Illinois Central West Line

Illinois Central West Line
Overview
Status	Defunct
Owner	Illinois Central Railroad
Locale	Chicago metropolitan area
Termini	Randolph Street Station Addison
Service
Type	Commuter Rail
Train number(s)	140, 141, 145, 146, 147, 148
History
Opened	May 1, 1892
Closed	1931
Technical
Line length	24.12 miles (38.82 km)
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map Legend 0.00 Randolph Street 0.64 mi 1.03 km Van Buren Street 1.26 mi 2.03 km Roosevelt Road Central Station Metra Electric and South Shore to S. Chi, Blue Island, Univ Pk, and S. Bend Amtrak to Carbondale and New Orleans Green and Orange Lines Amtrak to Union Station Rock Island District Red Line Orange Line to the Loop Metra and Amtrak lines to Union Station SouthWest Service to Manhattan 3.34 mi 5.38 km Halsted Street Chicago River South fork Orange Line to Midway Heritage Corridor and Amtrak to Joliet, St. Louis, and Los Angeles Chicago River South branch 7.19 mi 11.57 km 7.61 mi 12.25 km 8.58 mi 13.81 km 9.05 mi 14.56 km 10.17 mi 16.37 km BNSF Railway 11.19 mi 18.01 km 11.95 mi 19.23 km 12.75 mi 20.52 km Des Plaines River 13.17 mi 21.2 km 13.22 mi 21.28 km 14.48 mi 23.3 km Addison Creek Chicago "L" Westchester Branch CA&E to Bellwood to Mt. Carmel 16.15 mi 25.99 km 17.50 mi 28.16 km 19.25 mi 30.98 km CA&E to Wells Street Chicago Great Western to Chicago CA&E to Wheaton Chicago Great Western to DeKalb 20.24 mi 32.57 km Union Pacific / West Line to Ogilvie Transportation Center Salt Creek Union Pacific / West Line to Elburn 21.28 mi 34.25 km 22.29 mi 35.87 km 24.12 mi 38.82 km Illinois Central intercity trains to Freeport, Waterloo and Sioux City This diagram: view talk

The Illinois Central West Line was a commuter line operated by the Illinois Central Railroad between the Randolph Street Station in Chicago and Addison, Illinois. The service began in 1892 and ended in 1931.

History[]

The Illinois Central Railroad opened a westerly line from Chicago to Freeport, Illinois in 1891. A suburban passenger service over a portion of this line between Chicago and Addison was inaugurated on May 1, 1892. Stations were initially located at Wabash Avenue and 16th Street, Crawford Avenue, Hyman (Cicero) Avenue, Robinson (Laramie) Avenue, Ogden Avenue, Parkview Avenue, Brook View, Hill Side, and South Addison. Service consisted of three trains in each direction Monday to Saturday and two trains in each direction on Sundays.^[1] A collision between an Addison suburban train and another locomotive occurred on February 25, 1893.^[2]

On April 15, 1931, the Illinois Central Railroad asked the Illinois Commerce Commission to allow discontinuance of passenger trains over the line.^[3] Discontinuance was granted and the commuter service ended.

Route[]

The West Line's eastern terminus was the Randolph Street Station on the east side of the Chicago Loop. From Randolph, trains traveled south over the suburban tracks of the (still used by Metra Electric District trains). South of Roosevelt Road and Central Station, the West Line diverged from the main line between 14th and 16th Streets over a section of trackage that no longer exists that connected with what is now the Canadian National’s Freeport Subdivision. From there, the trains headed west to the vicinity of the South branch of the Chicago River, where the line angled to the southwest and roughly paralleled the river. Near 35th Street, the line crossed the river and continued west. From Central Avenue, it angled northwest through suburban Cicero, Berwyn, North Riverside, Hines, Broadview, Hillside, Elmhurst, and Villa Park, before reaching Addison. At the crossing of North Avenue in Addison, the line left the Freeport Subdivision , heading north along a branch on the west side of Addison Road before terminating in the vicinity of Lake Street.

Stations[]

References[]