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FIRST INSET: DOWNTOWN CHICAGO
SECOND INSET: INTERURBAN NETWORK AROUND CHICAGO
I created the above maps by overlaying OpenStreetMap (OSM) maps with my own data. Copyright on the OSM maps is © OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under a CC-BY-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 licence).
Please note that the OSM maps used as templates for these maps correspond to the situation at the time the maps were downloaded and may show features that did not exist at the time the GS Tram Site is supposed to show. In particular, they may show bridges and highways that were built later.
ABBREVIATIONS ON THE MAPS
| BM | Belmont Station | ISM | Illinois Steel Co. Mills |
| Bu | Buffalo Av. | MF | Marshfield Station |
| CA | Commercial Av. | VB | Van Buren St. |
| HA | Harvard Av. | WR | W Randolph St. |
ROUTES
STREETCAR ROUTES
Operator: Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
| 3 | Lincoln - Indiana | Peterson Av. & Lincoln - Lincoln Av. - State St. - [Lake St. - Wabash Av.] [back: State St.] - Indiana Av. - E 47th St. - Illinois Central RR. |
| 4 | Cottage Grove | W Randolph St. & N Wabash Av. - Wabash Av. - Indiana Av. - Cottage Grove Av. - 115th St. |
| 6 | Van Buren | State St. - Van Buren St. - S Kedzie Av. |
| 8 | Halsted | Grace St. & Broadway - Halsted St. - W 79th St. |
| 9 | Ashland | Irving Park Blvd. & Clark St. - Ashland Av. - W 95th St. |
| 12 | Roosevelt | Austin Bvd. (City limits) - W Roosevelt Rd. - E Roosevelt Rd. - Grant Park |
| 16 | Lake | Austin Bvd. (City limits) - Lake St. - State St. - Downtown (Van Buren St.)1 |
| 20 | Madison | Austin Bvd. (City limits) - W Madison St. - W Madison St. [back: W Monroe St. - Clinton St.] - S. Dearborn St. |
| 20X* | Madison - 5th Avenue | Pulaski Av. - 5th Av. - W Madison St. - W Madison St. [back: W Monroe St. - Clinton St.] - S. Dearborn St. |
| 21 | Cermak | Kenton Av. (City limits) - Cermak Rd. - Burnham Park |
| 22 | Clark | Howard St. (City limits) - Clark St. - S Wentworth Av. - Vincennes Av. - W 81st St. & S Halsted St. |
| 28 | Stony Island | W Randolph St. & N Wabash Av. - Wabash Av. - Indiana Av. - Cottage Grove Av. - E 47th St. - Stony Island Av. - E 93rd St. |
| 35 | 35th | S Kedzie Av. - 36th St. - California Av. - 35th St. - Cottage Grove Av. |
| 36 | Broadway | N Clark St. - Devon Av. - Broadway - N Clark St. - N State St. - S State St. - Indiana Av. - S Michigan Av. - 119th St. - S Morgan St. |
| 38 | Indiana | W Randolph St. & N Wabash Av. - Wabash Av. - Indiana Av. - E 51st St. - S Parkway |
| 38X* | Indiana - 43rd St. | W Randolph St. & N Wabash Av. - Wabash Av. - Indiana Av. - 43rd St. - Illinois Central RR. |
| 42 | Halsted Downtown | Lake St. - [State St.] [back: Polk St. - Dearborn St.] - State St. - Archer Av. - S Halsted St. - W 79th St. |
| 43 | 43rd | S Halsted St. - Root St. - 43rd St. - Illinois Central RR. |
| 44 | Wallace - Racine | W 87th St. - S Racine Av. - W 47th St. - S Halsted St. - Pershing Rd. - S Wallace St. - Archer Av. - State St. - [Polk St. - Dearborn St.] [back: State St.] - Lake St. |
| 45 | Ashland - Downtown | W 95th St. - Ashland Av. - Archer Av. - State St. - [Polk St. - Dearborn St.] [back: State St.] - Lake St. |
| 47 | 47th | S Kedzie Av. - 47th St. - Illinois Central RR. |
