Aurora Plainfield & Joliet - Joliet & Eastern

The Aurora Plainfield & Joliet and Joliet & Eastern

by Stephen Scalzo

Headline image: The pride of the Aurora-Joliet-Chicago Heights system at its height in the early 1910s were the five big interurbans built by American in 1909. Here, car 120 poses in front of the Plainfield carbarn with its crew. All photos are from the Stephen Scalzo Collection at the Illinois Railway Museum. 

Contents

I. The Joliet Plainfield & Aurora
II. The Joliet & Southern
III. The Joliet & Eastern
IV. The Aurora Plainfield & Joliet
V. Roster of Equipment
VI. Photographic Tour of the J&S
VII. System Map
VIII. System Timetables

Part I: Joliet Plainfield & Aurora

The Joliet Plainfield & Aurora Railway was incorporated on May 21, 1901, with $400,000 of capital to build a 23-mile interurban. In May of 1903, construction began by the Fisher Construction Company. Mr. F.E. Fisher, formerly general manager of the Chicago & Joliet Electric Railroad, was in charge of the construction. Trackage was constructed with 60-pound rail on oak and chestnut ties, with gravel ballast. Twelve miles of the line between Plainfield and Aurora operated on private right-of-way (which was suitable for double-tracking) while the Joliet to Plainfield section was side-of-the-road operation by virtue of a 50-year franchise. At the terminal ends, city streetcar trackage accounted for three miles.

The first interurban car delivered to the JP&A in 1904 was car 10, shown here at Six Corners, which today is the intersection of Caton Farm and Gaylord Roads northwest of Joliet. The JP&A much more strongly resembled a New England interurban line, with its side-of-the-road running and deck-roof cars, than a more typical Midwestern interurban.

Cedar poles were used to support a telephone line for dispatching and the bracket arms for the trolley wire. There were telephone jack boxes at all sidings and portable telephone sets on all interurbans. Sidings averaging two miles apart had spring switches, and there was an automatic trolley contactor signal system with colored lights and semaphores protecting the entire trackage. The electrical power was purchased from local companies at both terminals, and there were no substations. There were two manually operated interlocked grade crossings with signals and derails with the Elgin Joliet & Eastern Railroad, one at the outskirts of Joliet and the other at Plainfield. There were two long single truss through brides, the largest one being located where the line crossed the DuPage River outside of Plainfield. At important country stops, small waiting shelters with electric heat and lights were constructed. The company's shops consisting of four tracks (with pits under two) were located in Plainfield. Initially, six passenger and two combination passenger-baggage [sic] interurbans were ordered.

One of the JP&A's original 1904 order for interurban cars, car 13, is shown at the Methodist Centenary Campground near New Lenox, likely around 1909-1910.

Interurban car 15 and freight motor 20 were both ordered from the American Car Company at about the same time in 1904 as follow-on orders to the initial order for four interurban cars.

The Joliet to Plainfield section opened on November 3, 1903. However, because of difficulties the company had entering Aurora over the Fifth Street city streetcar trackage, the Plainfield to Aurora section did not begin to operate until October 22, 1904. The company operated 13 daily round trip interurban trains and two interurban trains each between Aurora and Plainfield and Plainfield to Joliet, which required 80 minutes. Passenger traffic was the main source of revenue because city restrictions barred most freight shipments. Several freight motor interurbans were purchased to haul some freight, including milk from farmers along the line to Weber's Dairy in Joliet, bread from Ward's Baking Company in Chicago to grocery stores in Joliet, etc.

Cars 10 and 13 are seen in Plainfield on opening day. The fleet colors at this time were red and cream.

The company developed "Electric Park" in Plainfield as a tourist attraction. The 20-acre park had a large auditorium, dance halls, a bowling alley, restaurants, a dining hall, cottages, boat docks, and swimming facilities located along both sides of the DuPage River where a dam was constructed to create a lake.

Part II: Joliet & Southern

By 1905, the Fisher brothers had conceived an ambitious plan on extending the railway. On November 17, 1905, the Joliet & Southern Traction Company was incorporated, and in 1907 took control of the JP&A. After a conflict with the Chicago & Joliet Electric, the J&S arranged to purchase electric power from the Economy Power Company in Joliet. The J&S announced plans for an extensive network of interurban lines to connect Chicago and St. Louis, encompassing the Bloomington Pontiac & Joliet Railway between Dwight and Pontiac.

The bridge at Matteson, which went directly over the diamonds where the north-south Illinois Central crossed the east-west Michigan Central and EJ&E, was an impressive engineering feat. These photos show the wooden trestle approaches to the steel truss main span under construction c1908.

