Robert, Bill and all....
The exact details of the early service of the CB&Q into Chicago have not been
fully researched and some of the published information is at odds with other
information.
For example, most published sources show the IC Chicago Branch not being
completed until September 27, 1856, but the St. Charles Air Line was completed
to connect with the IC and its station prior to that date. It may be that the
line was in use south of Chicago to some point and the Michigan Central was
already using the IC to get into Chicago.
More research has to be done to tie in these events.
The temporary terminus of the Chicago and Aurora operating over the St. Charles
Air Line to the west bank of the South Branch at 14th Street has not been
published.
Also, after (or during) the building of the Chicago and Aurora main line to
Aurora it appears there may have been a north from Hawthorne to a connection to
the Galena & Chicago Union main line at 42nd Street (at that time their shops
and main yard). This "Chicago & North Western Cut-Off predates the Chicago
Union Terminal / Belt Railway of Chicago by decades and appears on at least one
1872 map. When the C&A opened its own line the Galena & abandoned the western
part of the Air Line from Harlem to Western Avenue and built the "Robey Street
Connector" to gain direct access from its main line down to the Air Line and
its important dock facilities on the Chicago River (including the properties
that were the Potato Yard and now Global 1).
The first railroad in the State of Illinois was the Northern Cross and its
first locomotive was put into service on November 8, 1838.
The Galena & Chicago Union was the first line into Chicago in 1848.
The Aurora Branch is completed to Turner Junction October 21, 1850 with
trackage rights to Chicago over Galena & Chicago Union.
The IC was completed into Chicago on September 27, 1856.
The Galena & Chicago Union purchased the track of the bankrupted Chicago, St.
Charles and Mississippi Air Line from Chicago to the DesPlaines River on April
10, 1854 and prompltly built a connecting track from its main line at Harlem
(Oak Park) to connect with the St. Charles Air Line. Some Chicago and Aurora
trains were diverted from the C&GU main at that point and used the St.Charles
Air Line to a station on the Chicago River at about 14th Street. Later, in
1855, construction started on a Draw Span Bridge across the South Branch of the
Chicago River and on March 30, 1856 the eastward connection from the bridge to
the Illinois Central station grounds on the Lakefront was completed and Chicago
and Aurora trains started using that station.
The Chicago and Aurora opened its own main line May 20, 1864.
An interesting tidbit that hasn't been widely shared to my knowlege..... CB&Q
commuter service once was divided at Riverside. The trains that made local
stops between Chicago and Riverside terminated there. Trains that made stops
between Riverside and Aurora and beyond were operated express to Riverside.
So, say you wanted to go from Lawndale Avenue to Westmont...... you had to
change trains at Riverside to do so! The trains that provided service west
of Riverside often continued on to points beyond and were not part of the
"commuter fleet" but rather regular local accomodation trains. This practice
ceased when Riverside was discontinued as a engine terminal and coach yard in
favor of Downers Grove.
Also, the Illinois Central originally had no direct line into Chicago and its
trains from East Dubuque used trackage rights over the CB&Q. At first the
trains used the IC all the way down to Mendota, then later they had a line that
connected to the Q at Forreston. The IC took forever to build the direct line
from East Dubuque to Chicago, the Chicago, Madison & Northern, and they used
routings over the CGW to regain their own tracks (the Iowa Division). The
last segment to be finished was the Clyde-Chicago segment that connected with
the St. Charles Air Line and it was so delayed that the line had a direct
(grade level???) connection at the crossing of the CB&Q at La Verne.
Charlie Vlk
----- Original Message -----
From: William Barber
To: CBQ@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 18, 2009 9:51 AM
Subject: [CBQ] Re: New North Star trains
Robert,
Q commuter service in Chicago started in 1864 (the centennial train
was operated in 1964 pulled by 4-8-4 #5632 painted gold.). I don't
know when the very first commuter service started in the Chicago
area, but it was certainly earlier than the Q. I suspect it may have
been either the C&NW or the IC.
Bill Barber
Gravois Mills, MO
On Nov 18, 2009, at 3:29 AM, CBQ@yahoogroups.com wrote:
> New North Star trains
> Posted by: "ROBERT K SORENSEN" rksmes@q.com tcdbob
> Tue Nov 17, 2009 7:08 pm (PST)
>
>
>
>
> Group- Lots of "fuss" here in Twin Cities regarding the start-up of
> the North Star heavy rail trains on the BNSF tracks.
>
> It is almost like the wheel has been reinvented!
>
> Will someone give me the year that commuter service started in
> Chicago? Not necessarily CB&Q but I know that they started many
> years ago and are still going.
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