CTA Surface System History presented by the Illinois Railway Museum

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As stated on the home page, these documents are for your personal enjoyment. They are high quality and not watermarked as a sign of trust, so PLEASE do not reproduce/repost these in any manner without permission from the Illinois Railway Museum. Please help encourage continued posting of additional material by protecting the Museum's collection rights.

The below are links to individual pages from a fairly comprehensive book which contains equipment that ran on the streets of Chicago up until 1939. These images are available through the generosity of the late Bob Heinlein and his son, Kevin.


c1940 Collection of Historic and Current Equipment.

  • Page 1 - Index
  • Page 2 - 1853 Omnibus
  • Page 3 - 1859 Horse Car
  • Page 4 - 1864 Steam Dummy
  • Page 5 - 1870-1875 Two Horse Car

  • Page 6 - 1870-1875 Two Horse Open Car
  • Page 7 - 1882 Cable Car
  • Page 8 - 1882 Cable Train
  • Page 9 - 1882 Open Cable Train
  • Page 10 - 1886 Combination Cable Car

  • Page 11 - 1888 Combination Cable Train
  • Page 12 - 1890 Single Truck Electric Streetcar
  • Page 13 - 1890 Compressed Air Car
  • Page 14 - 1893 Electric Streetcar with Trailer
  • Page 15 - 1893 Single Truck Streetcar

  • Page 16 - 1893 Electric Locomotive
  • Page 17 - 1893 Electric Open Streetcar
  • Page 18 - 1896 Converted Cable Trailer
  • Page 19 - 1896 Double Truck Streetcar
  • Page 20 - 1896 Battery Car

  • Page 21 - 1896 Single Truck Closed End Streetcar
  • Page 22 - 1897 Double Deck Streetcar
  • Page 23 - 1900 Double Truck Open Streetcar
  • Page 24 - 1907 Interurban-type Streetcar
  • Page 25 - 1910 Funeral Car

  • Page 26 - 1907-1908 Brill PAYE Streetcar (5301-5600)
  • Page 27 - 1908-1909 Brill Streetcar (5201-5300)
  • Page 28 - 1908-1909 Brill 5000-series Streetcar (5001-5200)
  • Page 29 - 1908-1909 Big Pullman Streetcar (101-700)
  • Page 30 - 1909 Pressed Steel Streetcar

  • Page 31 - 1909 St. Louis Car Co (2701-2780)
  • Page 32 - 1909 - St Louis Car Co 2500s (2501-2625)
  • Page 33 - 1909-1910 Matchbox (1101-1423)
  • Page 34 - 1910 Brill 5600s (5601-5650)
  • Page 35 - 1910 Small Pullman (751-1100)

  • Page 36 - 1910 Experimental Maximum Traction Trucks (5701)
  • Page 37 - 1911 Brill (1424-1428)
  • Page 38 - 1911 Experimental Arch Roof (5702)
  • Page 39 - 1911-1912 Original Chicago Union Traction Cars (1429-1505)
  • Page 40 - 1911-1912 Chicago City Railway Built Cars w/Arch Roof (1506-1720)

  • Page 41 - 1912 Kuhlman Cars (5651-5665)
  • Page 42 - 1912 Brill Nearside (5703-5827)
  • Page 43 - 1913 St. Louis Car Co (2801-2815)
  • Page 44 - 1913 CCRy/American Car/Southern Car (1800-1999)
  • Page 45 - 1914 Brill (2816-2823)

  • Page 46 - 1914 Kuhlman (2824-2840)
  • Page 47 - 1914 Jewett (2841-2845)
  • Page 48 - 1914 Chicago City Railway Rebuilt (2846-2856)
  • Page 49 - 1914 Brill 5900s (5900-5999)
  • Page 50 - 1914-1915 Brill (3000-3089, 6000-6137)

  • Page 51 - 1918 American Car (3090, 6138-6146)
  • Page 52 - 1919 CSL Built (3091, 6147-6154)
  • Page 53 - 1919 Converted Funeral Car (2857-2858)
  • Page 54 - 1920 Experimental Motor and Trailer (505 & 8000)
  • Page 55 - 1920 Single Truck Safety Car (2000-2005, 2900-2903)

  • Page 56 - 1921 Trailer (8000-8060, 9000-9039) 1923 (9040-9046)
  • Page 57 - 1921 Experimental Single Truck Safety Car (2006)
  • Page 58 - 1921 Experimental Double End One Man Safety Car (3092)
  • Page 59 - 1922 Double End One Man Safety Car (3093-3118, 2904-2922)
  • Page 60 - 1923 CSL/Brill/Cummings Streetcar with Larger 28 Inch Wheels (1721-1785, 3119-3178, 6155-6198)

  • Page 61 - 1923 CSL Built (3179-3201)
  • Page 62 - 1924 CSL Built (2859, 6239)
  • Page 63 - 1924-1925 CSL/St. Louis Car Co Noisless Cars (3202-3261, 6199-6238)
  • Page 64 - 1923 Three Man Car and Trailer
  • Page 65 - 1924 Three Man Car and Trailer

  • Page 66 - 1925 Experimental Articulated Streetcar (4000)
  • Page 67 - 1926 Brill/St. Louis Car/Cummings (3262-3321, 6240-6279)
  • Page 68 - 1929 Center Exit (3322-3381, 6280-6319)
  • Page 69 - 1934 Brill Experimental PCC (7001)
  • Page 70 - 1934 Pullman Experimental PCC (4001)

  • Page 71 - 1936 St. Louis Car "Blue Goose" PCC (4002-4051, 7002-7034)
  • Page 72 - 1927 Twin Coach Motor Bus (1-5), 1928 (301-303), 1930 (6-7)
  • Page 73 - 1934 ACF Motor Bus (401-402), 1935 (415, 501-508, 801-809)
  • Page 74 - 1934 White-Bender Motor Bus (403-404), 1935 (405-414, 509-516)
  • Page 75 - 1936 Ford Motor Bus (416, 517-519)

  • Page 76 - 1936 REO-Superior Motor Bus (417, 520-522)
  • Page 77 - 1936 White-Bender Motor Bus (418, 523-525) 1937 (419-420, 810-812)
  • Page 78 - 1937 White-Bender Motor Bus (421-428) 1938 (813-822)
  • Page 79 - 1937 Twin Coach Motor Bus (526-563)
  • Page 80 - 1937 Ford-Union City Motor Bus (564-575)

  • Page 81 - 1938 ACF Motor Bus (429-432, 576-581)
  • Page 82 - 1939 White-Bender Motor Bus (433-434, 582-591, 823-825)
  • Page 83 - 1930 Twin Coach Trolley Bus (51-79, 92-98, 108-114)
  • Page 84 - 1930 Brill-American Trolley Bus (80-85, 99-105)
  • Page 85 - 1930 St. Louis Car Trolley Bus (86-91)

  • Page 86 - 1930 ACF Trolley Bus (106-107)
  • Page 87 - 1930 JG Brill Trolley Bus (115-122) 1931 (130-134, 150-160)
  • Page 88 - 1930 Cincinnati Trolley Bus (123-124) 1931 (161-164)
  • Page 89 - 1931 Twin Coach Trolley Bus (125-129, 140-149)
  • Page 90 - 1931 St. Louis Car Co Trolley Bus (135-139)

  • Page 91 - 1935 Pullman Trolley Bus (165-170)
  • Page 92 - 1936 St. Louis Car Trolley Bus (171-185)
  • Page 93 - 1937 JG Brill Trolley Bus (186-202)




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