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Lake Street Elevated Railroad
The Lake Street Elevated Railroad was the second permanent elevated rapid transit line to be constructed in Chicago, Illinois. The first section of the line opened in November 1893. Its route is still used today as part of the Green Line route of the Chicago "L" system. History The Lake Street Elevated Railway Company was chartered on February 7, 1888, and granted a 25-year franchise by the city council to build an elevated railroad above Lake Street from Canal Street to the city limits. It was originally planned that the line would use a steam-powered monorail system that had been developed by Joe Meigs in Cambridge, Massachusetts, however the company eventually chose to use more traditional steam locomotives. Construction of the line began in 1889. Potential investors found the franchise too restrictive and a new 40 year franchise was awarded by the city council in November 1890, that allowed the railroad to extend to Market Street in downtown Chicago. By 1892 the company had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rapid Transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be called a subway, tube, or underground. Unlike buses or trams, rapid transit systems are railways (usually electric railway, electric) that operate on an exclusive right-of-way (transportation), right-of-way, which cannot be accessed by pedestrians or other vehicles, and which is often grade-separated in tunnels or on elevated railways. Modern services on rapid transit systems are provided on designated lines between rapid transit station, stations typically using electric multiple units on rail tracks, although some systems use guided rubber tires, magnetic levitation (''maglev''), or monorail. The stations typically have high platforms, without steps inside the trains, requiring custom-made trains in order to minimize gaps between train a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Meigs Elevated Railway
The Meigs Elevated Railway was an experimental but unsuccessful 19th century Elevated railway, elevated steam-powered urban rapid transit system, often described as a monorail but technically pre-electric third rail. It was invented in the US by Josiah Vincent Meigs (also known as Joe Meigs or Joe Vincent Meigs), of Lowell, Massachusetts, and was demonstrated from 1886 to 1894 in a suburb of Boston called East Cambridge, Massachusetts, East Cambridge.Robert Campbell and Peter Vanderwarker"Meigs Elevated Railway". Boston Globe, February 23, 1992. History Joe Meigs Josiah Vincent Meigs, who answered to "Joe", was born into a well-connected professional family of Nashville, Tennessee (his attorney father was a friend of Abraham Lincoln). He served as captain of the Union Army during the American Civil War, and made a personal appeal to President Lincoln for permission to raise a detachment of black troops for a ''colored artillery battery''. This was the first of such to serve in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
