I believe the term commuter originally referred to the reduction or
"commuting" of the fare of those willing to ride daily. I fit this
classic definition in that I buy a 30 day express bus pass that basically cost
the same as 12.5 days of round trip fares meaning that the rest of my round
trips for the month cost me nothing.
Gerald & Virginia Edgar wrote:
>
> It also depends on what you call 'commuter' service. In the earliest yrs (Q
> to Turner Jct via C&NW then Q to Aurora) in effect any Q train from Chicago
> to Aurora could be considered a 'commuter'. (even today you have local &
> express commuter so you cannot always say it depends on how many stops). We
> would need to find TT's after the line was extended to see if the trains
> operated just to/from Chi/Aurora were effectively separated from 'thru'
> trains by table. It might help to find out who/when came up with the term
> 'commuter' - I'd assume someone around NY City.
> Gerald
> To: CBQ@yahoogroups. com
> From: cvlk@comcast. net
> Date: Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:12:30 -0600
> Subject: Re: [CBQ] Re: New North Star trains
> 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
> ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _________ _
> Bing brings you maps, menus, and reviews organized in one place.
> http://www.bing. com/search? q=restaurants& form=MFESRP& publ=WLHMTAG&
> crea=TEXT_ MFESRP_Local_ MapsMenu_ Resturants_ 1x1
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
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