bunch of ads on transit vehicles. J. Warnik met someone who had seven medium-sized ads and he obtained them. Then came the questions of when these were used and where they appeared?

An ad for Dodge automobiles had Dodge’s 1953 slogan, “You’ve Got To Drive It To Believe It! 1953 Dodge”. This dated the signs to late 1952. He specifically focused on an ad for Yusay which illustrated its character ‘Local Boy’ at a banquet welcoming convention delegates to Chicago. As both the Democratic & Republican 1952 Presidential nomination conventions were held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, ‘Local Boy’ was seated between an elephant and a donkey on the dais. This more precisely identified the time frame. From your ‘Trolley Dodger’ weblog, he discerned a route 4 Cottage Grove streetcar, converted to one-man service (4056) with this ad in one of the outside slots near the front of the streetcar. He credits it to all three authors of *_Chicago Streetcar Pictorial, the PCC Car Era 1936-1958_*, including you. But the photograph he identifies and reproduces in this journal article is not the one on page 57 in the book. It looks like it is running southbound in downtown on Wabash between Wacker and Lake. (He shrewdly placed the top of the Yusay ad over the lower right corner of the photograph.)

What this informs us of is that 4056, converted to one-man service in May 1952, made many (if not all) of its runs on Cottage Grove. {Did Madison & Madison-Fifth CTA routes use one-man PCC Cars?}

Thanks for writing.

Looks like we have run two pictures of PCC 4056 with this ad, which probably dates both to the summer of 1952.

Madison and Madison-Fifth did not use one-man PCCs (and I do mean that literally, female bus operators weren’t hired until the 1970s). But after buses replaced streetcars on Madison in 1953, the branch on Fifth was operated briefly as a shuttle, using older red cars (1700-series) that were one-man.

Two-man cars, in any event, were required on any streetcar lines that crossed a railroad. The car would stop and the conductor would get out and look both ways before the car crossed the tracks.

CTA wanted to use one-man cars on 63rd Street, but first held two public hearings, and at one of them (the one on the west portion of the line), there was opposition to the plan, so the line was converted to buses instead. The one-man cars were used on Cottage Grove from 1952-55, and after that became a bus route, Western Avenue got them from 1955-56.

Another thing that CTA did was to substitute buses for PCCs on weekends. This had been a recommendation of a 1951 consultant report.

Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks.

-David Sadowski

St. Louis-built PCC 4056, signed for route 4 – Cottage Grove, has just crossed the Chicago River. While the iconic Wrigley Building and Tribune Tower are at rear, the Sun-Times building (1958) had not yet been built when this picture was taken. Note a Chicago Motor Coach bus at rear. CTA purchased Motor Coach’s assets as of October 1, 1952, probably not too long after this picture was taken. In the 1950s, some Cottage Grove cars (usually signed as Route 38) went north of the river and terminated at Grand and Navy Pier. (Railway Negative Exchange Photo)

CTA 4056 is running on Route 4 – Cottage Grove in 1953. This is one of the postwar PCCs that was converted to one-man operation.

1939 Chicago Surface Lines Training Program

In 2016, we were fortunate to acquire a rare 16″ transcription disc, made in 1939 for the Chicago Surface Lines. This included an audio presentation called “Keeping Pace,” about 20 minutes long, that CSL used for employee training.

We were recently able to find someone who could play such a large disc, and now this program has been digitized and can be heard for the first time in more than 80 years. We have added it as a bonus feature to our Red Arrow Lines 1967 CD, available below and through our Online Store.

RAL
Red Arrow Lines 1967: Straffords and Bullets
# of Discs – 1
Price: $14.99

This disc features rare, long out-of-print audio recordings of two 1967 round trips on the Philadelphia & Western (aka “Red Arrow Lines”) interurban between Philadelphia and Norristown, the famous third rail High-Speed Line. One trip is by a Strafford car and the other by one of the beloved streamlined Bullets. The line, about 13 miles long and still in operation today under SEPTA, bears many similarities to another former interurban line, the Chicago Transit Authority‘s Yellow Line (aka the “Skokie Swift”). We have included two bonus features, audio of an entire ride along that five mile route, which was once part of the North Shore Line, and a 20-minute 1939 Chicago Surface Lines training program (“Keeping Pace”). This was digitized from a rare original 16″ transcription disc and now can be heard again for the first time in over 80 years.

Total time – 73:32

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Chicago, Illinois, December 17, 1938– Secretary Harold Ickes, left, and Mayor Edward J. Kelly turn the first spadeful of earth to start the new $40,000,000 subway project. Many thousands gathered to celebrate the starting of work on the subway.
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80 years since subway construction started (December 17, 1938)
To commemorate these anniversaries, we have written a new book, Building Chicago’s Subways.

While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. The City of Chicago broke ground on what would become the “Initial System of Subways” during the Great Depression and finished 20 years later. This gigantic construction project, a part of the New Deal, would overcome many obstacles while tunneling through Chicago’s soft blue clay, under congested downtown streets, and even beneath the mighty Chicago River. Chicago’s first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. It grew to encompass the State Street, Dearborn-Milwaukee, and West Side Subways, with the latter modernizing the old Garfield Park “L” into the median of Chicago’s first expressway. Take a trip underground and see how Chicago’s “I Will” spirit overcame challenges and persevered to help with the successful building of the subways that move millions. Building Chicago’s subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pride–making it a “Second City” no more!

Bibliographic information:
Title Building Chicago’s Subways
Images of America
Author David Sadowski
Edition illustrated
Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2018
ISBN 1467129380, 9781467129381
Length 128 pages
Chapter Titles:
01. The River Tunnels
02. The Freight Tunnels
03. Make No Little Plans
04. The State Street Subway
05. The Dearborn-Milwaukee Subway
06. Displaced
07. Death of an Interurban
08. The Last Street Railway
09. Subways and Superhighways
10. Subways Since 1960
Building Chicago’s Subways is in stock and now available for immediate shipment. Order your copy today! All copies purchased through The Trolley Dodger will be signed by the author.
The price of $23.99 includes shipping within the United States.
For Shipping to US Addresses:

For Shipping to Canada:

For Shipping Elsewhere:

Redone tile at the Monroe and Dearborn CTA Blue Line subway station, showing how an original sign was incorporated into a newer design, May 25, 2018. (David Sadowski Photo)

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Hard Work

June 25, 2020June 28, 2020David Sadowski 14 Comments

This is the back end of a southbound CTA Jackson Park “B” train at Sheridan Road on July 7, 1966.

It’s been more than a month since our last post, but that’s not for lack of effort. We have been hard at work on the images in this post. I have put it many, many hours with these pictures in Photoshop to make them look their best, or least, better than how I found them.

Sometimes, it seems that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong. I was up late last night writing more than 50 captions, and somehow they all vanished, and I had to rewrite them. But that’s okay, since the new versions you see here are better.

It’s been our experience that hard work often pays off. You be the judge.

We have also been hard at work on a new book– Chicago’s Lost “L”s, which will focus on those aspects of the system that either no longer exist, or have been completely changed. Work on this book is pretty far along. All the photo selections have been made, and the cover is finished.

We are excited about this new project, and hope you will be too. More information will be forthcoming as things progress.

Enjoy!

-David Sadowski

PS- Our thanks go out to Jeff Wien for sharing some fantastic images from the Wien-Criss Archive.

Recent Finds

This and the following picture: A Kenosha Motor Coach bus is posed next to the former North Shore Line station circa 1967. The building remains, but has been altered over the years for use, first by a restaurant, then as a day care center. (Charles L. Tauscher Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

NSL 741 creeps south along the old 6th Street viaduct in Milwaukee, next to a 1958 Chevy. (Wien-Criss Archive)

An Electroliner at 6th and Oklahoma in Milwaukee in 1962. (W. H. Higginbotham Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

An Electroliner at Edison Court in Waukegan on May 26, 1959. (Wien-Criss Archive)

The El Paso trolley, in its original incarnation, was an international affair, with service to Juarez, Mexico. This picture was taken in 1962. (Wien-Criss Archive)

A gate car (345) and a Met car are in the process of being scrapped at Skokie Shops in September 1957. (Wien-Criss Archive)

As much as we would like Chicago “L” cars to remain on the structure, there have been a few times when they did not. This April 12, 1974 photo shows one that came pretty close to falling down, but fortunately did not. This looks like downtown, but I am not sure of the exact location. Andre Kristopans adds, “Wreck was at Lake/Wells with 6047-48. Took W to N curve way too fast. This was probably last wreck cleaned up with only Rail derricks, S363 and S367. No rubber tired cranes used.”

We ran a lo-fi version of this picture in a previous post. The location at first was a real mystery, but turned out to be 42nd Place, the terminal of the CTA Kenwood branch, looking west. The next photo was taken further down the platform. (We ran originally ran this with other pictures that we saw on eBay, but hadn’t been able to purchase. It was relisted and we decided to buy it after all.) Ross Harano adds, “The view is looking north rather than west. The building with the chimney is Oakenwald Grammar School at 4071 S. Lake Park that I attended. The tower on the right is the “Kiosk Sphinx” that was on an estate just north of the grammar school. Geoffrey Baer had a segment on his WTTW’s “Ask Geoffrey” about the wealthy family that built a Mediterranean style home with a pool and “Eiffel” tower. The property to the west of the station was owned by Nelson Coal. You can see the coal moving equipment in the photo. Nelson Coal stored mountains of coal east of the terminal tracks next to the Illinois Central Tracks. We used to play soldiers on the coal until we would be chased away by Nelson Coal workers.”

This is the view looking west from the east terminal of the Kenwood branch at 42nd Place. There was a short stretch of steel structure, before the line ran on an embankment owned by the Chicago Junction Railway. Ross Harano: “This view is also looking north. The photo was taken from the north end of the platform next to the control tower building. The tall building in the background is one of the first CHA buildings on the lakefront at Lake Park and Oakwood Boulevard. The railroad tracks that ran with the “L” tracks went east over the Illinois Central tracks and ran south.”

A wooden Chicago “L” car at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, May 1968. The museum had moved here in 1964 from its original location in North Chicago. I believe that is a Milwaukee streetcar at left.

This postcard, circa 1910, shows one of the single track “L” stations that were a unique feature of the old Stockyards branch.

On February 24, 1957 we see a Douglas Park “L” train crossing over a Garfield Park one, running on temporary tracks in Van Buren Street, while the Congress median line (foreground) is under construction.

On February 24, 1957 a two-car train of CTA 4000s heads east on Van Buren at Ashland. This was the temporary route for part of the Garfield Park “L” from 1953 to 1958.

This is the view looking south from the Lake Street “L” at Paulina on March 17, 1954. The tracks at right were where the Met “L” went over the Lake line. At left is a new connection, just about to be put into service, that allowed Douglas Park trains to go to the Loop via Lake Street. This connection was used from 1954 to 1958, and is now used again by Pink Line trains (the successor to Douglas).

A two-car Kenwood “L” train, including 2910, is in the stub at Indiana Avenue station on February 25, 1955.

A Garfield Park “L” train of 4000s heads west at Kedzie on November 6, 1955. Unlike some other stations on the line, this one remained in service until 1958 as it was not directly in the expressway footprint. The first car is a “Baldie,” built circa 1915, and the second is a “Plushie,” from around 1924. These were state of the art cars when new, and were in service for nearly 50 years.

Here, a former Lake Street “L” car heads up a Stockyards shuttle train at Indiana Avenue on April 11, 1954.

Car 1715 is a Lake Street Local at Marion Street in Oak Park. In 1948, locals and expresses were replaced by the CTA’s A/B “skip stop” service.

CTA 3147 is at the front of a Lake Street “B” train at Marion. Despite the age of the car at left (circa 1939) this picture cannot have been taken prior to 1948.

CTA 1780 heads up a Lake Street “A” train at Marion Street. This was not quite the end of the line, as there was a station just west of Harlem Avenue in Forest Park. But this station was far more popular and Harlem and Marion serves today as the end of the line, since the Lake Street “L” was relocated to the adjacent North Western embankment in 1962.

This two-car train (including #299) is at Indiana Avenue station. The photo says this is a Kenwood train, but I am wondering if this is Stock Yards instead.

When the CTA realigned the north and south side routes, Kenwood became a shuttle. These wooden gate cars (200-series) are being stored on an otherwise unused track on the South Side main. The Kenwood branch itself is at left.

Riders are coming and going from Kenwood car 273 at Indiana Avenue.

CTA gate car #268 (or at least that is what is written on the picture) at Indiana Avenue, operating as a Kenwood shuttle. By the mid-1950s these cars were replaced by former Met “L” cars as they were taken off other lines.

Gate car #204 at Halsted on the Stock Yards branch.

I find this picture of car 1109 and train interesting for a number of reasons. It took a while to figure out where this is, but I believe it is on the Wabash leg of the Loop “L” heading north at Jackson. This area was, for many years, Chicago’s “music row,” and Kimball Pianos is at right. Since we are south of Adams, the station in the rear is Congress and Wabash, which was closed in 1949 and removed soon after, as Congress was widened for the expressway project. The train is an Evanston Express, going to Wilmette, but also mentions Skokie as a destination. Niles Center changed its name to Skokie in 1941, so this picture dates to the 1940s. Then, as now, it is not advisable to put your head or arms outside the car window.

Car 1048 is in the pocket track at Dempster, end of the line for Niles Center. The CTA replaced this with buses in 1948, but the line was revived as the Skokie Swift in 1964, following the North Shore Line’s abandonment the previous year. The historic station building has since been moved slightly to the north and east to provide a bus lane.

Gate car 2324 at Skokie Shops.

4000s going over the North Shore Channel bridge in Evanston, when it appears to be brand new. Not sure of the date. Miles Beitler adds, “It may have been taken during the elevation of the north end of the Evanston line from University Place to just north of Central Street. That project was completed in 1931. There would have been a bridge over the North Shore Channel long before then, as the channel was completed in 1910 and was crossed by a steam railroad at that point, but perhaps the elevation of the line required replacement or reconstruction of the existing bridge.”

2756 was a Met, car built in 1895, that at some point was converted for use as a medical car, and traveled over the Insull properties whenever it was necessary to give physical exams. Here, we see it on the Cross Street team track in Wheaton. Since the car did not have trolley poles, when it went on the North Shore Line, it had to be towed by something else, like a box motor car.

Pullman PCC 4062 being delivered in 1946. This was the first of 600 new postwar streetcars for Chicago.

The view looking north from Howard Street in 1930. The North Shore Line’s Skokie Valeey Route is at left. Straight ahead leads to Evanston and Wilmette.

In the mid-1950s, some new 6000s are being delivered to 63rd Street Lower Yard.

The Kenwood branch was mainly on an embankment owned by the Chicago Junction Railway.

The Kenwood branch, near the east end of the line. The Nelson Coal Company was located at 1119 East 42nd Street. This must be near the end of service, as that looks like a 1957 Dodge at left.

Met cars passing each other at DesPlaines Avenue in Forest Park, possibly circa 1952. There is a bus visible, which could be the CTA #17, which replaced the Westchester branch in December 1951. But it looks like this predates the rearrangement of this area which took place in 1953, when the Chicago Aurora and Elgin cut back service to Forest Park.

Although this circa 1905 postcard view is not very clear, this appears to be the Central Avenue station on the ground level portion of the Lake Street “L”, at a time before the nearby Chicago & North Western elevated its tracks onto an embankment. According to Bill Shapotkin, the C&NW called this station either Austin or “Boulevard.” Clarification from Bill: “This image is indeed of the Central St station of the Lake St ‘L’. That said, the C&NW station was known as “Austin,” NOT “Boulevard.” As confusing as it is, The “Austin” C&NW station was at Central Ave and the “Boulevard” station was at Austin Blvd. This threw me for a while as well — and had to have a old-timer explain it to me.”

In March 1958, the Illinois Electric Railway Museum ran a fantrip on parts of the CTA “L” system, using car 1024 and a work car. This was some months after the last wood car was used in regular service. Here, we see train on a siding in Evanston. We previously ran a photo of the same train on the Garfield Park “L” temporary trackage. 1024 went to IERM and has since been restored as car 24.

There was only a short time frame when this picture could have been taken at Halsted and Congress. In the late 1940s, PCCs were used on Halsted, but they were removed starting in 1953, and service ended the following year with older red cars such as this. Under the new bridge, part of the Congress Expressway project, are the subway portals which now serve the rapid transit line that replaced the Garfield Park “L” seen at left.

New 6000s being delivered to Skokie Shops via the North Shore Line. Unfortunately, this picture is too fuzzy to make out the car numbers.

This and the following picture show DC Transit pre-PCC 1053 in June 1961. n This historic car survived for many years before being destroyed in a museum fire. (Charles L. Tauscher Photos)

The Homan station on the Lake Street “L” in August 1965. This station was closed as part of the 1990s semi-rebuild of the lake line, and was then moved a few blocks to become the Garfield Park Conservatory station.

