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Sunset Lines Story of the Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad, The Vol 1 Trackage DJ
Sunset Lines Story of the Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad, The Vol 1 Trackage by Larry Plachno
Hard Cover w/ dust jacket
160 pages
Copyright 1986
CONTENTS
Dedication 7
Introduction 9
Preface 11
Acknowledgements 13
1 The Super Interurban 15 (Setting the record straight)
2 Chicago's Insull Interurbans 19 (Comparing the big three)
3 Wells Street Terminal 27 (The terminal at Chicago's loop)
4 On The "L" 33 (Shared trackage with the "L" from Wells Street to Forest Park)
5 Forest Park 45 (The eastern terminal in the last years)
6 Double Track Through Suburbia 51 (The double track speedway from Forest Park to Wheaton)
7 Westchester and Mt. Carmel/Cook County Branches 71 (The two short branches south of the main line)
8 Wheaton 81 (Major junction, shops and yard for the CA&E)
9 Aurora Branch 91 (The branch from Wheaton to Aurora)
10 Batavia Branch 109 (From Eola Junction to Batavia)
11 Elgin Branch 119 (The branch from Wheaton to Elgin)
12 Geneva Branch 137 (From Geneva Junction to Geneva and St. Charles)
13 Photographs 145 (Color and black & white photos of the CA&E along the line)
Index 158
INTRODUCTION
Transportation in America has undergone a remarkable change in the past century and a half. As recently as the early 1800's, any serious long distance travel was accomplished by boat or ship on the ocean, rivers, or canals. Local travel was slow and tedious, accomplished by horse and wagon on muddy and usually non-existant roads.
The first railway in the United States was established in 1831, and soon changed the basic transportation picture. It was now possible for passengers and merchandise to travel overland with some degree of speed and safety.
Railway technology was soon applied to solve the need for local transportation within growing cities. At first, horses and mules were used to pull little passenger cars along primitive railroad tracks set in local streets. By 1890, the technology of electricity had advanced to a point where it became a suitable source of power for street railways. Within a very short time, electric trolley cars began replacing the horsecars used for local transportation within cities. Before long, the promoters of the electric street railways began to look beyond the city limits and to project electric railways into the surrounding rural areas and to neighboring communities. These longer-distance lines soon became known as electric interurban railways.
The first decade of this century witnessed a major investment and building boom in interurban electric railways. Strangely enough, it was during this same period that Henry Ford found difficulty in obtaining financing to produce automobiles. But the interurban railways were originally seen as a modern and practical means of transportation.
The interurbans provided fast, frequent and economical transportation between neighboring cities. They also provided transportation for rural residents and farmers. In most areas, the building of a new interurban into a community was cause for great celebration. Although most major communities were served by steam railroads, the interurbans were a boon to rural residents and farmers since they provided frequent and inexpensive service to smaller towns and to virtually any crossroad on the line. For the first time, it became possible for shoppers to go into the big city and return in a day, for salesmen to make several local calls in one day, and for milk and packages to be shipped to and from rural locations quickly and with ease. The interurbans provided the first meaningful transportation for large sections of rural America.
By 1910, interurban lines served most major communities in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Pennsylvania and Southern Michigan. Similar lines were built in other states but were less popular.
The early electric interurban railways used passenger cars not much different from the early city streetcars. As time went on, most interurban railways began using passenger cars which were closer to steam railroad equipment but still very similar to city streetcars in their use of electricity for power. In fact, most interurban railways used city streetcar tracks as a means to enter or pass through cities. Some interurban lines generated sufficient long-distance ridership to warrant investing in parlor cars, dining cars, or even sleeping cars. However, the typical interurban railway was a local entity serving local needs. It was only in rare situations that interurban railways were able to compete with the steam railroads in the area of long distance travel.
This dependance upon local patronage proved to be a financial disaster to the interurban industry. The development of the automobile and paved roads drew away most interurban passengers and decimated the industry. By 1932, half of all interurban lines had ceased operations or at least had given up passenger service. By the late 1940's, only a handful of interurban lines remained, usually those that had developed substantial freight or commuter traffic. None survived as typical, rural interurban lines, although some former interurban trackage remains in use today for freight or commuter service.
The Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad was a small but significant part of the interurban industry. In many respects, it was typical of the industry in that it was founded to connect rural areas and smaller communities to the nearby city. Like most interurbans, it had a policy of providing fast, frequent service. In other respects, the Chicago Aurora & Elgin was substantially different than most interurbans. Initial construction and speeds were considerably above normal for an interurban. As the rural areas began developing into suburbs, the Chicago Aurora & Elgin became a major commuter carrier and continued operations well beyond the time when most other interurban lines had thrown in the towel and ripped up their tracks. The Chicago Aurora & Elgin was, at least initially, innovative and progressive. When designed and built, it was clearly a step above and beyond other interurban lines of the same era - truly the first highspeed, high-quality interurban. In later years, a few other interurban lines were able to match this speed and quality, but the Chicago Aurora & Elgin outlived almost all of them and became one of the better known interurbans.
The story of the Chicago Aurora & Elgin is one of transition. When initially built as the Aurora Elgin & Chicago, the railroad was similar to other interurbans in that it served rural communities, cut across farmland, and even operated special milk trains. After 50 years of suburban growth, the Chicago Aurora & Elgin had evolved into what was primarily an electric commuter line. Likewise, the Aurora Elgin & Chicago in 1902 was considered the most modern and highest development of a high speed interurban railroad. A half-century later, the early achievements were forgotten and the CA&E had become somewhat of an anachronism.
Above all else, and in spite of its occasional shortcomings, the Chicago Aurora & Elgin was beloved by its passengers and commuters. The morning commuters would gather at suburban stations at train time to board their regular trains toward the rising sun. The convenient one-seat ride to Chicago's Loop, the friendly train crews, the comfortable old cars, and the traditional banter between the regular commuters gave the
impression of a private club. Evening saw the reverse procedure as commuters rode home toward the sunset. This same scene was repeated every weekday for decades until passenger service was abruptly discontinued on July 3, 1957. The commuters found alternate means of transportation but most agreed that commuting was not as convenient nor as pleasant after the demise of the CA&E.
Train operations towards the setting sun were noted and the name "Sunet Lines" was adopted by the interurban at an early date. Although never used as an official title, the "Sunset Lines" name and design did appear on the cars and on printed material for many years. Initially, it had been our intention to title these volumes "The Super Interurban" because of the extraordinary aspects of the Aurora Elgin & Chicago at the time of its construction. However, the somewhat unofficial but appropriate nickname "Sunset Lines" was eventually selected as the title for these volumes on the Chicago Aurora & Elgin since it was used extensively throughout most of the life of the interurban and was popular with the commuters and friends of the line.
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