CTA From The Archives: The North Shore Line

[@xkee2013]

Wow. Imagine if the CTA had ownership and operated all these lines today. You would be able to take the L to the far north suburbs!! I love Gurnee Mills and Six Flags Great America. Just imagine being able to take the Yellow line to Mundelein IL. and the Purple line to Waukegan Airport. With a extension of the Red Line separating from the Purple line (which would be heading to Waukegan) to head northwest to Gurnee, IL. once surpassing North Chicago.

[@docjanos]

Brings back memories. In the late 50s till I was 12 when the line was abandoned (1963) my dad and I would ride from Roosevelt Road to Milwaukee just for fun every few months. By then it was only the Skokie Valley Route. With the nearly non-stop Electroliners it was 90 minutes, and they had a dining car too. Yes, that whole corridor was almost all rural. It used the L but it made only limited stops; Loop stations, Merch Mart, Belmont, Wilson, Howard. One striking thing about all films from that era was the amount of litter. People threw everything onto the ground. As recent European immigrants we found it shocking. It was not until Lady Bird Johnson's anti-litter campaign (one of the most effective but largely forgotten First Ladies) that there was a cultural shift in that regard.

[@VolumedMusicMan]

Did they actually take down all the tracks on the original North Shoreline from Willmete to Waukegan? I was checking Google Maps and I saw an old station house on Indian Hill. The embankment on the current stop looks very old. That’s why I’m asking.

[@emjay5577]

The North Shore Line should still be around today. Unfortunately, it had reached a point in its life when it had met competition back in the 1950s when the expressways opened, and the love for cars and cheap gas made it more convenient for commuters. It had aging equipment that needed replacement, the station in Milwaukee needed relocating because of highway construction, and more things like shop relocation and modernization. If it had somehow managed to limp into the early 1970s, and the states of Illinois and Wisconsin worked together to save it as a commuter line, it would have survived like the South Shore, albeit in a modified form.

[@MA-wq2ih]

Had the North Shore survived long enough that an RTA-type organization was formed to support passenger rail, I think the competing steam railroads that had already modernized their commuter services would have pulled every string they could to have the North Shore excluded as "redundant".

[@davidchurch4058]

And CTA wanted North Shore trains off the L.

[@jaminova_1969]

This is one of the best films ever! I really enjoyed the trip! I always wanted to visit Chicago, maybe one day I will.

[@xanadujohn79]

Thanks to GM, Goodyear, NCL, and Standard Oil, allot of light rail, aka trolleys systems are gone. Now we have smog, tollways, gas taxes, traffic.

[@246spyder]

Yes, I agree. but it was inevitable. You must agree unless you have a good substitute for the alternative. The most egregious thing was the sham to get rid of the Chicago Surface Lines. So many doubters were shown many years later the real collusion, a set up as you alluded to. The biggest miscarriage was using the tragic and horrible accident around '52 -'53 at 63rd and Halsted (someone please correct me if you wish as to the place and date) I remember the occurrence well. A Greenhornet Streetcar jumped its tracks in a construction zone and most of the passengers of the filled car were killed due to the car hitting a gasoline tanker truck. Only a few escaped through the rear windows.The last damages claim was settled only a few years ago. In around '52 I road most of the CSL/CTA lines routes with friends (young whipper-snappers) around the city on one fare(10 cents) each and a free transfer ticket, good for a couple of hours but most of the conductors and motormen let us use the expired punch ticket when we told him why we were taking the ride, good people all around back then. We and they knew that time was short. My thanks, Posthumously. to the videographer and the CTA archives for making this expensive film available. Cheers and tears for times long gone, and sadness for those of you who don't have the memories of the old"ELs"/Streetcars and seeing RR Steam-engines coming to and going from central station.

[@1974rail]

@@246spyder the democrats too

[@JoseTwitterFan]

Don't forget license/registration fees and car insurance payments.