A family portrait by CTA articulated compartment car 51 at Dempster in Skokie in October 1968. This car was originally 5001 as delivered in 1947.

In June 1978, work is already underway on the new Forest Park CTA terminal. This was made much easier after the nearby Chicago Great Western train line was abandoned around 1972. The temporary station here occupies the oldd CGW right-of-way and used their bridge over DesPlaines Avenue. Once teh new station was built, the temporary one was torn down (along with the bridge) and the north side of the station now has pickup/dropoff lanes for buses.

The late Gordon E. Lloyd took this picture at North Chicago Junction on April 23, 1961. Chuck W. notes, “The fan trip train on the left, is coming off the Shore Line Route. The train on the right, is the mainline to Chicago, which will split at Upton Junction, with the main line continuing on the Skokie Valley Route and the other branch heading to Libertyville and Mundelein.”

The CTA station at Linden Avenue in Wilmette in January 1970. The building has been preserved, but is no longer used as the station entrance.

The Chicago Surface Lines kept some historic streetcars for use in parades and special events. Since the experimental pre-PCC 7001 is present here, I would say this picture most likely predates the arrival of PCCs in late 1936. It could be from a couple of events in 1936, when Ashland was extended across a new bridge, or when two segments of 87th Street were joined by a new connection.

This picture was found together with the previous one, and as they are sequentially numbered, it may or may not be from the same event. The occasion is a parade, and here we see an authentic 1859 horse car, probably in 1936. This is now at the Illinois Railway Museum. CSL made some recreations of things in 1934, including a faux cable car, but this is the real thing.

A northbound Ravenswood “A” train at Chicago Avenue in the late 1950s.

There were several Red Arrow cars used in afantrip on the West Chester line in Philadelphia’s suburbs on June 6, 1954, and car 68 appears to be one of them. There was a photo stop here at Patrick Avenue, and the bridge is highway 202. This 19-mile interurban line had good ridership, but fell victim to a project that widened West Chester Pike. It was replaced by buses.

Recent Correspondence

Wooje Song writes:

I’m looking for the copyright holder who took attached photos. Attached are the photos I’m looking for.

I’m working in Chopin Theatre as an intern and my boss wants to use those pictures.

The surrounding streets in the first photo are Division and Milwaukee Avenue. The two cars pictured are No. 3208 and No. 3256.

The second one was taken at Ashland (left-right) and Milwaukee (up-down) at the Polish Triangle.

I googled to find out and finally reached you. I hope you have any ideas about this.

Chances are these pictures, circa 1930, are in the public domain. Back then, you had to individually copyright photos. There wasn’t the sort of automatic protection we have today.

Also, any new claim of copyright would depend, today, on their having been unpublished until now. Obviously, that is not the case. These pictures have likely been circulating for a long time.

They don’t look familiar, but I can also ask my readers if they might know who took these.

Hope this helps.

From Our Resident South Side Expert M.E.:

Let me start off by saying your hard work is much appreciated. The CNS&M pictures in particular are dazzling.

Now, on to my commentary for today.

https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/rbk335.jpg
I have a lot to say about this photo.

First: Your caption says “The photo says this is a Kenwood train, but I am
wondering if this is Stock Yards instead.” The answer is: neither. These cars are just sitting idle in storage. But they are probably assigned to the Stock Yards line.

Second: Judging by the water tower in front of the stored cars, and seeing the barrier along the rear of the platform at the right, I conclude this view looks west. The barrier convinced me there is no Stock Yards stub track on the other side of that platform. Ergo, the Stock Yards stub track is off the left side of the picture. And the Stock Yards train went west from Indiana. So the view is west.

Third: The 4000-series steel train is a through train from the north side to either Englewood or Jackson Park. That train, heading east through the station but on its way south, was on either the Howard-Jackson Park line or the Ravenwood-Englewood line. The corresponding westbound/northbound track used the track farthest from the camera.

I tried reading the destination sign on the 4000-series front car, but it is too faint. As I recall, it would have said either
Howard St.- or Ravenswood-
Jackson Park Englewood
via subway via subway
and the signs in the opposite direction would have said either
Jackson Park- or Englewood-
Howard St. Ravenswood
via subway via subway

The three-track setup through the station means the picture was taken before several major system revisions were made on 1 August 1949:
— the northern terminus of the Englewood line became Howard St.
— Ravenwood got its own separate line into downtown.
— Englewood/Howard A and Jackson Park/Howard B skip-stop service started.
— the Kenwood-to-Wilson line was cut back to a shuttle from Indiana Ave. to 42nd Place.

At that time, the trackage and platforms at Indiana Ave. also changed:
— the track at the right was almost totally covered over by extending the west/northbound platform out over the track.
— the remaining (uncovered) portion of that track became the stub terminal for the Kenwood shuttle.
— what was the middle track became the west/northbound track.

Third: The three tracks continued in both directions out of the station. From the east end of the station, the north/south service turned south, and all three tracks continued to just north of the 43rd St. station. From the west end of the station, the north/south service turned north, and all three tracks continued all the way past 18th St. to where the subway began.

This meant the middle track was available for car storage, even through the station. And that is what you see in the picture.

Fourth: Were these stored cars used on the Kenwood or Stock Yards line? I’m going with the Stock Yards line, for four reasons:
— The Kenwood line, at its eastern end at 42nd Place, had storage tracks. The Stock Yards line never had a place on its own trackage to store cars.
— As your photo in
https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/rbk334.jpg
illustrates, Kenwood cars could also be stored around the curve east/south of Indiana.
— West of the Indiana station, there were five tracks — two for the Stock Yards line and three for the north/south lines. And there were lots and lots of switches between the five tracks. In order to keep the switches clear, Stock Yards cars had to be stored someplace else, such as right there in the station.
— I tried reading the sign on the closest stored car (next to the car’s number), and I think the first word says “Stock”.

Your next three photos,
https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/rbk332.jpg
and
https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/rbk333.jpg
and
https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/rbk334.jpg
further illustrate the setup at Indiana Ave. post-1949 change.

https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/rbk327.jpg Your caption says “…the station in the rear is Congress and Wabash, which was closed in 1949 and removed soon after, as Congress was widened for the expressway project.” I contend it was closed on 1 August 1949 when the Kenwood line no longer ran downtown and then up to Wilson. Furthermore, this station could not have been closed due to Congress Xwy construction because, given the timeline in https://thetrolleydodger.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/rbk315.jpg ,
construction didn’t begin until 1952 or 1953.

Several other stations south of downtown were also closed on 1 August 1949: 18th, 26th, 29th, 33rd, and Pershing (leaving Cermak and 35th). Those stations also served the north/south line, but with the new skip/stop service, the stations were closed, and customers had to use surface routes. Here is a list of all closed L stations:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_Chicago_%22L%22_stations

Thanks very much as always for your insightful comments.

The idea of a Congress Parkway highway goes back to the Burnham Plan at least, but was kicked around locally through the 20s and 30s before being pushed by Harold Ickes, FDR’s Secretary of the Interior, who came from the northern suburbs. This was his favored alternative to the plan Mayor Kelly was pushing, starting in 1937, which would have converted several of the “L” lines into elevated highways. (A plan which, if realized, would have been a disaster IMHO.)

Congress was not a wide street downtown. It had to be widened for the highway project, and from Dearborn to the west, there was also additional subway construction. The first phase of subway work only brought the Dearborn line as far as Congress, where it stopped.

This work was quite complicated near LaSalle Street Station, as the subway was built, and the street widened, at the same time that trains had to be kept running there.

Work on widening Congress as far east as Michigan Avenue was already happening in 1949, and it was around this time that buildings on the north and south sides of Congress were altered, and new sidewalks were carved out of those structures (including the Auditorium Theater building) so the street could be made wider. In other areas further west, some buildings were actually demolished.

Likewise, work on creating the lower level of Wacker Drive, the section running north and south along what had been Market Street, also began in 1949. The old Market Street Stub was in the way and was torn down. Work proceeded at the rate of about one block per year on that major project, which I think had reached Madison Street by about 1953. A bit further south, this also resulted in the old Met “L” connection to the Loop being rerouted through the former Wells Street Terminal. This took place in 1955 and then a section of “L”, including the station at Franklin and Van Buren, was removed.

All this was taking place, even though many parts of the expressway itself did not open until later– 1955, I believe. Once it was decided to build a highway that would end downtown, the question of how traffic would be distributed there was a major concern, and one which had to be addressed fully even before the highway itself was opened.

-David Sadowski

Product News

We recently acquired some documents that have been scanned, and added to our E-Book The “New Look” in Chicago Transit: 1938-1973, available as a DVD data disc in our Online Store. The first is a brochure detailing (as of 1953) the reasons for the creation of the Chicago Transit Authority, and their accomplishments up to that time.

The second is the Report of the Committee on Signals and Interlocking for the Chicago Subway, dated June 1941. This committee was made up of representatives from the Department of Subways and Superhighways (City of Chicago), the Committee on Local Transporation (City of Chicago), the Illinois Commerce Commission, Chicago Surface Lines, and Chicago Rapid Transit Company.

Faced with answering the question of what type of signals and interlocking equipment should be used in the subway, which opened in October 1943, the committee did research and made recommendations, as well as presenting their rationale for their particular choices and the reasoning behind certain policies and practices.

Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks!

-David Sadowski

Now Available On Compact Disc

RRCNSLR
Railroad Record Club – North Shore Line Rarities 1955-1963
# of Discs – 1
Price: $15.99
Railroad Record Club – North Shore Line Rarities 1955-1963
Newly rediscovered and digitized after 60 years, most of these audio recordings of Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee interurban trains are previously unheard, and include on-train recordings, run-bys, and switching. Includes both Electroliners, standard cars, and locomotives. Recorded between 1955 and 1963 on the Skokie Valley Route and Mundelein branch. We are donating $5 from the sale of each disc to Kenneth Gear, who saved these and many other original Railroad Record Club master tapes from oblivion.
Total time – 73:14
[/caption]

RRC-OMTT
Railroad Record Club Traction Rarities – 1951-58
From the Original Master Tapes
# of Discs- 3
Price: $24.99

Railroad Record Club Traction Rarities – 1951-58
From the Original Master Tapes
Our friend Kenneth Gear recently acquired the original Railroad Record Club master tapes. These have been digitized, and we are now offering over three hours of 1950s traction audio recordings that have not been heard in 60 years.
Properties covered include:
Potomac Edison (Hagerstown & Frederick), Capital Transit, Altoona & Logan Valley, Shaker Heights Rapid Transit, Pennsylvania Railroad, Illinois Terminal, Baltimore Transit, Niagara St. Catharines & Toronto, St. Louis Public Transit, Queensboro Bridge, Third Avenue El, Southern Iowa Railway, IND Subway (NYC), Johnstown Traction, Cincinnati Street Railway, and the Toledo & Eastern
$5 from the sale of each set will go to Kenneth Gear, who has invested thousands of dollars to purchase all the remaining artifacts relating to William A. Steventon’s Railroad Record Club of Hawkins, WI. It is very unlikely that he will ever be able to recoup his investment, but we support his efforts at preserving this important history, and sharing it with railfans everywhere.
Disc One
Potomac Edison (Hagerstown & Frederick):
01. 3:45 Box motor #5
02. 3:32 Box motor #5, May 24, 1953
03. 4:53 Engine whistle signals, loco #12, January 17, 1954
04. 4:13 Loco #12
Capital Transit:
05. 0:56 PCC car 1557, Route 20 – Cabin John line, July 19, 1953
06. 1:43
Altoona & Logan Valley:
07. 4:00 Master Unit car #74, August 8, 1953
Shaker Heights Rapid Transit:
08. 4:17 Car 306 (ex-AE&FRE), September 27, 1953
09. 4:04
10. 1:39
Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1s:
11. 4:35 August 27, 1954
12. 4:51
Illinois Terminal:
13. 5:02 Streamliner #300, northward from Edwardsville, February 14, 1955
14. 12:40 Car #202 (ex-1202), between Springfield and Decatur, February 1955
Baltimore Transit:
15. 4:56 Car 5706, January 16, 1954
16. 4:45 Car 5727, January 16, 1954
Niagara, St. Catharines & Toronto:
17. 4:19 Interurbans #83 and #80, October 1954
18. 5:20 #80, October 1954
Total time: 79:30
Disc Two
St. Louis Public Service:
01. 4:34 PCCs #1708, 1752, 1727, 1739, December 6, 1953
Queensboro Bridge Company (New York City):
02. 5:37 Cars #606, 605, and 601, December 31, 1954
03. 5:17
Third Avenue El (New York City):
04. 5:07 December 31. 1954
05. 4:47 Cars #1797, 1759, and 1784 at 59th Street, December 31, 1954
Southern Iowa Railway:
06. 4:46 Loco #400, August 17, 1955
07. 5:09 Passenger interurban #9
IND Subway (New York City):
08. 8:40 Queens Plaza station, December 31, 1954
Last Run of the Hagerstown & Frederick:
09. 17:34 Car #172, February 20, 1954 – as broadcast on WJEJ, February 21, 1954, with host Carroll James, Sr.
Total time: 61:31
Disc Three
Altoona & Logan Valley/Johnstown Traction:
01. 29:34 (Johnstown Traction recordings were made August 9, 1953)
Cincinnati Street Railway:
02. 17:25 (Car 187, Brighton Car House, December 13, 1951– regular service abandoned April 29, 1951)
Toledo & Eastern:
03. 10:36 (recorded May 3-7, 1958– line abandoned July 1958)
Capital Transit:
04. 16:26 sounds recorded on board a PCC (early 1950s)
Total time: 74:02
Total time (3 discs) – 215:03

The Trolley Dodger On the Air
We appeared on WGN radio in Chicago in November 2018, discussing our book Building Chicago’s Subways on the Dave Plier Show. You can hear our 19-minute conversation here.
Chicago, Illinois, December 17, 1938– Secretary Harold Ickes, left, and Mayor Edward J. Kelly turn the first spadeful of earth to start the new $40,000,000 subway project. Many thousands gathered to celebrate the starting of work on the subway.
Order Our New Book Building Chicago’s Subways

There were three subway anniversaries in 2018 in Chicago:
60 years since the West Side Subway opened (June 22, 1958)
75 years since the State Street Subway opened (October 17, 1943)
80 years since subway construction started (December 17, 1938)
To commemorate these anniversaries, we have written a new book, Building Chicago’s Subways.

While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. The City of Chicago broke ground on what would become the “Initial System of Subways” during the Great Depression and finished 20 years later. This gigantic construction project, a part of the New Deal, would overcome many obstacles while tunneling through Chicago’s soft blue clay, under congested downtown streets, and even beneath the mighty Chicago River. Chicago’s first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. It grew to encompass the State Street, Dearborn-Milwaukee, and West Side Subways, with the latter modernizing the old Garfield Park “L” into the median of Chicago’s first expressway. Take a trip underground and see how Chicago’s “I Will” spirit overcame challenges and persevered to help with the successful building of the subways that move millions. Building Chicago’s subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pride–making it a “Second City” no more!

Help Support The Trolley Dodger

This is our 251st post, and we are gradually creating a body of work and an online resource for the benefit of all railfans, everywhere. To date, we have received over 637,000 page views, for which we are very grateful.

You can help us continue our original transit research by checking out the fine products in our Online Store.

As we have said before, “If you buy here, we will be here.”

We thank you for your support.

DONATIONS

In order to continue giving you the kinds of historic railroad images that you have come to expect from The Trolley Dodger, we need your help and support. It costs money to maintain this website, and to do the sort of historic research that is our specialty.

Your financial contributions help make this web site better, and are greatly appreciated.

Happy New Year

January 15, 2020January 19, 2020David Sadowski 6 Comments

NSL 187 at Pettibone Yard on June 21, 1963, months after abandonment. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

We have lots of great, classic photos in this, our first post for 2020. We thank William Shapotkin for sharing these with our readers.

As always, we thank our readers, who add their thoughts and ideas to the various photographs we show. Thanks to you, many mysteries have been solved, with various locations identified, and we have gained invaluable insights as a result, as we share information with each other. It’s a collaborative effort, and you are an essential part of that.

The Trolley Dodger blog will celebrate its five-year anniversary in just a few days. It takes a lot of hard work to scan and restore all the images that we show here, which now number in the thousands. Some of our posts have over 100 images apiece, and this is our 245th post. That’s a lot of blood, sweat, toil, and tears.

The Trolley Dodger blog started off as very much a money-losing venture, and over the last five years, the loss has probably totaled at least $30k. But I tend to think of this as an investment in you, the reader, and in the cause of historic preservation, which I hope we all believe in. We have worked to make The Trolley Dodger into a self-sustaining venture, or at least one that only loses a small amount of money overall.

January is the one time of year when we make a direct fundraising appeal for help defraying the annual fees and expenses it takes to keep this blog going. As in the past, we have a goal of just $400, which represents only a bit more than $1 per day for the year.

We hope that you will consider helping us with a financial contribution, however small. When you consider that each year, we receive over 100,000 page views, it’s a bargain. If you want to help, there are links towards the end of this post.

