Logan Square branch

Logan Square branch
Damen Avenue, 1967
Overview
Status	Partially replaced
Locale	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Stations	4
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Chicago 'L'
Services	Blue
Operator(s)	Chicago Transit Authority (1947–present) Chicago Rapid Transit Company (1924–1947) Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad (1895–1924)
History
Opened	May 6, 1895
Technical
Character	Elevated
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Third rail, 600 V DC
Route map Legend O'Hare branch Logan Square relocated 1970 California Western Humboldt Park branch Damen Evergreen Junction Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway UP-W MD-N NCS MD-W Lake Street Elevated Paulina Junction Lake Street Transfer Washington Junction Metropolitan Main Line Douglas Branch This diagram: view talk

The Logan Square branch^[1] was a rapid transit branch which is part of the Chicago 'L' system. It opened on May 6, 1895 and closed south of Damen station on February 25, 1951, when it was partially replaced by the Milwaukee-Dearborn Subway.^[2] The remainder of the branch is currently a part of the O'Hare branch of the Blue Line.

Operations[]

The Logan Square branch separated from the Metropolitan Main Line at the Marshfield Junction, just west of the . The Humboldt Park branch split off just northwest of the Damen station (originally called Robey).^[3]

History[]

Service began on the Northwest branch on May 6, 1895, with service as far as Robey Street (Damen Avenue),^[2] and was extended to Logan Square on May 25, 1895.^[4] On February 25, 1951, the Milwaukee-Dearborn subway began service, and service ended on the Logan Square branch south of the Damen Avenue station.

The portion between the subway portal the junction with the other Metropolitan West Side branches was retained as the Paulina Connector, a non-revenue connecting track, as the other Met branches were rerouted from the Loop into the south end of the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway, meaning there was no other connection to the rest of the "L" system. As part of the replacement of the Garfield Park branch with the Congress branch, a new junction between the Paulina Connector and the Lake Street branch was constructed, allowing trains from the Douglas branch to continue to reach the Loop while construction was ongoing. After construction was complete, Douglas branch trains resumed using the Milwaukee–Dearborn subway, and the connector was returned to non-revenue use only. The portion north of the Lake Street branch was demolished in 1964, as the junction with the Lake Street branch rendered it superfluous.

By 2003, the Paulina Connector was in need of renovation, as it remained the only connection between the Blue Line and the rest of the system. As part of a renovation of the Cermak (formerly Douglas) branch, the connector was rebuilt. Following the reconstruction, in 2006, the CTA introduced a new service pattern in which trains from the Cermak branch use the Paulina Connector to travel to the Loop via the junction with the Lake Street branch. This service is the current Pink Line.^[5]

Besides the Paulina Connector and the section of the Blue Line between the subway and Logan Square, one other extant section remains at Paulina and Kinzie Streets, where the trestle over the Union Pacific (Former Milwaukee Road) Metra rail lines has been re-used as a signal bridge.

Stations[]

References[]