[@takeontravel9076]

We also have the Metra train going to Kenosha and Amtrak to Milwaukee .

[@MA-wq2ih]

The Depression and WW2 were much more to blame. Fifteen years of deferred maintenance and five years of hard wartime service meant that entire systems were worn out and had to be rebuilt or replaced all at once. Converting to buses meant getting rid of track and overhead wire maintenance. And after the Depression and war, people wanted new cars and new "everything".

[@LibertyRailfan]

Thank you for these videos no other transit agency today outside of CTA and Metra seem to really have any videos like this showing the past. With the recent closure of the South Shore Line street running in Michigan City Indiana that was the last of the classic inter urban style railroads. Where freight could be run, there was mainline RR Sharing with interurban, then street running and sharing the track with trolley/streetcars. I’m from New Jersey but the closest real interurban was the red arrow lines. With these videos feels almost like being in a time a time machine, with the videos I hope one day to make a model railroad layout of a interurban line.

[@roundlakerailfan6853]

How much the land has changed over time is mind-blowing. Take a bike ride or a walk along the Green Bay Trail, the Robert McClory Trail, the North Shore Bike Path, or the Skokie Valley Bike Path these days, and you'll find that it looks absolutely nothing like it was in 1945.

[@nickweiserfolz]

Thank you CTA, very very interesting!

[@jdubw9118]

as a former resident of Evanston who spent a lot of time in Wilmette Skokie etc this was a very interesting video to see how my old haunts looked in the 1940s lol! the Skokie valley route seemed sort of semi rural at the time and the street crossings all seemed to consist of narrow 2 lane roads(now 4-5 lane suburban boulevards!). very interesting!

[@FoamySoaps]

Awesome video. Love seeing this kind of footage.

[@Robbi496]

When I was 14, a buddy and I HIKED the Shore Line Route from Wilmette to Highwood and back to Glencoe where my mother picked us up!

[@MrMASSEYJONES]

This is mjy idea on how a video should be done! Good flowing action, lots of explanation and good music to a silent movie. The key to its success: Continuity. Too many rail videos today, lack it. Well done. A real pleasure to watch. I subscribed.

[@plumbing54]

Wow...going through the videos of the North Shore brings back memories! I was 10 when they discontinued but got to see them as they would stop in Racine WI in West Racine!!

[@oscarmason3252]

This is such a nice video, a reminder from yesteryear, I know there may be many against the idea but I would love to see this colorized, that would be really nice

[@carlwalsh7944]

Growing up in Wilmette in the '70s, when the L ended at 4th and Linden, it's fascinating to see when the train went from there down Linden Avenue to the present 'commuter' train tracks.

[@scoobycarr5558]

There's a lot of things people are doing back in those days as in today's modern era - like not looking both ways while crossing railroad tracks and cars beating the train to the crossing. Seems like bad habits never grow old!

[@briansivley2001]

Scooby Carr Yeah lol. Luckily I always look both way at train intersections because I'm not stupid.

[@scoobycarr5558]

briansivley2001 Yay! Excellent! Thanks and please have a nice day and please be safe.

[@F40PH-2CAT]

People weren't such pansies back then.

[@michaelsteele4587]

It looks like there was a cat at the last station towards the end of the video standing on the platform watching the train pull in as if it did so quite often. Probably waiting for its owner to come home.

[@MA-wq2ih]

I never noticed that before!

[@DoncasterA1Music]

Cool! This tells me a lot of stuff i never knew.

[@aeoliankid1]

Thank you, CTA, for a fine video. What is the musical selection from 0.00 to 2:40? Who composed it? The second piece, from 2:40 to 7:40 is Chopin's Valse Brilliante, Op.18. The third selection sounds like Bach, and the fourth "smells" like Schubert or Beethoven. Would you or GMP Music be so kind a to enlighten us? Thanks!

[@granskare]

I rode the el and subway in the 40s...cost me a nickel :)

[@QuarioQuario54321]

How old are you?