With your assistance, we can assure that the Trolley Dodger will keep on running for another year.

I thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

-David Sadowski

Recent Finds

On July 26, 1955, a high pressure jet of water is used during cleaning of the CTA State Street Subway tube walls at the Roosevelt Road station. Virgil Gunlock (left) and H. L. Howell are inspecting the work.

This line art drawing of the CTA’s Congress rapid transit line, aka the “West Side Subway,” appeared on a June 1958 track map.

$April 29, 1954: Anna Daltin, 69, of Chicago, shortly after being hit in the face by the edge of a Chicago streetcar, receives aid from police stretcher crew. she was taken to (the) hospital with a possible fractured nose and facial abrasions.$

April 29, 1954: Anna Daltin, 69, of Chicago, shortly after being hit in the face by the edge of a Chicago streetcar, receives aid from police stretcher crew. she was taken to (the) hospital with a possible fractured nose and facial abrasions.

May 25, 1950: Firemen shoot (a) stream of water over burned-out streetcar into blazing building set afire by flaming gasoline, after the streetcar and tank truck (between streetcar and building) collided here.

By April 11, 1954, when this picture was taken by the late Bill Hoffman, the LaSalle Street streetcar tunnel had already been closed for about 15 years. It fell victim to subway construction in 1939. But as you can see, the north approach had not yet been filled in. In the background, you can see a different ramp, a block south, which leads to Carroll Avenue. That had been built in 1928 and is often mistaken for the streetcar tunnel entrance. You can find a picture similar to this, taken in 1953 by the late Bob Selle, in my book Building Chicago’s Subways. (Wien-Criss Archive)

From the Collections of William Shapotkin:

CTA bus 5262 is at the end of Route 91 – Austin Boulevard. (William Shapotkin Collection)

Chicago Surface Lines bus 3502 is on 59th at Wentworth on 1946. (William Shapotkin Collection)

CTA 9431, working a westbound trip on Route 74 – Fullerton, crosses Milwaukee Avenue on May 11, 1968. The view looks east. (William Shapotkin Collection)

CTA 9440, working an eastbound on Route 74 – Fullerton, is crossing Milwaukee Avenue on November 12, 1967. (William Shapotkin Collection)

CTA trolley bus 9444 is eastbound on Fullerton at Milwaukee on August 19, 1972. (William Shapotkin Collection)

CTA trolley bus 9553, on an Omnibus Society of america fantrip, is eastbound on Fullerton, crossing the Milwaukee Road at Lakewood Avenue on April 1, 1973, final day of TB service in Chicago. The view looks southwest. (Robert Barth Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

CTA bus 5483 at the DesPlaines Avenue Terminal in Forest Park in August 1963. This has since been completely rebuilt, and is now the terminus of the Blue Line (formerly called the Congress). (William Shapotkin Collection)

Chicago & North Western commuter trains at Clinton Street Tower in September 1978. (Robert Janz Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

South Shore Line car 108 (train 11) approaches Cook Road at speed, a mile east of the Shops, on December 26, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

South Shore car 111 (train 11) is 24 miles from South Bend, between Lalumiere and Bishop on December 26, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

Car 100 (train 18) is 22 miles from South Bend at Smith on December 26, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

South Shore car 197 (train 15) has just gone through the underpass at Emery Road at Hicks, which had once been a flag stop, on December 26, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

South Shore car 109 (train 26) heads west at Lydick at Quince Road, on December 26, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shpotkin Collection)

A westbound two-car South Shore Line train is on the 130th Street curve, two miles east of Kensington, in October 1966. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

Here, an SSL conductor is hand-throwing a switch to put a railfan train onto a siding at Shops in April 1975. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

SSL car 109, running east, enters 11th Street in Michigan City. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

A two-car SSL train heads west at 130th Street in October 1966. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

SSL car 111 (eastbound train 7) takes the Ford City curve at Chicago’s Torrence Avenue on June 13, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

SSL cars 111 and 106, making up train 16, at Midwest, a new stop for a steel plant, on June 13, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

SSL train 16 (cars 111 and 106) departs Wilson siding and enters single-track territory as it heads west towards Chicago on June 13, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

SSL car 110 (train 15) is on the bridge at Burns Ditch on June 13, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

SSL cars 111, 353, 7, and 9 (train 8) at Miller at dawn on December 26, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

Train 8 approaching Miller, where it won’t stop, on December 26, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

SSL cars 24 and 39 (train 204) at Ogden Dunes on December 26, 1963. (John D. Horacheck Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

SSL train 10, made up of cars 17, 12, 202, and 22, at speed on December 26, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

SSL car 100 (train 9) is eastbound at the Lake Park Avenue crossing in the Lake Shore community just west of Michigan City on December 26, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

SSL train 9 is near the county line between Porter and La Porte at US 12 just west of Michigan City on December 26, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

SSL cars 107 and 40 (train 12) near Lake Shore at speed on December 26, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

SSL baggage car 504 is in the coach yard on the north side of Shops on December 26, 1963. Don’s Rail Photos: “377 was built by St Louis Car Co in 1926 as ISC 377. It was assigned to IRR as 377 in 1932 and rebuilt as a combine in 1935. It was sold to CSS&SB as 504 in 1941 and used in 1942 as a straight baggage car. It was rebuilt in 1955 with windows removed and doors changed.” (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL train 802, with Electroliner 803-804, goes onto private right-of-way at 5th and Harrison Streets in Milwaukee on December 31, 1962. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL 181, 180, 704, 727, and 167 are lined up at the Milwaukee Terminal on March 4, 1962. Car 251 is at left. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL train 409 with cars 775 and 757 on 5th Street at Becher Street in Milwaukee on December 31, 1962. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

In January 1963, NSL train 420, comprising cars 775, 737, and 750, heads south on 5th near Lincoln in Milwaukee. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL train 417, with cars 720, 738, and 759, heads north approaching Dempster Street on January 19, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL train 216, with cars 731, 703, 733, and 700 at Edison Court on January 19, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

In January 1962, NSL car 252 is on track 2 at the Milwaukee Terminal. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

On February 2, 1962, NSL train 417, made up of cars 250 and 763, is northbound at College Avenue in Milwuakee. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL train 216, with cars 731, 703, 733, and 700 at 22nd Street in North Chicago on January 19, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

On January 19, 1963, two days before abandonment, NSL train 216, made up of cars 731, 703, 733, and 700, are shown at Edison Court in Waukegan. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL train 414 (car 746), is southbound at Piper’s Road, the county line between Racine and Kenosha on February 10, 1962. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL train 414 leaves Dempster station in Skokie on a snowy January 19, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL cars 172, 163, 415, and 763 are parked on the pit track at Waukegan on January 19, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL train 410, made up of cars 750, 741, and 757 head uphill towards the Skokie Valley Route on December 9, 1962. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL train 410 leaves North Chicago Junction, where the tracks at right, which were formerly part of the Shore Line Route, but were only used for the Highwood Shops when this picture was taken on December 9, 1962. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

On a snowy December 31, 1962, train 409, with cars 775 and 757, prepares to climb the 5th Street hill from Becher Street. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

On the left at the NSL Milwaukee Terminal, train 422, with cars 755, 753, 726, and 252, is departing. The train at right, with cars 762 and 409, will remain for about an hour, before leaving as train 424. Meanwhile, one of the two Electroliners is scheduled to go out between them, but has not yet arrived. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL train 404, with cars 764, 775, 768, and 761 approaches North Chicago Junction on October 6, 1962. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

October 6, 1962 was one foggy morning on the NSL, as train 404 prepares to take a switch off Commonwealth Avenue at Valley junction in North Chicago. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

A freight loco meets a southbound passenger train at Green Bay Junction. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL 776 (train 409) passes train 409 at speed north of Racine on January 16, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

Here, we see NSL 165 through the rear door of 703 at Edison Court in Waukegan on January 16, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

The view from the rear end of southbound train 420 at North Chicago Junction, where we see northbound train 421 and its rear car 151, in August 1959. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

The crossing gates are down on August 18, 1959, as eastbound NSL train 220, made up of cars 725 and 719, prepares to cross East Prairie Road in Skokie (while passing a former rapid transit station). (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

The same location today, as part of the CTA Yellow Line.

NSL merchandise dispatch cars 237 and 218 at Pettibone Yard on June 21, 1963, post-abandonment. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL cars 412, 154, and 767 at Roosevelt Roard on Chicago’s “L” system on October 24, 1962. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL train 6 (car 726), has just left the Milwaukee terminal on January 16, 1963. Howard Odinius is at the controls. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL car 761 (train 6) prepares to depart the Milwaukee Terminal from track 3 on January 15, 1963. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

NSL cars 703 and 725 at Edison Court in Waukegan on August 16, 1962. (John D. Horachek Photo, William Shapotkin Collection)

Recent Correspondence

Kenneth Gear writes:

Mike Konopka, who did the restoration work on much of the Steventon tape collection, wrote a blog entry about it. Here is the link should you like to read it.

Over the last five years, Ken and I have worked together to digitize, restore, and make available once again the entire output of the former Railroad Record Club, which totaled about 42 LPs. During that time, through good fortune and Ken’s generosity, he was able to purchase the original master tapes and many other items relating to the RRC.

I count this as one of our most significant accomplishments to date. These classic recordings, and much more, are available in our Online Store.

-David Sadowski

Now Available On Compact Disc
CDLayout33p85
RRCNSLR
Railroad Record Club – North Shore Line Rarities 1955-1963
# of Discs – 1
Price: $15.99
Railroad Record Club – North Shore Line Rarities 1955-1963
Newly rediscovered and digitized after 60 years, most of these audio recordings of Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee interurban trains are previously unheard, and include on-train recordings, run-bys, and switching. Includes both Electroliners, standard cars, and locomotives. Recorded between 1955 and 1963 on the Skokie Valley Route and Mundelein branch. We are donating $5 from the sale of each disc to Kenneth Gear, who saved these and many other original Railroad Record Club master tapes from oblivion.
Total time – 73:14
[/caption]

Tape 4 switching at Roudout + Mundeline pic 3 Tape 3 Mundeline Run pic 2 Tape 3 Mundeline Run pic 1 Tape 2 Mundeline pic 3 Tape 2 Mundeline pic 2 Tape 2 Mundeline pic 1 Tape 1 Electroliner Tape 1 Electroliner pic 3 Tape 1 Electroliner pic 2 Notes from tape 4 Note from tape 2

RRC-OMTT
Railroad Record Club Traction Rarities – 1951-58
From the Original Master Tapes
# of Discs- 3
Price: $24.99

Railroad Record Club Traction Rarities – 1951-58
From the Original Master Tapes
Our friend Kenneth Gear recently acquired the original Railroad Record Club master tapes. These have been digitized, and we are now offering over three hours of 1950s traction audio recordings that have not been heard in 60 years.
Properties covered include:
Potomac Edison (Hagerstown & Frederick), Capital Transit, Altoona & Logan Valley, Shaker Heights Rapid Transit, Pennsylvania Railroad, Illinois Terminal, Baltimore Transit, Niagara St. Catharines & Toronto, St. Louis Public Transit, Queensboro Bridge, Third Avenue El, Southern Iowa Railway, IND Subway (NYC), Johnstown Traction, Cincinnati Street Railway, and the Toledo & Eastern
$5 from the sale of each set will go to Kenneth Gear, who has invested thousands of dollars to purchase all the remaining artifacts relating to William A. Steventon’s Railroad Record Club of Hawkins, WI. It is very unlikely that he will ever be able to recoup his investment, but we support his efforts at preserving this important history, and sharing it with railfans everywhere.
Disc One
Potomac Edison (Hagerstown & Frederick):
01. 3:45 Box motor #5
02. 3:32 Box motor #5, May 24, 1953
03. 4:53 Engine whistle signals, loco #12, January 17, 1954
04. 4:13 Loco #12
Capital Transit:
05. 0:56 PCC car 1557, Route 20 – Cabin John line, July 19, 1953
06. 1:43
Altoona & Logan Valley:
07. 4:00 Master Unit car #74, August 8, 1953
Shaker Heights Rapid Transit:
08. 4:17 Car 306 (ex-AE&FRE), September 27, 1953
09. 4:04
10. 1:39
Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1s:
11. 4:35 August 27, 1954
12. 4:51
Illinois Terminal:
13. 5:02 Streamliner #300, northward from Edwardsville, February 14, 1955
14. 12:40 Car #202 (ex-1202), between Springfield and Decatur, February 1955
Baltimore Transit:
15. 4:56 Car 5706, January 16, 1954
16. 4:45 Car 5727, January 16, 1954
Niagara, St. Catharines & Toronto:
17. 4:19 Interurbans #83 and #80, October 1954
18. 5:20 #80, October 1954
Total time: 79:30
Disc Two
St. Louis Public Service:
01. 4:34 PCCs #1708, 1752, 1727, 1739, December 6, 1953
Queensboro Bridge Company (New York City):
02. 5:37 Cars #606, 605, and 601, December 31, 1954
03. 5:17
Third Avenue El (New York City):
04. 5:07 December 31. 1954
05. 4:47 Cars #1797, 1759, and 1784 at 59th Street, December 31, 1954
Southern Iowa Railway:
06. 4:46 Loco #400, August 17, 1955
07. 5:09 Passenger interurban #9
IND Subway (New York City):
08. 8:40 Queens Plaza station, December 31, 1954
Last Run of the Hagerstown & Frederick:
09. 17:34 Car #172, February 20, 1954 – as broadcast on WJEJ, February 21, 1954, with host Carroll James, Sr.
Total time: 61:31
Disc Three
Altoona & Logan Valley/Johnstown Traction:
01. 29:34 (Johnstown Traction recordings were made August 9, 1953)
Cincinnati Street Railway:
02. 17:25 (Car 187, Brighton Car House, December 13, 1951– regular service abandoned April 29, 1951)
Toledo & Eastern:
03. 10:36 (recorded May 3-7, 1958– line abandoned July 1958)
Capital Transit:
04. 16:26 sounds recorded on board a PCC (early 1950s)
Total time: 74:02
Total time (3 discs) – 215:03

While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. The City of Chicago broke ground on what would become the “Initial System of Subways” during the Great Depression and finished 20 years later. This gigantic construction project, a part of the New Deal, would overcome many obstacles while tunneling through Chicago’s soft blue clay, under congested downtown streets, and even beneath the mighty Chicago River. Chicago’s first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. It grew to encompass the State Street, Dearborn-Milwaukee, and West Side Subways, with the latter modernizing the old Garfield Park “L” into the median of Chicago’s first expressway. Take a trip underground and see how Chicago’s “I Will” spirit overcame challenges and persevered to help with the successful building of the subways that move millions. Building Chicago’s subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pride–making it a “Second City” no more!

Help Support The Trolley Dodger

This is our 245th post, and we are gradually creating a body of work and an online resource for the benefit of all railfans, everywhere. To date, we have received over 581,000 page views, for which we are very grateful.

You can help us continue our original transit research by checking out the fine products in our Online Store.

As we have said before, “If you buy here, we will be here.”

We thank you for your support.

DONATIONS

Your financial contributions help make this web site better, and are greatly appreciated.

Bill Hoffman’s Black-and-Whites

December 31, 2019January 19, 2020David Sadowski 15 Comments

This is, for me, a very interesting photo. It shows construction of the new Halsted Street bridge that will eventually go over the Congress (now Eisenhower) Expressway under construction on May 20, 1951. As you can see, the bridges were built first, before the area around them was excavated. That way, traffic could be diverted around the construction site as it is here. There was a shoo-fly for streetcars and a temporary roadway for other traffic. The view looks north. The nearby “L” station remained in service until 1958, although two of the four tracks were removed. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

For our last post of 2019, we thought we would “ring out the old” by featuring some classic black-and-white views of Chicago streetcars (plus a few others) taken by the late William C. Hoffman (1910-1988), or from his collection. All appear courtesy of the Jeff Wien and the Wien-Criss Archive.

Bill Hoffman usually shot color slides, but according to Jeff, he sometimes shot black-and-white, typically if the local store happened to be out of color film. Mr. Hoffman deserves a ton of credit for traveling around the city with his camera. He got many shots that others failed to document.

This is our 20th post this year, about the same as last year. We again achieved over 100,000 page views, for the fifth straight year, as we look forward to 2020 and celebrating the fifth anniversary of this blog on January 21st.

We thank all our readers and contributors for their help in making this another very successful year here at the Trolley Dodger. As always, if you have questions, comments, or have information to share on any of what you see here, don’t hesitate to drop us a line. We have a very interesting batch of pictures this time, including some very rare shots.

Happy New Year!

