Midwest Traction Classics: Electric Lines Outside Chicago

Film footage of the Indiana Railroad of the 1930's with action from the Illinois Terminal, Crandic, Waterloo, Cedar Falls & Northern, plus streetcars from Indianapolis, Kansas City, St. Louis, and the Twin Cities.

[@BFDT-4]

Fine background music at 5:30, do you know what it is? :) Ahhhh credits at the end! Keith Brown and the Indiana University Ragtime Orchestra, from a 2-LP 1981 compilation that in itself is pretty historical! Now if someone would be so kind as to rip that for posterity! This seems to be the Walhalla Rag by Paul Pratt! Now, at 25:30, that is the beloved Illinois Loyalty March, and I have the 1925 recording with Austin Harding leading the UI band. This cut on the video is by the University of Michigan Band, also very good performance for a nearby state theme song! The background music here has given me the opportunity to chase down a lot more Ragtime and other types of music that I had not totally done. But I should also point out that I have several times been at the Union Railroad Museum, the Monticello IL Railroad museum, and chasing down some family history where the kids in about 1915 went from their house in Peru, IL, to De Pue, to attend the Polish Catholic school. They MUST have taken cars on the Illinois Traction System every day of school. My grandmother went to school until 5th grade there, and had it not been for interurbans would have had to attend a public school in Peru, IL (not sure of the quality then...). So there IS a linkage! :)