| 49 | Western | Berwyn Av. - Western Av. - W 79th St. |
| 50 | Damen | Fullerton Av. - Damen Av. - Blue Island Av. |
| 52 | Kedzie - California | Roscoe St. - N California Av. - W Chicago Av. - Kedzie Av. - Marquette Park (W 67th St.) |
| 53 | Pulaski | W 31st St. - Pulaski Rd. - Pulaski Av. - Bryn Mawr Av. |
| 54 | Cicero | W 26th St. - Cicero Av. - Montrose Av. |
| 56 | Milwaukee | Imlay Av. (City limits) - Milwaukee Av. - W Washington St. [back: W. Madison St. - N Clinton St.] - N Dearborn St. |
| 56X* | Milwaukee Armitage | Grand Av. - Armitage Av. - Milwaukee Av. - W Washington St. [back: W. Madison St. - N Clinton St.] - N Dearborn St. |
| 58 | Ogden | S Laramie Av. - W 25th St. - Ogden Av. - W Randolph St. [back: W Washington St.] - N Dearborn St. |
| 60 | Blue Island - 26th | Kenton Av. (City limits) - 26th St. - Blue Island Av. - Harrison St. - S Clinton St. - W Monroe St. [back: W Adams St.] - S Dearborn St. |
| 63 | 63rd | Narragansett Av. - W 63rd Pl. - 63rd St. - Stony Island Av. |
| 65 | Grand | N Harlem Av. (City limits) - Grand Av. - Municipal Pier |
| 66 | Chicago | Austin Bvd. (City limits) - W Chicago Av. - E Chicago Av. - Lake Shore Drive - Municipal Pier |
| 67 | 67th - 69th | Marquette Park - W 71st St. - S Western Av. - W 69th St. - E 67th St. - S Shore Dr. |
| 73 | Armitage | N Clark St. - Armitage Av. - Grand Av. |
| 79 | 79th | S Western Ave. - 79th St. - Lake Michigan (Rocky Ledge Beach) |
| 81 | Lawrence | Austin Av. - Lawrence Av - Broadway |
| 87A | 87th | Vincennes Av. - 87th St. - Commercial Av. |
| 95E | 93rd - 95th | S State St. - E 95th St. - Cottage Grove Av. - E 93rd St. - S Chicago Av. - E 92nd St. - Buffalo Av. - Illinois Steel Co. Mills |
Note: * Route numbers with an X extension were not used for the official numbering of these routes. Streetcars on these routes had the normal number designation, the X is simply for the convenience of users of this site.
1 Putting the downtown terminus of line 16 (State) at the intersection of Van Buren St. and State St. is pure guess - but it must have been somewhere!
Service discontinuation dates between 1 Oct. 1947 and 25 Feb. 1951 (corresponding route numbers in brackets):
- 1947 Dec. 15: Devon Av. (between N Kedzie Av. & N Clark St.) (36)
- 1948 Jan. 26: South Damen Av. (48)
- 1948 Feb. 15: Pershing Rd. (39); W 59th St. - E 61st St. (59); 38th St. extension (62X)
- 1948 Feb. 29: Harrison (7, 7A); 26th St. (26); 31st St. (31)
- 1948 Apr. 11: W 63rd Pl. - Argo (from Narraganseet Av. to Oak Park Av. 63, from Oak Park v. to Argo, 63W)
- 1948 Apr. 25: Stony Island Av. - E 73rd St. - Coles Av. (24/27); Exchange Av. - Commercial Av. (24); Commercial Av. - Torrence Av. (27)
- 1948 May 30: 51st St. (51); Archer Av. (SW of Ashland) - Cicero Av. (62)
- 1948 July 25: 16th St. / 14th St. - Canal St. (14); S Leavitt St. - 18th St. (18); S Morgan St. - Racine Av. (23)
- 1948 Aug. 1: Damen Av. - Rosehill (11X); Roscoe St. - Damen Av. (40); Western Av. (between Howard St. & Devon Av., and between W 79th St. and 111th St.) (49); Irving Park Av. (80)
- 1948 Dec. 12: Western Av. (between Devon Av. & Berwyn Av.) (49)
- 1949 Jan. 9: Belmont Av. (77; between Damen & Ashland, also 40)
