Chicago & Interurban Traction

The Chicago & Interurban Traction Company

by Stephen M. Scalzo

Headline image: Chicago & Southern Traction interurban car 201 is shown at the south end of the line in Kankakee, likely sometime around 1910, with motorman Burt B. Star in front of the car. All photos are from the Stephen M. Scalzo Collection of the Illinois Railway Museum except where noted.

The Kankakee Line originated back in 1890, when a group of promoters obtained a charter for the Chicago Blue Island & Harvey Electric Railway Company to build a street railway to connect Blue Island, Harvey, Morgan Park, Pullman, and Kensington. A considerable amount of money was spent for surveys and some preliminary work, but nothing else was built. On January 11, 1893, the Englewood & Chicago Street Railway Company (E&CSR) was incorporated with $2.5 million capital by a group of financiers led by William Reed. In 1893, the company secured six different franchises to construct trackage from 63rd Street to the Mount Greenwood Cemetery in Morgan Park, then to Blue Island. In 1894 the company constructed 1.5 miles of trackage from 63rd and Vernon to 67th and then east to the Oakwood Cemetery, leasing the line to the Calumet Electric Street Railway. From 1896 the two companies jointly used the line to bring funerals into the cemetery.

Control of the bonds issued by the E&CSR was acquired by a New York storage battery firm, and plans were announced that the line would purchase 16 storage battery powered cars. The cars were scheduled to begin operating on June 20, 1896, but when they did not arrive, two former New York Madison Avenue cars converted to battery power were placed into service to hold the franchise.

In 1896 the line was extended from 63rd straight south on Vernon to South Chicago Avenue, where the trackage of the Calumet Electric Street Railway was used to 71st Street. At 71st, the line turned sharply west and continued on 71st to State Street, south on State to 79th Street, west on 79th to Vincennes Avenue, southwest on Vincennes to 81st Street, and west on 81st to Halsted Street. Later the route was changed, continuing south on State Street to 81st Street, and then west on 81st to Halsted Street. The line continued south on Halsted to Vincennes Avenue, southwest on Vincennes to 111th Street, and west on 111th to the Mount Greenwood and Mount Olivet Cemeteries, a distance of 1.5 miles. A connection line was also built on Halsted between 79th and 81st Streets. Most of the route was through swamps and over prairie land, with mud the rule.

Perhaps the most unique piece of equipment ordered by the E&CSR was this battery-powered single-truck snow plow purchased from Brill in 1896.

By the winter of 1896, five closed and five open battery cars were delivered. A power house, general office, and a car barn were constructed at 88th Street and Vincennes Avenue, and at that location the batteries were changed and charged. Batteries had to be changed at the end of each 11-mile round trip, with workers making the change of each battery in 90 seconds. The batteries were removed from the trucks of the cars by lowering the battery tray into a pit and exchanging it for a freshly charged one from the charging room. However, the best speed of the cars was 6 MPH, but higher speeds to 15-20 MPH drained the batteries before a completed round trip. A counterweight system had to be employed to assist the cars on the 6.3% grade on 111th Street.

This 1897 Sanborn fire insurance drawing of the carbarn at 88th & Vincennes notes "battery pits" in the larger north side of the building, with engines and dynamos in the south wing.

The company spent over $25,000 for roadway building in the area to attract people. The district soon became popular for excursions, picnics, and evening excursion parties. Large crowds soon forced the company to purchase additional rolling stock, including trailers.

In 1897 the line was extended on Vincennes Avenue into Blue Island through a sparsely settled area. Despite claims that operating costs were only 8.75 cents a mile, the cars required considerably more power than a streetcar because of the 3.5-ton weight of the batteries. The batteries kept wearing out, and the cars soon became unreliable. Additionally, there was a big investment in the generating machinery. Winter months with cold and snow also stopped the cars. The company ran into financial problems quickly, and a receiver was appointed after bankruptcy was declared in the later part of 1896. On October 12, 1897 the company was sold at foreclosure to the Chicago Electric Traction Company (CETC), which was incorporated on December 31 with $2,000,000 of capital. Earnings in 1898 were $61,188.

Open car 54 was one of a series of cars delivered in 1897, evidently as battery cars.

