CHICAGO NORTH SHORE LINE
MEMORIES HBDJ INTERURBAN WAUKEGAN MILWAUKEE
HARDBOUND BOOK with DUSTJACKET in ENGLISH by GEORGE
V. CAMPBELL (1980)
--------------------------------
Additional Information from
Internet Encyclopedia
The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
(reporting mark CNSM), also known as the North Shore Line, was an interurban
railroad that operated passenger and freight service over an 88.9-mile (143.1
km) route between the Chicago Loop and downtown Milwaukee, as well as an
8.6-mile (13.8 km) branch line between the villages of Lake Bluff and
Mundelein, Illinois. The North Shore Line also provided streetcar, city bus and
motor coach services along its interurban route.
Extensively improved under the one-time ownership
of Samuel Insull, the North Shore Line was notable for its high operating
speeds and substantial physical plant, as well as innovative services, such as
its pioneering "ferry truck" operations and its streamlined
Electroliner trainsets. Author and railroad historian William D. Middleton
described the North Shore Line as a "super interurban" and opined
that its cessation of rail service marked the end of the "interurban
era" in the United States.
Since 1964 the Yellow Line of the Chicago Transit
Authority (CTA) has operated over a short segment of the former main line from
Chicago to Skokie, Illinois. Operating examples of North Shore Line rolling
stock have been preserved in railroad museums, and the former Dempster Street
Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Shore Line Route was a main line which ran
19.4 miles (31.2 km) through the North Shore region from Linden Avenue in
Wilmette to North Chicago Junction, parallel to Sheridan Road and the Old Line
subdivision of the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW).[5]: 1516, Table 1 A freight interchange
connection was made with the C&NW at North Chicago, though freight service
was not permitted to operate on the line south of Highland Park.[5]: 3 The Shore Line Route was almost
entirely double-tracked, aside from a short segment of gauntlet track in
Glencoe, and included several segments of street running.
Power was supplied by overhead trolley wire.[6]: 5 Between 1938 and 1941, 4 miles
(6.4 km) of the line through Glencoe and Winnetka were rebuilt as part of a
Public Works Administration grade separation project which included the
installation of automatic block signaling and overhead catenary along the improved
section.[1]: 769, 780781 [7]: 5862 Passenger service on the Shore Line Route was
discontinued in 1955, after which it was abandoned south of Elm Place in
Highland Park, reduced to a single-track line, and utilized for exclusively for
freight service, as well as non-revenue access to the company facilities at
Highwood.
Skokie Division (Skokie Valley Route)
The Skokie Valley Route was a main line cutoff
which ran 25 miles (40 km) through the Skokie River valley from Howard Street
in Chicago to North Chicago Junction, parallel to U.S. Route 41. A freight
interchange connection was made with the C&NW at Oakton Street in
Skokie.[5]: 3 The Skokie Valley Route was entirely double-tracked,
located on private right-of-way, and utilized an automatic block signaling
system.[1]: 768769 Power was supplied by a combination of third rail and
overhead catenary, with the transition made between East Prairie Road and
Crawford Avenue in Skokie.
The Skokie Valley Route was constructed between
1923 and 1926, with the purpose of enabling high-speed limited-stop trains to
bypass the increasingly congested Shore Line Route.[9]: 4243 [7]: 2627 From 1925 to 1948, the Chicago
Rapid Transit Company (and later the CTA) operated local rapid transit service
over the Skokie Valley Route between Howard Street and Dempster Street in
Skokie.[9]: 48 The Skokie Shops were also constructed along the Skokie
Valley Route, and the CTA continued to utilize the line to access these
facilities from Howard Street after local rapid transit service had been
discontinued.
Milwaukee Division
The Milwaukee Division was a main line which ran
48.2 miles (77.6 km) from North Chicago Junction to Harrison Avenue in
Milwaukee, and served the intermediate cities of Waukegan, Zion, Kenosha and
Racine.[5]: 8 A freight interchange connection was made with the
Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road) at Racine.
