A&E Chicago, Aurora, Elgin Train Tour

This is a found VHS recording from an estate sale. The video seems to be of an old film. Sad that this form of public transportation was destroyed by the auto industry. I feel like it would be very popular if we had it around now.

[@MA-wq2ih]

Thank you for posting this. I still have my VHS copy, but have nothing to play it on. The CA&E was a complicated case...it lost its connection to downtown Chicago because of the construction of the Eisenhower Expressway...which, to be fair, was very needed (in some form) by Chicago. And it operated in a commuter transit-heavy region...of the towns pictured, only Warrenville was not served by steam road commuter service.

[@albertcarello619]

M1903A1: Also the North Shore Line was paralleled by the Chicago Northwestern just like the CA&E was on it's SHORE LINE ROUTE throughout it's entire length. The Skokie Valley Route proved to be much faster. It too was paralleled by the Chicago Northwestern Freight Line. Only the SOUTH SHORE LINE had no passenger train competition being surrounded only by freight lines. The South Shore 's healthy freight service made it possible for that line to survive up to the time passenger operating subsidies arrived by the NICTD( NORTHERN INDIANA COMMUTER TRANSPORTATION DISTRICT).

[@albertcarello619]

M1903A1: Indeed it was a very long and drawn out process. From the discontinuance of passenger service on July 3 1957 - through final official abandonment July 6 1961 and trackage removal starting March 1962.

[@spc148]

I'm grateful this was documented. Amazing.

[@ronaldanderson6481]

The narrator is from Aurora , Neil Ormand , his wife Mary was, until recently in charge of the Aurora Historical Society. Note ; there is an update that is about two years old @be historic that follows the bike path

[@ShawnCalay]

If it was still around today? Would be a money maker.

[@MikeMancuso]

Henry Ford won the war.

[@asf07]

This was a treat to watch. Spent 5 years living in the suburbs and using the IPP, I gained an interest in the CA&E and its history. I had no idea how fast those cars could travel, and it’s wild seeing those areas the line passed through so open.

[@albertcarello619]

@asf07: They were faster than today's SOUTH SHORE LINE Trains for sure.

[@albertcarello619]

@asf07: The CA&E TRAINS were speed champions. They were even faster than today's SOUTH SHORE LINE TRAINS higher speeds between stations and really quick to come to a stop!! The North Shore Line was another speed champion succeeding both the South Shore Line and CA&E in high speed operations as the North Shore Line entered Wisconsin at speeds around 90 miles an hour and attaining speeds around 80 miles an hour between Lake Bluff and the suburbs down through Skokie.

[@albertcarello619]

@asfo7: Those trains were even faster than today's SOUTH SHORE LINE trains. Speeds of about 75 miles an hour and still make precise station stops!

[@Quincy556]

Absolutely amazing video, I park in glen Ellyn and ride out to the fox river trail, or the opposite direction towards Lombard, villa park and maywood, on the Prarie path, it’s so cool to actually see what it was like when it was up and running, what a different world it was. I still can’t get over seeing where the Wheaton towers is now was a rail yard.

[@albertcarello619]

Philip Quinn: Where the North Shore Line Rail yards were in Mundelein also a very similar situation. There's now the Tower Garden Apartments.

[@Quincy556]

@@albertcarello619 cool, thanks for sharing

[@albertcarello619]

@@Quincy556 You're Welcome!

[@albertcarello619]

The L trains that would meet connecting CA&E trains were usually the CTA 4000 SERIES L CARS since they look the most Interurban -like.

[@tobyradabaugh5033]

I road a ca&e interuban at Illinois railway museum fascinating railroad

[@albertcarello619]

The CTA trains that took tranferring passengers from the CA&E at Forest Park were almost always CTA'S 4000 SERIES L CARS THE CTA probably figuring that they're the most interurban-like and looking. This was during the years of late summer 1954-the end of 1956. In February 1957 all wooden L cars were removed from Garfield Park L Service and were then replaced by the newer6000 Series Lcars as well as the 4000Series L CARS which were still the bread and butter L cars at that time.

[@tomv4408]

After service to downtown Chicago ended, wouldn't Aurora commuters have switched to the CB&Q commuter line, not CNW?

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Yes.

[@enroute6105]

O wow at 2:32 your control operator blew a switch not lined for him. Also this is the original racetrack. The BN line adopted that term from this line.

[@harri2626]

Surely this was a trailing junction with a spring point which opened as the car passed. It was set as seen for cars in the opposite direction.