In 1899, a 3/4-mile extension was constructed on Canal Street east of Western Avenue in Blue Island to the company-owned Calumet Grove amusement park. On July 5, 1899, the line was extended from Blue Island to Harvey after the local Harvey horsecar operation was purchased and dismantled. The line then was 13 miles from 63rd Street, and the 26-mile round trip required that a battery changing station be built in Harvey. The steep grading on Western Avenue in Blue Island required trackage to be constructed via Fulton, Rexford, and Grove Streets.

The financial picture improved for the company in 1899. Revenues were a little more than expenses, and the area began to be built up, with three amusement parks and five cemeteries to draw passengers. The company had 50 motors powered by a 50 HP motor and 26 trailer cars; the funeral car "Virginia" was also purchased. By 1900 the company decided to scrap its battery cars, and $200,000 in bonds were sold to raise money to electrify the system to operate streetcars. However by the time the electrification was completed on July 3, 1901, the company was forced into bankruptcy and receivership. The company continued to operate at a loss as the physical condition of the property deteriorated.

CETC open car 63 was outshopped by the American Car Company of St. Louis in 1900

The Chicago & Southern Traction Company (C&ST) was incorporated on November 17, 1904, to build an interurban line from Chicago to Kankakee, and hopefully eventually to Lafayette, Indiana. The company's headquarters was located in the Hartford Building in Chicago, with William Reed as president and principal promoter. Plans were developed to construct 40 miles of trackage between West Pullman and Kankakee, with the trackage of the Calumet Electric Street Railway Company to be used from West Pullman to a terminus at the South Side Elevated Railroad Company at 63rd Street in Chicago. The line between Kankakee and Riverdale was to have paralleled the Illinois Central Railroad tracks, and between Riverdale and West Pullman was to parallel the Pennsylvania Railroad, but that route was never built.

Because William Reed owned 996 shares of the 1,000 shares of the CETC, that company's trackage was chosen as the entrance into Chicago. In September of 1905, Harvey passed an ordinance granting the C&ST permission to use Center Avenue between 154th and 157th Streets, with a crossing over the IC tracks at 157th Street, and then south on West Avenue to 159th Street, on Center for a block or two, then on private right-of-way to a point north of 167th Street and along the west side of Halsted. IN December, Reed sold his CETC to a Detroit syndicate, which formed the Detroit and Toledo Construction Company which was contracted by the C&ST to build the Harvey to Kankakee line.

The interurban line was to be on private right-of-way along the west side of Halsted Street to Chicago Heights, and then on street trackage down Halsted to 14th Street (or Lincoln Highway). An agreement was made with the Chicago Heights Street Railway Company (CHSR) to use their proposed double trackage down West End Avenue for 0.2 miles from 14th to 26th Street; additionally the C&ST was to furnish electric power to the CHSR for one cent per kilowatt hour. Construction was delayed by slow court condemnation proceedings on property near Harvey. Trackage consisted of 70- and 85-pound rail placed on oak ties; cedar poles supported bracket arms and span wires for the double trolley wire over the entire length of the line.

C&ST open car 71, one of the ex-CETC cars built by American in 1900, is shown at an unknown location signed for Harvey.

Plans were developed to build branches to several Indiana towns, and two subsidiaries were established. The Chicago Blue Island & Joliet Traction Company was incorporated on February 15, 1906, with $1.5 million capital and the Chicago Kankakee Lafayette & Southern Railway was incorporated during 1906.

By April of 1906, only five miles of trackage had been constructed, with almost all poles for the overhead installed between Harvey and Chicago Heights, with the hope to start service by the first of June. By mid-May all of the right-of-way difficulties between Harvey and Chicago Heights were resolved, and construction was proceeding. South of Chicago Heights, the company ran into a delay when a Will County judge refused the condemnation of right-of-way property under the company's charter. The case was eventually taken to the State Supreme Court, which ruled in the company's favor. Construction soon began on a temporary powerhouse (with boilers, engine, and generators) on East End Avenue in Chicago Heights to provide power. The single track in West End Avenue between 14th and 16th Streets used jointly with the local streetcars was controlled by block signals.