The Milwaukee Division was almost entirely double-tracked, aside from 0.6 miles
(0.97 km) of single-track operation between Austin Avenue and Oklahoma Avenue
on the south side of Milwaukee, and was located entirely on private
right-of-way.
The Milwaukee Division utilized block signaling,
with automatic systems in place between North Chicago and Kenosha, as well as
between Ryan Road in Oak Creek and Harrison Avenue, while a manual system was
in place over the segment between Kenosha and Ryan Road. Power was supplied by
a combination of overhead catenary and overhead trolley wire, with the
transition made on the north end of Waukegan.
Libertyville Division
The Libertyville Division was a branch line which
ran 8.6 miles (13.8 km) from Lake Bluff to Mundelein, parallel to Illinois
Route 176.[5]: 8 Connections were made with the Shore Line Route at Lake
Bluff, and with the Skokie Valley Route at Green Bay Junction as well as at
South Upton Junction.[8]: 6 Freight interchange connections were made with the
Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway (EJ&E) and the Milwaukee Road at Rondout,
and with the Wisconsin Central Railway at Mundelein.[8]: 17 The Libertyville Division was
almost entirely double-tracked, aside from a short segment of single-track
operation east of Green Bay Junction.[8]: 6 Power was supplied primarily by
overhead trolley wire, though sections of overhead catenary were utilized along
the connections with the Skokie Valley Route between Lake Bluff and South
Upton.
The North Avenue Line ran 5.06 miles (8.14 km)
from North Chicago Junction to Greenwood Avenue on the north side of Waukegan,
with additional branches to Western Avenue and Sheridan Road along Glen Flora
Avenue. A connection to the Milwaukee Division was made at the intersection of
Glen Flora and Western Avenues. The North Avenue Line was double-tracked
between North Chicago Junction and Water Street, while North of Water Street,
the line was single-tracked, and made use of passing sidings protected by Nachod
signals. The North Avenue Line was primarily located in city streets, though
private right-of-way was utilized between North Chicago Junction and 10th
Street in Waukegan.
The Washington Street line ran 1.35 miles (2.17
km) from Sheridan Road to Lewis Avenue along Washington Street in Waukegan. A
connection to the Milwaukee Division was made at Edison Court.[11] The
Washington Street line was entirely single-tracked, and utilized unprotected
passing sidings.
Power to the Waukegan city lines was supplied by
overhead trolley wire. Shore Line Route trains operated over 3.1 miles (5.0 km)
of the North Avenue Line between North Chicago Junction and downtown Waukegan,
where an interurban terminal was located at the intersection of County and
Washington Streets after 1929. Freight service was provided to
a number of industries between North Chicago Junction and 10th Street, and
deliveries of coal were transported from the Milwaukee Division to the Victory
Memorial Hospital via the Glen Flora Avenue lines. After the end of street railway
service in 1947, the North Avenue Line was truncated at 10th Street in Waukegan
and incorporated into the Shore Line Route until 1955.
Milwaukee
The Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railway
Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the North Shore Line, operated a single
street railway line in the city of Milwaukee.[8]: 5 The Milwaukee city line ran
3.46 miles (5.57 km) from Harrison Avenue to the intersection of 2nd Street and
Wisconsin Avenue in the Westown neighborhood.[7]: 187 [15]: 652 Connections existed with the
city service of The Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light Company (TMER&L),
which utilized the tracks on Wells Street between 2nd and 5th Avenues until it
was discontinued in 1958.The Milwaukee city line was entirely double-tracked
and located in city streets.
Power was supplied by overhead trolley wire.[8]: 10 Milwaukee Division trains
initially operated over the entire length of the line and terminated on 2nd
Street.[9]: 33 In 1920 a dedicated passenger terminal was constructed
near the intersection of 6th and Michigan Streets, reducing interurban
operations over the city line to 2.8 miles.[8]: 5 [9]: 33, 47 After the subsidiary company
ceased its street railway operations in 1951, the North Shore Line assumed its
franchise and continued to operate interurban service to the 6th Street
terminal until 1963.