[@chooch1995]

O wow! Have you not ever heard of a spring switch?? That’s what you saw here…

[@drewhuff3457]

Are any of the small depots or towers left from that line? Nice video of the history of the line.

[@TomHolz-e9x]

Clintonville in south Elgin still stands . It is now a model railroading club.

[@ShawnCalay]

Prince crossing road in westchicago

[@albertcarello619]

@drewhuff3457: There are. The Villa Park Historical Society is one of them. Also there's still a station remnant in Lombard ILL.

[@drewhuff3457]

@@albertcarello619 that is good some were saved.

[@m26a1pershing7]

the Elmhurst depot building is still there, occasionally used as an activity space

[@harri2626]

A wonderful film of a wonderful system. It's ironic that the CTA transfer gave a quicker ride into town for CA&E passengers, and still patronage halved because of the inconvenience of the transfer - surely a lesson for today's operators. I suspect the actual speed of the cars seen in the film was about 20% lower because of the nature of film reproduction in those days.

[@erbewayne6868]

Does anyone know if the very large building in Elgin was the Elgin watch building. Many years ago my wife worked at a job that had many of the desks from the watch company.

[@dannacamacho7590]

The took it out and renovated turned into a shopping place

[@hunterkiller86]

Yes, that was the elgin watch factory

[@albertcarello619]

@erbewayne6868: Yes it was " The ELGIN WATCH FACTORY". Now I believe that whole are is a shopping center

[@johngrantham5508]

A fantastic video. Thank you. It took me back. What did this rail line in was the Congress expressway and cta train service as well as CNW getting the then new open gallery air-condition rail cars. The CTA line is now called the blue line. It goes from Forest Park Illinois to O'Hare airport. Today only the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad is the only Interurban around in North America.

[@albertcarello619]

@johngrantham5508: Sadly no transit agencies were available back then which could have saved the railroad. None of the CA&E cars were air conditioned which also were against it. If the CA&E was saved by an agency like NICTD it no doubt would still be operating today taking on an appearance like today's SOUTH SHORE LINE with cars looking very similar and sounding exactly the same. Also I think due to the forever dangers of the 3rd rail the electrical system would be forced to be overhead catenary also similar to the South Shore Line. If we had a transit agency back then like NICTD or RTA and METRA this line and the NORTH SHORE LINE wouldn't be allowed to abandon or discontinue service.

[@albertcarello619]

@johngrantham5508: The South Shore Line had and has the major advantage of being the only commuter line in Northwest Indiana. No other competition. The Indiana Tollway and expressways the Dan Ryan and I-57 did take a toll somewhat on South Shore Line Ridership to some extent. Commuters however found out that Expressway congestion soon made the Railroad a viable alternative and NICTD came to the rescue and saved the South Shore Line.

[@davidstroud7428]

When it comes to vehicles that run on rails I am a steam fan 100% but I find the us interurban railroads fascinating some reason but trams as they are called in the uk or street cars/ trolleys hold very little interest. Thanks from across the pond for posting some fabulous film

[@albertcarello619]

@davidstroud7428: You'll find Interurban LINES out in Philadelphia many decades old. SEPTA RUN . One example is the #100 NORRISTOWN -DARBY L Line many consider an Interurban. It cars look extremely high tech. And their Light Rail Trolley Lines the #101 Media Pennsylvania and the #102 Sharon Hills Lines many decades old. Their Electric Regional Rail Lines also can be considered as Interurbans.

[@albertcarello619]

Sadly there was no transit agency back then like we have today which would have saved that line.l

[@Quincy556]

As much as I wish I could agree with you I’m afraid the 290 expressway was pretty much the nail in the coffin, once that ran out to the western suburbs it was game over.

[@albertcarello619]

@@Quincy556 Unfortunately especially with no transit agency in sight or existing.

[@Quincy556]

@@albertcarello619 agreed. At least we got some good footage to showed us it was here and existed once. It really was so important to the western suburbs especially when you take into account that it was the 1st electrical utilities in the western suburbs you can still see two sub stations that generated power for the line, one is at prince crossing and the other one is a little further up the line towards Elgin.

[@snagletoothscott3729]

RTA would have dropped it like a heart attack. They struggled for over a decade as it was and certainty wouldn't have wanted a run down interurban that was competing with their higher capacity standard lines on the MLWK, CNW and CBQ. if you have x number of regular commuters between Aurora and Chicago your gonna want to make the most of the infrastructure. Why split those passengers between two lines, and double or even triple your operating costs, while not increasing revenue?