CTA From The Archives: The North Shore Line

As part of its 125th Anniversary, CTA is releasing vintage footage from our archives.

The North Shore Line, formed in 1916, was a railroad that traveled from Roosevelt Road in the Chicago Loop, through the northern suburbs, and ended in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Due to increased automobile ownership and the opening of the Edens Expressway, ridership began to decline in the post World War II years, resulting in the abandonment of the Shore Line route in 1955. Ridership continued to decline and along with it, revenue, resulting in the discontinuance of all passenger service during the early morning hours of January 21, 1963.

CTA operates the Howard-Dempster segment as the Yellow Line. This is the only portion of the railroad that remains in service.

This video, filmed in 1945 by Charles E. Keevil, highlights the routes and communities served by this high speed electric railroad.