North Shore Line - Electroliners to Milwaukee 1955-1961

The Chicago, North Shore, and Milwaukee Railroad was one of the most well known and well praised Interurbans in the United States. January 2023 marks the 60th Anniversary of the abandonment of this great electric line, and Dynamo Productions and Hunter Lohse have teamed up once again to give you a tour of the North Shore as it was from 1955 - 1961. You’ll see the steel Interurbans from Jewett and Brill, and the beautiful Silverliners racing up and down the railroad. Take a ride in the railfan seat and learn all about the Electroliner, the most advanced and sophisticated interurban trainset ever developed, and build only for the North Shore.
These 8mm films were taken by Don Kehl and Insley Brain Jr, and are now part of the archives of the Western Railway Museum, and have been enhanced with improved color and synchronized sound for the optimum viewing experience.
Enjoy your ride on the North Shore Line!
60 years gone: January 21, 1963 - January 21, 2023
Provided by Hunter Lohse

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

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[@rutheliz75]

I rode the Electroliners when they were Libertyliners in Philly ; they were quiet and comfortable . One morning I even had a cup of coffee in the diner car. Why did they ever let the North Shore go ! R.I.P.

[@user-tl6ul9pb3o]

Great video which showed the speed of these trains! Trains were fast and frequent. My father used to get on at Adams and Wabash to head home after work. At about 5 mins in, video is showing a northbound train at what may be Dempster St. in Skokie. Trains swung west after leaving Howard St. next stopping at Dempster, from where they headed directly north at high speed. Howard to Dempster remained in operation as the CTA's Skokie Swift service.

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

Glad you enjoyed

[@browngreen933]

In 1960 our family moved to a new house in Racine across the street from the North Shore line one block north of the big Taylor Avenue substation. I was 8 years old. For the next 2 years the trains that flew past fascinated me. We played on the tracks, embankment, and swampy ditch. We looked for fossils in the limestone ballast and broke bottles on the rails. We had a foxhole dug and when the Electroliner roared by we jumped up like commandos and threw hand grenades (stones) at the train windows. The police came but didn't catch us. When the line shut down we went inside the big spooky substation and explored it from basement to the top of the tower. At first it was all intact with all the contents still in it. The next year we watched them drop the overhead copper wire lines and poles and pull the tracks. Pretty soon it was all gone. The big red brick substation lasted another decade then it was razed too. We rode dirt bikes on the right-of-way south out of Racine and shot air rifles by the Pike River bridge. The North Shore is an indelible part of my childhood. That was a cool place to grow up.

[@user-ig6bk6ym3m]

Wow, what a story! Thanks for sharing.❤

[@busdriver127]

Thanks for the memories. I made many trips from Waukegan and North Chicago on the Shore Line in my youth. Living in Waukegan on Genesee Street I was able to walk half a block and go to Chicago since the track ran down the middle of the street. Only rode the Electroliner once, up front next to the driver .What a thrill! That thing was fast!

[@trainsupporter9088]

I so enjoyed this video! Even though I never got to ride the North Shore Line as much of it was before my time, I collect all I can on this great railroad. Thank you for uploading this!

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

Glad you enjoyed

[@ellisclarkstudios9797]

What an incredible railroad. I used to live in a house that had to be moved because of the grade separation project in Winnetka.

[@LDTV22OfficialChannel]

Even though the films were silent, the sound effects added were absolutely perfectly placed.

[@kevin2960]

As a Chicago restaurant. Chicago had one of the best transportation set-ups in the past. The "L" went father in every direction. We had street cars, busses, the "L", several inter urbans. Now we have basically crap.

[@paberty12]

Great video, I drove the Liners on the Red Arrow Lines Norristown Line back in the 60's and 70's, they were fun to operate, I had one up to 85 miles per hour one time.

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

Glad you enjoyed

[@Poisson4147]

WOW! I rode them regularly back in the days when I worked in Philly. Probably made a few trips with you!

