The Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railway (CA&E) ran electric passenger and freight service from 1902 until 1959. Although
classed as an interurban, it was a hybrid of rapid transit and commuter
rail. CA&E trains ran to downtown Chicago via the Metropolitan West
Side "L," ending at the Well Street Terminal. This was a high-tech
endeavor funded by industrialists from Cleveland, Ohio, who wanted to
open Chicago's western suburbs for development. The result was a
high-speed operation, built to steam road standards, with an electrified
third rail powering the trains. It thrived until World War I, was
modernized in the Roaring Twenties, weathered the Great Depression, and
did its duty during World War II. A privately owned railroad, without
subsidies, the CA&E began losing money in the 1950s due to highway
construction that stopped it from running into Chicago. Efforts to save
the railroad failed, and passenger service ended in 1957, with freight
following two years later.
