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The Chicago North Shore and
Andrew Ouper The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad had a colorful and significant history, from the first one-truck electric trolley in 1896 to the two startling Electroliners, modern and sleek interurbans capable of speeds up to 85 miles per hour. Like any other interurban line in America, the North Shore began as a small street railway. Two men by the name of Coon and Bradbury orignially petitioned the Waukegan City Council on April 6, 1891, for an ordinance to create a street railroad named the Waukegan and North Shore Rapid Transit Company. The line never materialized because of a recession. In 1894 another group of promoters applied for the incorporation of the Bluff City Electric Street Railway Company. It was successful, and on May 29, 1896, the first one-truck trolley made the round trip from Waukegan to North Chicago. Then, many workers rode the trolley to their jobs at factories in North Chicago. Unfortunately, the Bluff City Electric Railway had many financial problems and was absorbed in 1897 by the newly created Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railway Company. The Chicago and Milwaukee Electric made many changes and greatly expanded the small Bluff City Electric line by ordering new rolling stock and planning an extension to Evanston. Building the extension went smoothly, except at Glencoe, where a three-hundred-foot trestle was needed and at Kenilworth, where the line was refused a franchise. Soon, however, those problems were overcome, and on August 13, 1899, the trestle at Glencoe opened, and travel from Evanston to Waukegan on an electric street car became a reality. Travel from Hammond, Indiana, to Waukegan, Illinois, was cut down to an amazing six hours. Around the turn of the century, much thought was given to opening up a new Libertyville branch line. Connecting the main line at Lake Bluff with Libertyville provided access with several steam roads, and passengers could easily travel to the annual county fair. Construction started in 1901, and the branch opened on August 29, 1903. Already the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric was looking for an entrance into Milwaukee. Building the line north from Zion City, Illinois, was a big step for any interurban line of importance, because Wisconsin had different regulations for interurban lines. Service from Waukegan to Kenosha commenced on December 2, 1905, and was later connected to the original main line to Evanston. Racine gained service in 1906, and Milwaukee in 1908. Thus, a new era of transportation began because the first luxurious parlor-buffet cars, which were built by the Jewett Car Company, entered service and made the growing interurban line more famous. Even though the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric was in receivership by the time they reached Milwaukee, ridership was up, and the line seemed to be prosperous because the parlor-buffet cars brought in more revenue. Finally, Samuel Insull, a Chicago utilities tycoon, bought the bankrupt Chicago and Milwaukee Electric line for roughly $4.5 million on May 1,1916, and promptly reorganized it as the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad. Insull was ultimately the one who brought the glory and big profit to the North Shore Line. The North Shore Line lacked a direct entry into Chicago, and passengers hated to have to transfer to the North Western "L." Insull realized that a direct entry into Chicago would bring the line much more profit and an end to the hassle for countless commuters. Insull quickly pushed for this, and after two years of hectic debating, he negotiated the right to use the elevated line into the city. August 6, 1919, was the monumentous day when the first scheduled train made its appearance in the Loop for the direct run into Milwaukee. New steel Jewett cars were utilized for the first time, and the North Shore connected Milwaukee and Chicago directly. Samuel Insull, however, was far from happy with the line's success and was already beginning to formulate a plan that would allow high-speed train travel from Chicago to Milwaukee. The line's current condition was simply too slow, for much of the line was built on city streets, and speed was restricted. Insull's utilities secretly began buying up land in the Skokie Valley where land was cheap, yet flat; moreover, because the population was smaller, fewer grade crossings were needed. The Skokie Valley Route was soon under construction. The line was double-tracked so both northbound and southbound trains could utilize it and was designated for high-speed trains. This second line branched away from the older line at Evanston and rejoined it at North Chicago Junction. Everyone said the line had a long future when the line officially opened on June 5, 1926, and high-speed service began, cutting down drastically the running time from Chicago to Milwaukee. The fastest time ever between Chicago and Milwaukee was one hour and forty minutes, which was achieved over the Skokie Valley Route by an Electroliner. It was only a few weeks after the Skokie Valley Route had opened when the Eucharistic Congress, a
religious gathering that took place in 1926, held its meeting at Mundelein. Unfortunately, since Mundelein was located in a very sparse area, the North Shore was responsible for moving almost all of the passengers to and from this event, so a large temporary terminal was built, and several cars were borrowed from Chicago's L. The North Shore Line accomplished the major task of moving 200,000 passengers in 1,080 minutes by using most of their equipment, including 410 trains made up of 2,608 cars that utilized both the Skokie Valley Route and the original Shore Line Route. This movement of 200,000 people made history because only the North Shore could handle these crowds and keep traffic moving smoothly, an achievement that may never be surpassed by any other railroad line. The golden years were soon to end because of the depression beginning in the 1930s. Even Samuel Insull's line was soon forced into bankruptcy— again, for the third time. World War II brought back for a brief time the traffic and passenger trade that was typical of the line in its heyday, and the line recovered form bankruptcy by 1946. Interurbans used to pick up a full load of sailors from Great Lakes Naval Training Station who were on leave and headed for Chicago. This occurred mostly on weekends during the war, when the North Shore Line transported 60 percent of the fifteen thousand soldiers and sailors. Visitors to Great Lakes also rode more frequently during the war and most of the time, even with many extra runs, trains were filled to capacity. In 1941 two new sleek Electroliners were introduced, utilizing eight motors to produce speeds up to eighty-five miles per hour between Milwaukee and Chicago. The Electroliners, a remarkable work of achievement, brought back life and hope into the dying line. Not only was the train able to traverse the Loop's tight turns, it could also move through the streets of Milwaukee at high speeds. A beautiful Liner, with a modern interior color scheme of coral, blue, and silver, was an elegant way to travel. It seated 120 passengers and came complete with a small tavern lounge section. Even the Electroliners, however, could not earn enough. In July 1955 the Shore Line Route was abandoned and hundreds of shocked commuters had to turn elsewhere for transportation. The Skokie Valley Route continued to operate even though everyone knew the end was near. Although passengers enjoyed riding the interurbans, the automobile gained popularity because of its flexibility, privacy, and the introduction of the expressways. Finally, the court approved an end to all operations, and on January 21, 1963, the last train reached its destination in Milwaukee at 2:55 a.m. The trolley poles were taken down, the train crew turned out the lights in the station, and the North Shore Line's rails were never used again. The interurbans had a historic role in quickly moving passengers from the skyscrapers of Chicago, through the growing suburbs and countryside, to the final destination, the heart of Milwaukee. Here was a short-lived but important means of travel.— [From George V. Campbell, North Shore Line Memories; George H. Douglas, Rail City; William D. Middleton, North Shore.]
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