The last spike was driven on June 9, 1906. and the first interurban operated on June 13 for company and government officials. However because of the lack of ballasting and an inoperable powerhouse, regular service did not begin until June 24, when old secondhand single-truck streetcars from Milwaukee began operating to the waiting room and information bureau at Walker's Drug Store in Chicago Heights. The first schedule called for 21 trips between Harvey and Chicago Heights daily between 6 AM and 11:30 PM, and a serious effort was made to connect with IC trains in Harvey, with capacity crowds carried all day.

A big streetcar or a small interurban, depending on how you look at it, C&ST 127 was an unusual car with a half-railroad, half-deck roof. It is shown in the early days on 111th Street at Mount Greenwood. This series was sold to Chicago City Railway in 1912 and rebuilt to double-end, all-deck roof configuration with larger platforms.

By July 12, 1906, the company had obtained the right-of-way between Steger and Kankakee, with grading completed during the fall of 1905. After trackage was completed to Crete, passenger service every 30 minutes was extended to Crete on July 28, with heavy ridership that day. By August 30, trackage was laid to 1/4 miles south of Monee where a depot was eventually built, and afterward construction proceeded south along the east side of the IC tracks through Peotone and Manteno toward Kankakee. In September, Harvey passed another ordinance allowing the construction of a loop; however, only a wye was eventually constructed at 154th Street and Center Avenue. In the same ordinance, the company obtained trackage rights on other Harvey streets mainly to freeze out any other interurban promoters.

In February of 1907, the C&ST was affected by the tight money market in its attempt to sell bonds for track construction, the purchase of new equipment, and its intent to purchase the CETC. After several months of winter delay, construction resumed toward Kankakee. The CETC was finally purchased for $330,000 at foreclosure from the Manhattan Trust Company of New York on April 18, 1907, in order to secure an entrance into Chicago. The C&ST took possession of the CETC on November 7, and shortly thereafter ordered 15 new streetcars to supplement the 10 new interurbans already on order. Power lines were erected from the North Shore Electric Company at Blue Island to Chicago Heights by the later part of July to replace the old Chicago Heights powerhouse, and after other power improvements, the new streetcars were placed into service on September 29 from Chicago to a wye constructed in Crete.

This early photo of 1907 interurban car 204 shows it with a sizable wooden pilot, which evidence suggests didn't last long. These cars were delivered with Type M control, only later being converted to K-control, so it appears that car 204 may be running MU with a second car while passing a third.

In March of 1907 the C&ST made an agreement to use 1.5 miles of the North Kankakee Electric Light & Railroad Company trackage on Schuyler Street in Bradley. Under the agreement, the C&ST paid 1.5 cents for each through passenger and five cents for each local passenger carried in Bradley, and power was sold to the streetcar system for 1.5 cents per kilowatt hour. A lot of work was done on the right-of-way south of Crete during the summer to ready that section for service. On October 11, an inspection trip was operated to Kankakee for local Blue Island citizens, and on November 3 a similar trip was operated for prominent Chicago Heights citizens.

Regular interurban service began operating from Chicago Heights to Bradley on November 5, 1907, with four round trips operating at a 65-cent fare (or $1.60 round trip). Because of heavy traffic, seven additional trips were added on November 20, and an additional trip added in December. The Kankakee city council gave the company permission to use the local streetcar tracks, but because frontage consents had not been obtained along Schuyler Street in Kankakee, passengers had to use the local streetcars from Bradley to Kankakee. Construction of a wye on Court Street in Kankakee was completed in January 1907, but interurban service was not extended until June of 1908.

Car 206 is at an unknown location in the country headed north for Chicago.

Five large interurbans were received in January of 1908; however because of insufficient power and unballasted track they could not be placed into through service between Chicago and Kankakee. In March of 1908, the C&ST began construction on an $8,000 building containing a ticket office, baggage room, waiting room, and substation at the northeast corner of 16th Street and West End Avenue in Chicago Heights. After trackage and power improvements were finished, the new interurbans were placed into service on June 15, and a new schedule called for a run to Kankakee every two hours. Four limited trains made the Chicago to Kankakee trip in two hours, with locals taking 30 minutes longer.

In June of 1909, service was further improved, with an interurban scheduled every hour between Chicago and Kankakee between 5 AM and 11 PM, with every other interurban being a limited. There were 37 trips from Chicago to Blue Island, and 20 from Chicago to Crete. Ridership peaked at 2,832,769 in 1909.