-David Sadowski

From the Wien-Criss Archive:

CSL 9001 was an unpowered trailer, built by the Surface Lines in 1921. Photos showing such trailers in use are quite rare, as they were only in service during the 1920s. After this, they were used as storage sheds at various CSL locations. (William C. Hoffman Collection, Wien-Criss Archive)

Other cities have used two-car streetcar trains extensively, notably Boston, but such use was short-lived in Chicago. Here, we see multiple-unit CSL 3208, built by the Chicago Surface Lines in 1924, operating a two-car train on Milwaukee Avenue. With a severe drop in ridership during the Great Depression, such use was no longer necessary. (William C. Hoffman Collection, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 6116 on the Kedzie Avenue line. This car was built by Brill in July 1914. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 1774, signed for Ogden-Downtown. Don’s Rail Photos notes, “1774 was built by CSL in 1923. It was rebuilt as one-man in 1949.” (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

Westbound CTA Pullman 132 is on Van Buren crossing Western Avenue on November 13, 1950. Streetcar service ended on this route in 1951, and the CTA used the south half of Van Buren as a temporary right-of-way for Garfield Park “L” cars between 1953 and 1958. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

On August 15, 1953 there was an old CSL 2501-2625 series car at the Clark-Schreiber car barn. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA salt car AA91 is at the car barn at Clark and Schreiber on August 15, 1953. Dpn’s Rail Photos adds, “AA91, salt car, was built by Chicago Rys in 1912 as 1545. It became CSL 1545 in 1914 and retired on November 19, 1947. It was rebuilt as salt car AA91 in 1948 and retired on September 8, 1955.” (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

On June 25, 1951, CTA 6140 is heading southbound on Stony Island, while waiting for an Illinois Central Electric commuter train to pass, before crossing 71st Street. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL 5722, a single-ended “nearside” car, is crossing the Illinois Central tracks. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

On October 15, 1948, the conductor of CTA 1643 (running on the Van Buren Street route) is holding a switch lever at the southwest corner of Van Buren and Clinton. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

On February 16, 1957, CTA 7201 was the last streetcar to run on Route 36. Here it is seen at State and Madison. (Charles H. Thorpe Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

On February 16, 1957, CTA 7201 was the last streetcar to run on Route 36. Here it is seen at Clark and Devon. (Charles H. Thorpe Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

On November 13, 1950 a northbound Ashland Avenue car, running here on Paulina, crosses Van Buren. The view is from the nearby Marshfield “L” station. On September 20, 1953 the CTA put Garfield Park “L” trains onto temporary trackage in Van Buren for about 2 1/2 miles, while the Congress Expressway was being built. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 542 is a Milwaukee Avenue car, at the north end of the line near Devon on March 25, 1951. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 1721 is an eastbound Ogden Avenue car on Randolph Street in 1950. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

The view looking west across Halsted into Root Street terminal. Streetcar service on this line was abandoned two days after this picture was taken on August 7, 1953. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

What looks like a CTA car in the 1700-series is eastbound on Randolph on March 28, 1948. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 6261 is at the end of the line at Stony Island and 93rd on November 7, 1948. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

In the 1920s, CSL experimented with an articulated streetcar, here numbered 4000, made from two other cars. The experiment did not catch on. Don’s Rail Photos adds, “4000 was built by St Louis Car Co in 1903 as Chicago Union Traction Co as 4633 and 4634. They were renumbered 1104 and 1105 in 1913 and became CSL 1104 and 1105 in 1914. They were renumbered 1101 and 1102 in 1925. They were rebuilt as an articulated train using a Cincinnatii Car steel vestibule drum between the bodies. It was completed on August 3, 1925, and scrapped on March 30, 1937.” (William C. Hoffman Collection, Wien-Criss Archive)

This picture of CTA 4022 appears to show it set up for one-man service on 63rd Street, although this was not implemented, after two public hearings were held. These cars were instead used on Cottage Grove. Red streetcars were temporarily returned to 63rd, and then buses were substituted in 1953. (William C. Hoffman Collection, Wien-Criss Archive) On the other hand, Tony Waller writes, “Hi, I have a few comments/corrections for the latest set of photos: Pic.736 shows a two-man pre-war PCC operating on 63rd St. In the middle of the car you can see two center doors, one was removed as part of the one-man conversion process. Also CTA would not be operating a one man car in the middle of an otherwise two-man route. In the recent CERA color-photo PCC book, as well as several of the Shore Line Interurban Society publications, there are photos of pre-war PCCs painted in the new Evergreen and Cream color scheme operating on 63rd St. The paint job was done as part of the advance work for the one-man process to keep the PCCs operating on 63rd as long as possible. The conversion process would require that the whole fleet to be removed from service; removing one of the center doors and the conductor’s station and replacing them with additional seats, relocating all door controls to the motorman’s position, removing Chicago’s unique hand operating controls and replacing them with the standard (i.e., nationwide) foot operating controls. The CTA’s new “big wings” around the headlight denoting front entrance, one-man operation would not affect a repainted car in temporary two-man service as the pre-war PCCs were always front entrance anyway. Those post-war PCCs converted to one-man and those “Sedans” so converted (but never used) also got the “big wings.””

CTA 7254 at Clark and Kinzie. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 4332 southbound at Clark and Wacker. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

On March 21, 1954, CTA PCC 4025 heads north on Cottage Grove at 98th. Here, streetcars were on open track west of the roadway. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA Pullman 661 is westbound at Roosevelt Road and Michigan Avenue, returning from the Museum Loop built for the 1933-34 Century of Progress World’s Fair. (William C. Hoffman Photo. Wien-Criss Archive)

On May 1, 1953, PCC 4070 is westbound on Madison Street, looking west from Wacker Drive with the Civic Opera House at right. The streetcar is about to cross the Chicago River. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA electric locomotive L202, coupled to a railroad gondola in the 39th and Halsted yards. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL prewar PCC 4017 at Madison and Austin, another favorite spot for railfan photographers in this era. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL 1308, built by St. Louis Car Company circa 1904, here shown in use as a salt car for Chicago’s wintry weather. The 1374, now restored to operating condition at the Illinois Railway Museum, is an example of this type of car, now nicknamed a “Matchbox.” (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL 7002, built by St. Louis Car Company in 1936. This was part of a series of 83 cars that ran for just short of 20 years. Why 83 cars? I recall there was a concurrent order for 17 trolley buses. The overall order was for 100 new vehicles, with 5/6th being streetcars. (William C. Hoffman Collection, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL 1474 (built circa 1900 for Chicago Union Traction, rebuilt 1913). (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

A CTA Peter Witt, aka a “Sedan,” in this case 3330, signed for Cottage Grove. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 5492, signed for 79th and Brandon. This car was built by Brill in 1907. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA PCC 7228 is northbound on State at Roosevelt Road. This overpass was a favorite spot for photographers. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA Pullmans at North and Cicero. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL 783. Not sure of the location. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 459 and one other streetcar are on the Museum Loop, at around 13th Street near Lake Shore Drive. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL 235, a Pullman, heads west on Roosevelt Road. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 4302 is southbound on State at Roosevelt. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

One-man CTA streetcar 1737 enters the Washington Street tunnel from Franklin Street in 1950. As you can see, the bridge over the Chicago River is up. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA snow plow D304, a former tank car. Don’s Rail Photos adds, “D304, sprinkler, was built by McGuire-Cummings in 1909, as C&SC CE-4. It was renumbered D304 in 1913 and became CSL D302 in 1914. It was converted as a snow plow and retired on March 19, 1956.” (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL 6158 is on temporary trackage at State and 13th around 1940, when construction of the State Street Subway was underway. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

Some old CSL streetcars, including mail car 6, are shown at 11th and State in 1948 as part of a parade. The mail car is now at the Fox River Trolley Museum. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

This photo of CTA 1736, at the west end of Route 16 Lake Street at Austin Boulevard, must be circa 1952-54, as the nearby Park Theater appears to have permanently closed (I think the sign says “closed goodbye”). (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

The CSL car is promoting the Illinois Reserve Militia on State Street during World War II. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL 1740 and 1731 are displaying what the photographer called “wartime ads” in September 1943 at Montrose and Cicero. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

On September 14, 1942, construction was well underway for Chicago’s first subway at State and Washington (the tunnels were already finished, and here they were building the station using the cut-and-cover method). Work car W212 is being used to promote the patriotic film Wake Island. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

The interior of car 6150, a Brill built circa 1914-15, as it appeared on August 3, 1953. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL 1821 on North Avenue. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 279 on Roosevelt Road open track in 1952. The photographer noted that “vibration disintegrated the concrete.” (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL 2598 on 111th Street at Cottage Grove. Don’s Rail Photos notes, “2598 was built by St Louis Car Co in 1901. It was retired on August 1, 1947.” (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 618 and 5543 meet at 111th and Western on July 11, 1948. Looks like some riders are changing from one line to the other. The view looks north. (William c. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

The notes on this rather fuzzy photo say this is CTA 520 at the intersection of Milwaukee, Paulina, and Ogden. On the other hand, Daniel Joseph says that this is a “physical impossibility,” and that this is actually Paulina, Ogden and Adams. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

The operator of one-man car 2908 is changing ends on 39th Street on March 28, 1948. At the moment, both poles are up. Not sure of the exact location. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

A view of the North and Cicero car barn (aka “station, in CSL parlance) , looking northwest from 1500 N. Cicero on March 28, 1948. (William c. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL 119 on the transfer table at West Shops, June 1, 1947. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

The interior of a CTA 600-series Pullman on March 22, 1953. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CSL 3229 looks to be at that portion of the car barn at Devon and Clark that was once damaged by fire. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA 1783 is on Lake Street just east of Austin, probably circa 1950-52. Here, the Park theater is “closed temporarily.” It would be permanently shuttered before the end of streetcar service in 1954, most likely a victim of television. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA Pullman PCC 4240 is on State Street at 8th, operating on Route 36. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

Eastbound prewar PCC 4030, in “tiger stripes,” crosses Western Avenue on 63rd Street on November 26, 1950. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

CTA work car W205 coupled to a Baltimore and Ohio box car at 39th and Halsted on March 11, 1951. This was the location of a materials handling yard for the CTA in the streetcar era. Don’s Rail Photos notes: :W205, work car, was built by Chicago City Ry in 1907 as CCRY C11. It was renumbered W205 in 1913 and became CSL W205 in 1914. It was retired on May 17, 1958.” (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

This is how the CTA work car coupled to a box car– with a bar. March 11, 1951 at 39th and Halsted. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

The West End of Route 63

Between Central Avenue and Harlem, a distance of two miles, Chicago Surface Lines streetcars did not operate on 63rd Street, as they did further east. They ran instead on a private right-of-way in what was then a largely undeveloped area called Clearing, which is now a residential neighborhood. This is now the location of 63rd Place.

The question came up several month ago on the Chicagotransit Yahoo group (posed by Dennis McClendon) about why this was so. The answer was provided by our resident South Side expert M. E., who provided a link to a book that details this early history.

Basically, there were those who wanted to develop the area in the nearby suburb of Summit for industry, however, they needed a way to transport workers there. It was quicker and easier to simply lay tracks on private property than it would have been to do so in a public street such as 63rd Street, where the City ‘council would have had to weigh in on it. The streetcar companies had some responsibility for paving streets and plowing snow and such.

A factory was established in Summit in the early 1900s, making Argo corn starch. To this day, that portion of Summit is commonly known as Argo. Eventually, the trackage on what is now 63rd Place became part of the regular 63rd Street streetcar route. The portion west of Oak Park Avenue was operated as a shuttle until 1948, when PCC cars were introduced. At that point, a turnaround loop was built at Narragansett, and service west of there operated by bus.

Buses replaced streetcars on the rest of Route 63 in 1953, and service was then shifted to 63rd Street, although the same turnback loop was used. This loop was rather large and I believe in recent years it was made somewhat smaller to accommodate a new location for a Chicago Public Library branch.

As for the old Argo shuttle streetcar, subsequent research shows it went as far as 63rd and Archer (see the pictures below).

-David Sadowski

Looking east from Narragansett along the 63rd Place private right-of-way on May 19, 1953. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

On August 10, 1947 we see the CSL terminal for 63rd Street cars at Oak Park Avenue and 63rd Place. An Argo shuttle car (5337) is on single track ahead. This would continue about another half-mile to Archer Avenue, in suburban Summit. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

The same location today, in Chicago’s Clearing neighborhood.

On August 10, 1947, we are looking east along 63rd Place at Oak Park Avenue. A Chicago Surface Lines Pullman streetcar is switching onto single track at the west end of Route 63. There was a shuttle operation west of here, perhaps a mile of single track, to Archer Avenue and the area of suburban Summit widely known as “Argo,” although there is no such municipality. That is the name of a large factory there that makes Argo cornstarch. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

Again on August 10, 1947, CSL 5337 is operating as the Argo shuttle car, and is shown here at the west end of the route at 63rd and Archer. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

The buildings here match the ones seen in the previous photo. The area where the Argo shuttle ended was practically in front of those, and is now a parking lot.

Our resident South Side expert M. E. writes, “I thought some more about this photo. The Argo streetcar line had a single track. I think it had one track because of the crowded situation at the western terminal at Archer. The Argo car ran from Oak Park Ave. (6800 W.) to Archer Ave. (7700 W. at 63rd St.). Let’s say the Argo car carried people who worked at Argo Starch. During rush hours, the bigger crowds may imply that the Chicago Surface Lines ran two cars on the Argo line. Now, let’s say one of those cars was at Oak Park Ave., the other at Archer Ave., and they started at the same time. Where would they pass? Answer: Look at the shape of the raised area in the cited photo. This area looks suspiciously like a passing area for two streetcars on a single track. And it’s at Harlem (7200 W.), roughly halfway between Oak Park Ave. and Archer Ave. Voila!”

There is a bus loop at 63rd Street and Archer, but not in the same location as where the streetcar ended.

CTA work car X-201 is heading west on 63rd Street on April 18, 1948, to take up rail from the Argo line, where streetcar service ended a week earlier. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

The turnback loop at 63rd Place and Narragansett was built in 1948 to accomodate PCC cars, which were single-ended. But towards the end of streetcar service on Route 63, PCCs were removed and red cars were, for a short time, returned, as this May 19, 1953 view shows. Buses replaced streetcars five days later, and began running on 63rd Street between Narragansett and Central, instead of on 63rd Place, as streetcars had. (William C. Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

The CTA turnback loop at 63rd Place and Narragansett as it looks today, with the Clearing branch of the Chicago Public Library at rear.

The track arrangement on 63rd Place prior to 1948, taken from the 1941 CSL track map. There were two tracks to Oak Park Avenue, and single track west of there. Since the Argo shuttle had to cross a railroad, that means it had to have a two-man crew. It appears the shuttle crossed Harlem into nearby Summit (the area known as Argo) for its western terminal.

The 1939 shows the locations of two crossovers on the 63rd Place section; one at Meade, and another just east of Austin.

This portion of the 1952 CTA track map shows the arrangement used between 1948 and 1953. The dotted line indicates the bus route used west of Narragansett.

While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. The City of Chicago broke ground on what would become the “Initial System of Subways” during the Great Depression and finished 20 years later. This gigantic construction project, a part of the New Deal, would overcome many obstacles while tunneling through Chicago’s soft blue clay, under congested downtown streets, and even beneath the mighty Chicago River. Chicago’s first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. It grew to encompass the State Street, Dearborn-Milwaukee, and West Side Subways, with the latter modernizing the old Garfield Park “L” into the median of Chicago’s first expressway. Take a trip underground and see how Chicago’s “I Will” spirit overcame challenges and persevered to help with the successful building of the subways that move millions. Building Chicago’s subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pride–making it a “Second City” no more!

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Reader Showcase

November 30, 2019December 2, 2019David Sadowski 4 Comments

On this Thanksgiving Day weekend, we here at the Trolley Dodger have many things to be thankful for… chiefly among them, our readers. This seems like a good time to feature recent correspondence with our very knowledgeable and astute readers. We thank all our contributors.

I wish you the best in this upcoming holiday season.

-David Sadowski

Kim Bolan writes:

Just came across The Trolley Dodger and what a great and detailed work. It reminds me of my youth in Milwaukee riding No. 10 Line in Tosa (Wauwautosa) and also Speedrail. I have a question regarding #978. I lived in San Francisco but never saw this car in operation. Is it part of Muni’s heritage collection?

Just received this 35mm transparency (Kodak film and processing) from an unknown photographer taken September 1984 of car 978 at San Francisco, CA (see above).

Car 978 was loaned to San Francisco in the mid-1980s, intended for use in the SF Trolley Festival, but my understanding is it was damaged somehow and never operated there. As far as I know, the car is now at the East Troy Electric Railroad in Wisconsin, where it is stored inoperable.

There is a picture of it in SF in this post.

Here is the full story on what happened to 978, thanks to Larry Sakar:

Regarding the question about TM streetcar 978 in San Francisco, I know all about it. MUNI and TWERHS* worked out a deal whereby 978 was to be sent to San Francisco to participate in the very first Historic Streetcar Festival in 1983. It was not in the best of condition to begin with. En route, one of the truck bolsters (the 900’s were notorious for having bad bolsters) gave way and came through the floor (it was being trucked out there.) It was unloaded and brought to Geneva upper yard where it was parked in among some Boeing LRV’s. It made its way back to East Troy probably at the end of the festival in September and was never a part of the historic fleet. Now, here’s some additional info about it.

