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Chicago, Illinois:
The Yellow Line (Skokie Swift)

Description

The Chicago Transit Authority's Yellow Line, also known as the Skokie Swift, begins at Howard station (the northern terminal of the Red Line) and runs west and north to Dempster station in Skokie. These are the only two stations on the line; trains run non-stop, making the five-mile one-way trip in eight minutes. Trains run every fifteen minutes in basic midday service.

The line was built in 1925 as part of the Skokie Valley route of the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee, an electric interurban railroad which used the 'L' to reach the Loop. Like most interurbans, the North Shore Line used overhead catenary on the suburban and rural portions of its route, but had to use third rail to reach the Loop. The Chicago Rapid Transit Company operated rapid-transit service between Dempster and Howard in order to stimulate development in the Niles Center area, which was mostly empty at the time. That service was replaced with buses in 1948 because of low traffic, ironically just before the postwar boom which finally did produce the hoped-for development. North Shore Line service continued until 1963; when it was abandoned, the Chicago Transit Authority took over the portion between Dempster and Howard and started running rapid-transit service again.

For many years, the Yellow Line was almost unique among North American rapid-transit lines in using a dual power system. The eastern half of the line used a third rail, and the western half used overhead catenary built for the North Shore Line. Trains switched between the two modes on the fly; at the switchover point near Crawford Avenue, the train operator pressed a button which raised or lowered pantographs on the roofs of the cars. A special fleet of modified cars was used for this route.

During 2004, third rail was installed along the catenary-operated section of the line, and the line was converted to pure third-rail operation in fall 2004. Boston's Blue Line is now the only remaining rapid-transit line in the U.S. that uses mixed third-rail and catenary operation. It performs the changeover while trains are stopped at a station. Metro-North's commuter rail line from New York to New Haven CT also uses mixed operation.

The CTA is studying a proposed extension from Dempster northward to Old Orchard Mall, and the addition of a station at Oakton Street near Skokie's main business district.

Other Sites

Pictures

These pictures were all taken before the conversion to pure third-rail operation.

[picture] The old North Shore Line station at Dempster still stood in its original location in 1997, but was used mainly as a bus turnaround and pigeon roost. (The dog grooming shop had closed.) The Yellow Line station is out of sight to the rear, but you can see a train waiting on the tail track. [August 1997]

[picture] Six years later, the old station had been moved a few hundred feet to the east and was being renovated for use as a retail complex. Unfortunately, the distinctive old Skokie Swift sign was taken down. [August 2003]

[picture] The current Dempster station, in the evening twilight. [August 2003]

[picture] A westbound train arrives at Dempster. [August 2003]

[picture] A train pulls out of the tail track and approaches the pedestrian crossing at Dempster on its way to pick up passengers at the departure platform. [August 2003]

[picture] A motorman watches over the platform at Dempster while waiting for his next departure to Howard. [August 1997]

[picture] An eastbound train passes the now-unused tower just east of Dempster. [August 2003]

[picture] Approaching Dempster at dusk, a westbound train passes under one of the distinctive ex-North Shore Line catenary bridges. [August 2003]

[picture] An eastbound train approaches the grade crossing at Niles Center Road in Skokie. High-voltage power lines run alongside the Yellow Line here. [August 1997]

[picture] A westbound train crosses Oakton Street, at the east edge of Skokie's main business district. There have been proposals to build a station here, to serve this potential traffic generator. [August 2003]

[picture] A westbound train is about to go round the curve west of Kostner Avenue and angle to the northwest towards Dempster. [August 2003]

[picture] Automobile traffic waits for a westbound train to pass through the grade crossing at Kostner Avenue, in a residential neighborhood. [August 2003]

[picture] This is the transition zone between third rail and overhead catenary power. We are looking west from the East Prairie Avenue crossing. The catenary begins here, at the support bridge. The third rail ends just before the next crossing, at Crawford Avenue. The small platform between the tracks is a remnant of the Crawford-East Prairie station of the original Niles Center 'L' branch, in use from 1925 to 1948. [August 2003]

[picture] An eastbound train has just reached the beginning of the third rail at Crawford Avenue and is about to lower its pantographs. [August 2003]

[picture] Just west of Crawford Avenue, small signs remind train operators to raise or lower their pantographs. Here is the "Pan up" sign on the westbound track, with an eastbound train in the background. I think "2 Clear" means that a two-car train is clear of the Crawford crossing at this point. At about the same location on the other track is a similar sign which I assume reads "Pan down," but it faces the other way so I couldn't read it from the crossing. [August 2003]

[picture] A westbound two-car train has just left Howard and is passing through the yard. It will bear left underneath the loop in the background, around which a Red Line train is turning. [August 1997]

[picture] An eastbound two-car train arrives at Howard. [August 2001]

This page was last updated on 11 May 2007, and links checked on 27 April 2009.

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