The 88th & Vincennes carbarn is shown in a 1910 view. The grey (steel construction) addition on the west side is a car shed, with the main building - formerly battery pits - now taken up by a repair shop, paint shop, and machine shop.

During February of 1910, a fare increase was instituted because of growing expenses. Express service was initiated over the entire line during 1910. On August 4, the interurbans began using a newly constructed loop in Kankakee, and a rented ticket office and waiting room was established at the corner of Merchant Street and Schuyler Avenue. Because of the increased interurban and local streetcar traffic, a block signal system was installed on Schuyler Street and the loop trackage in Bradley and Kankakee. Earnings reached $371,567 in 1910.

C&ST 204, one of the 1907 St. Louis-built interurban cars, in a rare snow scene along the Kankakee Line.

The financial picture did not improve with all the additional service; the problem was that there was not enough of a population south of Crete. Between Monee and Kankakee, the interurban paralleled the IC, and there was insufficient population to support both the IC passenger service - which had been serving the area since 1850 - and the interurban. Because the company was unable to pay interest on bonds for two years, the bondholders represented by the Western Trust and Savings Bank of Chicago put the company into receivership on October 11, 1910. Two officials of the bank were appointed receivers by Cook County Circuit Court. In April of 1911, the company added a milk train that operated from Kankakee to Chicago every morning. During June, a pending deal was announced whereby passenger and freight interurban service would be extended over the Chicago City Railway Company tracks into downtown Chicago. On January 29, 1912, the Chicago city council passed the Chicago and Southern Ordinance, which granted the company permission to extend service into downtown Chicago, and the sale of all property within the Chicago city limits from 79th to 119th Street and of the 15 Kuhlman streetcars to the Chicago City Railway Company for $600,000. However, interurban service was never extended.

The Chicago & Interurban Traction Company (C&IT) was incorporated on February 14, 1912, with $1 million of capital to purchase the remaining C&ST property outside of Chicago from the bondholders for $1,350,000. On March 1, 1912, the C&IT took over and began operating the remaining C&ST property outside of Chicago, which consisted of 53.4 miles of trackage. Trackage rights were obtained from the Chicago City Railway Company allowing the interurbans to use a new terminal at 63rd and Halsted Streets where there was a joint station with the Englewood Branch of the Chicago Elevated Railways. The shops at 88th and Vincennes, which had also been sold to the Chicago City Railway, were leased by the C&IT.

This photo, likely dating to about 1910-1913, shows Niles-built car 212 after it was motorized. Note the unusual window layout used by C&IT interurban cars, with a single pair of square upper sash windows in the middle of the car and the remaining upper sash windows arched.

The immediate problem faced by the new company was the lack of passenger equipment. In May, three trailers were motorized, followed by a gradual, thorough overhaul of the remaining 14 interurbans. In 1912, 14 trips were operated from Chicago to Kankakee and 32 from Chicago to Crete, with 20-minute local service from Chicago to Blue Island. In June of 1916, Kankakee granted permission for a wye to be constructed on Schuyler Avenue and Oak Street, and in May of 1917 the ticket office terminal and freight station were relocated to a portion of the new Public Service Building.

As an economy move, the Blue Island branch was abandoned in 1919. The company tried to increase revenues by promoting freight and express business, but by the 1920s motor trucks and paved highways quickly took away most of the business. For 1920, the company had net operating revenues of $63,138 but a net deficit of $37,701; for 1921 the company had a net operating loss of $1,844 and a net deficit of $116,462, with 2,644,477 passengers. To further reduce costs, the Calumet Grove branch was abandoned and the Blue Island local service discontinued during 1920. The financial situation worsened in 1922, and in June, Kankakee interurban service was reduced to six daily trips. Employees were asked to accept a lower wage, but the employees voted against the request. In July, earnings were insufficient to pay interest on the bond indebtedness and a $75,000 power bill. Private ownership of automobiles and paved highways began to draw away passengers. On October 11, the company filed a voluntary petition for receivership.

This photo is from the W.T. Van Dorn Collection of the Illinois Railway Museum and shows a C&IT traction freight train on the north side of the 88th & Vincennes barn sometime around 1923. Bringing up the markers is boxcar 48, with freshly-painted freight trailer 46 (rebuilt from interurban car 36) beyond it, and arch-roof freight motor 49 in the distance.