[@DoncasterA1Music]

What is that music at the beginning? IT IS BEAUTIFUL!

[@246spyder]

See the above notes at the beginning where it says "show more".

[@briansivley2001]

Man I wish that The North Shore Line was still around. It's can easily imagine how much easier it would be to get to Milwaukee for Milwaukee Irish Fest every year. Being I live down the street from the Howard Station where it switched into two branches The Shoreline Branch and The Skokie Valley Branch I can just hop on my electric wheelchair and go to Howard Street CTA Red Purple and Yellow Lines Station and get my North Shore Line tickets for a round trip between Howard and Milwaukee and I would just get on the train and relax and enjoy the trip while having breakfast while watching the scenery go by. I wish they could bring it back I would use it being I live right down the street from it. I think if they were still around they would allow RTA Ride Free Pass Holders to get reduced fare on it similar to The South Shore Line do. You'd probably be able to ride free as long as you stay in the RTA fare zone being South Shore Line does it too between Downtown Chicago and the border of Illinois and Indiana.

[@jdubw9118]

briansivley2001 dude I know right! the current metra up. north line only goes to Milwaukee.....I wish they could've merged with the cnw(now up/metra) and the current metra diesel services could be express to milwaukee while local I interurban services could be local/semi express. much of the row is now a speedway for bikesters lol!

[@briansivley2001]

Jdub w You mean Kenosha. I know that Metra Union Pacific North Line doesn't go all the way to Milwaukee it only goes as far as Kenosha.

[@jdubw9118]

oh man my bad yeah the up north line only goes to Kenosha. idk how I typed Milwaukee on that sentence. but they should extend it to mileaukee(see krm project)

[@DT-dm8vx]

The C&NW was a long-time rival, and in 1965 they actually bought the North Shore Line between Skokie and Northbrook to prevent the CTA from running trains north of Dempster.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

I;m not so sure the North Western purchased the North Shore tracks between Dempster St. and Northbrook to prevent competition from the CTA. After all, the C&NW had no commuter train operations near this trackage. I worked for the C&NW through all of the 1980s (now retired from the Soo Line) and we use to run heavy coal trains over this line as a short cut through the city from the Illinois Central connection to the power plants in Wisconsin. I suspect the reason this line is no longer used by today's Union Pacific is because it was slow going and the track/roadbed was in pretty rough shape from years of use.

[@litlgrey]

Watching these razor sharp turns, and the people walking and driving right in front of moving single-car trains, is making me feel like I should be nauseous!

[@bser3973]

I like the old cars, and little traffic.

[@mlweiland]

This is outstanding footage! Thanks for digitizing and sharing. A few thoughts: The North Shore service seems to be redundant with the C&NW (now Metra/U.P. North) service, and in some areas the tracks were literally adjacent. It made sense for that to be consolidated. The station names on the Skokie Valley route are largely lost to history. Glenayre? Sheridan Elms? That whole corridor is suburban today, partially served by the Metra "Milwaukee District" (former Milwaukee Road), but most of the names are different. I wonder if the CNS&M went to Mundelein because Samuel Insull had his estate in the area (today's Cuneo Museum). Or if he put his estate there because it was close to the train?

[@TheRealLaughingGravy]

The same was true with the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin - it ran parallel to, and often right next to, the C&NW West line. It's kind of surprising it lasted as long as it did.

[@DoncasterA1Music]

mlweiland There are a few maps online which show the names in the Skokie Valley route

[@DoncasterA1Music]

Here’s an image www.chicago-l.org/plans/images/NSL-CTA1.jpg

[@DoncasterA1Music]

i.pinimg.com/236x/1b/cd/3f/1bcd3fe0dd003aa55020c1ee1ff49ee9.jpg

[@northshoreline6704]

1. The North Shore Line had a number of advantages over the C&NW or Milwaukee Road, including faster speeds, shorter operating headway, a one-seat ride to the loop and minimal interference from freight. 2. The stations along the Skokie Valley Route were initially named as part of a newspaper competition that the railroad sponsored in the 1920s. A number of them were changed over the years as the area and communities served saw more significant development. 3. The branch to Libertyville and Mundelein was actually constructed in the early 1900s, before Insull was involved with the railroad. The original intent had been to provide freight interchange points with the EJ&E, Milwaukee Road and Wisconsin Central, as well as a connection to a large gravel pit in Libertyville. Additionally, an eventual extension to Fox Lake had been considered, though this ultimately never came to fruition.

