The South Side Elevated Railroad (originally Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad) was the first elevated

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 ...

line in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Illinois. The line ran from downtown Chicago to Jackson Park, with branches to Englewood,

Normal Park Normal Park is the name of a former football and baseball field in Chicago, Illinois, during approximately 1914 through 1951. It was most notably the home field of the Chicago Cardinals before they moved to Comiskey Park. The field was on a bloc ...

, Kenwood, and the

Union Stock Yards The Union Stock Yard & Transit Co., or The Yards, was the meatpacking district in Chicago for more than a century, starting in 1865. The district was operated by a group of railroad companies that acquired marshland and turned it into a central ...

. The first of the line opened on June 6, 1892, and much of its route is still used today as part of the Green Line of the Chicago "L" system.

Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad

The Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad Company was incorporated on January 4, 1888, and secured a franchise from the City of Chicago on March 26 of that year to construct an elevated railroad between Van Buren Street and 39th Street (Pershing Road). The franchise required the company to build along a right of way immediately adjacent and parallel to one of the alleys from Van Buren Street to 37th Street, rapidly earning the line the nickname of the ''"alley L"''. On April 2, 1892 the city authorized the extension of the line as far south as 71st street, and a further extension along 63rd Street was passed on April 7, 1893, the total cost of construction was estimated at $6,750,000. A 6-car train carrying 300 guests made the inaugural run along first section of the line—running between a station at 39th Street and the

Congress Terminal Congress Terminal was a rapid transit station on the Chicago "L", serving its South Side Elevated. It was located at Congress Parkway over Holden Court. The terminal opened in 1892 as the original northern terminus of the Elevated; when the L ...

downtown—on May 27, 1892, and the line opened to the public ten days later. Initially the journey from 39th street to downtown took 14 minutes and cost 5¢. The line was gradually extended over the following months, with the route reaching Jackson Park on May 12, 1893 to provide service to the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

. Rolling stock on the line included 46 Forney-type ( 0-4-4) steam locomotives that were built at the Baldwin Locomotive Works in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

, and 180 -long wooden passenger cars. The first 20 locomotives were delivered coupled into a single train in April 1892. The South Side Elevated railroad provided 24-hour service, a major advantage when compared to Chicago's cable railroads which required daily overnight shutdown for cable maintenance.Cudahy, Brian J. Destination Loop. Brattleboro, Vermont: Stephen Greene Press; 1982. p.13 After midnight, two trains ran on the line, providing service every 20 minutes; in contrast, rush-hour service required 18 trains to maintain a schedule with a 3-minute headway.

Bankruptcy and takeover

When the World's Columbian Exposition closed, lack of development along the southern portion of the route led to plummeting passenger numbers. The Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad Company went into receivership in 1895 and was sold under foreclosure on September 16, 1896 for $4,100,100. The South Side Elevated Railroad was formed to take over the route in 1897. Service was extended into the newly built

Union Loop The Loop (historically Union Loop) is the long circuit of elevated rail that forms the hub of the Chicago "L" system in the United States. As of 2012, the branch has served 74,651 passengers every weekday. The Loop is so named because the elevat ...

on October 18, 1897 connecting the South Side Elevated Railroad with the

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

Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad The Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad (known as the ''Met'' or ''Polly "L"'') was the third elevated rapid transit line to be built in Chicago, Illinois and was the first of Chicago’s elevated lines to be electrically powered. The lin ...

, and (after 1900) the

Northwestern Elevated Railroad The Northwestern Elevated Railroad was the last of the privately constructed rapid transit lines to be built in Chicago. The line ran from the Loop in downtown Chicago north to Wilson Avenue in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood with a branch to Raven ...

. These other companies used

third rail A third rail, also known as a live rail, electric rail or conductor rail, is a method of providing electric power to a railway locomotive or train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway ...

electrification to power their trains so the South Side Elevated Railroad enlisted

Frank Julian Sprague Frank Julian Sprague (July 25, 1857 in Milford, Connecticut – October 25, 1934) was an American inventor who contributed to the development of the electric motor, electric railways, and electric elevators. His contributions were especially ...

to convert its rolling stock to electrical power. Sprague used his previously untested system of

multiple-unit train control Multiple-unit train control, sometimes abbreviated to multiple-unit or MU, is a method of simultaneously controlling all the traction equipment in a train from a single location—whether it is a multiple unit comprising a number of self-powered ...

(MU) whereby multiple self-powered cars could be linked together and controlled by a single person, making the South Side Elevated Railroad the first in the world to use MU operation.

Branches

As ridership increased, the South Side Elevated Railroad constructed additional branches. A branch to Englewood opened in stages between 1905 and 1907 (with the short

Normal Park branch The Normal Park branch was a rapid transit line which was part of the Chicago "L" system from 1907 to 1954. The branch served the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago and consisted of four elevated stations. It opened on May 25, 1907, and closed on ...

opening in 1907), and branches to Kenwood and the

—both running on tracks owned by the Chicago Junction Railroad—opened in 1907 and 1908 respectively.

Consolidation

In 1913, Chicago's four elevated railroad companies came together to form the Chicago Elevated Railways Collateral Trust establishing crosstown services for the first time, and in 1924 all four companies were formally united to form the

Chicago Rapid Transit Company The Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT) was a privately owned firm providing rapid transit rail service in Chicago, Illinois and several adjacent communities between 1924 and 1947. The CRT is one of the predecessors of the Chicago Transit Autho ...

. The

Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its surrounding suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago 'L' and CTA bus service. In , the system had a ridership of , ...

took over the assets of the CRT in 1947. The Normal Park branch closed in 1954 and the Kenwood and Stock Yards branches were abandoned in 1957 but most of the rest of the route of the South Side Elevated Railroad continues in service as part of the CTA's Green Line.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:South Side Elevated Railroad Railway lines in Chicago History of Chicago Rapid transit in Illinois Defunct Illinois railroads Railway companies established in 1888 Railway lines opened in 1892 Railway companies disestablished in 1924 1892 establishments in Illinois 1924 disestablishments in Illinois American companies disestablished in 1924 American companies established in 1888

Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad

Bankruptcy and takeover

Branches

Consolidation

See also

References