The 978 was saved by Mr. Al Buetschle, then of Milwaukee but since 1960 or 61 a resident of Oakley, CA. Oakley is in Contra Costa County about 60 miles NE of San Francisco. Oakley is a little “one-horse town” in what is known as the Tri-Delta region.

The streetcar was initially saved on behalf of the Wauwatosa Kiwanis Club who gave Al the money to buy it. It would take pages for me to provide all of the details of the day he bought it. Frederick J. Johnson head of M&STC personally handled the sale. Al had told them he wanted a 900 and one from that group of 10 because they were the only ones with that metal sun shade over the center window.

When he got to Col Spring shops sure enough they had an 800 waiting. He refused to accept it. The car he really wanted was the 975 but it was too far back in the scrap line in lower Cold Spring yard. To get the 978 meant moving 3 cars ahead of it. Johnson was plenty mad about having to do that. So they get on the first car to be moved. Johnson puts a fuse in the fuse box. But then he stupidly cranks up the controller and blows the fuse.

This happens a second time so Al says, “Here, I’ll show you what to do!” Johnson immediately wants to know, “How do you know how to operate a streetcar?” Al tells him he was friendly with a motorman who taught him to run a car on the Rt. 10 West Allis branch between Calvary Cemetery cut and 67th St. Murray, the motorman would then take it from there since it involved descending from the former Rapid Transit line and making a safety stop before crossing 68th St.

Well, Dave, Johnson has an absolute fit!! *&%%^( (expletives deleted) I want his name.” Al says, “No. He has retired now that streetcars are gone so it doesn’t matter “In the end he got the 978 and Johnson even gave him his money back admiring him for his tenacity. Al had a friend who had access to a flatbed truck. Johnson let him drive 978 up from lower Cold Spring. The car was loaded onto the flatbed truck and taken to a piece of track adjacent to the C&NW and a lumber company at North 91st Street and West Flag Avenue on Milwaukee’s northwest side.

By this time the Kiwanis Club decided they didn’t want it so Al now owned it. He took out all the seats and repainted the interior before putting them back. He would work on 978 as his time permitted. The Kiwanis Club had the “brainy” idea of displaying the car in Hart Park in Wauwatosa. Hart Park is just down the private right-of-way (now a driveway) parallel to West State Street, east of the Harwood Avenue streetcar terminal at Harwood and State Streets (long gone).

In 1961, Al got a job as a controller for a company and moved to the Bay Area. No, he didn’t take 978 with him. It then ended up at the Mid-Continent Railway museum in North Freedom. In the mid to late ’60’s the group that is now TWERHS was formed and the car went with them to their first home in North Lake, WI. In 1972 they opened the East Troy Trolley Museum which is now under a different organization.

None of us are really sure where 978 is. It is in need of major restoration. At one time the rumor was that it was going to be sent to Brookville Equipment out east. They’re the company that does all the refurbishing of MUNI’s historic PCC fleet.

Did Al see it when it was in San Francisco? Yes he did. He has a fantastic picture he took with 978 and his red sports car (convertible). He is putting the trolley pole on the wire. I f I recall correctly his red car was a T-Bird. It was totaled about 10 years ago when he was hit by a group of teenagers out joy riding and who as you can probably guess were not insured.

I snapped a picture of it sitting in among the Boeing cars in 1983. I had to climb up on a narrow cement ledge and shot thru the openings in a cyclone fence. I’ll have to see if I still have it and if I do I will scan it and send it.

By the way, as a little boy of maybe 9 or 10 my grandparents came over one day. They said they were taking me to see something but wouldn’t tell me what. It was a surprise. Yes, it was the 978 at the lumber company. The Milwaukee Journal had run a small story about it with a picture. It had to be when Al was doing the repainting because I remember looking thru the glass in the door (I came up about as far as the bottom of the glass in the door. All of the seats were piled at that end of the car and I thought they were going to junk it.

My grandmother who had taken me on my streetcar rides on RT. 10 between about 1955 and 3-1-58 said she didn’t know. Who could ever have imagined that 30 years later I would meet the person who saved 978. One other coincidence, David. From 1978 to 1997 I worked for Security Savings & Loan Association on 2nd and Wisconsin downtown. The Corporate Secretary was a man named Walter Bruno. As it happens he was Al’s Godfather!

Thanks, Larry, for sharing the complete story. There is a database of saved North American electric railcars, last updated in 2014, and that is my source for saying that, as far as I know, the 978 is at East Troy.

*The Wisconsin Electric Railway Historical Society

Here’s more from Larry Sakar:

Here is the photo of 978 I took in September, 1983. The picture that follows was the Geneva car house which suffered severe damage in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. I think I took this in 1987 because that is a train with MUNI’s then new BREDA cars. Now they have new ones which I’ve only seen in pictures in Trains and Railfan & Railroad. The Market Street subway for MUNI was closed when I was there in 2017 because they were testing the new cars. If you look at the right hand side of the picture there’s that concrete wall I mentioned having to climb on top of and the fence I had to shoot thru.

The most popular cars during the Trolley Festival and in the event they hold for one day in September of every year (forgot its name) are the two Blackpool, England boat trams #’s 228 and 232. Here are some shots I took while riding it in 1983. Last, here is an Al Buetschle shot. It was taken at the site of the Speedrail 9-2-50 accident post Speedrail abandonment. Those are remnants from duplex 39-40 that was demolished by 1192-93.

The Milwaukee Electric Rapid Transit Freight Terminal

Larry Sakar writes:

It stood for 76 years, had four different owners and was razed in 2006 as part of the Marquette Interchange reconstruction project. I am talking about the Rapid Transit freight terminal building constructed by TM and opened in 1930 at 940 W. St. Paul Avenue.

TM fully expected that freight would play an important role in operations over the Milwaukee Rapid Transit Line. Unfortunately, like the Rapid Transit Line itself which opened on Sept. 22, 1930 the timing couldn’t have been worse! As part of its planned freight operations TM acquired Motor Transport Company in 1930 from Yellow Trucking.

A decade later, TMER&T turned its back on all rail operations. Motor Transport Company was sold back to Yellow Trucking. Its trucks had a Transport Company orange cab and a silver trailer with the Transport Company diamond logo. But instead of saying The Transport Company, as the logo on busses and streetcars did, it said Motor Transport Company. I vividly recall seeing those trucks around Milwaukee. I always wondered how they could get away with using The Transport Company’s logo not knowing until years later that it had once been a part of the company.

TMER&T occupied offices on two floors of the eight-story terminal. Its successor, The Milwaukee & Suburban Transport Corp. which succeeded it in late 1952 continued to have its corporate offices there until 1962 when they moved to 4212 W. Highland Blvd. The former Cold Spring shops buildings still stand, and have been sold for adaptive reuse. MCTS corporate offices are on North 17th St. & West Fond du Lac Avenue.

I took the “Now” photos in 2003. In 1940, in addition to selling off Motor Transport Co. TMER&T sold the Rapid Transit freight terminal building to GE Holdings. Sometime after `1938, the electric sign on the roof was changed to read “The Transport Company”. GE owned the building until 1971 when they sold it to Aldrich Chemical. The electric sign was removed altogether after M&STC moved out in 1962. When GE took over in 1940, “General Electric Building” was painted on just below the roof. Looking at my 2003 photos it would appear that they sand blasted that off when Aldrich Chemical took over in 1971.

I bought this photo from Don Ross a few years back. It is from the collection of Tom Manz. I don’t know if he is the person who took the picture but I kind of doubt it. I’ve no idea who did or why. It could be that they were plotting out the area so they could determine where they wanted the ramps to and from the soon to be built “High Rise Bridge” over the Menomonee River Valley would be constructed.

These are the ramps that take you from eastbound I-94 either north on I-43 or south on I-94. I-94 turns south to cross the valley so from this point east the road becomes I-794 which takes you east and then south over the Hoan Bridge. The High Rise bridge was built over a three-year period beginning in the summer of 1966. I know because my brother got a job working on its construction during summer break from college (Michigan State U. in East Lansing). I vividly remember my mother having an absolute fit about him working up there.

The view is looking south and slightly east. The former freight terminal is on the right hand side of the picture about 1/3 of the way up from the bottom of the picture. Just put a finger on the right hand corner of the picture at the bottom and move it up and a bit left. That first visible street is North 10th Street. The Rapid Transit freight terminal is right at that corner. The factory directly across the street with the connecting pedestrian overpass is the Cutler-Hammer Company, still there today. The railroad tracks belong to the Milwaukee Road.

OK. Follow the street in front of the terminal to the left (east). Right where it dog-legs there is an open space. That is where Motor Transport Company was located. The intersection above and to the left is North 8th & W. St. Paul. Move your finger down slightly and that’s where the so called “temporary ramp” over the portal of the never completed subway had been. I’m not certain if any of that dark space beneath the 8th Street bridge could have been part of the unfinished subway. The street in the foreground with all of the traffic is Clybourn Street, which has been converted to the on and on ramp to I-94 which didn’t begin until 13th Street.

I have printed a copy of the first scan and with a ruler and magic marker put in the approximate route of the Rapid Transit from the turn off of Clybourn Street to the crossing of North 10th Street. The Hibernia Street one-block L began on the west side of North 10th Street. -Larry

More from Larry:

While browsing around on the “Net” recently I ran across this great picture credited to your Trolley Dodger website. I was wondering when it ran on your site as I don’t recall having seen it. Do you know where this is? I can tell you if you don’t. This is a northbound Port Washington train at the intersection of North 3rd and West Wells Streets. This is former dining car duplex 1196-97, which unlike its mate 1198-99 was never repainted in the yellow with green stripes paint scheme. The two trains were hated by both motormen and conductors alike, because their single door made them slow to load and unload passengers. Both became mainstays on the Port Washington line until it was abandoned in the KMCL ownership era on 3-28-48. The Port Washington destination sign dates the picture to sometime between 1940 and 1948. I do not recall the exact date but in 1940 service north of Port Washington was abandoned and a new loop installed in Port Washington west of the downtown area. Typical of TM’s notorious frugality, the bridge over Pike Creek just outside the new Port Washington Loop was the one that had once crossed the White River in Burlington.

I took these pictures in 1989 showing the ex TM Port Washington Station sitting on what little was left of the former loop. A Wisconsin Telephone Company building had been built over most of the loop. I’m not sure if it’s still there but the last picture I saw of it the building had undergone a complete remodeling and bore no resemblance to its original appearance.

Thanks for sharing the pictures and information. I am sure our readers will appreciate it.

The picture in question appeared here.

Don’s Rail Photos says, “1196-1197 was built at Cold Spring in 1929. The second car was equipped with small dining facilities but it was shortly rebuilt with a baggage compartment at the rear end. It was stored at West Allis Station after a few years. In 1942 it was rebuilt with all coach and scrapped in 1952.” This car is shown in downtown Milwaukee, signed for the Port Washington interurban line.

Steven G. writes:

Can anyone at Trolley Dodger help me out? I want to find photos of all FOUR sides of any of the Insull inspired Spanish stations. Don’t laugh… but I am actually going to have a 26′ x 70′ station built. I have a good photo of the Briergate station… but the other 3 sides: no present photos to look at.
THANKS!!!

I will look into this and see what I can do, thanks.

Dave…. Luck has it and I’m pretty happy with what I have for photos now. From the GEM (Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Historical publication)… I have a photo now of the back side of the Deeprpath station. Wasn’t sure what the “cube” on the back side was. Turns out – the Beverly Shores (Indiana) South Shore station has a sketch in it’s National Historic designation paperwork that shows the “cube” is the enclosure linking the back of the station with a basement under the station. (For some reason, none of the Insull Station’s had indoor stairs to their basements).

Anyway… with some Google earth street shots, I have the side of the station I was missing. Sooo… yes, I now have a view “all the way around” and can see what all four corners of the station looked like. Sadly, in comparing the Beverly Shores station with Briergate: the chimney at Briergate is gone and I suspect where that ugly red garage was placed took out the passenger side of the station. I can also see where Briergate no longer has the arched front door. The door frame has been altered for a rectangular storm door.

As I live about a 3 1/2 hour drive from Beverly Shores, I am going to drive my car from north of Detroit to Michigan City, hop on the South Shore, hop off at Beverly Shores with my camera, measuring tape, pencil and paper & I will then get ‘hands’ on measurements of windows, doors, etc. By the time I finish – I can hop on the train back to Michigan City. This will take less then half a day to do all this. But… I can put some serious numbers into these ‘station sketches’, & push onto actually putting together a construction blueprint!!!

You may already know this: photo set 1 is Deerpath (frt) Deerpath (bk) & below is the parking lot side of Beverly Shores sta. Photo set 2 is Beverly Shores (top) and Briergate (below).

This is great, thank you! I am sure others will enjoy seeing these pictures.

Steve G. replies:

Here’s the floor plan at all the Insull stations had… and a better photo of the station front door. Not sure WHY the residents installed a neon light sign over the passenger station… but it is still there and it’s lit each night at dusk (smiles)

Mitch Markovitz adds:

The neon sign at Beverly Shores Depot was not installed by the residents. It came with the depot when it was new in 1929. Touting the new development by Bartlett who had the railroad and Post Construction build the building. The Venango (River) guys had the neon sign repaired by Jeff Jolley back in ’85. It then had to be re-done again.

Recent Finds

Here are some of our own recent photo finds. These include some unrealized plans, dated December 9, 1970, showing how the City of Chicago intended to replace the Loop “L” with subways in stages. This was eventually abandoned as being too expensive, and the “L” looks to be here to stay as an iconic part of Chicago.

-David Sadowski

Wacker Drive construction at Madison Street on September 19, 1951. The view is looking north. An eastbound CTA PCC is on shoo-fly trackage. Note how dirty the Civic Opera House building is at left, most likely due to the widespread use of coal for heating in this era.

A close-up of the previous picture, showing the construction of Lower Wacker Drive.

A City of Chicago rendering of the Wells Street Plaza, just east of the old Main Post Office, dated January 25, 1956.

A photo of this “street car waiting room,” located at 38th and Western, appeared in Bulletin 146 of the Central Electric Railfans’ Association. Here is another view by Bob Selle, taken on January 30, 1954. This amenity was provided by a local merchant and, due to a fire, did not last long after the end of streetcar service in 1956.

CTA 6165 is at 51st and Indiana Avenue on August 18, 1952, in this photo by Bob Selle.

A Blast From the Past

Sean Hunnicutt writes:

I thought this might be a nice thing to revisit in Trolley Dodger or Chicago L Facebook page. Well done!

This was my attempt, long ago, in a galaxy far far away, to get Chicago to have a “circulator” streetcar of the type that several other cities have since built. From the Chicago Tribune, August 1, 1982.

Mystery Photo

A picture appeared in Bulletin 146 of the Central Electric Railfans’ Association (page 301), credited to Charles Thorpe, from the Wien-Criss Archive, showing a Chicago PCC streetcar at Clark and Wells. Someone posted this image to Facebook, and in response, another writer questioned the accuracy of the location, since Wells does not run into Clark today. This prompted some correspondence between me and Andre Kristopans.

The same location today.

Me:

When did the CTA put a bus turnaround where Lincoln, Clark, and Wells meet? When was it removed? (I assume, when Route 11 ended?)

Wells dead ends now, and doesn’t actually meet Clark. But did they meet at one time, and was Wells truncated?

Andre:

Close but no banana. Until the 1960s, Wells continued straight north until it merged into Clark. There was double track on Wells that joined tracks on Clark. Lincoln dead ended into Clark pretty much as it does today. The only part of Lincoln that had track in this area was a single track coming off the southbound Clark track that joined the northbound Wells track, roughly 50 feet long. This was erroneously referred to by CTA as “Menominee” in Armitage route descriptions. Menominee is actually a half block south and never had tracks. The hundred odd feet of Wells between Clark and Lincoln is the only thing missing.

Now the CTA built a terminal at Clark and Wisconsin, a block north, in the 70s. There was continuous and vehement opposition from the owner of the adjacent house from day one, and as a result in the 90s CTA gave up and closed it down. Armitage, Ogden, and some Lincoln buses used it. Look at the Armitage route history on the Irm-cta website for exact dates.

Thanks for the information… and we thank all our readers! Keep those cards and letters coming in, folks.

-David Sadowski

Recent Correspondence

Don Ross writes:

I thought your readers might enjoy seeing this photo from my collection. It shows a westbound 800 on the private right-of-way heading for the Harwood Avenue terminal. (The way to tell an 800 from a 900 is by the front center window. 800s had a much narrower center window than the 900s.) It’s hard to make out but State Street is to the left of the poles in this picture (where you see the jumble of white colored buildings. The RR tracks to the right of it belonged to the Milwaukee Road back then. This stretch of private right-of-way was a favorite for photographers.