Shore Line Route trains operated over the entire
4-mile (6.4 km) Evanston Line of the Chicago "L" from Linden Avenue
in Wilmette to Howard Street in Chicago.[5]: 8 Power was supplied by overhead
trolley wire.[16] When the North Shore Line assumed operations of the Chicago
and Milwaukee Electric Railroad in 1916, trains only traveled as far south as
Church Street in Evanston, where a passenger terminal and stub tracks had been
constructed.[9]: 1214 After direct service into Chicago began in 1919, the
Church Street station was reconfigured for through service, and retained as a
terminal for local trains.[9]: 1011 Intermediate stops between
Linden Avenue and Church Street included Isabella Street in Wilmette, as well
as Central Street, Noyes Street and Foster Street in Evanston.[17] Operation
over the Evanston Line ceased when passenger service on the Shore Line Route
was discontinued in 1955.
Howard StreetRoosevelt Road
In 1919, the North Shore Line negotiated a
trackage rights agreement which permitted its trains to operate directly into
Chicago over 12 miles (19 km) of the "L" from Howard Street to
Roosevelt Road on the Near South Side. On the quadruple-track portion
of the North Side Main Line from Howard Street to Chicago Avenue, North Shore
Line trains typically utilized the express tracks to avoid interference from
local "L" trains, though the exact routing varied over the years.
After its completion in 1943, trains were occasionally diverted through the
State Street Subway if the North Side Main Line was obstructed. Power was supplied primarily by
third rail, though overhead trolley wire was utilized on the outermost
southbound track between Howard Street and Granville Avenue.[
North Shore Line trains made limited stops at
Wilson Avenue, Belmont Avenue, Chicago Avenue, Grand Avenue and the Merchandise
Mart.[17] South of Merchandise Mart, trains operated counter-clockwise over the
Loop, with southbound trains making stops at the Randolph/Wells, Madison/Wells,
Quincy/Wells, LaSalle/Van Buren and State/Van Buren stations, while northbound
trains made stops at the Adams/Wabash, Madison/Wabash, Randolph/Wabash and
Clark/Lake stations.[17] Between the Loop and Roosevelt Road, trains made an
intermediate stop at the Congress/Wabash station, and the North Shore Line
utilized the Congress Terminal as its downtown baggage station, an arrangement
which continued after the CTA vacated the terminal in 1949. Operation into
Chicago over the "L" was maintained until the end of rail service in
1963.
In 1922, another trackage rights agreement was
negotiated which permitted certain North Shore Line trains to operate over the
South Side Elevated from Roosevelt Road to the 63rd/Dorchester station in the
Woodlawn neighborhood.[9]: 33 Trains made intermediate stops at 43rd Street, 61st
Street, South Park Avenue, Cottage Grove Avenue and University Avenue.[21]
Operation over the South Side Elevated provided the North Shore Line with
access to the Chicago "L" yards at 61st and 63rd Streets.[9]: 33 Service south of Roosevelt Road
was discontinued in 1938.
The Bluff City Electric Street Railway Company
began operation in May 1895 as a local street railway line in the city of
Waukegan, Illinois.[22]: 23 The Bluff City Electric line had already been extended
as far south as Highland Park when it was acquired by the newly incorporated
Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railroad in May 1898, and the following March a
connection was made to the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway (Milwaukee
Road) line at Wilmette.[22]: 33, 45 In August 1899, through service began operating from
downtown Waukegan to Church Street in Evanston, where passengers could transfer
to trains of the Northwestern Elevated Railroad and continue into Chicago. The rudimentary, single-tracked
interurban line was steadily upgraded over the following decade, with the
addition of a second track, improvements to the physical plant and the gradual
relocation from public roads onto private right-of-way where possible.
