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North Shore Train
Posted by:
s justice
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: November 04, 2011 12:39AM
Does anyone remember the old North Shore train. I used to take it from Lake Forest, Illinois to Howard Street in the 1960's.
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Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
garpo3000
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: November 04, 2011 02:01AM
The Chicago and Milwaukee North Shore Line. While I am not nearly old enough to remember it, I have been doing a lot of reading and researching the topic out of curiousity lately. It first caught my interest when my grandfather (who sometimes doesn't have the most accurate memory) told me that the "L" used to run right by my house in the northern suburbs.
There's lots of information about it here: http://northshoreline.com/ and there is a lot of fragmented info about it on Wikipedia.
All of the old right of ways still pretty much exist and you can see a lot of it on some of the historic aerial photo websites.
Turns out my grandfather was right! I live a few hundred feet from where the old "Woodridge" station used to be on the Skokie Valley (western) line.
The main branch on the east side is mostly the Green Bay Trail and the parking lots along the current Metra Union Pacific North Line.
It's kind of exciting that they are finally in serious talks to extend the yellow line north along the old route!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2011 02:04AM by garpo3000.
There's lots of information about it here: http://northshoreline.com/ and there is a lot of fragmented info about it on Wikipedia.
All of the old right of ways still pretty much exist and you can see a lot of it on some of the historic aerial photo websites.
Turns out my grandfather was right! I live a few hundred feet from where the old "Woodridge" station used to be on the Skokie Valley (western) line.
The main branch on the east side is mostly the Green Bay Trail and the parking lots along the current Metra Union Pacific North Line.
It's kind of exciting that they are finally in serious talks to extend the yellow line north along the old route!
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2011 02:04AM by garpo3000.
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
s justice
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: November 04, 2011 12:59PM
Thanks Garpo
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Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
Brule Laker
(---.c3-0.mart-ubr1.chi-mart.il.cable.rcn.com)
Date: November 04, 2011 01:03PM
My father used to take it into Chicago from the Hubbard Woods stop because it was cheaper than the Northwestern. One reason was he was a member of the "Harvey Club." Membership was simple; you'd say "Hi, Harvey" when a particular conductor came by and he'd give you a phantom punch on your ticket. You would then reward him with a gift at Christmas (don't know if it was cash or something else). No wonder it went bankrupt.
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
daveg
(130.36.62.---)
Date: November 04, 2011 05:00PM
Perhaps the primary reason the NSL went under was that ridership declined dramatically after WW II. Highways and cars did it in.
The last "all aboard" was in early 1963.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2011 05:01PM by daveg.
The last "all aboard" was in early 1963.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/04/2011 05:01PM by daveg.
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
davey7
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: November 07, 2011 12:17PM
I suspect part of it is also that Skokie and points north never developed as densely as they'd expected - it's always fun to see the three flats from the 20's interspersed with the post-war bungalows in Skokie. I suspect they were banking on much higher density and hence, ridership, which would have happened had the depression not interfered.
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
garpo3000
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: November 07, 2011 01:13PM
I think its safe to say it had a lot more to do with the Edens Expressway being built and the fact that commuter trains on the Union Pacific north line, now Metra, which runs right next to the north shore line, were also in operation. Taking a commuter train like Metra made a lot more sense than an inter-urban for the people trying to commute downtown for work.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2011 01:18PM by garpo3000.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 11/07/2011 01:18PM by garpo3000.
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
Cholly
(---.carolina.res.rr.com)
Date: February 07, 2012 05:58PM
In later years, as ridership declined, the line was acquired by bus interests, as I recall. Lots of information should still be available from the Central Electric Railfans Assn.
www.cera-chicago.org
www.cera-chicago.org
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
Richard Stachowski
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: February 07, 2012 06:14PM
[b]Back in the early 40's I went with my family to a camp at "Arden Shore" or "Lake Bluff". We took that train there at that time. There was a family summer camp there where we stayed in cabins. Does anyone know about it? I was seven years old at that time.[/b]
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
Chuck D
(12.104.103.---)
Date: February 14, 2013 03:37PM
The most famous North Shore train was the Electroliner. It has been restored like new and is at the Illinois Railroad Museum in Union Ill.
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
Jeff_Weiner
(---.sub-75-207-7.myvzw.com)
Date: March 01, 2013 04:42PM
Never got a chance to ride the North Shore, but prior to 1963, I remember their trains laying over south of Roosevelt on the elevated structure, as we were heading into the south portal of the State Street Subway.
Lived for a few years in Waukegan, where many people fondly remembered the CNS&M, and always wondered what it would take to rebuild it. The railroad started out there as the Bluff City Electric Railway.
The Susquehanna Corporation was formed out of North Shore assets, and wrote off losses on their taxes, until they decided to completely cash out with abandonment in 1963.
Chicago was home to 2 interurbans that entered on the rapid transit system: the North Shore Line, and the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin Railway.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2016 04:22AM by Jeff_Weiner.
Lived for a few years in Waukegan, where many people fondly remembered the CNS&M, and always wondered what it would take to rebuild it. The railroad started out there as the Bluff City Electric Railway.
The Susquehanna Corporation was formed out of North Shore assets, and wrote off losses on their taxes, until they decided to completely cash out with abandonment in 1963.