Samuel Insull took control of the company in 1923, seeking to protect a major customer for his Commonwealth Edison Company. Employees were forced to face a pay cut or be unemployed, and belated efforts were made to increase freight business. In June of 1923, work began on relocating the trackage in Harvey via 154th Street to Park and 157th Street, where an underpass was being constructed under the IC grade elevation project; when completed in October of 1925, the trackage on Center Avenue was removed. In Blue Island, the company also had to share in the cost of widening and paving Western Avenue, and widening of the Western Avenue viaduct under the Chicago Rock Island & Pacific Railroad tracks. In 1924, the company's operating expenses exceeded receipts by $39,000. A completely new study of the interurban system determined that a considerable amount of money was needed to modernize the system. When the IC announced that it would electrify its suburban service, the line was doomed, and the receiver determined that raising any money for improvements was impossible. In December the courts authorized the company to file an application with the Illinois Commerce Commission to discontinue all service, and in January of 1926 the application was made to abandon the system. Hearings were held throughout the summer, and on April 23, 1927, the last interurban operated.

In September of 1927 a crew began dismantling the trackage, wires, poles, and other material, working north from Kankakee. The work was completed in January of 1928. All of the interurbans were scrapped, and the right-of-way purchased by Commonwealth Edison for a power line.

Memories of the C. & I. T. Co.

by William K. McGregor

Although almost a quarter of a century has gone by since the Kankakee Line gave up the ghost, I still have many fond memories of that traction system, which I have ridden on when a kid years ago. While most of my travelling on their cars was to Blue Island or Harvey, where I frequently visited relatives, I also made several longer trips to Crete or Kankakee with one of my school mates. The fares were paid from a portion of our lunch money, saved over a period of two or three months.

I can easily believe your story of so few passengers being handled from Crete to Kankakee; we noticed that condition too. As far as I can remember it, we were only four passengers on the car from Kankakee to Monee on a return trip, not too long prior to the line's abandonment.

Delays in the schedule seemed to be frequent in the later years of the company, much of which was due to the redundant condition of the line and equipment. On one occasion at night, the conductor and motorman spent a half hour at Posen switch trying to get the car lights to work. After blowing a number of fuses on the lighting circuit, they rang up the dispatcher who told them to take the car into Harvey in the dark, dump us off there, and leave the car there until morning. A short while later a Crete bound car came along and some of the stranded passengers got on to finish their trip.

That picture of the substation reminds me of a storm that nearly disabled a car at the south end of Blue Island once. A multiple stroke bolt hit on a tree about two blocks ahead and some 75 feet west of the tracks, the fine one of some half dozen strokes jumped over to the pole line. It was a marvelous sight, the repeated flashes appearing to move to the east in a stroboscopic pattern, the discharge patch being carried over on a strong west wind. The fuses on the car were blown, and the front platform filled with acrid smoke from the controller and a near panic ensued. A violent sweeping rain squall hit us within a few seconds and rather than brave the rain and hail, the crew decided to wait a while before attempting to replace the fuse. This was a storm of extreme intensity and the already nervous passengers wondered if another stroke on the wires would finally burn the car. After what seemed quite a while, we were on our way again. The power must have been out on the line as there were no other cars running, at least to Harvey anyway. On another occasion shortly after this, another violent storm swept Harvey and on returning home we took the IC for the interurban cars were not running due to power failure.

During the racing season at Washington Park the cars did a rushing business. I plainly remember occasions in 1925 and 1926 when I was at the races with my folks, and the good view of the car line from the upper part of the grandstand as I would look over toward it. For a period of about an hour or so before the race time, cars would arrive at the gate with a standing load, upon leaving they would have only a light seated load of passengers for points beyond. Cars seemed to run on a 15 minute headway during these times, in contrast to the usual half hour or hourly schedule. The Illinois Central also discharged crowds from a spur ending in back of the grounds. In view of the nature of the racetrack traffic, it appears rather strange that the CSL cars were not used out to the gate, inasmuch as there was no wye or loop here for single end cars. The CSL cars hauled the short haul riders to Blue Island and Harvey. Most of the time cars 5221, 5256, 5265, and 5294 were used because they had MCB trucks. These cars had much more lateral stability as compared to other 5200s which showed a very pronounced nosing and galloping on the interurban tracks.

