The Campaign for the Electroliner

The Campaign for the Electroliner

As the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railway’s Electroliner approaches its 75^thAnniversary in 2016, we are concentrating our efforts to restore our Electroliner to operation. 

Although the exterior still appears bright and shiny, the mechanical elements [motors and air conditioning] and the     interior are in need of a major overhaul.  Phase 1 of the of the Restoration has a target of $240,000 to cover the costs of      overhauling the motors; the Phase 2 goal is an additional $260,000 to cover the cost of rehabbing the interiors, repairing the air conditioning, and providing contingency funds to meet unexpected expenses. 

Along with its twin (803 & 804) this streamlined set of four articulated cars (801 & 802) operated daily between Chicago and Milwaukee from 1941 until 1963, ending service roughly 10 days short of 22 years.  Saved from the scrapheap by being sold to the Philadelphia & Western, the Electroliners ended their operating years as Libertyliners.  When their years of service ended in the 1980s, the Illinois Railway Museum was quick to begin an effort to return both trains to Illinois, succeeding, however, in obtaining only one.

With their advanced design and streamlined styling, the trains appear modern even today.  What a pleasure it would be to be able to travel the 85 miles between Chicago and Milwaukee—downtown to downtown—with no traffic or parking concerns in under two hours.  Sadly, that opportunity ended 50 years ago.   However, rail history lives on at the Illinois Railway Museum and you now have the opportunity to join us in the Campaign For The Electroliner.  Won’t you join us on board as we head for the Electroliner’s 75^th Anniversary?

You’ll find a list of  donation rewards  on the  reverse of this page. 

All donations—large and small—are deductible to the extent allowed by the law.

-Barbara Lanphier