[@EntertainmentWorldz]

great video

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

Thanks, Hunter did an excellent job

[@craignehring]

I would have turned thirteen years old in 1963 when the line was in it's last days. I did ride on this many times but never on the Electroliner

[@mikelevin9819]

Absolutely Fantastic to be able to see this!!!!!

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

Glad you enjoyed

[@chicagolandrailroader]

Absolute shame these are gone. I would've been a 5 minute walk from a stop on the North shore if it were still around.

[@MrBsHiawathalandRails]

Awesome, I remember these as a kid.

[@evanf1293]

Great video, and it's also fortunate to know that several pieces of equipment that were used on this line have been preserved, some of which are at the Illinois railway museum.

[@matthewgustafson5225]

We are doing a special event this upcoming weekend to commemorate this upcoming anniversary at IRM. Please come out.

[@evanf1293]

@@matthewgustafson5225 Sounds nice. Love to come but I sadly don't live in illnois.

[@valeriebassett3107]

@@matthewgustafson5225 It would be nice if someone makes a video so we can enjoy watching the celebration on KZbin! Have a great day everyone!

[@jonimichalski1403]

Nice

[@ClearTrackSpeed]

This is what we gave up? What a shame; thanks for sharing

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

Glad you enjoyed

[@plumbing54]

As kids we would ride our bikes the the West Racine station and just watch the trains...I remember the day they stopped, how sad

[@jackvelut1427]

Great video!

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

Thanks

[@RedArrow73]

Closest I came was riding the Tuscan Red, Black and White (very sharp) Liberty Liners btwn 69th St, Upper Darby, and Norristown, PA. They survived, and served Liquor and supper, but didn't get to stretch their legs quite like on their home road.

[@Poisson4147]

The Liners were bought with the idea of using them on a proposed P&W branch that would have run out to Exton PA. Instead money was dumped into building a new superhighway between Exton and King of Prussia. The Liners were relegated to rush-hour express service to Norristown but as you note never got up to speed because of that line's curves and lower-weight rails.

[@northpennvalleysteamrailroad]

Awesome video 😊

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

Thanks

[@brandonharristsw7516]

I know about those and I even seen some of those too

[@beepbeep3000]

Outstanding footage of the North Shore Line. Hope to see this DVD along the way. Have a nice day/night.

[@emjay5577]

It is a shame that such a well run railroad faded into history due to private ownership and competition from cars and highways at that time. It may have gone the fate of the South Shore and become state owned if it had managed to survive. But it also needed massive upgrading at the time and the money wasn’t there.

[@brushcreek42]

But the money was always there to built new interstates and airports. I think if it had survived till the mid 1970s, it would probably still be here.

[@maas1208]

​@@brushcreek42 or If the CNW bought out the NSL

[@Poisson4147]

@@brushcreek42 "But ... but ... roads and airports *deserve* subsidies. Trains should pay for themselves!" /S, of course

[@albertcarello619]

@emjay5577: If the North Shore Line survived most likely it would be like today's SOUTH SHORE LINE with identical looking and sound exactly the same!

[@wolfgangpfeilergartenbahnd6530]

An interesting video about the electric passenger rail vehicles in North America. The electric locomotives for freight transport are also great. A fantastic look back into the 50th to 60th years.

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

Glad you enjoyed

[@garysprandel1817]

North Shore gave it up the year of my birth so I've only known it as bike trails and empty ROW and surviving equipment at Illinois Railway Museum and Fox River Trolley Museum. It's so strange seeing buildings I know from 62 years traveling about the area with the bike trails a living breathing railroad. Yeah so good was that fake fluting on those Silverliners that 20 years ago at IRM out walking among the exhibits I picked up a stone in my shoe and just leaned up against the Silverliner next to me to empty the stone out and was surprised when the expected fluted surface against my back was remarkably flat to the feel. Literally forgot about the stone to turn around and run my hand over it and admire the paint fakery.

