Chicago-New York Electric Air Line Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Chicago – New York Electric Air Line Railroad (CNYEALRR) was proposed in 1905 as a beeline-straight, double track electric railroad (an air-line railroad) 743 miles (1,195.7 km) long between Chicago
and New York
. It was not the first plan for an high-speed electric railway
in the US – but it was the most ambitious one (Middleton 1968, p. 28).
electric locomotives at a maximum speed of 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h). The projected travel time was ten hours, i.e. an average speed of 74.3 miles per hour (119.6 km/h). (For comparison, the 20th Century Limited
when inaugurated in 1902 took twenty hours to make the trip over an 800 miles (1,287.5 km) route, and 15.5 hours in later years; while the highway trip takes 12.1 hours over a 787 miles (1,266.6 km) route.) The Amtrak train Cardinal uses 23.3 hours The title of Thomas R. Bullard's book, Faster than the Limiteds, reflects the ambitions of the project.
project. In 1893, the same year as the first interurban was opened in the USA, Dr. Wellington Adams promoted a Chicago
–St. Louis air line electric railway (252 miles (405.6 km)) with a multiphase electrification system. General Electric was prepared to furnish equipment guaranteed to travel 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h) in perfect safety. The line, to be completed within a year at a cost of 5.5 million dollars, was to be double tracked, with provision for two more tracks at a later date (Middleton 1968, p. 28).
When the planning of the Air Line started, electric railroading alreay had made huge progresses since 1893. In 1903, railcars from Siemens & Halske
and AEG
ran at above 200 km/h on the military experimental Marienfeld–Zossen outside Berlin
(see Land speed record for rail vehicles). However, the physical laws which made rising infrastructure requirements and costs with rising speeds, were well-known by the railway and interurban companies. Therefore, European high-speed electrical railway projects from around 1900 (e.g. Berlin–Hamburg and Wien–Budapest) were too expensive to be realized (Krettek 1975, p. 47-49). But the US interurbans’ almost sudden success was inspiring. In 1903, an interurban on the Aurora, Elgin & Chicago Railway
covered the 35 miles (56.3 km) between Aurora
and Chicago
in 34 minutes 39 seconds despite the loss of over 6 minutes in stops, and numerous speed reductions for steam railroads, trolley lines (tramways), and street and highway crossings (Middleton 1968, p. 67). In 1905, Pacific Electric mogul Henry E. Huntington
had a private railcar which once made the Los Angeles–Long Beach run (20 miles (32.2 km) during 15 minutes; its average speed at 80 miles per hour (128.7 km/h) was higher than for the projected Air Line trains (Middleton 1968, p. 60).
and operated as interurban transit, and investors were taken out to view these portions of the line in operation. It was promoted by the monthly Air Line
News, which dramatized every development in the construction work (e.g., "A huge Vulcan steam
shovel is already on the job, taking big bites out of hills that stand in the path of the straight and level
speedway that is to be the Air Line"}(Middleton 1968, p. 29).
The project had some weaknesses, and the depression of 1907-1908 worsed the problems. The immense expenses occasioned by the incredibly stringent engineering specifications, and some claimed (but never prosecuted or substantiated) accounting irregularities and other fraud, led to the failure of the main line to expand beyond several dozen miles through the Indiana countryside. The largest completed was a 19.2 miles (30.9 km) mile segment between LaPorte
and Goodrum, Indiana.
opened its Upper Darby–Strafford line near Philadelphia with maximum grades of 2 %, no grade crossings, and an absolute block signalling system (Middleton 1968, p. 109). And after World War I
, the railway tycoon Samuel Insull upgraded the interurbans around Chicago, and station-to-station averages as high as 70 miles per hour were not infrequently attained (Middleton 1968, p. 67). Parts of these lines are in use even today.
Sections of the Air Line’s right-of-way and some of the colossal concrete bridge supports are still visible to this day.
In 1943, Commander Edwin J. Quinby wrote a lengthy history of the CNYEALRR for the publication Electric Railroads and closed the report with the following:
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It was not the first plan for an high-speed electric railway
High-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
in the US – but it was the most ambitious one (Middleton 1968, p. 28).
Description
Once completed, the service would have seen passenger coaches (at least five or six, according to several illustrations) pulled by third railThird rail
A third rail is a method of providing electric power to a railway train, through a semi-continuous rigid conductor placed alongside or between the rails of a railway track. It is used typically in a mass transit or rapid transit system, which has alignments in its own corridors, fully or almost...
electric locomotives at a maximum speed of 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h). The projected travel time was ten hours, i.e. an average speed of 74.3 miles per hour (119.6 km/h). (For comparison, the 20th Century Limited
20th Century Limited
The 20th Century Limited was an express passenger train operated by the New York Central Railroad from 1902 to 1967, during which time it would become known as a "National Institution" and the "Most Famous Train in the World". In the year of its last run, The New York Times said that it "...was...
when inaugurated in 1902 took twenty hours to make the trip over an 800 miles (1,287.5 km) route, and 15.5 hours in later years; while the highway trip takes 12.1 hours over a 787 miles (1,266.6 km) route.) The Amtrak train Cardinal uses 23.3 hours The title of Thomas R. Bullard's book, Faster than the Limiteds, reflects the ambitions of the project.
Electric railroading and planning before the Air Line
The Air Line was not the US’ first high-speed railHigh-speed rail
High-speed rail is a type of passenger rail transport that operates significantly faster than the normal speed of rail traffic. Specific definitions by the European Union include for upgraded track and or faster for new track, whilst in the United States, the U.S...
project. In 1893, the same year as the first interurban was opened in the USA, Dr. Wellington Adams promoted a Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
–St. Louis air line electric railway (252 miles (405.6 km)) with a multiphase electrification system. General Electric was prepared to furnish equipment guaranteed to travel 100 miles per hour (160.9 km/h) in perfect safety. The line, to be completed within a year at a cost of 5.5 million dollars, was to be double tracked, with provision for two more tracks at a later date (Middleton 1968, p. 28).