Between 1902 and 1904, a branch line was
constructed from the mainline at Lake Bluff to Libertyville.[22]: 7172 In 1905, this branch line was
extended further west to Mundelein (then known as Rockefeller).[22]: 87 In addition to giving the
Chicago and Milwaukee Electric access to a large gravel pit east of
Libertyville, the new branch line also enabled the interchange of carload
freight with both the EJ&E and the Milwaukee Road at Rondout, as well as
with the Wisconsin Central Railway at Mundelein.[22]: 7173, 87 Around this same time, a
single-track spur line known as the "West Line" was constructed from
the Libertyville branch at Lake Bluff into the city of North Chicago, where it
terminated south of 22nd Street.
In 1904, the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric began
to purchase property and negotiate contracts for the extension of its service
into Wisconsin. Construction between Waukegan and Zion City was largely
complete by the summer of 1905.[22]: 8385 Further construction proceeded
at such a pace that trains began operating as far north as Kenosha, Wisconsin
by December of that year, followed by Racine in September 1906. Shortly
thereafter, the Panic of 1907 forced the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric into a
prolonged period of insolvency, but in spite of ongoing financial trouble,
construction in Wisconsin continued. The northern extension was finally
completed in 1908, with through service between Evanston and Milwaukee
beginning that October.
Though the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric had been
placed under receivership in 1908, patronage and revenue continued to grow,
permitting more improvements to the property. Bridges between Racine and
Milwaukee were upgraded and the original mainline underwent significant
rehabilitation, as did the street railway in Waukegan, which had since begun
operating a line on Washington Street.[22]: 85, 136139, 147 New rolling stock was acquired,
including an order of steel coaches delivered from the J.G. Brill Company in
late 1915.[22]: 158159 The possibility of a direct entry into Chicago over the
elevated lines was also studied during this time, with the intent to eliminate
the necessity of transferring at Church Street, and thereby making the
interurban service more competitive with the steam railroads.
When the North Shore Line assumed operations of
the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railroad in 1916, it inherited an
arrangement in which its trains operated on the Chicago and Evanston Line of
the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad south of Laurel Avenue in Wilmette
to a terminal at Church Street in Evanston, where passengers transferred to and
from Northwestern Elevated trains.
In 1919, further trackage rights agreements were
negotiated with both the Northwestern Elevated and the St. Paul Road which
permitted North Shore Line trains to operate over the "L" south of
Church Street, over the North Side Main Line and through the Loop, to a
downtown terminal at Roosevelt Road.[9] The following year, a new terminal in
Milwaukee was dedicated, and in succeeding years, the remaining single-track in
Wisconsin was eliminated, with the exception of a one-half-mile stretch of single-track
in southern Milwaukee that remained a minor bottleneck until the railroad's
end.
During the early 1920s, the railroad instituted a
number of named, limited-stop trains, some carrying deluxe dining and
parlor/observation cars. One of the railroad's most distinctive named trains,
inaugurated in 1917, was the Gold Coast Limited. The North Shore also created a
network of motor coach (bus) lines to feed on potential traffic from territory
not directly served by the company's trains.
Construction of the Skokie Valley route
The growth of the north shore communities provided
good traffic levels for the railroad, but the increasing congestion of these
communities' business districts impeded the railroad's desire to remain
competitive with the competing steam railroads for longer-haul passenger
business, in particular the Chicago-Milwaukee traffic. The North Shore
therefore sought to build a new bypass line through the Skokie Valley what
was then undeveloped rural land approximately four to five miles west of the
lake shore route.
The needed real estate purchases and financing
were arranged in 1923 and 1924, and construction of the new line began in April
1924. The new line diverged from the Howard Street "L" station
located at the boundary between Chicago and Evanston, ran west into the village
of Niles Center (now Skokie), continuing to the north-northwest from that point
through marshy countryside, paralleling the Skokie branch of the Chicago and
North Western Railway. At South Upton, the new route ran eastward along the
North Shore's Mundelein branch until just west of Lake Bluff, at which point a
new connection diverged to the north onto what had been a freight-only branch
which connected to the original main line at North Chicago Junction.
