It also leased a private car, the Deerpath, to wealthy businessmen on its North line in 1929. But the cost – at least $60 million – and fact that the commuter trains were money-losers deterred implementation.Īlso in the 1920s, the railroad improved several suburban depots and introduced some new aluminum-alloy commuter cars. The company considered it in the 1920s, particularly after the Illinois Central electrified its commuter service (today’s Metra’s Electric Line) in 1926. In 1915, a committee sponsored by the Chicago Association of Commerce recommended that C&NW electrify its tracks between Chicago and Waukegan, Des Plaines and Elmhurst. It featured a three-story, 202-by-117-foot main waiting room, a dining room, women’s rooms with writing desks and hairdressing services, smoking rooms for men, a barber shop, hospital rooms and a variety of other features. The railroad spared no expense on a new $23 million facility, which opened on June 4, 1911, on a site bounded by Madison, Lake, Clinton and Canal. The fire especially made living in the suburbs, away from the congestion and noise of the city, more appealing, and the railroad promoted and benefited from the trend.īy the end of the century, the railroad’s passenger terminal at Kinzie and Wells had become too small for the number of commuters and intercity passengers using it. The North Line, which started as the Chicago & Milwaukee in 1854, was leased by C&NW starting in 1866 and was bought by the C&NW in 1883.Ĭommuter service on all three lines developed gradually, particularly in the years following the Civil War and the Chicago fire of 1871.The West Line, which began as the Galena & Chicago Union in 1848, became part of C&NW system in 1864.The Northwest Line, which started as the Illinois & Wisconsin in 1854, became part of C&NW when that system was formed in 1859.Each began independently before becoming part of C&NW: The three Chicago area commuter lines that are now owned by Union Pacific spent much of their existence as part of Chicago & North Western.
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