Chicago's FORGOTTEN 'L' Lines- The History of Chicago Elevated Trains - IT'S HISTORY

Dating back over 150 years, the "L" train lines have always been a fascination of Chicago, putting many lines into service throughout the 20th century. But as time marched on, more and more tracks were abandoned and torn down. Today, we'll explore some of these lines and look into why they were destroyed. This is the history of Chicago's "L" Train Lines.

IT’S HISTORY - Weekly tales of American Urban Decay as presented by your host Ryan Socash.

Chapters:
00:52 - The history of Chicago’s Public Transportations The OmniBus, Intercity Stagecoach, and steam train
02:25 - The History of Chicago’s Cable cars (“street railways)
03:27 - The Transport system during the Great Chicago Fire
4:52 - The introductions of Electric streetcars to Chicago
05:25 - The History of New Yorks Elevated train
06:01 - The History of The Southside rapid transit L.
06:56 - History of the Lake Street elevated railway.
07:47 - History of the MET West L
09:05 - The elevated North-Western Railroad
09:52 - History of the Chicago Loop
12:15 - The consolidation of Chicago’s elevated train lines
13:23 - The decline of the Chicago L
14:55 - History of the CTA
16:02 - Chicago’s Lost L lines
18:16 - History of the Congress Expressway
21:10 - The further downfall of the Chicago L
22:55 - What remains of Chicago’s L?

» CONTACT

» CREDIT
Scriptwriter - Gregory Back
Editor - Rishi Mittal
Host - Ryan Socash

» SOURCES

» NOTICE
Some images may be used for illustrative purposes only - always reflecting the accurate time frame and content. Events of factual error / mispronounced word/spelling mistakes - retractions will be published in this section.

[EmilyTienne]

Been to most of the great cities of the world, Europe, Asia, North America, but when I first visited Chicago some years ago, I was blown away by this magnificent crown jewel of the Midwest. The skyline from every angle is stunning.

[HandsomeLongshanks]

I grew up in the northern suburbs of Chicago and my memories of taking the train into the city and spending all day running around catching the L to go all over for whatever reason are the best. I always knew I was in for a good day when my friends said "wanna take the train down and do something in the city?"

[RealLuckless]

It always impresses me that we've somehow convinced so much of society that 'public transit' should for some reason turn a profit, but almost no one bats an eye at how much are spent on roads, highways, and general public parking that is mainly used by private cars.

[WAL_DC-B]

"Buy off politicians" in Chicago? NO, that can't be! Great story on Chicago's "L" lines. Thanks for sharing!

[georgeleslie]

While public transit is criminally underfunded in America, I think that we ought to consider it a miracle of what currently exists and is new. There's a reason why people would rather explore cities like Chicago over Los Angeles.

[Muchoman]

The L works so well today. Trains are frequent, they get you most of the places you want to go. You can take busses or walk where they don't. You can take commuter trains from downtown to the suburbs.

Chicago is one of only two US cities where you really dont need to own a car.

The L tracks are ridiculously old, though the red line in particular is absurdly loud and uncomfortable to ride. Still better than driving, though.

I'm glad you guys are focusing on Chicago. It's one of America's most functional cities in terms of infrastructure. Alleys, diagonal boulevards, and good public transit really make a difference.

[chironpl]

I wish you had mentioned the extension of the Westside Metro line beyond Logan Square to connect with O'Hare airport. This had a significant effect on boosting ridership on the Blue Line, and also the creation of the Orange line to connect to Midway airport

[jameswoods]

The Homan Station was closed not in the 1980's but in 1994 when the CTA shut down the Green Line (This portion being the former Lake Street Line) for a two year renovation. Homan Station was not completely destroyed, The majority of the Homan Station was demolished in Spring of 2000, but the Station House was carefully dismantled and put into storage and then rebuilt in a new location two blocks west at the Garfield Park Conservatory-Central Park Drive starting in March 2001 and finished by June 30, 2001.

[kholt]

You forgot the Pink and Orange lines! They are even shown on the map you spoke over! Also, the Homan Square pillars were removed and repurposed to make the current Conservatory–Central Park Drive station on the Green Line, which reprises the old Homan station architecture. This was a pretty negative take on the CTA.

[ScottMStolz]

Ironically, closing all those lines that went to the suburbs hurt them. When everyone moved to the suburbs, they had already closed those lines.

[lillianwilliams]

I was born in Chicago and even remember street cars and using the L.
As a teenager it was exciting to ride the L the line, I rode passed apartments and we could see people in their kitchens.
Now I take Amtrack and can see in the apartments of the people, who live in condos.