- 1949 Dec. 4: S Chicago Avenue (5); S. Halstead St. south of W 79th St. - Vincennes Av. - S 111th St. (8); Kedzie Av. (between Milwaukee Av. and Bryn Mawr Av.) (17); W 31st St. (between Kostner Av & Pulaski Rd.) (53); North Av. (72); Fullerton Av. (74)
- 1950 Sept. 6: S Canal St. - W Polk St. - S Wells St. (12X)
- 1951 Jan. 21: Elston Av. (55)
- 1951 Feb. 4: W Division St. (6, 70)
- 1951 Feb. 18: La Salle St. / Wells St. (11); Larrabee St. (40)
RAPID TRANSIT ROUTES (ELEVATED RAILROADS AND SUBWAYS)
Operator: Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
Note: The one and two-character codes used to identify routes below and in the maps are for convenience only, and were not used by the operating company.
| 1 | State Street Subway | Roosevelt Rd. - State St. - Division St. - Clybourn Av. - North Av. |
| 2 | Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway | La Salle Stn - Dearborn St. - Lake St. - Milwaukee Av. - Damen Stn. - Logan Square / Humboldt Park |
| DP | Douglas Park Line | Loop - (Garfield Park Line) - Marshfield - Douglas Park - Oak Park |
| EH | Englewood - Howard | Englewood - Pershing Rd. Station - Roosevelt Rd. - State Street Subway - Belmont - Howard St. |
| EL | Evanston - Loop | Linden (Evanston) - Howard St. - Belmont - Pershing Rd. Station - Loop [Rush-hour express service] |
| EW | Evanston-Wilmette Branch | Howard Street - Linden (Evanston) [Shuttle] |
| GP | Garfield Park Line | Loop - Marshfield - Garfield Park - Columbus Park (Austin) - Bellwood - Westchester |
| JH | Jackson Park - Howard | Jackson Park - Pershing Rd. Station - Roosevelt Rd. - State Street Subway - Belmont - Howard Street |
| KI | Kenwood - Indiana Av. | Kenwood - Indiana Av. [Shuttle] |
| L | Lake Street Line | Loop - Lake Street - Forest Park |
| NH | Normal Park - Harvard Av. | Normal Park - Harvard Av. [Shuttle] |
| RL | Ravenswood - Loop | Kimball Stn. - Belmont - Loop |
| SI | Stock Yards - Indiana Av. | Stock Yards - Indiana Av. [Shuttle] |
INTERURBAN ROUTES
Operator: Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad (CA&E)
| AE&C Line | Wells St. & Jackson Blvd Terminal - Garfield Park Elevated Line - Bellwood - Wheaton - (Elgin) / (Batavia Jnctn. - Batavia) / (Batavia Jnctn. - Aurora) |
Operator: Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway
| Skokie Valley - Mundelein Route | Chicago - Dempster (Skokie) - Lake Bluff - Libertyville - Mundelein | |
| Shore Line Route | Chicago - Linden (Evanston) - Lake Bluff - North Chicago - Waukegan | |
| Skokie Valley - Milwaukee Route | Chicago - Dempster (Skokie) - Lake Bluff - North Chicago - Kenosha - Racine - Milwaukee |
Operator: Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad
| South Shore Line | Randolph Street Terminal - Roosevelt Rd. Station - 63rd St. Station - Kensington 115th St. - East Chicago - Gary - South Bend |
ELECTRIC COMMUTER ROUTES (IC ELECTRIC)
Operator: Illinois Central Railroad
| Blue Island Branch | Randolph Street Terminal - Roosevelt Rd. Station - 63rd St. Station - Kensington 115th St. - Blue Island | |
| Main Line | Randolph Street Terminal - Roosevelt Rd. Station - 63rd St. Station - Kensington 115th St. - Riverdale - Harvey - Richton Park | |
| South Chicago Branch | Randolph Street Terminal - Roosevelt Rd. Station - 63rd St. Station - South Chicago (E 93rd Street) |
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM
NETWORK LENGTH
- Streetcar lines: ? km.
