All-
I have been working on documenting the history of the Aurora-Chicago line of the CB&Q dating from the inauguration of the Aurora Branch Railroad up to the BN merger. . I’ve uncovered a great deal of information about the Aurora-Chicago line (including some surprises!!) but because of the Chicago Fire, the CB&Q Headquarters Fire, and who knows why there seems to be a lack of photographic coverage of the earlier days of the CB&Q in the Chicago Area!!!
Does anyone have a master list of the numbers and dates of issue for all the Chicago and Aurora Division Employee Timetables that are known?
I am trying to establish the date of inauguration for various stations on the Aurora-Chicago main line and short of finding dates of construction comparing ETTs seems to be the best way of doing this.
Still having difficulty finding photos of depots at:
Indiana Avenue (on pre-track elevation St. Charles Air Line)
Chicago / 16th & Canal (1855-1910)
Blue Island Avenue
Western Avenue (pre-track elevation) both north and south of tracks
CC&IC Crossing
Douglas Park (pre-and post- track elevation)
Millard Avenue (pre- track elevation….the one in the Arcadia Lawndale book is Lawndale, MN on the GN!!)
Crawford Avenue
Western Indiana Station
Cicero (frame building)
Hawthorne
Morton Park
Clyde (have line drawing of original depot)
LaVergne / Cheviot (prior to 1890)
Harlem Avenue (prior to 1890)
Riverside Roundhouse and Turntable
Kennsington (pre-5th Avenue Stone building)
Stone Avenue (prior to 1902 present building)
Bryn Mawyr
Burlington Heights
Stough
Lacton
DuPage / Burlington Park
Eola / Lunds Depot
ANY previously unpublished photos pre-1900 on the Aurora-Chicago line of locomotives, trains, and ROW. There was a Chicago photographer named P.B. Greene who published a series of pre-Chicago fire stereopticon images….a few examples have surfaced in a series called “Views in Chicago and Vicinity” with Number 126 called “Gems at Riverside”. They show the original single track bridge over the Des Plaines River c.1870 and a couple of other views. There must be more such shots taken, likely with the photographer getting off the train, taking pictures, and getting back on the train to shoot the next town. What a find they would be, especially if a few included some equipment and stations!!!
Also seeking photos of the Track Elevation Project in Chicago. Compared to other railroads, the coverage for the CB&Q is slim. Only one very poor shot of the section west of Western Avenue has surfaced and a small number of Western Avenue-Halsted.
Please contact me off-list if you have any pictures or know of anyone that might have such early photos
Thank you,
Charlie Vlk