,
1936 . The railroad ran enough service to fill most of a 12-page folder with train schedules.]]
The ('''CA&E'''), known colloquially as the '''"Roarin' Elgin"''', was an
Interurban Railroad that operated passenger and freight service on its line between
Chicago, Illinois and
Aurora ,
Batavia ,
Geneva ,
St. Charles , and
Elgin . The railroad also owned a branch line to
Westchester .
Wounded by the increased use of
Automobiles after
World War II , the CA&E quite abruptly ended passenger service in
1957 .
By 1902, the (AE&C) had constructed an electrified railroad between 52nd Street (now Laramie Avenue) in Chicago, and Aurora. Branch lines connected Wheaton with Batavia and Elgin. By 1910, the railroad had added a branch from near Wheaton to Geneva and St. Charles. Most of the interurban's lines used a
Third Rail for power collection, which was relatively unusual for interurban railroads. While third rail had become the standard for urban
Elevated Railroad and subway systems, most interurban railroads used trolley poles to pick up power from
Overhead Wire ; the AE&C only used trolley wire where necessary, such as in the few locations where the interurban had street running.
Originally, the railroad's Chicago terminus was the 52nd Street station that it shared with the Garfield Park elevated railroad line of the
Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad , and where passengers transferred between interurban and elevated trains. Beginning on
March 11 ,
1905 , Metropolitan's Garfield Park service is extended west of 52nd Street, providing local service over the interurban's surface-level trackage as far west as Desplaines Avenue in
Forest Park . At the same time, the interurban gained operating rights on the Metropolitan's "L" tracks, allowing AE&C trains to directly serve downtown Chicago. The interurban's trains terminated at the stub-ended
Wells Street Terminal , adjacent to
Chicago's Loop . The interurban continued to use the "L" tracks through the years of
Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT) ownership and into the
Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) era.
World War I was tough for the AE&C, and the railroad entered
Bankruptcy in
1919 . Having shedded lines paralleling the
Fox River , the reorganized company emerged from bankruptcy as the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad on
July 1 ,
1922 .
A branch from
Bellwood to Westchester was built in the 1920s. CRT's elevated train service was extended onto the branch in 1926; the "L" company was the sole provider of passenger service on the branch and this new service replaced the CA&E's own local service on its main line east of Bellwood.
Utilities magnate
Samuel Insull gained control of the CA&E in
1926 . Insull and his corporate interests had already taken over and improved the property of the
Chicago North Shore And Milwaukee Railroad . Insull's plans to make similar improvements to the CA&E were scrapped as the result of the
Great Depression . With the collapse of his utilities empire, Insull was forced to sell his interest in the CA&E, and the railroad was once again bankrupt by
1932 . The line connecting West Chicago with Geneva and St. Charles was abandoned in
1937 .
The railroad was unable to exit from bankruptcy until 1946. Even though the railroad suffered from low revenue, high debt, and shortage of capital, wartime revenues and hopes for a stronger customer base in the growing west suburban region led the railroad to undertake an improvement of its service. The railroad made substantial improvements to its physical plant and acquired ten new all-steel passenger cars in 1946 and made plans for eight more, with the intention of retiring the oldest wooden cars that had been on the railroad's roster from its earliest years.
However, the postwar years saw increasing shifts of passengers away from rail traffic and into automobiles, and then the CA&E found the rug pulled from beneath the railroad. The plans for construction of the Congress Street Expressway (now known as the
Eisenhower Expressway in the early 1950s not only loomed as a source of further drain on CA&E traffic, but the right-of-way of the new highway necessitated the demolition of the CTA's Garfield Park elevated line, which the CA&E depended upon to reach its downtown terminus.
The expressway's construction plans provided a dedicated right-of-way for trains in the highway's
Median Strip — the first of its kind in the world. However, during the estimated five years to complete the superhighway, both "L" and interurban trains would need to use a temporary street-level right-of-way.
When the plans circulated in 1951, CA&E objected to the arrangement, citing the effects on running time and scheduling of its trains as they negotiated the streets of Chicago's busy West Side at rush hour. The railroad estimated that the delays would cost the railroad nearly a million dollars a year, to say nothing of the long-term effects of the new superhighway on the railroad's revenue. Another long-term concern was the railroad's downtown terminal; the new median strip line would eliminate access to Wells Street Terminal.
The railroad finally gained approval to cut back its service at the Desplaines Avenue station in
Forest Park — the westernmost terminus of CTA Garfield Park service after the CTA ended its unprofitable elevated train service on the CA&E's Westchester line in 1951. The new Forest Park terminal consisted of two loop tracks (one for CA&E and one for CTA) where passengers could make a cross-platform transfer between the interurban and trains of the CTA operating over the temporary street-level trackage — and presumably the eventual new median strip
Congress Line . With the change being put into effect on
September 20 ,
1953 , CA&E riders lost their one-seat ride to downtown Chicago.
Passenger service ended abruptly on
July 3 ,
1957 at noon. Commuters who had ridden the Roarin' Elgin into the city found themselves stranded when they returned to take the train home. The physical plant was abandoned and the corporate entity disappeared in
1961 . Portions of roadbed are now operated as a hiking trail called the
Illinois Prairie Path .
Besides the right-of-way, most of which has been retained as the Illinois Prairie Path, there are two depots, two combination depot/substations, and 19 pieces of rolling stock from the CA&E that still exist.
- Clintonville substation in South Elgin, Illinois is currently the home of the Valley Model Railroad.
- Prince Crossing substation in West Chicago, Illinois is currently the home of the Salt Creek Model Railroad.
- Villa Avenue depot in Villa Park, Illinois is the home to the Villa Park Historical Society.
- Ardmore depot in Villa Park is the home to the Villa Park Chamber of Commerce.
- Trolleyville, USA in Olmsted Falls, Ohio owns cars 36, 303, 319, 409, 451, 453, 458 and 460.
- Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois owns cars 308, 309, 321 and 431.
- Fox River Trolley Museum in South Elgin owns cars 11, 20, 316 and 317.
- Rockhill Trolley Museum in Rockhill Furnace, Pennsylvania owns car 315.
- Midwest Electric Railway in Mount Pleasant, Iowa owns car 320.
- Seashore Trolley Museum in Kennebunkport, Maine owns car 434.