When the planning of the Air Line started, electric railroading alreay had made huge progresses since 1893. In 1903, railcars from Siemens & Halske
Siemens & Halske
Siemens & Halske AG was a German electrical engineering company that later became part of Siemens AG.It was founded on 12 October 1847 as Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske by Ernst Werner von Siemens and Johann Georg Halske...
and AEG
AEG
Allgemeine Elektricitäts-Gesellschaft was a German producer of electrical equipment founded in 1883 by Emil Rathenau....
ran at above 200 km/h on the military experimental Marienfeld–Zossen outside Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(see Land speed record for rail vehicles). However, the physical laws which made rising infrastructure requirements and costs with rising speeds, were well-known by the railway and interurban companies. Therefore, European high-speed electrical railway projects from around 1900 (e.g. Berlin–Hamburg and Wien–Budapest) were too expensive to be realized (Krettek 1975, p. 47-49). But the US interurbans’ almost sudden success was inspiring. In 1903, an interurban on the Aurora, Elgin & Chicago Railway
Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad
The Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad , known colloquially as the "Roarin' Elgin" or the "Great Third Rail", was an interurban railroad that operated passenger and freight service on its line between Chicago, Illinois and Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, and Elgin. The railroad also operated...
covered the 35 miles (56.3 km) between Aurora
Aurora, Illinois
Aurora is the second most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois, and the 112th largest city in the United States. A suburb of Chicago, located west of the Loop, its population in 2010 was 197,899. Originally founded within Kane County, Aurora's city limits have expanded greatly over the past...
and Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
in 34 minutes 39 seconds despite the loss of over 6 minutes in stops, and numerous speed reductions for steam railroads, trolley lines (tramways), and street and highway crossings (Middleton 1968, p. 67). In 1905, Pacific Electric mogul Henry E. Huntington
Henry E. Huntington
Henry Edwards Huntington was a railroad magnate and collector of art and rare books. Born in Oneonta, New York, Huntington settled in Los Angeles, where he owned the Pacific Electric Railway as well as substantial real estate interests...
had a private railcar which once made the Los Angeles–Long Beach run (20 miles (32.2 km) during 15 minutes; its average speed at 80 miles per hour (128.7 km/h) was higher than for the projected Air Line trains (Middleton 1968, p. 60).
The Air Line’s rise and fall
The project was trumpeted nationally, stock sold with great rapidity, sections of track and immense cuts-and-fills were built in the vicinity of Gary, IndianaGary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city is in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is 25 miles from downtown Chicago. The population is 80,294 at the 2010 census, making it the seventh-largest city in the state. It borders Lake Michigan and is known...
and operated as interurban transit, and investors were taken out to view these portions of the line in operation. It was promoted by the monthly Air Line
News, which dramatized every development in the construction work (e.g., "A huge Vulcan steam
shovel is already on the job, taking big bites out of hills that stand in the path of the straight and level
speedway that is to be the Air Line"}(Middleton 1968, p. 29).
The project had some weaknesses, and the depression of 1907-1908 worsed the problems. The immense expenses occasioned by the incredibly stringent engineering specifications, and some claimed (but never prosecuted or substantiated) accounting irregularities and other fraud, led to the failure of the main line to expand beyond several dozen miles through the Indiana countryside. The largest completed was a 19.2 miles (30.9 km) mile segment between LaPorte
Laporte
-Places:Canada* Laporte , a provincial electoral district in QuebecUnited States*La Porte, California*Laporte, Colorado*La Porte, Indiana*LaPorte County, Indiana*La Porte City, Iowa*Laporte, Michigan*Laporte, Minnesota...
and Goodrum, Indiana.
After the Air Line
The project is called the greatest fiasco of the interurban era (Middleton 1968, p. 29). However, the completed portions became the foundation of Gary Railways, a successful interurban street railway system. And several other interurbans by as high standard as the Air Line – though at a much less scale – were built. In 1907, the Philadelphia and Western RailroadPhiladelphia and Western Railroad
The Philadelphia and Western Railroad was a high-speed, third rail-operated, commuter-hauling interurban electric railroad operating in the western suburbs of the U.S. city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of its lines is now SEPTA's R100 Norristown High Speed Line; the other has been abandoned...
opened its Upper Darby–Strafford line near Philadelphia with maximum grades of 2 %, no grade crossings, and an absolute block signalling system (Middleton 1968, p. 109). And after World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, the railway tycoon Samuel Insull upgraded the interurbans around Chicago, and station-to-station averages as high as 70 miles per hour were not infrequently attained (Middleton 1968, p. 67). Parts of these lines are in use even today.
Sections of the Air Line’s right-of-way and some of the colossal concrete bridge supports are still visible to this day.
In 1943, Commander Edwin J. Quinby wrote a lengthy history of the CNYEALRR for the publication Electric Railroads and closed the report with the following:
External links
- Ottmar Krettek 1975: Rollen Schweben Glieden – Unkonventionelle Verkehrsmittel. Alba Buchverlag, Düsseldorf. ISBN 3-87094-033-6 (in German).
- William D. Middleton: The interurban era, Kalmbach Publishing Co, fourth printing 1968; http://www.archive.org/stream/interurbanera00midd/interurbanera00midd_djvu.txt
- Archives of the Chicago-New York Electric Air Line Railroad
- Westville, Indiana and Vicinity...Then and Now (photos toward bottom)
- CNYEALRR discussion group and photo archives