An arrangement was made with the Chicago Rapid
Transit Company, wherein local "L" service was begun over the new
line to the Dempster Street station in Niles Center in 1925. It had been
anticipated that the opening of the new "L" line would help launch a
real estate boom in the area as it had decades earlier in other parts of the
Chicago area. The Great Depression put a damper on the area's growth, and Niles
Center (by that time renamed Skokie) didn't really begin to experience a surge
of growth until the 1950s.
Though the Niles Center elevated service failed to
prosper, the transit operator benefited from the construction of new shop
facilities on vacant land along the southern part of the Skokie Valley line.
This spacious facility relieved older, more crowded facilities on the
"L" system and remains to this day as the Chicago Transit Authority's
primary maintenance facility for its rail system.
The remaining portion of the North Shore Line's
new Skokie Valley line entered service in 1926. The new route consisted of 18
miles (29 km) of new double-track railroad, and the route was a mere 2.5 miles
(4 km) longer than the old main line. Because it traversed mostly rural area,
higher speeds could be sustained for a longer distance. In conjunction with the
completion of the Skokie Valley route, the railroad had improved the Mundelein
branch, building a new terminal and double-tracking the branch. Mundelein had
previously been served by shuttle service connecting with main line trains at
Lake Bluff; with the opening of the new Skokie Valley line on June 5, 1926,
North Shore inaugurated an hourly Chicago-Mundelein local suburban service,
interspersed with the hourly Chicago-Milwaukee limited-stop trains. Diversion
of the Chicago-Milwaukee service onto the Skokie Valley line brought a
reduction in travel time of 20 minutes.
The original main line now designated by the
railroad as the Shore Line continued to host Chicago-Waukegan service, which
consisted of limited-stop Chicago-Waukegan service as well as all-stop local
service, each operating at roughly 30-minute headways.
The Great Depression
Initially after the stock market crash in 1929,
business went on as usual, but as the depression deepened and as the Insull
public utility empire began to crumble, the railroad entered receivership in
1932. The dire economic conditions and high unemployment caused ridership (and
hence revenue) to plummet. A labor strike in 1938 precipitated by a 15%
reduction in wages kept the railroad from operating for seven weeks.
In spite of the difficult conditions during the
1930s, the North Shore was able to undertake a major grade separation project
along the Shore Line. The North Shore had for nearly a quarter century sought
to eliminate the hazards and operating costs associated with running a busy
railroad through the business districts of one built-up suburb after another.
Prior to the Depression, grade separation projects had been funded by the
railroads' private capital, and neither the North Shore Line nor the paralleling
steam-operated Chicago and North Western Railway were in a financial position
to undertake such a venture even before the stock market crash in 1929.
However, in 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
and his Secretary of the Interior, Harold L. Ickes (a Winnetka resident),
announced a Public Works Administration program to "prime the pump"
of the American economy. This timely program allowed the railroads and the
communities of Winnetka and Glencoe to obtain federal funding for the grade
separation of the two railroads through their business districts. The project
was complicated by the need for construction work to take place under traffic
the two railroads combined operated more than 200 daily trains. The grade
separation was completed in late 1941 just nine weeks before the United
States went to war and cost $4.3 million.
To meet the competition of modern streamlined
trains operating on the steam railroads connecting Chicago and Milwaukee, the
North Shore in 1939 embarked on a program to modernize a portion of its steel
coach fleet for both commuter and intercity service. Some 15 coaches dating
from 1928 were modernized, practically from the ground up. All-electric heating
was installed with a new ventilation system, new flooring, new interior
decorations and fittings. The cars' exteriors were painted green with gray and
red trim, and were dubbed "Greenliners". These cars were regularly
assigned to Skokie Valley limited-stop service.
