Chicago Rapid Transit Company
Encyclopedia
The Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT) was a privately owned firm providing rapid transit
rail service in Chicago, Illinois and several adjacent communities between the years 1924 and 1947. The CRT is one of the predecessors of the Chicago Transit Authority
, Chicago's present mass transit operator.
Leading up to the consolidation of the 'L' companies into the CRT was decades of the Chicago Elevated Railways Collateral Trust (CER), an entity directly attributed to utilities magnate Samuel Insull
. CER laid the groundwork for the companies to become one, including financial agreements and simplification that allowed for free transfers between the various lines at the places where they shared facilities, such as at Loop elevated stations. CER also resulted in the through-routing of trains from one company's line to another, enabling riders to take a single train from Ravenswood on the Northwestern 'L' to 35th Street on the South Side 'L'.
The CRT was an amalgamation of several elevated railroad operators, each of which operated service in a particular section of the city. These predecessors include:
The CRT network was entirely at or above grade level until the 1943 opening of the State Street subway, now part of CTA's Red Line.
Following World War II and the continuing financial malaise of the privately owned bus, streetcar and elevated/subway operators, both the city government of Chicago and the Illinois legislature favored consolidating the three separate systems into a single, public-owned authority. The assets and operations of the CRT were assumed by the newly-established Chicago Transit Authority on October 1, 1947.
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
rail service in Chicago, Illinois and several adjacent communities between the years 1924 and 1947. The CRT is one of the predecessors of the Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority
Chicago Transit Authority, also known as CTA, is the operator of mass transit within the City of Chicago, Illinois and some of its surrounding suburbs....
, Chicago's present mass transit operator.
Leading up to the consolidation of the 'L' companies into the CRT was decades of the Chicago Elevated Railways Collateral Trust (CER), an entity directly attributed to utilities magnate Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull
Samuel Insull was an Anglo-American innovator and investor based in Chicago who greatly contributed to creating an integrated electrical infrastructure in the United States. Insull was notable for purchasing utilities and railroads using holding companies, as well as the abuse of them...
. CER laid the groundwork for the companies to become one, including financial agreements and simplification that allowed for free transfers between the various lines at the places where they shared facilities, such as at Loop elevated stations. CER also resulted in the through-routing of trains from one company's line to another, enabling riders to take a single train from Ravenswood on the Northwestern 'L' to 35th Street on the South Side 'L'.
The CRT was an amalgamation of several elevated railroad operators, each of which operated service in a particular section of the city. These predecessors include:
- Chicago and South Side Rapid Transit Railroad (providing service starting in 1892),
- Lake Street Elevated RailroadLake Street Elevated RailroadThe Lake Street Elevated Railroad was the second permanent elevated rapid transit line to be constructed in Chicago, Illinois. The first section of the line opened on November 6, 1893, and its route is still used today as part of the Green Line route of the Chicago 'L' system.-Beginnings:The Lake...
(providing service starting in 1893), - Metropolitan West Side Elevated RailroadMetropolitan West Side Elevated RailroadThe Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad was the third elevated rapid transit line to be built in Chicago, Illinois and was the first of Chicago’s elevated lines to be electrically powered...
(providing service starting in 1895), - Northwestern Elevated RailroadNorthwestern Elevated RailroadThe Northwestern Elevated Railroad was the last of the privately constructed rapid transit lines to be built in Chicago, Illinois. The line ran from the Loop in downtown Chicago north to Wilson Avenue in Chicago's Uptown neighborhood a with branch to Ravenswood and Albany Park that left the main...
(providing service starting in 1900).
The CRT network was entirely at or above grade level until the 1943 opening of the State Street subway, now part of CTA's Red Line.
Following World War II and the continuing financial malaise of the privately owned bus, streetcar and elevated/subway operators, both the city government of Chicago and the Illinois legislature favored consolidating the three separate systems into a single, public-owned authority. The assets and operations of the CRT were assumed by the newly-established Chicago Transit Authority on October 1, 1947.