 |
 |
 |
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 | MF | Marshfield Station |
ROUTES
STREETCAR ROUTE
Operator: Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)
| 22 | Clark | Howard St. (City limits) - Clark St. - S Wentworth Av. - Vincennes Av. - W 81st St. & S Halsted St. |
Service discontinuation dates after 31 May 1954 (corresponding route numbers in brackets):
- 1955 June 19: Wabash Av. - Indiana Av. - Cottage Grove Av. (4)
- 1955 Dec. 5: State St. (36)
- 1956 June 17: Western Av. (49)
- 1957 Feb. 18: Broadway; Indiana Av. - S Michigan Av. (36)
- 1957 Sept. 7: Clark St. (22)
- 1958 June 21: Wentworth Av. (22A) [Chicago's last streetcar line]
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 |
| DP | Douglas Park Line | Loop - (Lake Street Line) - Marshfield - Douglas Park - 54th Av. |
| 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) - Forest Park (Des Plaines Av.) |
| 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 |
| RL | Ravenswood - Loop | Kimball Stn. - Belmont - Loop |
| SI | Stock Yards - Indiana Av. | Stock Yards - Indiana Av. [Shuttle] |
INTERURBAN ROUTES
Operator: Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway
| Skokie Valley - Mundelein Route | Chicago - Dempster (Skokie) - Lake Bluff - Libertyville - Mundelein | |
| 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 |
Service discontinuation dates on interurbans after 31 May 1954:
- 1955 July 24: The Shore Line on the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
- 1957 July 3: : All service on Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad (CA&E).
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: ? km.
- Elevated lines: ? km.
- Interurban lines:
- Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railway: 140 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.