Streetcars, And All That
A previous blog post here dealt with train travel in my days gone by.
Something was missing from that
post--a way to get to the trains.
Therefore, what I’ve done here is
write about the system of public transportation in Chicago that took me from my
home to the train station, or, for that
matter, anywhere else in the city That system
included streetcars, buses, subways, and els (elevated trains).
When I was growing up, Chicago had
an excellent public transportation system. I’ve read that it still does, and Bill
Vandervoort, on his Chicago Transit and Railfan Website, makes a point
that is just as true today as it was decades ago: “Chicago is an area where
public transportation is extensively used, even by those who can afford
automobiles.”
Our family did not have a car, and
among neighbors who did own a car, it was a thing left parked during the
workweek, in a garage, or sitting by the curb, stationary, like a chrome and
steel altar, worshipped from across the front lawn until it could be fired up
for a weekend drive to the country or used just to go for a spin.
So we walked, from our house to the
streetcar line on Irving Park Road two-and-a-half blocks south, or one-and-one-half
blocks north to the bus stop on Montrose Avenue. These were north-south blocks, each one an
eighth of a mile long. An east-west
block was half that distance.
The Irving Park Road streetcar line
was a major thoroughfare with grocery stores, clothing and department stores, restaurants,
and bars. The Montrose Avenue bus was
good for trips to the beach or the fishing pier at Lake Michigan. Both routes connected to other routes and
types of public transit.
We lived seven miles northwest of downtown, where railroad depots were located, but you couldn’t get there from here. A transfer was necessary, to the el from a streetcar or bus line. Some el trains rode the rails underground and became subway cars. The subway went under the Chicago River, and puddles of water were always visible from subway car windows, allowing a rider to wonder if the tunnel was leaking, and, if so, would the whole thing collapse?
The trip to downtown from our front
door took forty minutes to an hour via the city’s system of public transit. An alternative was the Chicago and
Northwestern Railroad commuter train, from a depot in our neighborhood to its
terminal just outside the Loop. The
train was faster, more expensive, and didn’t run as often.
Photo shows a Chicago streetcar, specifically a CSL (Chicago Surface Lines) Pullman #144, built in 1908.
The car was driven by a motorman--that was his job title--up front, to the right in the photo. The conductor stood on the back platform and collected fares and handed out transfers. The conductor also had the task of hooking up the trolley pole at the back of the car if it became disengaged from the overhead wire, which sometimes happened, especially when making turns. Electrical power of 600 volts DC was supplied from an overhead wire.
When I was a kid I paid seven cents to get on board a streetcar and obtain a transfer. The transfer was a coupon that allowed its holder to do an unlimited amount of riding and transferring in the system. Prices have gone up since then, and I read today that the fare system is a complexity of zones, turnstiles, transit cards, and separate fees for fares and transfers.
When I was a child, I got a kick out of a streetcar ride. As an adult I have ridden public transportation in Chicago, other U.S. cities, and England, and it's easy to find fault with it, but there was always one aspect of it that I truly liked--I could leave the driving to someone else.
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