The company's initial extension was to run through Chicago Heights into Indiana, and in 1907 it constructed an extension from Joliet to Chicago Heights (with the planned extension to Hammond, Indiana, never being built). Trackage reached New Lenox on February 12, 1907, Frankfort on December 19, 1908, and Chicago Heights on May 19, 1909. The trackage was side-of-the-road from Joliet to New Lenox and private right-of-way to Chicago Heights, where the trackage of the Chicago Heights city streetcar system was used to reach the terminal. The line was built to the same standards as the Joliet to Aurora section. The construction of the last 12 miles required a special $60,000 bond sale.

It's December 1907 and car 50 is shown in New Lenox.

We're in Frankfort, looking east on Kansas Street from about Hickory, around 1910. J&S car 111 (formerly JP&A 11) is long gone, but nearly every building in the photo is still there.

In Frankfort, a car barn and substation were constructed, and overhead bridges were built over the Michigan Central and Illinois Central Railroads in Matteson and over the Michigan Central Railroad at Frankfort. Trackage rights were obtained on the Wilcox streetcar line of the C&JE in Joliet. Five new interurban cars were ordered. Passenger service was gradually extended as track construction was completed. After completion, hourly service with nine round trips was instituted between Aurora and Chicago Heights, requiring three hours to travel the 42.5 mile trip. Connecting steam railroads initially refused interchange service with the new line, eliminating any freight revenue.

Car 114 was said to be the first car into Chicago Heights in early 1909.

Car 118, looking quite new, poses with its crew on Kansas Street in Frankfort. These were big cars but had K-control and could not run MU. Their roof mats, unusually, appear to have consisted of wooden saddles and steel rods rather than the more usual wooden slats.

During the same period, the J&S secured a franchise and constructed a local streetcar line on Granite, Ruby, and Chicago Streets in Joliet, and a connection was made to enable interurbans from Aurora to use the trackage. The trackage in the streets in Joliet was laid with 80-pound T rail on top of a 12-inch concrete foundation. Two single-truck streetcars were acquired to provide service.

Car 50, said to have been acquired secondhand, is shown in service on Granite Street (today Ruby Street) in Joliet.

On the evening of June 4, 1908, interurban car 17 left Joliet bound for Plainfield, and at the EJ&E crossing was struck and cut in two by a steam locomotive. Three passengers were trapped in the wreckage and were scalded to death.

The parlor car "Louisiana," acquired in 1908, was one of the finest interurban cars ever to run in Illinois. Top, it is seen c1915 on Kansas Street in Frankfort with a charter for Emma Sipple's piano students; bottom, the car's opulent interior is pictured with motorman Edward Catchpole and company president H.A. Fisher.

The parlor car "Louisiana," displayed by American Car & Foundry at the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair, was purchased in 1908 to accommodate special parties. The color scheme before 1909 was red and cream, and after that it was changed to olive green.

J&S combine 116, one of the 1905 American-built ex-JP&A cars, is shown in front of the carbarn in Plainfield and loading up with milk at an unknown stop. Improbably, both of the system's carbarns still stand: the Plainfield barn at the northeast corner of Main and Lockport and the Frankfort barn on the east side of White at Kansas.

During 1909, a new brick terminal building comprising of two adjoining structures with an attached train shed and three-story substation and office building was built for passenger and freight business in the Joliet business district at 101 East Clinton Street. In December of 1909, the Fisher brothers organized the Chicago Joliet & St. Louis Electric Railway to run both the J&S and the BP&J interurban systems, part of the ambitious expansion plans. Earnings increased from $55,065 in 1905 to $96,953 in 1911, with ridership increasing from 261,886 to 396,990.

At top, an ex-JP&A car, probably 116, and at bottom, an unidentified 117-series car, are both shown during the early 1910s heyday of the Aurora-Joliet-Chicago Heights interurban system. The car at top has a banner on the side reading "Chicago Heights Lodge L.O.O.M. [Loyal Order of Moose] 828."

Because of numerous events, including the 1907 recession and damage claims, earnings began to decline. On February 6, 1911, the company went into receivership. The company then defaulted on its mortgage payments on July 1, 1913. Bondholders of the old JP&A objected, and on September 12, 1913, they began foreclosure suits. Earnings peaked at $174,835 by the end of 1913 with 880,570 passengers, but expenses continued to rise. As early as 1914, the company was showing only a two percent return and a high operating ratio. On February 11, 1914, the J&S was sold, and on November 1, 1914, the company was divided into two separate companies.

