A "dummy" train on Chicago's North
side. The word "dummy" became synonymous for many early commuter trains.
At a point early in the history of Chicago, railroads large and small provided some sort of "accommodation" trains for the convenience of city and suburban residents. These all-stop locals were at first the only efficient means for people to travel longer distances within the urban area. As more residents moved out of the city proper the demand for more frequent and faster service arose. To meet this demand the railroads developed special purpose locomotives and passenger cars specifically for commuter service. Rather than subject suburbanites to an arduous journey of the train stopping at every station, express services were offered.
Early commuter train in suburban Oak Park.
The railroads never turned a great profit from commuter trains. Many of the smaller carriers dropped their commuter trains early in the 20th Century to focus on freight and/or long distance passenger trains. The larger players: the Illinois Central, Burlington, Milwaukee Road, North Western, Wabash, C&WI and GM&O stayed in the market. The last three on that list were minor players, but the first four developed robust operations that moved thousands of passengers on a daily basis. There were also three major electric interurban operations that provided a sort of competitive service to the steam railroads. Many city stations disappeared as horse cars, then cable cars and finally streetcars pushed further out and the city annexed suburbs. The Elevated train lines further sapped passengers who opted for a longer ride and cheaper fares. The suburbs became the bread and butter of commuter operations.
A Rock Island suburban train powered by a Forney-type locomotive in the late 1800's. The locomotive was designed to run in either direction, eliminating the time consuming task of turning the locomotive to face forward.
Each small village with a train station blossomed into bedroom suburbs in the 1920's as families sought to move away from the crowded city to more idyllic surroundings. The Great Depression upended this movement, and the railroads sought to economize their operations. The resulting decline in the quality of service became a constant source of complaints for those who still depended on the trains. World War II brought back the passengers, but the railroads continued to rely aging and outdated equipment. With the focus being the movement of freight for the wartime effort, commuter service became the ugly stepchild or railroading.
This typical post-World War II scene shows Chicago & North Western trains during rush hour. The steam locomotives and single level coaches would soon be replaced during a spate of fleet modernizations.
Postwar saw the pent up need for housing blossom into a mass exodus from the city, but now the interstate highway and expressway system became the driving force. Unlike other cities that saw their commuter rail succumb to the supremacy of the private automobile, the Chicago railroads modernized in an attempt to stem the flow of patrons. Steam locomotives were replaced by diesels, new bi-level commuter cars entered service on a number of lines. In reality, the expressway system would never have been able to handle the volume of traffic if the railroads were to have discontinued commuter operations. A certain clientele continued to enjoy the convenience of riding the train during rush hour, and the hourly frequency of non-peak trains by the major carriers allowed people to conveniently travel downtown or between suburbs.
With the advent of dieselization, the concept of "Push-Pull" service was implemented. The bi-level coaches included some with operating cabs, which allowed the Engineer to operate the train pushed from the rear by the locomotive. Both the CB&Q and the C&NW were pioneers in this form of operation.
The Rock Island experimented with an Italian railcar designed by Fiat with the idea of lowering operating costs.
Other problems loomed large in the rail industry that would eventually impact commuter service. As profits dropped in intercity passenger and freight, the bottom line that allowed the railroads to fund commuter trains eroded. The new equipment of the 1950's and 1960's began to show their age, and no private money existed to replace them. Maintenance of the physical plant of the various railroads became virtually non-existent. The railroads exited the intercity passenger market with the establishment of Amtrak, and a few railroads teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Two of the electric interurbans went belly up. In the 1960's and 70's the voters of six counties formed the Regional Transportation Authority to serve as a conduit for public funding of the commuter railroads.
The Blue Island station on the IC Electric is a good example of the deteriorated state of the commuter rail system by the 1960's.
The defining moment of change was the bankruptcy of the Milwaukee Road. The Regional Transportation Authority stepped in to assume the Milwaukee Road's commuter operations. The Rock Island was the next domino to fall. Eventually the RTA would assume operation of all the commuter lines, save the North Western and the Burlington. In the case of those two railroads the RTA provided operational funding while the railroads provided crews and initially equipment. Today the region's commuter operations are under the purview of Metra, the RTA's commuter rail subsidiary. The RTA has funded new equipment, physical upgrades and extensions of service on existing lines and new startups.
Prior to the RTA, Suburban communities formed Mass Transit Districts in order to qualify for Federal funding for new equipment. Both the Milwaukee Road and the IC benefited from this arrangement.
The RTA began to replace the older locomotives used by the railroads, many of them refugees from the defunct intercity passenger fleets. The EMD F40 was designed specifically for commuter as well as Amtrak service.
Counties and communities that are part of the service area contribute a percentage of Metra's operating budget. That budget also includes other sources of tax revenue and cash recovery from the fare box. Commuter rail continues to struggle with funding issues due to an unstable State economy, parsimonious politicians in Washington, and an economic decline that led to a loss in passenger revenue. Fares have been raised to help defray operating costs as well a fund new equipment and other necessary upgrades to the system. The unfunded mandate for Positive Train Control carries a multi-million dollar price tag that saps resources from other needs.
So, whether you ride a Dinky, Dummy, Scoot or Plug you are a participant in the ongoing story of commuter trains in Chicago.