Chicago City Railway

Chicago City Railway

Dates of operation	1859–1914 (operation) 1950 (liquidation)
Successor	Chicago Surface Lines (operator) Chicago Transit Authority (owner)
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	600 V DC Overhead wire (converted 1893-1906)

The Chicago City Railway (CCRy) was a transit company that operated horse, cable, and electric streetcars on Chicago’s South Side between 1859 and 1914, when it became part of the Chicago Surface Lines (CSL). After that time it owned electric streetcars, gasoline, diesel, and propane busses. Purchased by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in 1947, it was liquidated in 1950.

Beginnings

In the 1850s Chicago was growing and better public transportation was needed. Horse drawn omnibuses were shuttling passengers between railroad stations by 1853, but roads were often muddy and travel was very difficult. In 1858 omnibus operator Frank Parmelee and a group of investors were awarded a city franchise for a rail horsecar line, but legal challenges caused them to seek a state charter instead. On February 14, 1859 the Chicago City Railway Co. was incorporated and in two months horsecars were running on State St. between Randolph and 12th St.

Horsecars

The horsecars were a success from the start. The smooth rail and reduced rolling resistance allowed larger cars to be used in all weather. A typical car was 18 ft (5.49 m) long, 7 ft (2.13 m) wide, and could carry 20 passengers.

Although horsecar lines were inexpensive to build, they were expensive to operate. Horses could be up to ​²⁄₃ of the value of a company. They were expensive to buy, needed people to maintain them, were subject to illness, and made a huge amount of waste. By 1880 CCRy was looking for a better, mechanical replacement.

Cable cars

In 1880 superintendent Charles Holmes visited San Francisco to see the new and successful cable car lines there, and could see a use in Chicago. As with most cities which would use cable cars the problem in flat Chicago was not one of grades, but of pure transportation capacity.

Construction began in 1881 on a system designed by William Eppelsheimer, with lines going south from the downtown area on State St. and Wabash-Cottage Grove Ave. This system was to become the largest and most profitable cable car system in the world.

State St. service started on January 28, 1882, Cottage Grove Ave. on February 26. Counter to some people's expectations, the cable cars did not suffer much from the elements, and the harsher Chicago climate was no problem for them.

The number of passengers caused a different approach to the cars than the San Francisco cable car system. Rather than using a grip car and single trailer, or combining the grip and trailer into a single car, like the California Cars, CCRy used short bi-directional grip cars to pull trains of up to three trailers.

The cable cars did not completely replace the horsecars, but they rather created a transportation backbone. In fact, even as the horse lines were being converted to trolleys, the electrical cars from some feeder lines had to be pulled by grip cars through the downtown area, due to the lack of trolley wires there.

Electric streetcars

As the cable system was being built electric traction was being developed. Although the individual cars cost more, stringing wire cost far less per mile than digging conduits. In 1892 The City Council allowed CCRy’s first electric lines. Since the cable lines were already effective, and there was opposition to wires downtown, electric cars were used to replace horsecars on feeder routes when they became available. It was not until 1906 that all CCRy lines were converted to electricity. From then on the CCRy primarily operated electric streetcars.

Chicago Surface Lines

In 1900 political corruption, unscrupulous actions by other companies, and public opinion made it difficult for the street railroads to plan ahead. Length and terms of franchises, fare caps, taxes, and property owner consent were some of the problems.

Public ownership was discussed, instead ordinances controlling the private companies were passed and appealed for years. One was the Unification Ordinance of November 13, 1913, which combined management and operations of all Chicago streetcar companies as the Chicago Surface Lines. The CCRy became a paper company. It continued to own equipment, but the equipment was operated by the CSL and used systemwide.

The CSL was sold to the publicly owned Chicago Transit Authority on April 22, 1947, and the CCRy was liquidated on February 15, 1950.

Remnants

In 2015 yard switcher CSL #L202 and flat car CTA #314 are at the Fox River Trolley Museum in South Elgin, Illinois. CCRy #209 cable trailer and CSL #9020 electric trailer are at the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Illinois. Horsecar #10 and grip car #532 were in Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry in 1979.

One CCRy station from 1893 survives at 5529 South Lake Park Avenue in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The former cable car station and waiting room currently serves as the home of the Hyde Park Historical Society.

A shop building from 1902 and streetcar barns from 1906 remained in service in 2014 at the CTA’s 77th St. and Vincennes Ave. yard.

External links

• Hyde Park Historical Society
• Forgotten Chicago
• Public Transportation at Encyclopedia of Chicago
• Street Railways at Encyclopedia of Chicago