Today in Transportation History: January 21, 1963 Early on a subzero Monday morning, the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad – popularly known as the North Shore Line (NSL) – made its final run after nearly 47 years of service between northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin. According to that evening’s edition of the Indiana-based Logansport Pharos-Tribune newspaper, “The last train of the North Shore railroad – one of the nation’s last interurban electric lines – rattled its way into history at 2:55 this morning, late for its own funeral.” The final train was 43 minutes behind schedule in arriving at the terminal in Milwaukee, owing to the harsh winter weather as well as the derailment and breakdown of other railroad cars en route. Approximately 220 NSL enthusiasts were crowded on board the train’s six-car special (only one car usually made the post-midnight runs) for that last ride. The NSL’s genesis can be traced to 1891, when the Waukegan and North Shore Rapid Transit Company was organized in the city of Waukegan to provide trolley service in northern Illinois. That company eventually expanded to include a considerably wider area of service stretching from Chicago to Milwaukee. In 1916, the company was underwent a reorganization and was renamed the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad. “An underdog in its later life, the railroad provided frequent service, low fares, and on-time performance – all of which endeared it to a group of loyal passengers,” wrote Norman Carlson in a 2013 article in Classic Trains magazine commemorating the 50th anniversary of the NSL’s end. (PHOTOS: #1 - January 20, 1963, the last full day of North Shore Line operation. Waiting for Mundelein-Libertyville train - Solheims head. (Charles B. Porter), courtesy of the CERA blog, cerablog/2013/09/05/its-an-exciting-september-cera/; #2 - courtesy of Light Rail Now, lightrailnow.org/news/n_newslog2009q2.htm; #3 - courtesy of Print Mag, J.J. Sedelmaier, printmag/design-inspiration/the-mysterious-train-a-vintage-approach-to-motion-graphics-with-some-branding-thrown-in-for-good-measure/)
Posted on: Wed, 21 Jan 2015 18:46:54 +0000
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