[@kevinhoward9593]

5:20 Interesting setup. the Northbound and southbound tracks are intermixed together. never seen that setup before.

[@DoncasterA1Music]

Kevin Howard Those are interlaced “gauntlet” (or “gantlet”) tracks which overlap

[@IamTheHolypumpkin]

Interesting a combination of 3rd rail on the viaducts and overhead wire on the road. And at 4:40 I see to additional running rail for wider trains I suspect

[@brushcreek42]

The tracks on the left were the parallel C&NW steam railroad.

[@romanstrains6144]

I need an unedited version of this

[@KingofGamingAndTrains456]

It may feel weird to see someone from NYC here, but imagine if the North Shore Line (or at least a good portion of it) gets resurrected as part of the CTA Yellow line.

[@DoncasterA1Music]

Doesn't the CTA also operate the Evanston line/Purple line where the North Shore operated?

[@scoobycarr5558]

ChicagoLTrain115 Yep it does - BTW I rode this line from Howard St to Wilmette and back about 2 years ago

[@dmann3042000]

So basically according to this video the L trains actually technically ran all the way to Milwaukee? And electric

[@WAL_DC-6B]

Not the CTA "L" trains (or the earlier Chicago Rapid Transit), but there was a railroad company called the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad that had its own self propelled, electric passenger cars and had trackage rights over the CTA from either Howard St. or Wilmette. Pretty much like the once sister railroad, the South Shore, today uses the Metra Electric lines starting at 111th St. to reach Randolph St. station in Chicago.

[@northshoreline6704]

You have the right idea, but in reverse... The North Shore ran into Chicago over the "L" tracks with compatible equipment. That being said, during World War II, the North Shore leased extra equipment from the Chicago Rapid Transit Company, and there are a few points in this video where you can see trains of 4000-series "L" cars running on the North Shore tracks.

[@jordanplays-transitandgame1690]

The HBLR Lightrail has barely any fences like this route! No wonder people are always getting hit by it!

[@johnkolassa1645]

It seems strange to see the one-directional running in the loop.

[@jcutietta]

Question - what happened to the audio narration that came with this film? I know for those of us who are not from the area it helps to identify where everything is.

[@areizman]

The full version with the proper soundtrack is also on youtube. Look at the suggested videos or search for for 'North Shoe Line 1945.

[@JLJ061]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/aGiqqKuNnthgaMk

[@scoobycarr5558]

That old bus could be Pace in today's modern era now

[@MA-wq2ih]

The descendant of that bus service is today part of Pace. Still the same union local, even.

[@dmann3042000]

My question is, why is this not in use any more, and what happen to all the rails that occupied these trains? It seems CTA shrunk over the years. And is this footage, theirs more trains vs today.

[@xkee2013]

exactly

[@jamesf791]

The rails are mostly torn up. It couldn't make profit anymore that is why it's no longer around. This was not CTA, this was the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad, a private company. CTA is government run

[@dmann3042000]

@@jamesf791 It's funny that they never really finished a job because if you use the aerial views in Google you could see that there are patches of railroad track that still sit there and also parts of the line but I noticed would CTA though is they did shrink drastically since the forties unlike New York that kept all its railroad track if Chicago never shrunk the CTA system it would be just as large as Moscow's underground or new york's MTA

[@jamesf791]

@@dmann3042000 Chicago L may actually have the most miles of track then ever before. This video was NOT part of the L. While they shared the same track, that doesn't mean it was the same.