- Subway: 14.2 km.
- Elevated lines: 120 km.
- Interurban lines:
- Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad (CA&E): ? km.
- Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway: 165 km.
- Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad: 141 km.
- Electric commuter line (Illinois Central): 46 km.
HISTORY
- Horse-drawn streetcars: 25 Apr. 1859 - 1906.
- Compressed-air streetcars: 1890 - 1986.
- Battery streetcars: 1896 - 1 July 1901.
- Cable cars: 28 Jan. 1882 - 23 July 1906.
- Electric streetcars: 2 Oct. 1890 - 21 June 1958.
- Interurbans:
- Chicago, Aurora & Elgin line: 25 Aug. 1902 - 3 July 1957.
- North Shore Line: 1895 - 21 Jan. 1963.
- South Shore Line: 1903 - today.
- Chicago & West Towns Railways: (horse-drawn) Feb. 1889 - 1891; (electric) 1891 - 10 Apr. 1948.
- Subway: 17 Oct. 1943 - today.
- Elevated (or "L") lines: 6 June 1892 - today.
- Commuter line (formerly, Illinois Central): 21 July 1856 - today (originally, steam; electrified since 1926).
GAUGE
- All systems: 1435 mm.
TRAM PRESERVATION
The Illinois Rail Museum, in Rockford, IL, about 100 km. NW from Chicago, has about 10 preserved Chicago streetcars, and a large number of preserved interurban and rapid transit vehicles that used to run in the Chicago area. Many of them run regularly on the museum tracks.
SOURCES
- Buckley, J.J. Chicago & West Towns Railways. Chicago: Central Electric Railfans Association, 2006.
- Lind, A.R. Chicago Surface Lines - An illustrated history (3rd. ed.). Park Forest (Ill.): Transport History Press, 1979.
- Map of Chicago Rapid Transit Lines. Chicago: Chicago Rapid Transit Company, 1946.
- Johnson, J.D. A century of Chicago streetcars. Wheaton (Ill.): The Traction Orange Co., 1964.
- Simons, V. "Chicago: Modernisation and renewal" Tramways & Urban Transit, Jan. 2014 (77: 913), p.17-21.
- Taplin, M.R. Tramways of North America, including rapid transit [Tramway Handbooks No.4] Hassocks (West Sussex, England): Light Rail Transit Association, 1981.
WIKIS
- Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad (CA&E)
- Chicago 'L'
- Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
- Chicago Rapid Transit Company
- Chicago Surface Lines
- Chicago Transit Authority
- Illinois Railway Museum
- Metra Electric District
- South Shore Line (NICTD)
- Transportation in Chicago
WEB SITES
- Cable Car Lines in Chicago
- Chicago (on UrbanRail.Net)
- Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway
- Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
- GreatThirdRail.org: The Chicago Aurora & Elgin Internet Resource
- Illinois Railway Museum
- South Shore Line Passenger Service
- www.Chicago "L".org
Also, thanks to Emmert Clevenstine of Ferney-Voltaire, France, for relevant documents he has given me over the years, as well as to Russell Powers from Denver CO and Peter Zondag from the Netherlands for their kind suggestions sent over the Internet.
Copyright Gabor Sandi 1998-2024
Disclaimer: Everything on this site was written and/or prepared at the author's discretion. The author has tried to be accurate where facts are presented, but this does not mean that these facts are necessarily accurate. People needing more reliable information should refer to appropriate sources presented, on the Internet or elsewhere, by authoritative professional or academic bodies.
To get in touch with the webmaster, send an e-mail to g_sandi at hotmail.com.
Flags on this site are from the FOTW Flags Of The World website.