The interurban was a type of electric railway in the period 1900 to 1925, specializing primarily in the conveyance of passengers between cities. They also allowed fast and easy access to those cities to people who lived in the suburban or rural areas beyond. When the interurban first was built into a town, it often was met with a celebration and even subsidies. They were a hybrid between a city streetcar (tram) and a railroad train. Interurban is a term that referred to both the interurban company and to the passenger cars that ran on the rails. Early interurban "cars" were almost always defined by their use of a trolley pole to collect propulsion power from an overhead wire. In 1915, 15,500 miles (24,900 km) of interurban railways were operating in the United States.
As a business, for a time interurban railways were the
fifth-largest industry in the United States and employedthousands.
The automobile doomed the interurban. The South Shore Line (formerly the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad is still runs and is generally considered the last of the electric Interurbans. It operates today as a high speed commuter operation to downtown Chicago, but there are some flag stops where a person can flag the train down for a ride. At night you can light a newspaper to let the train know you wish to ride.
When one thinks of an electric interurban railway, one usually thinks of the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad (South Shore Line), generally regarded as "America's Last Interurban". One also thinks of the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad (North Shore Line), and the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad, two lines which unfortunately became victims of post World War II expressway construction.
WHAT IS AN INTERURBAN?
Comparing electric interurban railways and "steam railroads". The three major interurbans entering Chicago were not typical interurban lines, enabling them to survive well beyond the 1930's, when most interurban lines were abandoned.SOUTH SHORE LINE
"America's Last Interurban" continues to operate between Chicago and South Bend, Indiana.NORTH SHORE LINE
Operated until 1963 between Chicago and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.CHICAGO AURORA AND ELGIN
Operated until 1957 west of Chicago.SAMUEL INSULL
These three major interurban lines entering Chicago were once controlled by Samuel Insull, who also controlled various electric companies including Chicago's Commonwealth Edison, along with other interurban lines in Indiana, and the Chicago Rapid Transit Co.Insull acquired control of the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad Co. in 1916, the Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad Co. in 1926, and the Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad in 1925. Insull resigned from control of all companies in 1932.
MORE TYPICAL INTERURBAN LINES
The more traditional interurban lines were more local in nature, and were basically extensions of city streetcar lines into the country, and on to other cities. Such lines typically ran alongside country roads, which generally were not paved at the time. But the paving of such roads in the 1920's and 1930's made the local interurban lines obsolete, with buses able to do the job more economically.SUBURBAN CHICAGO
The first local transit routes in Chicago's suburbs were electric railways, including streetcar and interurban lines. Nearly all of these routes were replaced with buses during the 1930's, evolving to today's Pace bus system.NORTHERN ILLINOIS (BEYOND CHICAGO)
Local interurban lines did once extend beyond the Chicago area into northern Illinois. But outside the 6 county Chicago metropolitan area, public transit agencies were never approved, and local and interurban public transportation disappeared entirely.INTERURBAN LINES BEYOND NORTHERN ILLINOIS
Some of America's most comprehensive interurban railway networks existed in the Midwest states beyond Chicago.INTERURBAN LINES BEYOND THE MIDWEST
Beyond the Midwest, the development of interurban lines was generally quite fragmented, except in the densely populated northeastern United States, where many local electric railways existed and interconnected.HOW DID THE INTERURBANS DIE?
The interurban industry is one of the most unsuccessful industries to ever exist in America. Included are misconceptions and myths, and what really happened to interurban transportation.Interurban - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/InterurbanJump to Power collection by rolling stock – Most interurban cars and freight locomotives collected current from ... An example of this was the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin where a ... AC transmission lines, and AC/DC conversion systems.CHICAGO INTERURBANS PAGE - chicago transit & railfan
www.chicagorailfan.com/interxma.htmlWhen one thinks of an electric interurban railway, one usually thinks of the ChicagoSouth Shore and South Bend Railroad (South Shore Line), generally ...Interurban electric rail -- Chicago Tribune
galleries.apps.chicagotribune.com/chi-130104-interurban-electric-rail-pi...The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad, an electric interurban rail linethat carried passengers between Milwaukee and downtown Chicago, shut ...The Last Interurbans - Academic Web Server - Presbyterian College
Jul 14, 2007 – A list of electric interurban railways in the US that survived until ... to Wisconsin, using a series of connecting interurban lines. ... 1957, Chicago, Aurora & Elgin, Illinois, Third-rail power; used 'L' tracks to reach Chicago's Loop ...Welcome to the Shore Line Interurban Historical Society
www.shore-line.org/We invite you to join the Shore Line Interurban Historical Society and explore First & Fastest ... in what is now known as the Chicago Hub Network of Amtrak, and our special publications. ... Want to find out about our new electronic publication?Winnetka's “North Shore Line” Electric Inter-urban Service
www.winnetkahistory.org/index.php?id=219Winnetka's “North Shore Line” Electric Inter-urban Service. Gazette ... Fifty years ago, an inter-urban, electrified railroad known as the Chicago, North Shore, and ...ELECTRIC INTERURBAN RAILWAYS | The Handbook of Texas ...
www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/eqe12The electric interurban industry in Texas totaled nearly 500 miles, the second ...About 70 percent of the mileage was in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, where electric lines ... LeRoy O. King (Chicago: Central Electric Railfans' Association, 1982).Old South Shore (America's Last Classic Interurban Railway ...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Hd4qqWZM4sApr 10, 2008 - Uploaded by GreenFrogVideosPurchase at -- www.greenfrog.com By the late 1970s, theChicago, South Shore and ... been the sturdiest of ...- More videos for electric interurban lines chicago »
6. THE ELECTRIC INTERURBAN IN ILLINOIS
www.riverweb.uiuc.edu/.../Electric%20Interurban%20Rai8E6.htmlTHE ELECTRIC INTERURBAN IN ILLINOIS ... Two of the interurban lines spreading outward from Chicago competed with the automobile for many years by ...Interurbans - Encyclopedia of Chicago
www.encyclopedia.chicagohistory.org/pages/648.htmlBy 1910 a network of interurban electric railways connected many of the cities ... to the Loop over the Chicago Elevated Railway's Northwestern line until 1919.