The steep hill on Western Avenue at Grove Street in Blue Island was a thrill in itself. Southbound, the motorman restricted speed with a long drawn out brake application in wet or slick weather, sand was liberally used. Northbound, the car laboriously groaned and growled slowly up the hill and sometimes did not make it. Occasionally a slowly moving truck up ahead would get a car stalled and only by backing down to Canal Street and making a run for it with plenty of sand would the car make it up to Vermont Street. How some of those cars with their small 60 HP motors ever hauled a trailer up this grade I cannot yet figure out. This was probably the principal reason why trailers were motorized so quickly.

Another outstanding characteristic of the Kankakee Line was the extremely rough trackwork from 119th to Burr Oak on Vincennes in Blue Island. A worse example could hardly be found anywhere. Many a joint with a piece eight or ten inches broken out in some spots; the rails would sink as much as three inches under the weight of a passing car.

For some time prior to abandonment the line work began to show signs of neglect. Breaks in worn trolley wire would be pieced out, and spans or guys were often patched up with old and somewhat rusty wire. The original cross arms used on this line had wrought iron insulator pins, with a threaded wood cob on the top end. These rusted, and in later years some of the insulators, mainly those under the feeder cables, began to lean over or break off, leaving the cables without dielectric support. This condition may have accounted for the burned condition of some of the poles. In the vicinity of the racetrack, at least half a dozen poles had the cable resting on the cross arm for four or five years, a condition which continued to abandonment.

From time to time, when my family was driving along Halsted Street toward Chicago Heights during the summer of 1927, I could see the progress of the wrecking gang in removing a favorite source of my early enjoyment. So passed the Kankakee Line into oblivion.

Click here to view C&IT photos from the Julie Johnson Photo Collection

C&IT Equipment Roster

SINGLE TRUCK CITY CARS

#2, 4, 6, 8 - built 1896 by Pullman - L 30'0", W 7'6", H 10'7" - 26 seats - Brill 21E truck, 2 x GE 80 motors, K28B control - originally battery cars with DuPont truck and 1 x 50 HP Walker motor, sold to Chicago City Railway in 1912 and scrapped (photo link)

#10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20 - built 1896 by St. Louis - L 30'0", W 7'6", H 11'0" - 50 seats - Brill 21E truck - originally battery cars with DuPont truck and 1 x 50 HP Walker motor, converted to electric motor cars, then later converted again into trailers, sold to Chicago City Railway in 1912 and scrapped

#22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32 - built 1897 by Brill - L 27'6", W 7'8", H 11'0" - 45 seats - Brill 21E truck - originally battery cars with DuPont truck and 1 x 50 HP Walker motor, converted to electric motor cars, then later converted again into trailers, sold to Chicago City Railway in 1912 and scrapped*

#40-55 - built 1897 by St. Louis - L 30'0", W 7'6", H 11'0" - 50 seats - Brill 21E truck, 2 x GE 80 motors, K28 control - 10-bench open, scrapped prior to 1912

#56-60 - built 1899 by St. Louis - L 30'0", W 7'6", H 11'0" - 50 seats - Brill 21E truck, 2 x GE 80 motors, K28 control - 10-bench open, scrapped prior to 1912**

#61-75 - built 1900 by American (ord#335) - L 30'0", W 7'6", H 11'0" - 50 seats - Brill 21E truck, 2 x GE 80 motors, K28 control - 10-bench open, scrapped prior to 1912 (photo link; photo link)

#100-119 - built in 1897 (builder?) - open ST trailers, never motorized

#120-125 - built 1899 by St. Louis - open ST trailers, never motorized**

DOUBLE-TRUCK INTERURBAN EQUIPMENT - PRIOR TO 1913

#126-140 - built 1907 by Kuhlman (ord#350) - L 47'7" - 44 seats - Brill 27FE2 trucks, 4 x GE 80 motors, K28E control - sold 1912 to Chicago City Railway #5651-5665, rebuilt to double-end PAYE, 5664 and 5665 burned in 1938, remainder scrapped in 1946 (photo link; photo link)