[sammysam]

This city has it's flaws and the politics are incompetent but the people and the cities character is what I love about it. I'm typically in the loop working on a construction site but this city wouldn't be the same if the L didn't exist

[TomKlimczak]

The Chicago, North Shore and Milwaukee is one company, you refer to it as "all three". Sam Insull did own the CNS&M, the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad, plus the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad. Those are the three. Only the CNS&M and the CA&E ran on the L. The CSS&SB shared a terminal with the Illinois Central over by what is now Grant Park. Only the CSS&SB survives today.

[AVeryRandomPerson]

The Logan Square branch was extended to O'Hare and connected to the Milwaukee-Dearborn. The Douglas Park was only demolished west of 54th, and is now connected to the Lake St at Ashland, and you forgot the Pink and Orange Lines when naming them.

[deniseboldea]

I remember riding the L In the late 70's. Even though it passed through some sketchy areas, it was a far better ride than the subway in my opinion. At least you could see where you were heading.

[peterjamesfoote]

Several comments: 1) Glad you handled this topic. If you ever revisit it again, a unifying map showing the location of all lost lines which if tied to individual maps, or highlights on the main map, would make it much clearer to viewers of the extent of the system as it evolved then declined. 2) The use of the photos and maps that you found added a great deal of value and impact to the story although at times it seemed that filler shots were used that didn’t match the narrative. Quibbling but relevant. 3) You skipped any mention of the Dan Ryan L’s construction to 95th street in the median of the Dan Ryan expressway and the coming expansion of the line further South. 4) Also omitted, was the Ho-Dar, Le-Jac re-alignment which allowed greater efficiency in connecting what are now the Red and Green Lines. 5) The CTA’s “Farebox recovery ratio”, the share of operating revenue that comes out of the farebox is one of the highest in the nation and is an essential part of why so much had to be abandoned. 6) The role of the UMTA (Later FTA) in eliminating operating dollar subsidies is also part of the struggle the CTA faced in the 80’s and 90’s. 7) The role of the MPO long range plans, for Capital Investment, 2010, 20, 30, 40 are now part of the long range planning process for this region. 8) The dissolving of the streetcar network deserves a shoutout. 9) Implementation of Customer Satisfaction based planning at CTA and the RTA from the late 1980’s in and the internal management shift from seeing passengers as riders to customers (do a google scholar search for the terms CTA and Customer Satisfaction for an idea of what was happening which is part of why CTA’s economics improved then.)

All this being said, it was a remarkable and enjoyable video. I can only urge you to keep producing on this level! Thank you.

[geraldtrudeau]

I grew up in Racine Wisconsin, which lies between Chicago and Milwaukee, in the 1950s. I'm very familiar with the North Shore line that ran through our town. It crossed right through West Racine which at that time, was the westernmost business district in the city. I recall having my aunt take me for a ride a couple of times on the North Shore Line to Milwaukee, so she could do some shopping. That was quite an adventure for a six or seven year old kid. It was my first time riding on a train, In Milwaukee I had a chance to ride on the electric trolleys for the first time. Anyway all the kids in my part of town were familiar with the railroad tracks. They were the dividing line between the poor part of town, and the middle class part. Our parents always stressed how we had to be careful playing around those railroad tracks. Those tracks are where I learned the trick of putting a coin on the tracks to squash it flat. We were always curious as to whether it would derail the train or not. That train also had a darker side, cuz every now and then we would see a story in the newspaper about somebody committing suicide by jumping in front of it. I specifically remember once seeing a picture in our local newspaper, the Racine Journal Times that showed somebody holding up a shoe that the poor suicide had been knocked out of. Anyway, that's my memory of the old North Shoreline. I remember it being something very exciting as a child. Those were the days when kids would leave the house in the morning, and not come back until supper time. Our parents never worried about us.

[QualityGarbage]

You can't really end the video on "they kept downsizing until we got to where we are today" when they built an entirely new line out to Midway in that exact time period (They switched the names to colours right as it was finished)

[jackprzybylski]

Great video, I grew in the city, great history and great to see the history. It's sad most lines are gone. So many of the old lines world be beneficial today. Plus I'm a rail fanatic. Thanks for posting this.

[codyccramer]

That "old streets of Grand Rapids" exhibit at the Grand Rapids Public Museum is excellent and I have many happy memories in that orange streetcar as a child. Thanks for the nostalgia. ❤️