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Chicago's Commuter Railroads Guide to the Metra System
Chicagos Commuter Railroads Guide to the Metra System By Richard Kunz
Soft Cover stapled
Copyright 1992
64 Pages
Contents
FOREWORD
WHAT'S "METRA" AND WHAT'S A "NICTD"2 2
INTRODUCTION
AN OVERVIEW OF METRA OPERATIONS3
1 /BACKWARD IN TIME
A BRIEF HISTORY OF CHICAGO'S COMMUTER-RAIL OPERATIONS4
2/C&NW NORTH LINE
CHICAGO (NORTH WESTERN TERMINAL)-KENOSHA12
3/MILWAUKEE DISTRICT NORTH LINE
CHICAGO (UNION STATION)-FOX LAKE17
4/C&NW NORTHWEST LINE
CHICAGO (NORTH WESTERN TERMINAL)-HARVARD/McHENRY21
5/MILWAUKEE DISTRICT WEST LINE
CHICAGO (UNION STATION)-ELGIN/BIG TIMER ROAD25
6/C&NW WEST LINE
CHICAGO (NORTH WESTERN TERMINAL)-GENEVA29
7/BURLINGTON NORTHERN LINE
CHICAGO (UNION STATION)-AURORA36
8/HERITAGE CORRIDOR
CHICAGO (UNION STATION)-JOLIET44
9/ROCK ISLAND DISTRICT
CHICAGO (LA SALLE STREET STATION)-JOLIET48
1 0/NORFOLK SOUTHERN LINE
CHICAGO (UNION STATION)-ORLAND PARK53
1 1 /METRA ELECTRIC
CHICAGO-UNIVERSITY PARK/BLUE ISLAND/SOUTH CHICAGO56
1 2/SOUTH SHORE LINE
CHICAGO (RANDOLPH STREET)-MICHIGAN CITY/SOUTH BEND61
Commuting by rail in the Chicago area is a long-established practice. Whether or not anyone took the Chicago & Galena Union (a Chicago & North Western predecessor) to work each day from the line's opening in 1848 is uncertain, but the Windy City's first formal commutation service began on the Illinois Central from Hyde Park in 1856.
Most other area railroads soon followed suit, and accommodated their work-bound patrons with a variety of services. some especially dedicated to the twice-daily traffic, others incidental to long-haul travel. Amenities ranged from brand-new equipment especially purchased for the runs to hand-me-down coaches that had often seen neither broom nor brush since their Limited days.
The infrastructure has varied as well down through the years. from single-track country branch lines and quaint wooden depots to multi-railed steel throughways laden with passenger and freight runs, and terminating in grand palaces of transportation. Motive power has run the gamut from ancient -teakettles- to sophisticated diesels. Two lines today are electrified. and the horizon holds promise of more use of commercial power.
It was inevitable that somehow all of the service would eventually fall into public hands, but the excesses of municipalization are missing from what is today a well-managed, market-oriented. coordinated suburban railway system. MI save one line operate under the Metra umbrella-the South Shore Line is run by the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD).
This book is a look at the development of Chicago's enviable commuter-rail network as well as the Metra phoenix that rose from the ashes of private management disasters and successes. As well, this book reveals Metra's many influences on life in six Illinois. four Indiana and one Wisconsin counties.
CHICAGO'S COMMUTER RAILROADS: A GUIDE TO THE METRA SYSTEM Views Metra and NICTD through the eyes of rail-transit writer Richard Kunz with impressive photography by a host of lensmen. Its aim is to take the casual visitor-or long-time resident-on a tour of the system as it settles in to a period of short- and long-term growth, with glimpses back at a line's heritage. The traveler will be guided through the intricacies of the system. with a running commentary of the sights seen from trains wending their ways through city and suburbs.
Chicago is a fascinating city to visit-and to call home. CHICAGO'S COMMUTER RAILROADS shows you yet another side of the "Second City".
Read, follow-and enjoy!
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