[@dmann3042000]

@@jamesf791 seems to make more sense

[@izzylandyt]

So basically this was a CTA / Metra hybrid?

[@maas1208]

Think of it as The South Shore line's Northern Counterpart.

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

CTAConnections, could you please post some before and after photos of the North Shore Line? I have a before and after Picture of the Kenosha North Shore Line station on my KZbin channel. It would mean the world if you could do something in memory of this one great Interurban. I would consider myself a Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad historian. If you have any questions on station locations, reply to this message. It would mean the world to me. By the way, the NSL was formed July 22nd 1916.

[@DoncasterA1Music]

JoeyLovesTrains Cool info! Do you know if any Metra route follows/is parallel to the old North Shore Line right of way? Because I have heard that once

[@JoeyLovesTrains]

ChicagoLTrain115 The shore line route parallels the Metra North line

[@scoobycarr5558]

JoeyLovesTrains I have a comment on places where the North Shore Line used to serve like Highwood, Waukegan, Kenilworth, Ravinia, Winnetka and Great Lakes and that would be Metra's Union Pacific North Line in today's modern era. Along the North Shore's Skokie Valley line some of the locales are now served on Metra's Milwaukee North Line.

[@scoobycarr5558]

ChicagoLTrain115 Union Pacific's north line on Metra follows alongside the former CNS&M whose right of way is practically nonexistent now.

[@seiichiv1694]

Wish they still had it. I mean they still have the south shore line.

[@JLJ061]

The South Shore was literally hanging on by the skin of its teeth by the 1970's, and even petitioned to abandon service itself. Its lucrative freight business what the only thing that kept it going, something the North Shore was never fortunate enough to provide.

[@brushcreek42]

@@JLJ061 The Edens Expressway was the final nail in the coffin of the North Shore Line.

[@takeontravel9076]

The South Shore line is operated by an Indiana company.

[@maas1208]

@@brushcreek42 its brother the South Shore line miraculously survived

[@brushcreek42]

@@maas1208 It has, but it's just a ghost of what it was 50 years ago. I rode on it from Chicago to South Bend in 1969 when there was still street running in South Bend.

[@Nthuziast]

not me looking for wig wags like the one at 20:42 ps if anyone knows what kind of wig wag is visible on the right at 17:21 please let me know

[@In4mous1]

Classic Video

[@LSM_Lover]

So the North Shore line ran on today's Loop?

[@DoncasterA1Music]

Rail Faner Yep. And in its early years, it ran all the way to Jackson Park.

[@LSM_Lover]

ChicagoLTrain115 Wow! Cool!

[@dmann3042000]

@@DoncasterA1Music So the elevated or the L in Chicago was technically much much much bigger back then running several more miles of track as far as Milwaukee?

[@northshoreline6704]

​@@dmann3042000 The North Shore was a separate railroad, but it and the "L" had the same owners for several years, hence the compatible equipment and trackage rights into Chicago over the "L" system.

[@dmann3042000]

@@northshoreline6704 That is what I thought, because the wheels on the trains seem to function the same unlike now where there is distance between the trains and the elevated

[@Renanaguilar]

From a modern country to a backwards dependence on cars

[@enuajsifoto]

My God - here America looks so civilized, so cute an quaint and almost European - I immigrated to this country in the early 80s and found everything in complete ruin - all these years never stop to wonder why....

[@246spyder]

The governments' policies, plain and simple.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

@@246spyder Also, the population of the country grew by over 100 million people since this was filmed in 1945 and most everyone preferred (and still do) to use their autos to get around versus taking passenger trains.

[@michaelrichardson1898]

Was this 16 milameter film 🎥

[@robfriedrich2822]

Possibly, could also be 9.5 mm Pathe format, because this has nearly the same picture size.

[@robfriedrich2822]

Electric rail and wire on the same track....