Just east of this point the streetcars made an “S” turn to the right (south, cut across a roughly 3/4 block patch of r.o.w. and then emerged on a street called Motor Avenue where they ran east for a little over a block to North 68th Street. At 68th they turned right, crossed the Menomonee River for the second time, and climbed the hill to West Wells Street. Here they turned left to head east on Wells all the way to downtown Milwaukee. Before getting there, the cars would cross the Menomonee River a third time on the famous Wells Street streetcar trestle.

Never has a bridge terrified so many people! My first streetcar rides in Milwaukee occurred when I was about 5 and ended on the last day 3-1-58. My grandmother and I got off the car on each end of the trestle and rode across several times so, as she said, “You’ll always remember it” and I do. She would always prep me as the car was about to cross, “Now, don’t be afraid.” Are you kidding? I loved every minute of it and yes, I never forgot the experience. Actually, Dave, I think she was the one who was afraid. It was remarkable to watch how people either stared straight ahead or kept their eyes on the magazine or newspaper they were reading.

After streetcars quit on 3-1-58 the Milwaukee & Suburban Transport Corp. donated the trestle to the city of Milwaukee. The city debated for two years as to what to do with it but in the end it was dismantled in 1960. In all the years that trestle served the streetcars, and in the earliest days interurban trains, there was never an accident or derailment of any kind. However, the bridge was notorious for drivers who had imbibed a bit too much of the product “that made Milwaukee famous,” some of which was brewed by Miller Brewing at the east end of the trestle, tried driving across. If bouncing along the ties and rails didn’t sober them up the damage to their tires and front end suspension sure did along with the traffic citation, and a bill from the Transport Co. for removal of their car and any damage done to the trestle.

The late Lew Martin, a member of the Railroad Historical Foundation also known as the “607 gang” for Milwaukee streetcar 607 which they purchased in March of 1949 and were in the process of restoring a Hibernia St. yards just east of the Rapid Transit freight terminal at 940 W. St. Paul Ave. told me that he and a group of his friends would wait at the end of the Wells Street trestle usually the west end. That was a stop. They would climb onto the back end while holding on to the trolley rope and ride across. Lew commented, “Boy, if my mother had ever found out what I’d been doing I’d have been in a lot of trouble!”

Another former Milwaukeean, Mr. “Pete” Rogers who by the 1980’s when I got to know him was living in Bullhead City, AZ told the story of a school trip on the streetcar from his high school, Juneau High, which was a few blocks north of the Rapid Transit line when the line was there to the Milwaukee Public Museum downtown on 8th and Wisconsin. The Central Library and Public Museum used to occupy the same building. Today, the museum has its own building on 8th and Wells. Anyway, boys will be boys. Streetcars had bars across the lower part of the windows to prevent kids from sticking their hands out. One of his buddies discovered that a set of the bars below the window at which they were seated were loose. They managed to work an entire panel of bars loose and thinking it would be great fun, lifted it up and sent it sailing over the railing of the viaduct where it came crashing down in the parking lot of the Hilty-Forster Lumber Company 80 feet below. They thought it was a great prank until the next day. The class was called to the school auditorium. Up on stage stood the principal and a Transport Company supervisor. Oh, Oh! No one would admit who did it so the whole class got punished and had to pay for repairs to the streetcar and damages to the parking lot. What seemed like a great prank could have had serious consequences if that set of bars had hit someone.

My father told me that as kids they used to put these big firecrackers he called “Salutes” on the streetcar tracks and watch as the trucks went over them causing them to lift off the rails.

In the days prior to 1937, Rt 10 cars continued past the Harwood terminal and climbed the hill on the way out to the Muirdale Sanitorium. Streetcars carried a destination sign that read Rt 10 WAUCOBLDG. That was TM shorthand for Wauwatosa County Buildings.

TM 905, looking west at the Harwood Avenue terminal.

Same location ca. 1990’s. Larry Sakar photo

Looking east on Motor Avenue in Wauwautosa. Note evidence of tracks in the pavement.

A 900-series car (953?), eastbound entering Motor Avenue on Route 10. (Don Ross Photo)

An 800-series car near 71st and State, heading westbound on route 10.

While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. The City of Chicago broke ground on what would become the “Initial System of Subways” during the Great Depression and finished 20 years later. This gigantic construction project, a part of the New Deal, would overcome many obstacles while tunneling through Chicago’s soft blue clay, under congested downtown streets, and even beneath the mighty Chicago River. Chicago’s first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. It grew to encompass the State Street, Dearborn-Milwaukee, and West Side Subways, with the latter modernizing the old Garfield Park “L” into the median of Chicago’s first expressway. Take a trip underground and see how Chicago’s “I Will” spirit overcame challenges and persevered to help with the successful building of the subways that move millions. Building Chicago’s subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pride–making it a “Second City” no more!

Help Support The Trolley Dodger

This is our 242nd post, and we are gradually creating a body of work and an online resource for the benefit of all railfans, everywhere. To date, we have received over 568,000 page views, for which we are very grateful.

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More Chicago Streetcars

September 13, 2019September 13, 2019David Sadowski 10 Comments

CTA 3141 at Franklin and Lake on October 19, 1952.

Friday the 13th may be your lucky day, as today’s post features Chicago streetcar pictures taken by the late Bill Hoffman, kindly shared by Jeffrey L. Wien and the Wien-Criss Archive. Mr. Hoffman was an avid photographer, and captured many unique scenes that other photographers missed.

These pictures, nearly all from the early 1950s, reflect a time when streetcars were fast disappearing from Chicago’s streets. We hope that you will enjoy them.

While in many cases, it is not possible to know what sort of equipment photographers used 60 or more years ago, I do know that Bill Hoffman used a 1950s Leica IIIg camera, which used screw-mount lenses. By happenstance, I briefly ended up with the camera after his unfortunate passing in the 1980s.

Bob Selle used Ansco black-and-white size 616 roll film for the shots featured today. This was a Kodak adaptation of 116, where the film was the same size, but the spool was different. That suggests he was using a Kodak folding camera. These are rather large negatives, at least 4x larger than 35mm, which is one reason they are very sharp and detailed.

We also have some previously unpublished North Shore Line photos taken in January 1963 by Robert Ness, and some recent finds of our own. We thank all our contributors.

-David Sadowski

PS- As always, if you have useful information to add, regarding any of these photographs, don’t hesitate to write us. You can contact us directly, using the e-mail address given at the end of this post, or by leaving us a Comment. When referencing individual photos, use the image number, which can be found by hovering your mouse over the picture. For example, the first image in this post is called pic167. We look forward to hearing from you.

Hoffman Photos From the Wien-Criss Archive:

Jeff Wien notes, “Most if not all of these slides were taken by Bill.”

CTA 531 at Clinton and Lake, October 17, 1950.

CTA one-man car 6217 at 71st and Western on May 28, 1950.

CTA one-man car 3318 at 71st and California on May 28, 1950.

CTA 7271 at 63rd and Linder on November 7, 1952.

CTA 7010 and bus 3677 at 63rd Place and Narragansett on July 1, 1951.

CTA 141 is at 63rd and Western on May 20, 1953.

CTA 653 and 685 pass at 63rd and Western on May 20, 1953.

CTA 7011 at 63rd and Western on June 4, 1950.

CTA 452 at 63rd Place and Narragansett on May 19, 1953.

CTA 4023 on 64th and Stony Island on July 1, 1951.

CTA 7016 on 63rd at Maplewood on May 6, 1951.

CTA 7012 is westbound on private right of way on 63rd Place and Mobile on August 13, 1950.

CTA 4021 is at 63rd and Linder on May 6, 1951. This car is now preserved at the Illinois Railway Museum.

CTA trolley bus 234 is at 51st and Campbell on June 12, 1950, where it appears streetcar tracks are being removed from the pavement.

CTA trolley bus 225 at 51st and Calumet on July 3, 1950, on the 51st-55th line.

CTA 795 at 47th and Halsted on October 31, 1950.

CTA 695 is eastbound on Roosevelt at State on October 29, 1950.

CTA 337 on the Museum Loop on May 30, 1951. This was an extension of the Roosevelt Road streetcar line, built for the 1933-34 World’s Fair, and served the Field Museum and Soldier Field.

CTA 187 at Roosevelt and Clinton on May 30, 1950. Note the safety island.

CTA one-man car 3200 on the Museum Loop on October 26, 1952.

CTA 436 is on Roosevelt east of Wabash on October 29, 1950.

CTA 1724 is on Ogden at Ashland Boulevard on October 29, 1950.

CTA 1743 is descending into the Washington Street tunnel under the Chicago River on June 27, 1950.

CTA one-man car 1767 is on Ogden at Van Buren on October 29, 1950.

CTA one-man car 1746 is on Ogden at Van Buren on October 29, 1950.

CSL 949 is southbound, coming out of the LaSalle Street tunnel under the Chicago River on September 6, 1939.

The Washington Street river tunnel at Wacker on May 21, 1951.

CTA 532 on the Madison Street bridge, on Route 56 – Milwaukee Avenue.

CTA 786 at Clinton and Van Buren in April 1952.

CTA 567 at Milwaukee and Armitage on October 18, 1950.

Washington and Wells on October 17, 1950.

CTA one-man car 3175 at Randolph and Franklin on October 19, 1952.

CTA 3163 at Lake and Pine (on the north side of the Chicago & North Western viaduct) on May 9, 1954. My understanding is the tracks are finally being removed under this viaduct, 65 years after the end of streetcar service.

CTA 1627 at Randolph and Franklin on June 30, 1949.

CTA one-man car 1759 at Randolph and Franklin on June 14, 1953.

CTA 3163 on Lake Street just west of Laramie May 9, 1954. Nearby, the Lake Street “L” descended a ramp, and then ran at ground level all the way to the end of the line in Forest Park, just west of Harlem Avenue.

CTA 1724 on Lake Street at Ashland on October 20, 1953, running under the Lake Street “L”.

CTA 422 at Kedzie and 47th on May 13, 1954.

CTA 118 on Kedzie at 34th on May 8, 1953, while some track work was being done.

CTA 205 at Kedzie and Van Buren on May 24, 1954.

Kedzie and 34th on May 14, 1950.

CTA 1735 on Kedzie near the Douglas Park “L” (just north of Cermak Road) on May 28, 1954.

CTA 207 is at Kedzie and Jackson on April 19, 1951.

CTA 128 is on Kedzie at the Garfield Park “L” on August 2, 1953. A couple of trolley buses are also visible.

CTA 330 and others are at the Kedzie and Van Buren car barn (station) on March 13, 1951.

CTA 446 at Kedzie and 34th on March 13, 1951.

CTA 445 at Kedzie and 35th on June 13, 1950.

CTA 397 at Kedzie and 66th Place on May 13, 1954.

CTA 362 at Kedzie and 34th on October 2, 1953.

CTA 876 at Indiana Avenue and 51st Street on September 4, 1950.

CTA 1001 at Wells and Hubbard on May 14, 1950.

CTA 277 at State and Wacker in March 1951.

CTA 1711 at State and Wacker on July 9, 1950.

CTA 1674 on Van Buren at Des Plaines on May 14, 1950.

CTA 338 on the State Street bridge, then just a year old, on November 6, 1950.

CTA one-man car 1773 on Cermak and Lumber on May 9, 1954.

CTA 1765 at Cermak and Loomis on May 9, 1954.

CTA 1771 at Cermak and Western on September 24, 1952.

CSL 473 at Burnham Park and the Lakefront, east end of Route 21 – Cermak, some time prior to 1948.

CTA 1755 on Cermak at the Belt Railway on July 9, 1950.

CTA 1740 at Cermak and Western on September 24, 1952.

CTA 709 at 26th, Blue Island, and Western on May 16, 1950.

CTA 723 at Clinton and Harrison on July 11, 1950.

CTA 720 at Blue Island and Harrison on May 16, 1950.

A Leica IIIg camera,. The last Leica to use screw-mount lenses, this model was introduced in 1957.

1963 North Shore Line Fantrip

Robert Ness writes:

I took these pictures as a 15 year old on the last North Shore CERA fantrip on Jan 13, 1963, which covered the main line to Milwaukee and the Mundelein branch. The fare was $7.50 which was steep for a teenager. I grew up in Skokie three blocks from the old Oakton Street Rapid Transit station, and spent many hours riding my bike up to Dempster station for the traction action there. I also witnessed many freight movements of coal interchanged from the C&NW Mayfair branch at Oakton Street.

The North Shore Line has always been my favorite railroad and of course, in retrospect, I wish I had taken more pictures.

We thank Mr. Ness for sharing these pictures with our readers. By happenstance, we also found a copy of the itinerary for that trip.

My attempt at a panned shot.

Siding near Northbrook, waiting for a scheduled train.

Mundelein branch north of the Illinois Tollway.

Mundelein station.

Lake Forest.

North Chicago.

North of Racine.

5th Street in Milwaukee.

Between 5th and 6th Streets in Milwaukee.

Recent Finds

We have run various other pictures showing the construction of the bridge at Halsted over what is now the Eisenhower (formerly Congress) Expressway, but not this one. It shows a Pullman-uilt CTA PCC, operating on Route 8, using the shoo-fly around the bridge construction site. The bridge was finished by 1953, so my guess would be this picture is circa 1952. The view looks to the southeast from the nearby Garfield Park “L” station, which was not directly in the expressway footprint, and remained open until 1958.

The caption I received with this North Shore Line negative reads, “Single car Skokie (Valley) inbound 1950s Chicago Limited, at a platform on embankment looking up.”

The caption on this Bob Selle negative reads, “CERA trip, Sunday morning August 8, 1954. Front view– Chicago Aurora & Elgin special #310. Secong photo stop on Mt. Carmel branch.”

For this negative, photographer Bob Selle wrote, “CERA fan trip, Sunday afternoon, august 8, 1954. Chicago Aurora & Elgin cars 406 and 418, Aurora, Illinois. (#406 our special.)” The off-street terminal here was put into service at the end of 1939, and was therefore only used for about 18 years.

There were many photos taken over the years at this location, 81st and Halsted, the south end of CTA Route 22 – Clark-Wentworth. What’s special about this Bob Selle shot is the date– January 2, 1954. There are not many pictures of Pullman PCCs from 1954, as they were the first casualties of the so-called PCC Conversion Program, whereby a total of 570 out of 600 Chicago PCCs were sent to the St. Louis Car Company, scrapped, and some of their parts were reused on a like number of “L” cars. Oddly enough, all the cars on this heavy line had to make a backup move in traffic. I am not sure why it couldn’t have been advantageous to figure out a different arrangement, such as an off-street loop like other lines had.

This is the Garfield Park “L” in the late 1950s, at the western end where it ran on the ground. The presence of streetcar tracks tells us that this picture was taken at Des Plaines Avenue in Forest Park, and that auto dates the picture to around 1957-58. But I am not sure if we are looking east or west.

The Trolley Dodger On the Air
We appeared on WGN radio in Chicago last November, discussing our book Building Chicago’s Subways on the Dave Plier Show. You can hear our 19-minute conversation here.
Chicago, Illinois, December 17, 1938– Secretary Harold Ickes, left, and Mayor Edward J. Kelly turn the first spadeful of earth to start the new $40,000,000 subway project. Many thousands gathered to celebrate the starting of work on the subway.
Order Our New Book Building Chicago’s Subways

There were three subway anniversaries in 2018 in Chicago:
60 years since the West Side Subway opened (June 22, 1958)
75 years since the State Street Subway opened (October 17, 1943)
80 years since subway construction started (December 17, 1938)
To commemorate these anniversaries, we have written a new book, Building Chicago’s Subways.

While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. The City of Chicago broke ground on what would become the “Initial System of Subways” during the Great Depression and finished 20 years later. This gigantic construction project, a part of the New Deal, would overcome many obstacles while tunneling through Chicago’s soft blue clay, under congested downtown streets, and even beneath the mighty Chicago River. Chicago’s first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. It grew to encompass the State Street, Dearborn-Milwaukee, and West Side Subways, with the latter modernizing the old Garfield Park “L” into the median of Chicago’s first expressway. Take a trip underground and see how Chicago’s “I Will” spirit overcame challenges and persevered to help with the successful building of the subways that move millions. Building Chicago’s subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pride–making it a “Second City” no more!

Help Support The Trolley Dodger

This is our 238th post, and we are gradually creating a body of work and an online resource for the benefit of all railfans, everywhere. To date, we have received over 546,000 page views, for which we are very grateful.

You can help us continue our original transit research by checking out the fine products in our Online Store.

As we have said before, “If you buy here, we will be here.”

We thank you for your support.

DONATIONS

Your financial contributions help make this web site better, and are greatly appreciated.

Sweet Home Chicago

August 20, 2019August 23, 2019David Sadowski 16 Comments

In 1938, a visitor to Chicago from the Soviet Union snapped this picture of Chicago PCC 4032 running on route 20 – Madison downtown, and brought it home. Now, more than 80 years later, it has returned to Chicago.

