I thought about saving this for a question thread but it seemed unlikely to get an answer. Some time ago I posted a question about the Utica businessmen's group going to the Kentuck Derby in a chartered interurban in 1908. I then remembered a story about the Chicago South Bend and Northern Indiana getting replacement cars from Cleveland after a carbarn fire, that arrived on their own wheels via a serpentine routing to Goshen Indiana, the east end of the CSB&NI.
The obvious next question is "How far west could they get from South Bend using their own motors?"
Tha answer I came up with would only work from 1912 to 1917. The farthest city I could come up with was Janesville, WI. Just so you have an idea of how this works, the following systems are NOT part of the routing:
Chicago Lake Shore and South Bend (CSS&SB)
Aurora Elgin and Chicago Third Rail Division (CA&E)
Chicago and Milwaukee Electric (North Shore Line)
Rules are you have to keep the wheels on the track and under 600V overhead. No limit on circuity or changing ends. I'll give you a couple of days to see what you come up with.
First chunk west of South Bend...
The Chicago South Bend and Northern Indiana's line to Michigan City shared a street but no track in LaPorte IN with the Goshen South Bend and Chicago, more famous as the Chicago New York Air Line. In 1912 a crossover between the systems was installed. It appears to have been used once, for a charter move from Gary to South Bend, and was removed when the GSB&C was abandoned in 1917. Once on the GSB&C (part of the Gary Railways system) a car would go west on the Air Line to Goodrum IN, as far as the Air Line ever got. Change ends and back down the Valparaiso and Northern to Woodville Jct., change ends again and head for Gary on the Gary and Interurban (V&N and G&I also part of Gary Railways.)
I'll take a stab at answering the question.
Janesville to Belvidere - Rockford & Interurban Ry.
Belvidere to Elgin - Elgin & Belvidere Electric Co.
Elgin to Aurora - Aurora Elgin & Fox River Electric
Aurora to Joliet - Joliet Plainfield & Aurora Electric Interurban Ry.
Joliet to Chicago - Chicago & Joliet Electric Ry.
Chicago Surface Lines to a connection with the CSB&NI
Mark
Janesville to Belvidere - Rockford & Interurban Ry. - check!
Belvidere to Elgin - Elgin & Belvidere Electric Co. - check!
Elgin to Aurora - Aurora Elgin & Fox River Electric - check!
Aurora to Joliet - Joliet Plainfield & Aurora Electric Interurban Ry. - check!
Joliet to Chicago - Chicago & Joliet Electric Ry. - check!
The AE&FRE was still the Aurora Elgin & Chicago (Fox River Division) in 1915. A couple of blocks of track in Aurora that were part of the path from the AP&J to the line to Elgin were shared with Third Rail Division trains.
An alternate route was possible from Joliet to Chicago as well, using the JP&A to Chicago Heights and the Chicago and Interurban Traction to Chicago. CSL didn't connect directly with Gary Railways, but joint CSL (well, Calumet and South Chicago...) service with the Hammond Whiting and East Chicago did.
The key piece of track was the lowly crossover in LaPorte. From there east it was possible to get all the way to Syracuse NY. You could keep going from there if your car had underrunning third rail shoes for the trip to Utica. All interurban connections ran out at Little Falls NY, requiring a 17 mile ride to Fonda NY from where it was possible to get all the way to Waterville, ME (with short ferry ride at Portsmouth NH) or northern Virginia.
Most of the electric railways on the path from South Bend to Janesvile were gone by 1930, all of them by 1955.
Rockford and Interurban's box motor had overrunning third rail shoes and operated on occasion on the AE&C via the Elgin and Belvidere.
Not being a student of this region (North Texas is my "back yard") I still want to comment on the Chicago New York Electric Air Line Railway. It is a pity that the railway wasn't completed. It would have probably become the world's first high speed passenger railroad. Almost out of a Jules Verne novel to say the least! One can only imigine what it would look like today. Perhaps it would have become the first long distance maglev railway on the planet?
The test facility in Northern Germany was impressive and when the route was changed, the "turnout" moved so smoothly it was like magic! Not to be outdone by any means, I got to take a cab ride on the Walt Disney World Monorail in 1998. Impressive!
My regret: Not taking a ride on the Trailblazer monorail at the State Fair of Texas. Though gasoline powered, it was "cool", to coin the phrase from the 50s, as it glided along the elevated track above the big blue Texas sky!
Item: The car survives. Google Trailblazer Monorail or visit the monorail site at www.railserve.com!
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