Chicago was home to 2 interurbans that entered on the rapid transit system: the North Shore Line, and the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin Railway.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2016 04:22AM by Jeff_Weiner.
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
daleschaul
(---.phnx.qwest.net)
Date: March 02, 2013 11:38AM
I remember taking the North Shore from Mundelein to see my Grandmother in Rogers Park. We lived about a mile from the Mundelein station and used to put pennies on the tracks when the trains were leaving the station. I have ridden old North Shore trains at Union and also in East Troy Wi. I have an old ticket and just received 2 fantastic books by George Campbell on the old line
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
billschr
(---.res.bhn.net)
Date: November 02, 2013 12:40PM
Took many trips from downtown Chicago to Racine WI and back. Rode the Logan Square El to the Loop where I boarded the CNSL train. Did my best to schedule my trips on the Electroliner. What great 40's and early 50's memories.
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
Brian J. Patterson
(---.dsl.emhril.sbcglobal.net)
Date: December 24, 2013 04:44PM
Hello, Chuck D and all.
There were actually TWO Electroliners. They were built in 1941 for the North Shore Line by the St. Louis Car Company to make the North Shore more competative with the Milwaukee Road and the Northwestern. These two articulated trainsets were fully air-conditioned, unlike the rest of the North Shore Fleet, and each had a "Tavern-Lounge" car where passengers could order hot sandwiches, soft drinks, beer, etc.
When the North Shore was abandoned in 1963, both Electroliners were bought by the Philadelphia and Western Railroad for commuter service there, repainted as "Liberty Liners" with the ground level boarding steps removed. When SEPTA (who took over the P&W) retired the trains, the Illinois Railway Museum bought the 801-802 trainset. The other ex-Electroliner was bought by the Rockhill Trolley Museum, and still exists there as the Liberty Liner Independance Hall.
The Illinois Railway Museum is conducting the "Campaign for the Electroliner 2016" to complete the mechanical restoration of the 801-802 and return it to operation in time for its 75th birthday in 2016. You can learn more about the fundraiser at this link; [url=https://www.facebook.com/Electroliner]Campaign for the Electroliner 2016 Facebook Page.[/url] Or, you can click the following link to donate online to the IRM Electroliner Restricted Fund at IRM's online store in increments of $25; [url=http://www3.irm.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_5&products_id=2004]IRM Online Store Electroliner Restricted Fund Donation in $25 Increments.[/url]
The 801-802 Electroliner is on display in Barn 7 at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois when the museum is open. To learn more, visit [url=http://www.irm.org]www.irm.org.[/url]
Thanks.
Brian J. Patterson.
There were actually TWO Electroliners. They were built in 1941 for the North Shore Line by the St. Louis Car Company to make the North Shore more competative with the Milwaukee Road and the Northwestern. These two articulated trainsets were fully air-conditioned, unlike the rest of the North Shore Fleet, and each had a "Tavern-Lounge" car where passengers could order hot sandwiches, soft drinks, beer, etc.
When the North Shore was abandoned in 1963, both Electroliners were bought by the Philadelphia and Western Railroad for commuter service there, repainted as "Liberty Liners" with the ground level boarding steps removed. When SEPTA (who took over the P&W) retired the trains, the Illinois Railway Museum bought the 801-802 trainset. The other ex-Electroliner was bought by the Rockhill Trolley Museum, and still exists there as the Liberty Liner Independance Hall.
The Illinois Railway Museum is conducting the "Campaign for the Electroliner 2016" to complete the mechanical restoration of the 801-802 and return it to operation in time for its 75th birthday in 2016. You can learn more about the fundraiser at this link; [url=https://www.facebook.com/Electroliner]Campaign for the Electroliner 2016 Facebook Page.[/url] Or, you can click the following link to donate online to the IRM Electroliner Restricted Fund at IRM's online store in increments of $25; [url=http://www3.irm.org/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_5&products_id=2004]IRM Online Store Electroliner Restricted Fund Donation in $25 Increments.[/url]
The 801-802 Electroliner is on display in Barn 7 at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois when the museum is open. To learn more, visit [url=http://www.irm.org]www.irm.org.[/url]
Thanks.
Brian J. Patterson.
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
chitransplant
(---.hsd1.or.comcast.net)
Date: August 04, 2014 04:52PM
I remember taking it with my parents from downtown Chicago to Milwaukee in the late 50's and eating in the bar car.
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
davey7
(---.dsl.chcgil.ameritech.net)
Date: August 05, 2014 08:12PM
That sounds more like the Hiawatha than the NSL, but some of the experts here may know the correct answer.
chitransplant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I remember taking it with my parents from downtown
> Chicago to Milwaukee in the late 50's and eating
> in the bar car.
chitransplant Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I remember taking it with my parents from downtown
> Chicago to Milwaukee in the late 50's and eating
> in the bar car.
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
b.a.hoarder
(---.hsd1.il.comcast.net)
Date: August 05, 2014 11:14PM
The North Shore Line shut down on Jan. 20th, 1963 and the tavern-lounge car was serving drinks and Electroburgers right up to the very end.
Re: North Shore Train
Posted by:
Jeff_Weiner
(---.sub-70-194-97.myvzw.com)
Date: February 11, 2016 04:23AM
Btt.