#201-208 - built 1907 by St. Louis (ord#594) - L 51'0" - 54 seats - StL MCB61 trucks, 4 x GE 74 motors, K34D control - renumbered to #21-28 in 1913 (photo link; photo link)

#209-210 - built 1907 by St. Louis (ord#594) - L 51'0" - 46 seats - StL MCB61 trucks, 4 x GE 73 motors, K34D control - had baggage compartments, renumbered to #29-30 in 1913 (photo link)

#211-214 - built 1909 by Niles - L 47'10" - 50 seats - Brill MCB2X trucks, 4 x GE 210 motors, K34D control - originally trailers #301-304, rebuilt 1910 to motor cars, renumbered to #31-34 in 1913 (photo link)

#215-217 - built 1911 by Jewett - L 44'2" - 46 seats - Brill MCB2X trucks, 4 x GE 210 motors, K34D control - renumbered to #35-37 in 1913

DOUBLE-TRUCK INTERURBAN EQUIPMENT - AFTER 1913

#21-28 - formerly #201-208, which see - #27 rebuilt as a trailer in 1922

#29-30 - formerly #209-210, which see - both cars rebuilt as trailers in 1922

#31-34 - formerly #211-214, which see

#35-37 - formerly #215-217, which see; #35 destroyed in a fire in 1914, #36 rebuilt to express trailer #46 in 1924

#35 (II) - built 1916 by American (ord#1052) - L 48'0" - 54 seats - Brill MCB2X trucks, 4 x GE 210 motors, K34D control - replaced first #35 (photo link)

FREIGHT AND WORK EQUIPMENT

#45 - DT line car - built 1924 by C&IT - L 50'6" - StL 23A trucks, 4 x GE 80 motors, K28 control - sold 1927 to Chicago Aurora & Elgin, scrapped 1947

#46 - DT freight trailer - rebuilt in 1924 from #36, which see

#48 - DT freight trailer - Baldwin trucks - boxcar used as express trailer

#49 - DT freight motor - built 1908 by Niles - L 52'6" - StL 23A trucks, 4 x GE 74 motors, L4 control - renumbered in 1913 from #300 (photo link)

#50 - DT line car - built 1911 by C&ST - L 34'0" - Peckham 14B3 trucks, 4 x GE 80 motors, K28 control - renumbered in 1913 from #500, destroyed in a fire in 1924 (photo link)

#50 (II) - DT line/work car - built 1924 by C&IT - L 34'0" - StL 23A trucks, 4 x GE 80 motors, K28 control - replaced first #50

#400 - DT sprinkler - built 1911 by C&ST - L 25'8" - Peckham 14B3 trucks, 4 x GE 80 motors, K28 control - sold in 1913 to Chicago City Railway as #D13, to Chicago Surface Lines #D213 in 1914, scrapped 1950

#501 - records unclear, may have been a single-truck snow plow (likely the single-truck battery-powered nose plow Brill built in 1896 for the Englewood & Chicago on ord#7547)

#502 - records unclear, may have been a single-truck sprinkler

#503 - ST snow sweeper - built 1901 by McGuire-Cummings - L 29'0" - McGuire truck, 2 x GE 80 motors - formerly CETC #2, sold in 1913 to Chicago City Railway as #E34, to Chicago Surface Lines #E234 in 1914

#1000 - DT work car - built by C&ST (year unknown) - L 34'0" - StL 23A trucks, 4 x GE 74 motors, L4 control

*These cars do not appear on Brill order lists, but American Car Company records list orders #86 and 87 for an unknown number of 8- and 9-bench open cars built for the Englewood & Chicago - it is conceivable that these ended up as some of the C&IT cars listed here

**St Louis Car Company records list order #29 for nine single-truck 10-bench open cars numbered #66-74 for Chicago Electric Traction in 1899 - reason for difference in historical records is unclear

C&IT Route Map

Click here for a Chicago & Interurban Traction route map

By the time of this 1936 Sanborn map showing the 88th & Vincennes carbarn, the C&IT had been gone for nearly a decade and the building was used by the CSL for storing cars. Around this time it was serving as a temporary home for a number of the CSL's 8000- and 9000-series center entrance trailers.

Click here to return to the Scalzo History Collection index