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Forty Feet Below The story of Chicago's Freight Tunnels by Bruce Moffat SC
Forty Feet Below The story of Chicagos Freight Tunnels by Bruce Moffat Soft Cover Interurbans Special #82
Copyright 1982 SIXTH PRINTING 1989
84 pages Index Map
Over the years, the author has read with interest the many books and articles on two-foot-gauge railroads in the United States- Most of these works have focused on the lines in the state of Maine (and on the Sandy River Si Rangley Lakes Railroad, the largest, in particular)- Precious little factual coverage has ever been given to the next-largest of the two-foot-gauge common carriers-the Chicago Tunnel Company-
Although both the Sandy River and the Chicago Tunnel were located in the snow belt and shared a common gauge. the similarities ended there- Since virtually all of the Tunnel Company's trackage was beneath the streets of Chicago. operation during severe winter weather was not a problem; the Sandy River was not as blessed.
Operation in tunnels required the use of electric-as opposed to steam-power- The small tunnel profile necessitated the use of four-wheel mine-type locomotives, equipped with little more than a "baby K" controller (or its equivalent), headlight, hand brakes and a foot gong-
The system's smaller-than-normal eight-wheel freight and excursion cars regularly negotiated
20-foot-radius curves (the system's standard)-and could squeal around even tighter ones, something unheard of on the Maine lines- And, although full "grand unions" were nonexistent on other two-foot lines, there were seemingly uncountable such installations beneath the streets of the Loop, allowing the operation of a grid system for maximum operating flexibility.
Long after the last of the Maine lines faded into oblivion, the Tunnel Company was still operating. not giving up the ghost until 1959- Unlike its two-foot counterparts, track, overhead fittings and even some rolling stock remain in place to this day. though severely deteriorated by rust
Of the articles and booklets published during the system's half-century lifespan, most were produced by the company or written from data and illustrated with photos supplied by it. Unfortunately, these works seldom disclosed any "nuts- and - bolts" operating data, generalities being the rule- This book aims to correct that omission, providing the reader with an insight into the life and death of a fascinating railroad whose operations went on seemingly unnoticed forty feet below the heart of the city.
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