It is hard to imagine, even for an old fart like myself who grew up in the Chicago Suburbs and remember when there were great expanses of “prairies” (vacant lots) when I was a kid, how much the Chicago area has changed.
REA is a good example…..the UPS and FEDEX of the day, REA used to do a great business and was an integral part of many people’s lives. Ditto, at a little earlier era, local freight service in the Suburban territory. And, going back even further, Milk Service and support for farm products, both inbound and outbound, even including what is now within the City of Chicago.
While “commuter” service is strong on the Aurora-Chicago line, the railroad used to be more important for people getting into the city in general and for city folk to get out of the city to escape the heat and get some fresh air.
I was surprised the last time I took Route 34 to see how urbanized it is…..nothing but SUVs and Shopping Centers all the way past Sandwich!!!
Looking at Chicago proper and all the suburbs and close-in cities and seeing where there were once industries employing people making goods one has to wonder about where we are in these times and if we didn’t make a wrong turn somewhere along the way…..
Charlie Vlk