Part III: Joliet & Eastern

The 22.21-mile Chicago Heights to Joliet line was sold to Joy Morton and became the Joliet & Eastern Traction Company, which was incorporated on April 30, 1914, with $10,000 of capital. The company voted to issue $300,000 in stock to be given in exchange for the outstanding $800,000 of bonds of the old company; the remaining $50,000 of authorized stock was held by the treasury to be issued in payment for improvements and betterments when made. Five former J&S interurbans were obtained to provide service; three freight motors offered freight and package service and carried the mails. The initial 17 daily round trips were soon reduced to 13 trips, with 90-minute headway for the 80-minute journey.

Car 118 is pictured in Chicago Heights, the east end of the system, date unknown.

A late winter snow storm in the spring of 1918 closed the railway for several days, with 20-foot drifts at many locations. In 1918, the Public Utilities Commission allowed a fare increase from two to three cents per mile. Poor passenger traffic, bad weather (including a tornado on April 15, 1921), and lawsuits from farmers' cattle straying on the poorly-fenced right-of-way hurt earnings. Between April 29 and May 12, 1920, train crews, then making 42 cents per hour, went on strike. In 1920, earnings peaked at $82,235 (negative $2,771 net).

Sometime in the mid- to late-teens, both the J&E and AP&J modernized at least some of their interurban cars. The formerly-handsome J&E interurban car shown here received an undignified scalping that left it with a very low arched roof. Ed Frank photo.

The development of the automobile and paved highways in the early 1920s soon produced operating losses. In 1921, train crews petitioned for a raise, and the company released those involved and hired new employees. In 1922, the IC announced plans to undertake a grade separation project which would elevate its trackage into Chicago, and the J&E was requested to raise its bridge at Matteson. The company saw little chance for an improvement to passenger traffic, and the J&E concluded that the expenditure was not justified; thus it was decided to give up, with receivership coming on January 4, 1922. All service was finally stopped on April 15th. Frankfort businessmen tried unsuccessfully to purchase the line from Joliet to Matteson. Two interurbans were sold to the Sand Springs Railway in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The trackage and other equipment was scrapped.

Part IV: Aurora Plainfield & Joliet

The old Aurora to Joliet line became the Aurora Plainfield & Joliet Railway, which was incorporated on June 11, l914 to be run by the old bondholders. Seven JP&A interurbans were used to operate 33 daily round trips on hourly headways which required an hour to operate over the trackage. Several of the interurbans were given a $1200 per car general overhaul, emerging with arch roofs and sheet metal sides. During the winter of 1918, passenger traffic dropped, and even a new three cent per mile fare increase did not help. In 1920, in order to improve service, the company ordered a new four-wheel Birney streetcar to operate the local line in Joliet.

On September 1, 1920, the company became the Aurora Plainfield & Joliet Railroad. Fares were cut from 65 cents to 50 cents in an effort to attract more riders. Earnings peaked at $157,119 in 1920, and in 1923 were $123,941. In July 1922, the village of Plainfield revoked the company's franchise because of a paving dispute which the company could not pay because of its financial problems. The village's request for the company to cease operating interurbans was ignored, even after legal action was taken in circuit court, but the case was later dismissed because of the village's fear of losing its only public transportation. Shortly thereafter, a new 50-year franchise was granted by the Plainfield village council, and the company quickly completed a $1500 paving job on Lockport Street.

During 1923, only 13 daily round trips were scheduled, of which 10 operated over the entire line. In 1924, one round trip was dropped. With the increased use of the automobile and the paving of Lincoln Highway between Joliet and Aurora, the line was doomed. The small profits enjoyed by the company up until that time quickly became losses.

The first car, car 110, was rebuilt during the 1910s with an arched roof. It is shown here at the Plainfield carbarn.

On July 21, 1924, the company was authorized to abandon its line. All service was stopped on August 31, 1924, being one of the first interurban systems in Illinois to be abandoned. The JP&A Transportation Company took over the Joliet to Aurora route with four buses. The local Joliet city line continued to operate a few months longer. On March 3, 1925, the company was given authority to sell its tracks in Van Buren Street and its passenger/freight station in Joliet to the Illinois Traction System. The Birney streetcar was shipped to the Aurora streetcar system, with delivery being made via the Chicago & Illinois Valley Railway to Morris, the Fox & Illinois Union Railway to Yorkville, and then over the abandoned (but not yet dismantled) Yorkville division of the Aurora Elgin & Fox River Electric Company to Aurora. One interurban was sold to the Terre Haute Indianapolis & Eastern Traction Company. The remaining trackage and equipment was then scrapped.

This article was edited and laid out by Frank Hicks. Thanks to Ray and Julie Piesciuk and to Richard Schauer for making available the records from the Stephen Scalzo Collection that permitted this history to be published.