They say you can never go home again. But no matter how far we may wander from home, there is something, almost like an unseen force, that calls us back to the places we lived in, grew up in, or love the most. And while we often feature transit photos from other cities, Chicago remains our home and will always be our favorite. So today, we are featuring Chicago-area streetcars, rapid transit, interurbans, and buses.

We do have a couple examples of things that, improbably, did find their way home. First, a picture of a Chicago PCC streetcar that has come back “from Russia with love.” Second, prints and negatives of Chicago transit, taken in 1952, that have been reunited after who knows how many years.

We also have some recent photo finds of our own, including a news report from Miles Beitler on the new Pulse bus rapid transit operation in Chicago’s northwest suburbs, and more classic photos shared by Bill Shapotkin and Jeff Wien of the Wien-Criss Archive. Finally, there is some correspondence with Andre Kristopans.

We thank all our contributors.

Enjoy!

-David Sadowski

PS- If you have comments on individual photos, and I am sure you will, please refer to them by their image number, which you can find by hovering your mouse over the photo (for example, the picture at the top of this post is img882). That is more helpful to me than just saying something was the seventh photo down, etc. We always appreciate hearing from you if you have useful information to contribute regarding locations and other details. Thanks in advance.

We also should not let the opportunity pass to wish Raymond DeGroote, Jr. a happy belated 89th birthday. Ray is a world traveler, a raconteur, and the Dean of Chicago railfans.

Recent Finds

CSL “Matchbox” 1412 is on the Morgan-Racine-Sangamon route in this photo by Edward Frank, Jr. Don’s Rail Photos adds, “1412 was built by St Louis Car Co in 1906 as CUT 4641. It was renumbered 1412 in 1913 and became CSL 1412 in 1914. It was retired on March 30, 1948… These cars were built by St. Louis Car in 1903 and 1906 for Chicago Union Traction Co. They are similar to the Robertson design without the small windows. Cars of this series were converted to one man operation in later years and have a wide horizontal stripe on the front to denote this. Two were used for an experimental articulated train. A number of these cars were converted to sand and salt service and as flangers.” Car 1374 in this series has been lovingly restored to operating condition, at the Illinois Railway Museum.

A two-car Chicago Aurora & Elgin train, headed up by 433, is just west of the Canal Street station on the Metropolitan four-track main line in August 1953, a month before CA&E service was cut back to Forest Park. (John Szwajkart Photo)

CTA 4060 is at the front of a two-car Ravenswood “L” train approaching Kimball and Lawrence in this undated photo (1950s-60s).

CTA Pullman 460 is on either Route 8 – Halsted or 9 – Ashland in the early 1950s, you can’t quite make it out on the roll sign. However, I am leaning towards Halsted, as Ashland got bussed in 1951, and the auto at left looks more like 1953 vintage. This streetcar was saved by the CTA, and is now at the Illinois Railway Museum. It is one of only three red Pullmans saved, the others being 144 (also at IRM) and 225 (at the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine). Charles F. Amstein adds that 460 is “on Ashland, just north of 95th Street, looking north-northwet. I grew up in this area and spent much of my time at Beverly Bowling Lanes, seen in the distance at right.”

CTA 4374 is southbound on Clark Street, just south of Diversey, on September 6, 1957, the last day for the north half of Route 22 – Clark-Wentworth. Ricketts (no relation to the current Cubs ownership) was a popular restaurant. At left, down the street, you can just make out the marquee of the Parkway Theater. Autos visible include several Chevys, a Studebaker, and (at left) a 1957 Ford. (Charles H. Thorpe Photo) The tracks curving off to the left went into the CTA’s Limits car barn (station), which was located at 2684 N. Clark. It got its name because, a long time earlier, this had been the city limits. There were facilities for cable cars at this location dating back to 1888. Limits car house opened in 1909, and was last used by streetcars in 1954 (the end of the Red Car era). It was used by buses until 1994, and the building was torn down in 1998.

CTA Met car 2907 is at Indiana Avenue, running the Kenwood shuttle on the last day of service, November 30, 1957 (also the last day for regular passenger service for wooden “L” cars).

CTA one-man car 1769 (here painted green, not red) is at Lake and Austin, west end of Route 16. The date of this Bob Selle photo is December 19, 1953, one year to the day before I was born. The Park Theater at right appears to already be closed.

CTA one-man car 1732, in red, heads southwest on Fifth Avenue at Harrison on July 5, 1953. Madison-Fifth was part of Route 20, but as of May 11, 1952, buses were substituted for streetcars on weekends– except for the Fifth Avenue branch, which used streetcars. That must be a Harrison bus in the background. (Robert Selle Photo)

On June 19, 1953 CTA PCC 7070 heads south on Roue 8 – Halsted, passing by the Congress Expressway construction site. PCCs were soon taken off Halsted, which ended streetcar service the following year using older equipment. This photo was taken from the nearby Halsted “L” station, which was not in the expressway footprint. (Robert Selle Photo)

On May 12, 1954, Bob Selle took this picture of CTA Pullman 600, southbound on Route 8 – Halsted. This was less than three weeks before the end of streetcar service on this line. We are just south of the Metropolitan “L” station at Halsted, and crossing over the Congress Expressway construction. That looks like a Studebaker at left.

In this undated (probably late 1960s) photo taken on the Red Arrow Lines in suburban Philadelphia, Brilliner 10 appears to be changing ends. It is signed for the Media route, although this is not the end of that line. Perhaps there was track work going on. Matthew Nawn adds, “The photo of Red Arrow Lines #10 was taken at the Penn Street stop in Clifton Heights, PA. This is a stop on the Sharon Hill Line.”

This is how the interior of Chicago Aurora & Elgin car 301 looked on August 8, 1954, the date of a fantrip for the Central Electric Railfans’ Association. Don’s Rail Photos: “301 was built by Niles Car & Mfg Co in 1906. It was modernized in December 1940.” (Robert Selle Photo)

CA&E car 434 at an unidentified terminal. possibly Elgin.

Once CA&E service stopped running to downtown Chicago, less equipment was needed. Here, wooden cars 137 and 141 are on the scrap track at the Wheaton Shops. Bob Selle took this picture on August 8, 1954. These cars were purchased from the North Shore Line in 1946.

CA&E car 701, ex-Washington, Baltimore & Annapolis. Don’s Rail Photos: “701 was built by Cincinnati Car Co in 1913 as WB&A 81. It was sold as CA&E 701 in 1938.”
Don also notes, “In 1937, the CA&E needed additional equipment. Much was available, but most of the cars suffered from extended lack of maintenance. Finally, 5 coaches were found on the Washington Baltimore & Annapolis which were just the ticket. 35 thru 39, built by Cincinnati Car in 1913, were purchased and remodeled for service as 600 thru 604. The ends were narrowed for service on the El. They had been motors, but came out as control trailers. Other modifications included drawbars, control, etc. A new paint scheme was devised. Blue and grey with red trim and tan roof was adopted from several selections. They entered service between July and October in 1937.”

CA&E 401 at the end of the line in Elgin.

CA&E 452 at either Elgin or Aurora.

CA&E 457 at the front of a two-car train near the end of either the Aurora or Elgin terminals, as it is operating with overhead wire instead of third rail.

CA&E 429 at the head of a two-car train.

CA&E 451 heads up a two-car limited heading towards Chicago.

Speedrail (Milwaukee) car 63, a curved-sided product of Cincinnati Car Company, is operating as a local on the turnback track in Waukesha, on June 28 1951, two days before abandonment. (Photo by R. H. Adams, Jr.)

Six years ago, I purchased a couple strips of 35mm Super-XX black-and-white negatives and ran the photos on the blog I had at that time. There was no way to tell the exact date the pictures were taken, but they did contain various clues that helped narrow down the date. I posted the images, and several people guessed as to when they were shot. The consensus that eventually emerged was they were taken between Fall 1952 and Spring 1953. Well, in an act of serendipity, Jeff Wien (by way of Mr. Edward Springer) donated a set of snapshots to me that were made from these same negatives. They are dated December 1952, which is a better answer than we had before. You can see the rest of the photos here.

Pulse Bus Rapid Transit Celebration

Pace launched its Pulse bus rapid transit this week with the Pulse Milwaukee line which runs between Golf Mill in Niles and the Jefferson Park transit center in Chicago. Pace held a celebration event earlier today (August 15th) at Milwaukee and Touhy in Niles featuring speeches by various politicians, agency bureaucrats, and public transit advocates. A new Pulse bus was parked at the event and was available for public inspection, as well as a Pulse bus station with its passenger amenities.
Since you include bus photos on your blog, I have attached several photos of the event. Feel free to post any or all of them. The Pace website has detailed information about the Pulse service.
Ironically, Richmond (VA) has operated a bus rapid transit line for over a year which is very similar, and it’s also called “Pulse”. I don’t know if this is just a coincidence or if there is some connection between them. However, the Richmond line has dedicated bus-only lanes for part of its length, while our line runs in mixed traffic along Milwaukee Avenue.
-Miles Beitler

From the Collections of William Shapotkin:

On June 21, 1958 an eastbound CTA train is in the station at Pulaski Road on the new Congress rapid transit line, then also known as the West Side Subway. Notice how little fencing there was separating the right-of-way from the highway. Eventually, this was replaced by concrete Jersey barriers after numerous vehicle crashes that impacted the “L”. That way, when something hits the fence, it can take a “Jersey bounce.”

On June 21, 1958 a woman enters the new CTA rapid transit station at Pulaski Road on the Congress line, which replaced the Garfield Park “L” the following day. On this day, free rides were given out between Halsted and Cicero Avenues. The fiberglass panels on the sides of the entrance ramp were eventually cut down to allow for better visibility from outside.

A North Shore Line Electroliner on December 28, 1962, less than a month before the end of the line for this interurban.

A new 2000-series CTA train at (I am guessing) the Douglas Park yards at 54th Avenue in Cicero on October 25, 1964.

What I presume is the Douglas Park yard on October 25, 1964.

CTA articulated car set 51 (formerly 5001) found new life on the Skokie Swift after being oddball equipment on other lines, along with its three mates. Here, they are seen on the Swift on October 25, 1964, where they helped provide much-needed capacity in the face of unexpectedly large ridership several months after the new branch line began service.

The date stamped on this slide is April 18, 1964, when demonstration rides were given out on the new CTA Skokie Swift branch line. However, that date may be incorrect, as my understanding is on that day, single car units 1-4 were coupled together and operated as a unit to provide demonstration rides, Regular service began on April 20, 1964. So either the units were uncoupled, or the date is wrong. Here, one of the high-speed cars is lowering its pan trolley, at the point where the line changed from overhead wire to third rail “on the fly.”

On October 25, 1964 a pair of 4000-series “L” cars are seen at the Dempster terminal on the Skokie Swift, presumably on a fantrip.

This picture of the Dempster terminal is dated April 18, 1964, which would have been the very first day people could ride the Skokie Swift.

Line car S-606 at the Dempster terminal on October 25, 1964. Don’s Rail Photos adds, “S-606 was built by Cincinnati in January 1923, #2620, as Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee 606. In 1963 it became CTA S-606 and burned in 1978. The remains were sold to the Indiana Transportation Museum.” Since the museum was evicted from its home, whatever portion of the car that survives has been taken on by another preservation group, in hopes that it can eventually be rebuilt or restored.

The following South Shore Line photos, again courtesy of William Shapotkin, are all dated October 1965 and are from a fantrip.

Here are some classic postcard views, again from the collections of William Shapotkin:

From Jeff Wien and the Wien-Criss Archive:

These pictures of the Illinois Terminal Railroad were taken on July 4, 1950:

Don’s Rail Photos: “1565, Class B, was built at Decatur in 1910. It was sold to Illinois Power & Light Co at Campaign on April 10, 1955. It was acquired by Illinois Railway Museum in 1960.”

IT 270.

IT 273.

Don’s Rail Photos: “276 was built by St Louis Car in 1913. It was air conditioned and the arch windows were covered. It was sold for scrap to Compressed Steel Co on March 13, 1956.”

IT 281.

IT 284.

Don’s Rail Photos: “1201 was built by McGuire-Cummings in 1910 as an express motor with 20 seats at the rear. In 1919 it was rebuilt with a small baggage section at the front and the trucks were changed from Curtis to Baldwin.”

IT 052. This looks like a sleeping car or bunk car and is unpowered.

Again from the Wien-Criss Archive, here are a series of photos taken at the Chicago Aurora & Elgin’s Wheaton Yards, in August 1959 after the line had stopped running even freight service. Several cars were sold to museum interests and moved off the property in early 1962. Everything else was scrapped. It’s possible that these pictures may have been taken by the late Joseph Saitta of New York.

Looking somewhat worse for wear, here is CA&E car 321 as it looked at the Illinois Electric Railway Museum in North Chicago on June 9, 1962. This and the other cars that were saved from the line had been stored outdoors for a few years, and exposure to the elements took their toll. The museum, now just IRM, moved to Union in 1964. (Wien-Criss Archive Photo)

The following pictures, also from the Wien-Criss Archive, are not very sharp, but do show Chicago transit vehicles in September 1953 and May 1954. There are several shots of the temporary ground-level trackage used from 1953 to 1958 by the Garfield Park “L”, during construction of the Congress Expressway. Those pictures were taken at Van Buren and Western. Some of the PCC photos were snapped in the vicinity of Roosevelt Road, which is also where the Greyhound bus picture was probably taken.

Recent Correspondence

We recently asked Andre Kristopans about which Chicago streetcars, including PCCs, were converted to one-man operation in the CTA era. Here’s what he reports:

In 1951, all 83 prewar PCCs to OMC on AFE S14000. At same time, 21 Sedans to OMC (3325,3347-3349,3351-3352,3354-3355,3357,3360-3363,3368,3372,3378-3379,6303,6305,6310,6319) on AFE S14001

However almost immediately 20 postwars 4052-4061,7035-7044 to OMC on S14011

155 older cars 1721-1785,3119-3178,6155-6198 to convertible OMC 1948 on S11381

Some additional info. Of the 169 cars in the three groups listed for one-manning, the following were already gone when the plan was announced:

6 under CSL 1945-47 1738,1754,1770,3133,3170,3176
8 under CTA 1948 1727,1763,3130,3150,3152,3155,3159,6197

169 minus above 14 leaves 155 for conversion in 1949

Me: Thanks… and none of the Peter Witts were used in one-man service, right?

Andre: Redone then scrapped replaced by postwars?

Me: Didn’t this have to do with the decision not to one-man 63rd Street? Or was it simply that mixing the Sedans with PCCs would have slowed things down?

Andre: Supposedly one of the aldermen along 63rd pitched a bitch about the sedans after he saw one. Thought they would be “unsafe”. Not sure on what grounds, suspect had to do with center door arrangement. But plan was dropped and sedans scrapped.

Me: Thanks!

While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. The City of Chicago broke ground on what would become the “Initial System of Subways” during the Great Depression and finished 20 years later. This gigantic construction project, a part of the New Deal, would overcome many obstacles while tunneling through Chicago’s soft blue clay, under congested downtown streets, and even beneath the mighty Chicago River. Chicago’s first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. It grew to encompass the State Street, Dearborn-Milwaukee, and West Side Subways, with the latter modernizing the old Garfield Park “L” into the median of Chicago’s first expressway. Take a trip underground and see how Chicago’s “I Will” spirit overcame challenges and persevered to help with the successful building of the subways that move millions. Building Chicago’s subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pride–making it a “Second City” no more!

Help Support The Trolley Dodger

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Ravenswood Rarities

May 13, 2019April 17, 2021David Sadowski 6 Comments

CTA 4271-4272 head up a Ravenswood “A” train leaving Kimball and Lawrence on October 21, 1973. This shows how this pair of cars looked before they were renovated as part of CTA’s historical fleet. (Apparently, in spite of the sign, this wasn’t a regular service train, but was part of a CERA fantrip that day.)

This time around, we have lots of classic traction photos for your consideration. For whatever reason, many of them were taken in the vicinity of Lawrence and Kimball, terminus of the CTA Brown Line (formerly known as the Ravenswood “L”).

There was a recent fantrip on the CTA “L” system, using historic cars 4271-4272. This sold out quickly, and unfortunately, we were not able to participate. But it did help raise money for two very worthy causes. Besides helping to keep these early 1920s railcars running on the CTA, funds also went to assist the Fox River Trolley Museum recover from the vandalism they suffered last year. We encourage our readers to help with these efforts by contacting those organizations directly.

We do have several images of 4271-4272 from previous fantrips, however (and one, at the top of this page, from one of the last times they were used in regular service).

Many of these images come courtesy of Bill Shapotkin. We hope that you will support Mr. Shapotkin’s efforts by attending his programs, which include the upcoming Hoosier Traction Meet this September. More about that will be found further down in this post. We also have some additional recent photo finds of our own.

Just to dispel any notion that these images always looked this way, this time we have included some “before” shots that you can contrast with the “after” ones. There is a lot of work that goes into making these images look better.

As always, if you can help provide any additional information about these photos, we would love to hear from you.

Enjoy!

