Quoted By:
This was the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railroad (known as the "Great Third Rail" or in the local Chicago dialect, the "Roarin' Elgin"). It ran from Chicago to Wheaton, whereupon it split into several branch lines to various western suburbs along the Fox River, where it connected with the Aurora, Elgin & Fox River Electric.
Like the North Shore, it too was acquired and modernized by Insull, running over the Chicago "L" to Wells Street. It was powered primarily by an electrified third rail, though some portions of it utilized overhead wire. Unfortunately, Insull acquired this property shortly before he was ruined by the Great Depression, so it was never extensively modernized like the North Shore was. Despite this, the CA&E lasted into the post-WWII era, transitioning into a commuter railroad. In 1945, they acquired 10 steel coaches (451-460) from the St. Louis Car Company, the last "traditional" interurban cars built. It was also the last interurban to run wooden coaches in regular service, all the way up to abandonment.
The CA&E lost its one-seat connection to Chicago when the Garfield Park "L" was demolished in 1953 to make room for the Congress Expressway. Though service was supposed to resume in the median of the Expressway after construction, the CA&E lost a large portion of its riders during this time, and the company decided to cut its losses. Service was infamously suspended mid-day on July 3, 1957, stranding a lot of commuters downtown on the eve of the holiday weekend. The state and local communities tried to save the line, but voters rejected a property tax which would have subsidized it, and the derelict line was officially abandoned in 1961.
