It also led to the creation of a transportation system that, at its apogee, consisted of a web of streetcars, diesel buses, electrified trolleybuses and elevated railways and subways. But not every mode of public transportation that once served Chicago is extant today. Streetcars, for example, last operated in Chicago in June 1. March 1. 97. 3. But that does not mean all parts of the “L” that once existed still exist today. After the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) assumed operational control of the “L” in 1. Although CTA largely eliminated even the slightest trace of these structures in the 1. An urban passenger transportation system using elevated or underground trains or a combination of both. FiberRise allows for installation of GRP Grating Risers into most buildings. First, however, a brief history of rail transit in Chicago is necessary to place the specific remnants in context and to understand CTA’s justification for dismantling any part of the rail system. Rail Transit in Chicago: A Very Brief History. Public transportation, as we now conceive of it, began in Chicago in 1. State of Illinois incorporated it as a city. At that time, contractors drove the first spike for Chicago’s first streetcar line at State and Randolph streets. The genesis of what would become the CTA bus and rail infrastructure had, by April 1. Chicago, Illinois 225 South Canal Street Chicago, IL 60606 Station Hours. Annual Station Revenue (2015) $197,464,450 Annual Station Ridership (2015) 3,295,630. OTHER ABANDONED STATIONS NOT FEATURED There are other stations on London Underground that have been abandoned but due to a lack of substantive remains or photographic evidence available, they are not featured on this website. There was a time (in the UK at least) when the word 'station' would only ever be taken to refer to a railway station. For some reason, nowadays people insist on referring to a station as a 'train station', as if. State Street from Randolph Street to the Southern Hotel on 1. Street. 5. Chicagoans had to wait another 3. Chicago’s first actual rail line, the privately- owned Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad Company, incorporated in 1. This is a list of stations of the Mumbai Metro. Line 1 opened on 8 June 2014. Lines 2 and 3 are in planning stages.On May 2. 8, 1. 89. L” train – which consisted of six wooden olive green and yellow coaches operated by steam locomotion – took its inaugural trip down the elevated “Alley L” from Congress Street to 3. Street. 7 The public’s objections to the unsightliness of elevated train lines were quieted by the fact that the 3. L” only 9. 5 minutes to complete. As one transit writer quipped, “For the first time, the words . It would, of course, not be the last. In the years that followed, several competing, privately- owned rail lines began service in different areas of Chicago: the Lake Street Elevated Railroad Company (1. Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad Company (1. Union Elevated Railroad Company (1. Northwestern Elevated Railroad Company (1. These purely private concerns built much of the infrastructure for the CTA rail lines we now know as the Red, Blue, Green, Brown and Pink Lines. By 1. 90. 9, after each of these companies had significantly expanded their operations, they were jointly capable of serving large swaths of the city’s neighborhoods and as well as its then- outlying and undeveloped “prairie” areas. But at that point the original elevated rail companies were not operating jointly. There were at least five attempts to unify the rapid transit lines under common ownership, all of which eventually proved unsuccessful. Although the companies merged in 1. Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT),1. CRT to spend much of the early 2. United States District Court. Somewhat paradoxically, CRT continued to expand its service and operations. CTA would assume operational control the following year and begin a top- to- bottom review of ridership and other details that would ultimately lead to the abandonment and demolition of seven lines and branches shown here. CRT simply could not generate sufficient revenue from fares to handle the costs of operation, plant renewal, modernization and expansion needed to match the public service demands caused by the growth of the city and its suburbs. Unification under a single municipal – as opposed to private – corporation was the only logical alternative. In April 1. 94. 5, the Illinois General Assembly created the CTA to accomplish that goal,2. October 1. 94. 7, CTA had purchased all of CRT’s assets and began to operate the “L.”2. When CTA took over, it began to examine major changes that CRT apparently never considered, including conversion of low- traffic routes to more economical technologies and adapting the rail system to changing land use and ridership. CRT never abandoned a single line and likely never closed a station. Indeed, as Chicago transit historian Graham Garfield characterized it, the “L” in 1. To make its task even more challenging, CTA assumed control over public transportation during the ascendancy of the automobile and the superhighway as well as the flight of city dwellers to the suburbs. These factors caused the existing rapid transit lines to lose ridership. To address these changes, in addition to closing scores of stations, CTA abandoned seven lines and branches: Line/Branch. Built by. Abandoned/Demolished. Westchester Branch. CRT1. 95. 