-David Sadowski

PS- A few of our readers have pointed out that in our last couple of posts, clicking on the various images with your mouse would not bring up a larger version of that picture, so you can study it more closely. We have fixed that issue in this new post, and promise we will go back soon and correct it on those two as well.

From the Collections of William Shapotkin:

CTA PCC 4380 on the Wentworth line on June 16, 1958, less than a week before the end of streetcar service in Chicago.

This is a duplicate slide, but started out as a 1958 Ektachrome slide, where the color layers other than red were unstable and faded badly. This left very little to work with, but I did the best I could.

Here it is again, tweaked by our good friend J. J. Sedelmaier.

CTA historic cars 4271-4272 on the Skokie Swift on December 11, 1976.

This and several other similar photos were seriously underexposed.

CTA 2200-series “L” cars at Skokie Shops on December 11, 1976.

CTA Wheel Car S-313 at Skokie Shops on December 11, 1976.

CTA “Met” cars at Kimball Yard, being used either as offices or for storage, in August 1967. (Compare with the picture of these same cars a few years later, showing how they had deteriorated somewhat after being stored outdoors.)

CTA 5001 in the Kimball Yard on July 14, 1961.

Restoring this photo was particularly satisfying.

CTA 2858 at Kimball on the Ravenswood line on April 14, 1957. I believe the occasion was a charter trip, held by the Illinois Electric Railway Museum. Don’s Rail Photos: “2858 was built by Pullman in 1906 as M-WSER 858. In 1913 it was renumbered 2858 and in 1923 it became CRT 2858.”

CTA 4063 at Kimball and Lawrence on January 31, 1958.

CTA 6706 at the Kimball Yard on November 1, 1986. (Ronald J. Sullivan Photo)

CTA 6049-6050 at Kimball Yard on March 16, 1980.

CTA 6041-6042 at Kimball and Lawrence on March 2, 1977. (Ronald J. Sullivan Photo)

CTA 4271-4272 and 3441-3442 at Lawrence and Kimball. These cars were used on a Central Electric Railfans’ Association fantrip in 2000. (John Allen Photo)

CTA 2411-2412 have derailed at Kimball Yard on August 25, 1978.

Here, a couple of old CTA “Met” cars are being used as either offices or storage at Kimball Yard in April 1974.

CTA 6643-6644 in the Kimball Yard on February 1, 1987.

CTA 4387 and 4432 in the Kimball yard on July 25, 1970.

CTA 6165-6166 at Kimball, the outer terminal on the Ravenswood line (today’s Brown Line), on May 21, 1977. (Ronald J. Sullivan Photo)

CTA 6166-6165, working a westbound trip on CTA’s Ravenswood Line, approaches the Kimball and Lawrence terminal on June 20, 1952.

CTA 6139-6140 at Kimball and Lawrence on November 13, 1977. (Ronald J. Sullivan Photo)

CTA 4271-4272 at Kimball and Lawrence., during an NRHS fantrip on December 13, 1998. During the fantrip, these cars were operated between the terminal and the storage yard, for the benefit of ticket-holders. (William Shapotkin Photo)

On December 13, 1998, CTA historic cars 4271-4272 are being operated as part of an NRHS fantrip. At left, 3455-3456 has just arrived as an in-service train, and is about to be moved to the yard. The view looks north, off the south end of track 3. (William Shapotkin Photo)

CTA gate car (either 280 or 390) at Kimball and Lawrence on a Central Electric Railfans’ Associaiton fantrip in the 1950s. (Ken Rieger Photo)

As you can see, the original for this 1950s slide was somewhat washed out and devoid of much color.

CTA 2769-2770 at Kimball and Lawrence on a Central Electric Railfans’ Association fantrip on August 29, 1994. (William Shapotkin Photo)

CTA 6101-6102 at Kimball and Lawrence in March 1993. (John J. Le Beau Photo)

CTA 6139-6140 at Kimball and Lawrence on June 12, 1976. (Ronald J. Sullivan Photo)

It appears CTA 6138 is at the tail end of a train that is approaching the Ravenswood terminal at Kimball and Lawrence in August 1978.

CTA articulated 5003 near Kimball and Lawrence on September 9, 1958.

CTA gate car 270 at Kimball yard on September 13, 1953.

There is a difference between the faded-out brown here, and “Traction Orange.”

CTA wooden “L” cars 361 and 257 in the Kimball Yard on February 4, 1951.

CTA 6103-6104 are at the head of a 6-car Ravenswood train at Kimball and Lawrence on January 23, 1979. (Ronald J. Sullivan Photo)

A CTA single-car Skokie Swift train near Skokie Shops on December 11, 1976.

CTA Flatcar S-300 at Skokie Shops on May 21, 1977.

CTA Flatcar S-324 at Skokie Shops on May 21, 1977.

CTA Flatcar S-329 at Skokie Shops on May 21, 1977.

CTA Flatcar S-1500 at Skokie Shops on May 21, 1977.

A train of CTA 2000s (on the Lake-Dan Ryan line) are on the Loop “L” on September 13, 1976.

The CTA Randolph and Wells station on September 13, 1976. This station has since been replaced by Washington and Wells.

I was particularly happy that I could improve this picture, which is practically monochrome.

At left, CTA’s Tower 18, at the junction of Lake and Wells, on September 13, 1976. The view looks north.

CTA articulated train at Skokie Shops in August 1986. Here, it has been repainted to its original Chicago Rapid Transit Company livery. Don’s Rail Photos: ‘5001 was built by Pullman-Standard in 1947, #6747. It was renumbered 51 in 1963 and acquired by Fox River Trolley Museum in 1986. It was restored as 5001.”

CTA Flatcar S-1501 at Skokie Shops on May 21, 1977.

A CTA work train, powered by 6000-series “L” cars, including S-406, at Skokie Shops on May 21, 1977.

The CTA bridge over the Chicago & North Western, used by the Lake-Dan Ryan line, in September 1977.

CTA 4271 at Skokie Shops on December 11, 1976.

The front trucks of CTA 4271, at Skokie Shops on December 11, 1976.

A CTA single-car unit, equipped with an airfoil pan trolley, on the Skokie Swift on December 11, 1976.

If you are used to seeing old slides that look this way, you may not realize that much of the original color has faded, or that it is even possible to bring it back now.

A train of CTA 2200-series “L” cars at Clinton on the Lake branch of the Lake-Dan Ryan line in September 1977. the view looks west.

A train of CTA 2000-series “L” cars, running on the Lake-Dan Ryan line, approaches the bridge over the Chicago & North Western in September 1977, heading westbound.

Bringing back the color in this shot made this photo into something special.

A train of CTA 2000-series “L” cars at Clinton on the Lake Street “L” (today’s Green Line) in September 1977.

A CTA single-car unit, equipped with trolley poles, is running on the Evanston branch near Howard on May 28, 1977. Although overhead wire was no longer being used on Evanston, poles were left on a few such cars to serve as backups on the Skokie Swift if needed.

CTA Line Car S-606 at Howard Yard on May 28, 1977. Don’s Rail Photos: “S-606 was built by Cincinnati in January 1923, #2620, as Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee 606. In 1963 it became CTA S-606 and burned in 1978. The remains were sold to the Indiana Transportation Museum.” With the demise of the ITM site in Noblesville, Indiana in 2018, the 606 was acquired by another group, with the intention of restoring it.

CTA historic cars 4271-4272 on the Skokie Swift on December 11, 1976.

The east side of Skokie Shops on December 11, 1976.

The CTA junction of Lake and Wells, by Tower 18, on September 13, 1976.

CTA Wheel Car S-313 at Skokie Shops on December 11, 1976.

CTA MoW car S-365 at Skokie Shops on December 11, 1976.

CTA Wheel Car S-313 at Skokie Shops on December 11, 1976.

The CTA Skokie Swift (today’s Yellow Line) on December 11, 1976.

A CTA single car unit on the Skokie Swift (today’s Yellow Line), on May 28, 1977.

CTA 6000s on the Evanston branch at Howard Yard on May 28, 1977.

A CTA 6000-series “L” car at Skokie Shops on December 11, 1976.

Hoosier Traction 2019

This PDF file explains what’s happening in Indianapolis this September 6-7:

hoosiertractionmeet_2019_05_public

Recent Finds

Steinway Lines Birney car 1660 in September 1937, signed for the H line in Pelham Manor, NY. According to a knowledgable historian: “There’s a rather long story behind this. Yes, it’s a Steinway car, and yes, it’s on the TARS line in Westchester County. (The specific line was the route from New Rochelle to Pelham Manor.) Fontaine Fox, a Pelham native and creator of the “Toonerville Trolley” cartoons, said that he used this line as his original inspiration for the cartoon. So when the line was discontinued in 1937, the locals put on a big celebration at which Fox held forth as honored guest. For the occasion, TARS imported the Birney from Queens as the closest thing to the Toonerville Trolley. (Normal service was TARS convertibles or 700s.) The photo shows the car some time before or after the ceremony.”

Prewar Chicago PCC 7010 is at the western terminal of Route 63 – 63rd Street, located at 63rd Place and Narragansett Avenue. After streetcars were cut back to this loop in 1948 (double-ended cars had previously gone a half mile west to Oak Park Avenue) this became a transfer point for buses heading west. This bus is heading to Argo, which is not the name of a suburb, but the name of a factory in suburban Summit that produced Argo corn starch. If you could see the front of the PCC, there were “tiger stripes,” intended to make the cars more visible to motorists and pedestrians. PCCs ran on 63rd Street from 1948-52. (William Hoffman Photo, Wien-Criss Archive)

Here, we see CTA PCC 7236, a postwar product of the St. Louis Car Company. Jeff Wien: “It is on Western Avenue Avenue during the one man period 1955-56. Because of the grass in the foreground, it seems park-like, which was the case where Western Avenue was paralleled by Western Blvd., which I believe extended from Archer to Garfield. I would guess that the slide is on Western Ave south of Archer.” (Wien-Criss Archive)

Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company (aka Red Arrow Lines) car 18, a double-ended product of St. Louis Car Company that closely resembled a PCC but had conventional running gear, at the end of the line in West Chester. Rail service on this long interurban line was replaced by buses in June 1954.

CTA 4355 and it’s semi-permanently attached mate (not sure of the #) at Marion Street, on the ground level portion of the Lake Street “L”, on September 10, 1957.

Chicago Aurora & Elgin car 50 (with 44 at left) at the Wheaton yards on September 13, 1953. (Robert Selle Photo)

Chicago Aurora & Elgin car 428 at the Forest Park loop at DesPlaines Avenue on October 10, 1953. Less than a month earlier, CA&E trains stopped running downtown, and a new terminal arrangement was hurriedly put into use, so riders could switch between CA&E and CTA trains. (Robert Selle Photo)

A three-car Chicago Aurora & Elgin train , including cars 316 and 314, as seen from the Halsted Street platform of the Garfield Park “L”. The view looks east on June 18, 1953, about three months before CA%E service was cut back to Forest Park. (Robert Selle Photo)

Someone gave me this slide. I am not sure of the circumstances, but it seems to show Blue Bird Coach Lines bus #1.

This is an interesting photo for several reasons. It shows the temporary ground-level operation on the Garfield Park “L” in the south portion of Van Buren Street, used from 1953-58 while construction of the new Congress rapid transit line was underway in the nearby expressway. But this is not a regular service train– it’s a fantrip for the Illinois Electric Railway Museum. By the time this photo was taken (1958), wooden “L” cars were no longer in use on this line. The second car has been repainted for use in work service. We are at Van Buren and Ogden. In the distance, you can see the old Paulina “L” crossing Ogden. By this time, it was being used by Douglas Park trains to reach the Lake Street “L”, as the Pink Line does today.

Chicago Aurora & Elgin interurban box motor 5 at Wheaton in 1949.

A single CTA wooden “L” car heads east on the ground-level portion of the Lake Street “L” circa 1955. This was relocated onto the adjacent Chicago & North Western embankment in 1962.

A mother and her two kids have just gotten off a northbound Evanston train of 4000s at Isabella in June 1972. This station closed on July 16, 1973 and within a short period of time, all traces of it were removed, as it was a short distance from the Linden terminal and had low ridership. That same year, the Evanston branch was converted to third rail operation, and overhead wire was removed.

Recent Correspondence

Andre Kristopans writes:

In 1935 CSL and CRT began exchanging transfers. In 1936 CMC and CRT transfers followed.Some time soon, exact date unknown to me, CRT and West Towns transfers followed, but these were gone sometime after 1938. Each transfer type was its own color as follows:

CRT to CSL – yellow (actually “newsprint?”)
CRT to CMC – green
CRT to West Towns – pink
CSL to CRT – blue
CMC to CRT – unknown to me
CWT to CRT – unknown – any ideas what they looked like?

In 1943 CSL and CMC transfers began and colors were revised:

CRT – CSL – blue
CRT – CMC – green
CMC – CSL – pink

Around 1947 CMC to CSL and CRT became orange. Once CTA was formed all L transfers became blue, both to CTA durface system and to CMC, while surface to CMC remained green and CMC to CTA surface or L remained orange. In 1953 orange transfers were eliminated as former CMC routes were put on regular surface transfers. L transfers remained blue until about 1962 when they became green.

If anybody has any additional information or can offer any corrections, they would be very welcomed!

Jon Roma writes:

I can offer the attached color image of CNS&M/C&NW Ryan Tower, given your recent feature on the subject along with the statement that there are few shots of the location. This is digitized from a slide by unknown photographer that resides in my collection; it’s obviously a railfan excursion taken on or about March 1962. Please feel free to use if you’d like.

We thank all our contributors!

TRACTION AUDIO, NOW AVAILABLE ON COMPACT DISC:

RRCNSLR
Railroad Record Club – North Shore Line Rarities 1955-1963
# of Discs – 1
Price: $15.99

Railroad Record Club – North Shore Line Rarities 1955-1963

Newly rediscovered and digitized after 60 years, most of these audio recordings of Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee interurban trains are previously unheard, and include on-train recordings, run-bys, and switching. Includes both Electroliners, standard cars, and locomotives. Recorded between 1955 and 1963 on the Skokie Valley Route and Mundelein branch. We are donating $5 from the sale of each disc to Kenneth Gear, who saved these and many other original Railroad Record Club master tapes from oblivion.

Total time – 73:14

The Trolley Dodger On the Air

We appeared on WGN radio in Chicago last November, discussing our book Building Chicago’s Subways on the Dave Plier Show. You can hear our 19-minute conversation here.

Order Our New Book Building Chicago’s Subways

There were three subway anniversaries in 2018 in Chicago:
60 years since the West Side Subway opened (June 22, 1958)
75 years since the State Street Subway opened (October 17, 1943)
80 years since subway construction started (December 17, 1938)

To commemorate these anniversaries, we have written a new book, Building Chicago’s Subways.

While the elevated Chicago Loop is justly famous as a symbol of the city, the fascinating history of its subways is less well known. The City of Chicago broke ground on what would become the “Initial System of Subways” during the Great Depression and finished 20 years later. This gigantic construction project, a part of the New Deal, would overcome many obstacles while tunneling through Chicago’s soft blue clay, under congested downtown streets, and even beneath the mighty Chicago River. Chicago’s first rapid transit subway opened in 1943 after decades of wrangling over routes, financing, and logistics. It grew to encompass the State Street, Dearborn-Milwaukee, and West Side Subways, with the latter modernizing the old Garfield Park “L” into the median of Chicago’s first expressway. Take a trip underground and see how Chicago’s “I Will” spirit overcame challenges and persevered to help with the successful building of the subways that move millions. Building Chicago’s subways was national news and a matter of considerable civic pride–making it a “Second City” no more!

Bibliographic information:

Title Building Chicago’s Subways
Images of America
Author David Sadowski
Edition illustrated
Publisher Arcadia Publishing (SC), 2018
ISBN 1467129380, 9781467129381
Length 128 pages

Chapter Titles:
01. The River Tunnels
02. The Freight Tunnels
03. Make No Little Plans
04. The State Street Subway
05. The Dearborn-Milwaukee Subway
06. Displaced
07. Death of an Interurban
08. The Last Street Railway
09. Subways and Superhighways
10. Subways Since 1960

Building Chicago’s Subways is in stock and now available for immediate shipment. Order your copy today! All copies purchased through The Trolley Dodger will be signed by the author.

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

For Shipping to US Addresses:

For Shipping to Canada:

For Shipping Elsewhere:

Redone tile at the Monroe and Dearborn CTA Blue Line subway station, showing how an original sign was incorporated into a newer design, May 25, 2018. (David Sadowski Photo)

Help Support The Trolley Dodger

This is our 230th post, and we are gradually creating a body of work and an online resource for the benefit of all railfans, everywhere. To date, we have received over 513,000 page views, for which we are very grateful.

You can help us continue our original transit research by checking out the fine products in our Online Store.

As we have said before, “If you buy here, we will be here.”

We thank you for your support.

DONATIONS

Your financial contributions help make this web site better, and are greatly appreciated.