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Date: 2010-07-03 THE FOX RIVER TROLLEY MUSEUM REMEMBERS THE WESTERN SUBURBS' WILDEST RUSH HOUR EVER Imagine the chaos that would happen if a railroad took thousands of people to work – but took no one home. Imagine if it happened the afternoon before a major holiday. It happened July 3, 1957, in Chicago's western suburbs and the Fox River Trolley Museum will re-enact that fateful day as part of a special celebration on Saturday, July 3. The museum, located at 361 S. LaFox St. (Illinois Route 31), in South Elgin, will mark the 53rd anniversary of one of the most unusual "service suspensions" in the history of mass transit in the Chicago area, or any other major metropolitan area, with a special day devoted to the Chicago Aurora & Elgin Ry. and its history. The interurban railway abruptly halted passenger service at 12:13 p.m. July 3, 1957, minutes after the expiration of the last of a series of court orders that had kept it in operation, leaving platforms full of surprised and disgruntled passengers. It occurred over the objections of then-Aurora Mayor Paul Egan, who even offered in a court hearing that morning to put his home up as collateral against continuing losses by the railroad, which received no public subsidies. The judge rejected Egan's offer, saying he didn't want the mayor to lose his home, and the CA&E immediately canceled its remaining trains. Riders were left to fend for themselves in obtaining a ride home. Emergency connecting bus service took several hours to assemble, linking the CA&E Forest Park terminal with the Chicago & North Western Ry. Oak Park stop, but many riders simply opted to head back downtown on the ‘L' and find a commuter train home from there on one of several lines that paralleled portions of the CA&E. Despite determined efforts by officials of communities served by the line, the CA&E never again operated a regularly-scheduled passenger train. Freight service limped on for two more years as tax referenda to enable public purchase of the line failed by a narrow margin, and formal abandonment was granted in 1961. Notices were posted along the disused, weed-infested right-of-way and the railroad was dismantled over the next 18 months. Today, most of the CA&E's former right-of-way is home to the Illinois Prairie Path. On July 3, the Fox River Trolley Museum is transforming itself into the CA&E, including special "re-enactments" of that fateful 1957 day, weather permitting, with the first occurring at 12 noon. The museum is fortunate to own a lot of CA&E memorabilia, some of which is on display whenever the museum is open to the public, such as a maroon enamel sign advertising CA&E and Fox River Line services, dating from the early 1930s; a sign from the 5th Avenue station in Maywood, a flag stop signal mast mounted at the museum's Castlemuir station, and the old CA&E Hollywood station shed, located in its storage yard. Some CA&E memorabilia owned by the museum and members that is not normally on display, along with models and other items from private collections, are expected to be on display – again, weather permitting. Regular fares of $3.50 for adults, and $2 for children 3-11 and seniors will apply. Children under 3 will ride free. Signage has been made to rechristen Castlemuir for the day as "Wheaton," which was the nerve center of the old CA&E. The museum's southern terminal, at Blackhawk station in the Kane County Forest Preserve District's Jon J. Duerr Forest Preserve, will become "Forest Park," which was the CA&E's eastern terminus in 1957. The CA&E was a remarkably complex operation, especially before September 1953, when CA&E service was cut back from a terminal in downtown Chicago on Wells Street to Forest Park, to allow construction of what would become the Eisenhower Expressway. The CA&E and the Chicago Rapid Transit Co. (later CTA) operated a mixture of local, express and limited trains between the railroad's downtown Wells Street Terminal and Bellwood (Ave). on the mostly two-track line that routinely featured wrong-track run-bys and multi-section trains. It was done incident-free without radios, without global positioning satellites and with a minimum of signaling, except at junctions and the pre-scheduled run-by points. Even after service was cut back to an eastern terminus of Forest Park, the CA&E provided far more frequent service than paralleling Metra lines do today, especially in the "reverse commute" direction. The Fox River Trolley Museum is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit organization. Castlemuir depot and the museum's grounds can be reached by taking either Interstate 88, Interstate 90 or U.S. 20 to the Fox River Valley and exiting at Highway 31, then traveling on 31 to the museum site at 361 S. LaFox St., three blocks south of the State Street light in the village of South Elgin. For schedules and additional information, or to rent a train, call the museum at (847) 697-4676. 
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