1/various. Logan Square Branch (between Lake & Evergreen)Metropolitan West Side. Humboldt Park Branch. Metropolitan West Side. Normal Park Branch. South Side Rapid Transit. Kenwood Branch. Union Stock Yards and Transit Company. Stock Yards Branch. Union Stock Yards and Transit Company. Garfield Park Line. Metropolitan West Side. In what might now be considered a short- sighted decision, CTA did not just discontinue services on those lines and branches; it had their supporting physical infrastructure completely demolished. Kedzie Avenue; demolished). The 1. 94. 6 map also demonstrates that the original alignment of the Logan Square Branch did not exactly take the most direct route into the Loop. The original Paulina elevated, with its gradual curve towards the south, is shown here prior to the completion of the Milwaukee- Dearborn Subway. The subway portal, which is in the foreground, was left unfinished pending the end of World War II. Although completed in the CTA era, the Milwaukee- Dearborn Subway was planned and designed in the late 1. CRT’s stewardship of the rail system. Krambles, Krambles- Peterson Archive. Left: This aerial photograph from 1. Moorman and Paulina streets shows the coexistence of the then- new subway portal and the elevated structure. Right: The Evergreen Junction is shown looking southeast from approximately Wolcott Avenue on October 1. An apparently disused substation (not visible), which we assume powered the Evergreen Junction, is directly beneath. This dual alignment was not to last. Right: The foreground of this picture features one of many square concrete pads on the south side of the elevated structure/subway portal between Wolcott and Hermitage avenues. Right: Another pairing of a concrete pad and severed support girder for the elevated trackage near the subway entrance. Shortly past this point, the 1. Moorman Street and connected with the 1. Paulina elevated. Serhii Chrucky. Left: Detail of one of the many concrete bases to the south of the subway portal. The elevated structure would have passed by to its right as it made its curved turn to the south. Left: Sanborn fire insurance map circa 1. Logan Square Branch curved to the southeast, away from the subway portal. Stange, Krambles- Peterson Archive. Left: The old Paulina elevated, looking north on February 2. North Paulina Street. Ohio Street in 1. The concrete bases appear as white dots from this elevation. The squat, yellow former CRT building (discussed below) is visible in the distance. Right: Detail of severed girder in alley to the north of 1. W. Chicago Ave. Serhii Chrucky. Commercial building at approximately 1. W. The squat construction owes to the fact that the elevated tracks passed directly above the building. It is believed to have been operated by CRT. Left: Historic Aerials; Center: Google Maps; Right: Serhii Chrucky. Continuing to the south, the elevated structure crossed over the Chicago & Northwestern and Milwaukee Road railway right- of- way at Kinzie Street. Left: Overhead view of the bridge in service in 1. The elevated tracks are clearly visible at the top and bottom of the picture. CTA activated the Washington Junction in April 1. Douglas Line (i. e., Pink Line) trains access to the Loop while CTA completed construction of what would become the Congress Line (i. Blue Line) in the middle of the Eisenhower Expressway. Why do we address this remnant in the Logan Square Branch section? Because CTA used part of the former Logan Square Branch to make this rerouting happen. As the route map (left) illustrates, Douglas Line trains originally accessed the Loop via the Metropolitan Main Line & Garfield Park branch at Marshfield Junction. Stone; both from the Krambles- Peterson Archive. Left: This photo taken on June 2. Logan Square elevated tracks passing over the abandoned Lake Street Transfer station (left), and the tracks added in 1. Lake Street Line (right). The final half- mile stub of the Humboldt Park Branch’s elevated structure between Western and Damen Junction was not removed until July 1. J. R. Williams, Krambles- Peterson Archive. From this now- demolished tower, CRT and CTA employees would monitor activity at the Damen Junction. Chicago Avenue — of “squat” design because it was situated under the elevated structure. CRT likely situated this building directly across the street from the Kedzie station for commercial purposes to supplement its revenue. Left: This image from a Sanborn fire insurance map circa 1. Humboldt Park Branch passed above the former CRT building located at about 1. N. Center: Detail of the former CRT building’s southern exterior wall. Janssen, Krambles- Peterson Archive. The Wells Street Terminal in September 1. Krambles, Krambles- Peterson Archive. Left: Detail of former site of the Stock Yards Branch’s Halsted station. The building angle referred to above is evident on the right. Right: The Halsted station of the Stock Yards Branch on July 9, 1. Williams, Michael, Richard Cahan, and Bruce Moffat. Chicago: City on the Move. Chicago: Cityfiles, 2. We include this brief historical overview of the history of rail transit in Chicago only to provide context for the remnants discussed herein. Krambles, George and Art Peterson. CTA at 4. 5: A History of the First 4. Years of the Chicago Transit Authority. Oak Park: George Krambles Transit Scholarship Fund, 1. Laws 5. 0; United States v. City of Chicago, 4. U. S. Williams 5. Krambles 2. 1. 8. Garfield, “The Original . Garfield, “History – Unification.”1. Metropolitan Transit Authority Act, 1.
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