The Woodstock & Sycamore Traction Company
by Stephen M. Scalzo
The Woodstock Marengo Genoa & Sycamore Electric Railway was incorporated on October 31, 1907, with $25,000 of capital to construct a 36-mile interurban line between its named towns. On April 15, 1908, the company shortened its name to the Woodstock & Sycamore Traction Company and was incorporated with $1 million of capital. The Northwestern Electric Railway and Interurban Construction Company was then formed by the company in August to construct the line.
After the necessary franchises were obtained for the route, the survey of the line and land acquisition began later in 1908, and by April of 1909 about 14 miles of grading had been completed and ties were being delivered. By October, 20 miles of grading had been completed, five miles of ties had been distributed, and rail had been ordered. The denial of the Illinois Central Railroad and the Chicago Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad for grade crossings eventually forced the company to construct zig-zag bypass trackage in Genoa.
In June of 1910 the company purchased two single-ended, 46-passenger gasoline McKeen motor cars. After several special trips, regular service began in July on the seven miles of completed trackage between Sycamore and Genoa. A turntable was later built in Sycamore and a wye constructed in Genoa to turn the cars. During September of 1910, a small underpass was constructed under the IC embankment just south of Genoa, allowing the company to finally operate cars into the town along Washington Street to a temporary terminal by the CM&StP trackage. In July of 1911, an additional but separate 16 miles of trackage caused by the CM&StP's Genoa crossing impasse was opened to Marengo, with the gas cars taking 65 minutes to operate one-way on a three-hour round trip schedule. The Sycamore station was located near the DeKalb Sycamore & Interurban terminal, and the Marengo station was located near the Elgin & Belvidere Electric Railway station. A temporary maintenance shed was constructed in Genoa until the permanent carbarn was completed.
W&S McKeen car is shown in Omaha in this builder's photo. Krambles-Peterson Archive.
During July of 1911, a third McKeen motor car was ordered, allowing the company to operate nine round trips on the trackage. Surveys were started on the line from Marengo to Woodstock, but that section was never built. In June of 1912, the CM&StP finally agreed to a bridge overpass, but it was not until April of 1913 that the connecting trackage on Main Street in Genoa and the bridge east of Genoa was finally opened for service.
On June 21, 1912, the Chicago Waukegan & Fox Lake Traction Company was organized with $1.5 million of capital to take over the company in order to improve it and extend trackage north to Woodstock, and possibly Fox Lake and Waukegan. However, because most of the stockholders were the same for both companies, the CW&FLT was merged into the company on June 30, 1913.
During the first year of passenger operations, the company enjoyed some degree of success. Passenger service began with two-hour headways and nine daily runs. The McKeen cars soon proved to be too heavy for the trackage and were constantly breaking down, and as a result of the unreliable passenger service, patronage dropped drastically as the public lost confidence in the company. Eventually there were just not enough passengers to enable the company to pay its operating costs.
Plans for electrification were never carried out because the company's financial condition would not allow for the expenditure. The company considered itself as an interurban, operating with typical interurban standards. In October of 1913, John Seymour, the contractor who built the line, sued the company for an unpaid $40,000 bill. By early 1914 the company's financial situation was very poor, and as a result all passenger service was discontinued on April 1st.
The bondholders reorganized the company. Two of the McKeen cars were returned during the later part of 1914 to the builder, who resold them to the Alberta & Great Waterways Railway in Canada. In October of 1914, passenger service was optimistically resumed using two small Fairbanks-Morse motor cars. In August of 1915, the company secured a United States Mail contract, but with only light freight being handled, prospects for improvement in the financial picture were bleak. Service improvements were instituted but they were of little success. By 1916, the passenger schedule was cut to two north and three south runs. Earnings went from $10,916 in 1912 to $5,171 (negative $5,144 net) in 1915, with ridership dropping from 80,904 in 1913 to 27,219 in 1915.
W&S 1, one of the 1914 Fairbanks-Morse motor cars, is pictured in 1916. Location is thought to be the Sycamore terminus on the east side of Main Street, with the Armstrong turntable visible at far right. Krambles-Peterson Archive.
The financial position of the company got steadily worse during 1917. A small secondhand 16-passenger White railbus was acquired during the later part of 1917 when only one of the Fairbanks-Morse cars was left operating. In December of 1917 and January-February of 1918, no passenger service was operated because of deep snow. A few runs were made in March and April. By May, the management knew the end was imminent. On May 22, the Central Trust Company of Illinois filed a foreclosure decree for the creditors in DeKalb County Circuit Court against the company. After six runs had been operated in May, all service ceased permanently on May 27, and the court ordered that the company was to be sold at foreclosure.
On August 10, 1918, the company was sold for scrap to Hyman-Michaels Company of Chicago for $119,000. The White railbus was sold to the Palatine Lake Zurich & Wauconda in July. Mr. Seymour's court action finally ended up in the Illinois Supreme Court in November where he eventually was awarded all costs. Scrapping of the trackage and remaining equipment, including the remaining McKeen car and the two Fairbanks-Morse cars, was completed by the end of November.
This article was edited and laid out by Frank Hicks. Thanks to Ray and Julie Piesciuk and to Richard Schauer for making available the materials from the Stephen Scalzo Collection that were used to publish this history. Thanks to Art Peterson for making additional W&S photos from the Krambles-Peterson Archive available.
Headline image: Woodstock & Sycamore McKeen car 711 is shown c1911, location unknown. Photo from the Stephen Scalzo Collection of the Illinois Railway Museum.
Roster of Equipment
Cars 1 and 2 - SE ST gas cars - Sheffield Car Company, 1914 - Fairbanks-Morse 50hp engine, 32 seats, 34'2" long
Car 707 - SE DT McKeen gas car with express/mail sections - McKeen, 1911 - McKeen six-cylinder engine, 34 seats, 55' long
Cars 709 and 711 - SE DT McKeen gas cars - McKeen, 1910 - McKeen six-cylinder engine, 46 seats, 55' long - later Alberta & Great Waterways 1950 and 1951
No # - White railbus, purchased 1916 - White gas engine, 16 seats
Number unknown - baggage car
Number unknown - boxcar - built 1907, purchased 1910 from Chicago Great Western - 33' long
Woodstock & Sycamore Route Map
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