Part V: Equipment Roster

Blue = AP&J after 1914 / Red = J&E after 1914 / Black = n/a or uncertain

3 - ST DE line car - bought secondhand in 1905 - 2xGE 1000 motors, K-10 control, hand brakes, Brill truck

10, 11, 12, 13 - DR DT DE interurban car - American 1904 (ord#488) - 50 seats, 4xGE 67 motors, K-6 control, Brill 27E1 trucks

14, 15 - DR DT DE interurban combine - American 1904 (ord#558) - 50 seats, 4xGE 67 motors, K-6 control, Brill 27E1 trucks

16, 17 - DR DT DE interurban combine - American 1905 (ord#639) - 50 seats, 4xGE 67 motors, K-6 control, Brill 27E1 trucks - car 17 destroyed in collision with EJ&E engine in 1908

20 - RR DT DE box motor - American 1905 (ord#556) - 4xGE 67 motors, K-28 control, Brill 27E1 trucks

21 - DT DE cab-on-flat work motor and plow - American 1908 (ord#787) - likely to J&E in 1914 but not certain

22 - flat car - likely to J&E in 1914 but not certain

27 - AR DT DE box motor - McGuire-Cummings, 1914 or later (built new for J&E)

28 - (line car 3 following renumbering in 1909)

50, 51, 52 - ST streetcar - American - bought secondhand in 1907, original owner unknown - 24 seats, 2xGE 1000 motors, K-10 control, hand brakes, Brill truck

101 - AR ST DE Birney streetcar - St. Louis 1920 (ord#1249) - K63 control, St Louis 7 truck - sold in 1924 to Aurora Elgin & Fox River Electric as number 48

110-116 - (cars 10-16 following renumbering in 1909)

117, 118, 119, 120, 121 - RR DT DE interurban car - American 1909 (ord#794) - 4xGE 80 motors, K control, Brill 27E1-1/2 trucks - three cars resold c1925 to Sand Springs Railway as numbers 41, 43, 45, one car resold c1925 to Terre Haute Indianapolis & Eastern as number 18

201 - flat car - purchased 1914

Louisiana - RR DT DE interurban parlor car - American 1904 (ord#519) - 40 seats, 4xGE 74 motors, GE Type M control, Brill 27E2 trucks - purchased 1905, destroyed by fire at Walker siding on unknown date after 1915

This is thought to be only an incomplete roster of the JP&A, J&S, AJ&P, and J&E.

Line car 3 is shown on Lockport Street in Plainfield with its crew. L-R: Andrew Rhodes, George Erwin, unknown, R. Butler, Al Stevens, Charles Evans, Bill Turner, Archie Jarvis.

This cab-on-flat, featuring a somewhat unusual arrangement with its cab slightly offset towards one end, may be car 21.

Car 114 is typical of the ex-JP&A deck-roof interurban cars built by American in 1904 and 1905.

Car 117 is one of the big cars built new for the J&S in 1909 by American.

The motorman watches from the end of car 120 as the conductor repairs the car's trolley pole, possibly re-tying the trolley rope to the harp. Location unknown.

Part VI: A Photographic Tour of the Joliet & Southern

After leaving Aurora, the line parallels the EJ&E (in the background) and Route 30 (in the foreground). Car 118 is racing along through the countryside en route to Joliet.

These two views show Electric Park, a popular attraction located on the northwest side of Plainfield flanking the DuPage River, sometime around 1910.

Single-truck streetcar 50 is pictured in Joliet on Van Buren just east of Joliet Street, date unknown. In the right background is Christ Episcopal Church, which burned in 2008.

East of Joliet, the first town was New Lenox. Here, car 119 is westbound approaching Joliet and has just passed under the Wabash Railroad.

The next town east of New Lenox was Frankfort. At top, this view looking west on Kansas Street in Frankfort shows a 110-116 series car eastbound; below, car 118 is signed as a through car for Aurora in this shot looking the opposite direction around the same period.

The next town along the line was Matteson. In the top photo, a 110-116 series car passes over the impressive bridge that took the interurban line over three railroads; the Fisher Construction Company ballast cars at left suggest this photo was taken in 1909 when the bridge was new. Center, streetcar 52 is shown on Third Street in Matteson, today 215th Street. Bottom, eastbound car 118 is at Third and Main turning north to ascend the trestle approach.

The eastern end of the system was Chicago Heights, where freight motor 20 is pictured. Here the line interchanged with the Chicago Heights Street Railway, Chicago & Interurban Traction, and Chicago & Eastern Illinois.

Part VII: System Map

Click here for a map of the interurban lines radiating out of Joliet

Part VIII: System Timetables

Many thanks to John Csoka for submitting these timetables from his collection: an Aurora Plainfield & Joliet timetable from 1915 and a Joliet & Eastern timetable from 1917.

Click here for the Stephen Scalzo Collection of articles on electric railways of Illinois