The most significant component of the passenger
equipment modernization program was the purchase of two articulated streamlined
trainsets. The trainsets consisted of four cars semi-permanently attached. The
two end units included operating cabs and smoking and non-smoking coach
seating. An additional car provided more coach seating, and the tavern/lounge
car rounded out the four-car consist. These trains were dubbed Electroliners
and were the railroad's premiere service run as fast as 90 mph between Dempster
Street and North Chicago Junction on the North Shore's excellent track and
roadbed.
Entering service in February 1941, each trainset
was scheduled to run five one-way trips in Chicago-Milwaukee service every day.
The Electroliners continued in service until the end of the railroad's
operation in 1963. The Electroliners were sold to the Philadelphia Suburban
Transportation Company and were renamed Liberty Liners and run between 69th
Street Philadelphia and Norristown. The Liberty Liners were retired around
1979.
Wartime rush and post-war decline
The outbreak of World War II caused the railroads
of the United States to see a sharp rise in traffic. Even before the imposition
of rationing of fuel and rubber made auto travel difficult, the North Shore saw
its freight and passenger traffic rise to record levels, in part due to the
railroad serving important military facilities: the Army's Fort Sheridan just
north of Highwood, and the Navy's Great Lakes Naval Training Station, just
south of North Chicago. North Shore saw its traffic increase to the extent that
the railroad was forced to borrow equipment from the Chicago Rapid Transit
Company and fellow interurban Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad, both former
Insull properties.
Wartime earnings were high enough that the
railroad's bankruptcy trustees were able to pay some of the company's
outstanding debt and submit a reorganization plan. After the plan was approved,
a new corporation (with a different corporate name from before) assumed the
property in 1946.
The failure to resolve a wage dispute taken to the
National Mediation Board in 1948 led to a 91-day work stoppage that spring. The
dispute was resolved by increasing both fares and wages, though the company's
employees continued to earn less than their counterparts at other area
railroads. Simultaneously, a decline in rail travel began as initial postwar
shortages of automobiles ended. These national trendscoupled with the lost
revenue from the three-month strike and the effects of the strike-settling wage
increasecreated serious passenger revenue losses for the line. In 1949, the
railroad sought to curtail some of its more unprofitable services. Dining car
service (other than that on the Electroliners) was dropped, service
(particularly on the Shore Line) was reduced, and the railroad applied
unsuccessfully to drop Shore Line service altogether.
When the franchise held by the North Shore
subsidiary operating streetcar service in Waukegan expired in 1947, the company
felt that a renewal was not justified. It replaced its city operations there
with bus service. Shore Line trains that used the streetcar tracks to reach
downtown Waukegan were simultaneously cut back to allow the tracks to be
abandoned. The subsidiary city streetcar service in Milwaukee was discontinued
in 1951 but the tracks remained, as they were used by main line services to
access the North Shore's Milwaukee terminal.
Right-of-way and trackage between Leland Avenue in
Chicago and Linden Avenue in Wilmette was sold to the CTA in 1953, though the
Shore Line continued to operate.[26] In turn, the railroad received $7 million
USD in CTA revenue bonds.
The railroad repeated its petition to abandon the
Shore Line in 1954. Though rush hour traffic levels remained strong, off-peak
ridership had declined sharply, leading to further losses. The remaining street
running and numerous stops eliminated many of the advantages of rail
transportation on this route. Travel time on the Shore Line was roughly twice
that of the slightly longer Skokie Valley route. The completion of the Edens
Expressway through the Skokie Valley in late 1951 caused mounting ridership losses
reflected on the railroad's earnings statements. Though the abandonment
proceedings garnered strong opposition in the communities affected, the
railroad was successful in proving its case and was authorized to end service
on the Shore Line. July 24, 1955 was the final day of service on that route. A
short portion of the line was retained to provide access from North Chicago
Junction to the railroad's shops in Highwood. The rest of the line north of
Linden Avenue in Wilmette was removed, much of the right-of-way becoming
automobile parking spaces for commuters who switched to the suburban trains of
the parallel C&NW North Line.