[@funtechxtream8753]

NICEE

[@anthonyhunt701]

Awesome vid❤..& new subscriber👍🏻🚂🚞

[@DynamoProductions-trains]

Glad you enjoyed

[@cats0182]

The only thing that saved the South Shore Line was the creation of the NICTD by the State of Indiana. I guess neither Illinois nor Wisconsin had similar interest in saving the North Shore Line. I remember many decades ago standing on a street in Chicago and hearing a rumble overhead. I looked up at the el and saw this strange looking train running by. Only very many years later, did I realize that i had watched the passage of an Electroliner. The end of the North Shore was a mistake. It could have served to keep cars off the roads, reduce traffic congestion and would have neatly fit in today's world. Just sad.

[@maas1208]

I mean the CNW could've bought out the North Shore.

[@txquartz]

The South Shore was kept limping along by freight, really. NICTD came several decades later.

[@AtkataffTheAlpha]

These long oval eggs are much faster than I thought they were

[@michaelmiller641]

How do those trolley poles stay on the wires!

[@O.Anderson-nh8ok]

Seems that quality of a movie has been lost in video to digital conversion. Is there any chance to restore crispness? These a great scenes, and I feel that they may actually have live movie sound, which is rare but very cool. Otherwise, it is amazing dubbing. Nice work in reviewing and narration, wish for better images. I know the stuff from preservation, but not from experience in the era.

[@Steven_Rowe]

I wonder why they used trolley poles instead of a pantograph. Trolleys are prone to dewirement

[@hwmusics]

The North Shore had used trolley poles since the earliest days of the Chicago and Milwaukee Electric at the turn of the 20th century. They intended to upgrade to pantographs at one point if they completed the catenary all the way to Milwaukee, but they never got much past Waukegan. The trolley wire was very well maintained, being tight and aligned well, and the poles on the cars had an exceptional amount of tension sprung into them (24-30lbs). This led to general trouble-free operation. It wasn't unknown for a dewirement to occur occasionally though, which would merit the line car being called out to investigate the source of the problem. One thing missing from the film is the transition from 3rd rail to overhead wire. This was done at a point west of Howard Street where they crossed Crawford-East Prairie Road in Evanston. Trains would do the transition non-stop, and the crews were very good at putting the pole on the wire first try at ~40mph. -Zach

[@Steven_Rowe]

@@hwmusics what voltage was used, I imagine 600 to 750 DC

[@hwmusics]

The North Shore Line was nominal 600v DC. Though by the end some substations were turned up to 650 or 670v.

[@Steven_Rowe]

@@hwmusics thanks for the information, very interesting I saw some videos of the bay area transit system that ran from Oakland into San Francisco Really interesting

[@robertpaolella7228]

I drove a newspaper truck for the Skokie News Agency in the late fifties and early sixties. I picked up the afternoon and evening editions at Dempster st. They were in the front end of a combine. The motorman and I would throw them in back of my truck, and I was on my way. Wish I had some pictures of that era. I remember like it was yesterday.

[@maas1208]

Well, honestly, bring back the North Shore line, you cowards

[@WAL_DC-6B]

At least extend the CTA north of Dempster on the still existing right of way.

[@DDELE7]

And if they did bring it back Commission Stadler to build you some FLIRT trains that could top out at 110mph just like the old school Electroliners. They’re basically modern day Interurbans.

[@maas1208]

@@DDELE7 But Flirts use low platforms tho

[@DDELE7]

@@maas1208 it would made boarding easier.

[@maas1208]

​@@DDELE7 The Problem is that the North Shore also used tracks that now belong to the CTA and the CTA uses 3rd Rail power for electricity

[@BNSFGP38]

When you dub in the horn sounds make them like 25% lower, I find I keep changing the volume to hear the narrator and then get blasted, rather detracts from an otherwise good video.

[@HunterLohseRRVideos]

Sounds like you need to recalibrate your audio system on your computer as I can assure you it is even audio throughout

[@Falcon7001]

There was hardly any Electroliner in this :(

[@Michael_afton698]

The 4000s are baldes

[@Ma1q444]

Redlining