End of rail service
With its transportation holdings proving
increasingly unprofitable, the Susquehanna Corporation, a Delaware-based
holding corporation formed after a 1953 reorganization,[28] moved to cut its
losses; in 1958, the railroad filed with state and federal regulatory
authorities for the authority to discontinue all service and abandon the entire
property. The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) examiner handling the case
recommended abandonment, but the Illinois regulators recommended the continued
operation of the railroad. For the time being, ridership remained fairly
stable, but the completion of the Northwest Expressway (now the Kennedy
Expressway) in late 1960 provided a link between the Edens Expressway and the
Chicago Loop. The North Shore Line's passenger traffic began to hemorrhage at
the rate of 46,000 passengers per month.
The Chicago Transit Authority researched the
possibility of continuing truncated rail service between Waukegan and Howard
Street in Chicago, with buses assuming operations between Lake Bluff and
Mundelein.[29] The report, released that October, revealed that passenger
service had dropped to an average of 14,000 daily riders, and that the line was
in dire need of modernization. The report recommended that the CTA only assume
operations under the conditions that the acquisition of the railroad's property
and modernization of the fleet could be achieved without cost to the agency,
and an operational subsidy would be provided. In February 1961, an updated
study was released, revealing that patronage had become even lighter than it
had been when the initial study was conducted. Ultimately, no action was taken
as a result of the study, as none of the recommended conditions could be met.
That February, the railroad requested expedited
action by the ICC on its abandonment petition, citing its mounting losses. On
May 17, 1962, the request was approved under the condition that no buyer
stepped forward within 35 days. Both the Illinois regulators and an association
of commuters opposed the action, the association offering to buy the railroad
at salvage value but ultimately failing to raise sufficient funds to buy the
property. That November, the state of Illinois ruled in favor of the ICC, and prevented
the commuters association from having the abandonment postponed any further.
The last full day of service came on January 20, 1963, with the final trains
reaching their destination in the early hours of the following morning.
Sporadic freight movements continued into the next week, as the remaining cars
on the line were collected from various points on the system.
Post-abandonment
Most of the rails were removed in the succeeding
two years. The Chicago Transit Authority purchased the southernmost portion of
the Skokie Valley line between Howard Street and Dempster Street, Skokie, and
in early 1964 obtained federal funding for what turned out to be a successful
mass transportation pilot project, dubbing the new non-stop service as the
"Skokie Swift." That same year, the Skokie Valley Transportation
Council was formed by the towns of Glenview, Northbrook, Northfield and Skokie,
with the goal of reviving rail service by funding an extension of the
"Skokie Swift" further north.
This was prevented by the sale of the trackage
between Dempster Street and Lake-Cook Road to the Chicago & North Western
Railway for use as a freight line.[31] The Union Pacific (into which the North
Western was merged in 1995) continued to operate the line until 2001, and it
was dismantled in 200405. CTA is studying possible extension of the Yellow
Line along the North Shore right-of-way as far as Old Orchard Road, opposite
the Old Orchard shopping center.
Amtrak's Hiawatha Service currently serves the
passenger rail market between Chicago and Milwaukee. Metra's Union Pacific
North Line services the market between Chicago and Kenosha, Wisconsin
previously served by the North Shore Line, while the Milwaukee District North
Line and North Central Service serve Libertyville and Mundelein, respectively.
The
former North Shore right-of-way from the Illinois border to Milwaukee was sold
off piecemeal to numerous private interests. In Illinois, extension to the
Skokie Swift into the now-fully-developed territory in the Skokie Valley is
discussed periodically. In other places, parts of the North Shore right of way
have been turned into paved and limestone recreational trails, such as the Oak
Creek Line of the Oak Leaf Trail in Milwaukee County,[32] as part of rails to
trails programs.