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CWI's owner railroads were all pretty small-time passenger operations. This may go a long way in explaining the overall appearance of Dearborn Station after the rebuilding. There was a modernization of the waiting room and ticket areas after WW2 but the station always seemed small and cramped.
Chicago is a curious town for major buildings. I agree that Dearborn Street Station was quite run down and always seemed dark to me. Likewise, LaSalle Street was not worthy of the New York Central; Union Station, however, was a fine PRR structure, similar to Pennsylvania Station. Perhaps it was that Chicago had several stations downtown that mitigated the need for a huge, grand Union Station for other roads.
But Chicago never built a large an magnificent cathedral for either the RC Church or the Episcopal Church. Notice how these two cathedrals are often the finest and largest buildings in most American cities, especially those that were significant in the 1920's. What in Chicago compares with either St. Patrick's or St.John the Evangelist cathedrals in NYC?
Of course it has all those important and beautiful office buildings, but when it came to railroad stations & cathedrals Chicago somehow didn't quite measure up, in my humble, narrow opinion.
I always think of Dearborn Street Station as the place Al Capone left from on his way to the federal slammer.
Johnny
Correction: In NYC the Episcopal cathedral is St. John the Divine, not St. John the Evangelist.
Chicago does have at least one very beautiful and monumental church, the Rockefeller Chapel at the Universilty of Chicago. And its 17th Church Christ Scientist is far more beautiful (andmuch better acoustically) than the Christian Science "Mother Church" in Boston. Harry Weese was the architect, a railfan, who also designed the Washington, DC Metro Stations with their blinking platform lights on approaching trains. Both these churches have fine organs with good concert programs.
CSSHEGEWISCH CWI's owner railroads were all pretty small-time passenger operations. This may go a long way in explaining the overall appearance of Dearborn Station after the rebuilding. There was a modernization of the waiting room and ticket areas after WW2 but the station always seemed small and cramped.
The other reason was the constant threat by Chicago political leaders to tear down the station and use the property for other purposes. So, the station and its train shed was never the subject of modernization.
You might think that the Santa Fe would want better, more modern facilities for its eastern terminus, but a move to someplace like Union Station would not be practical because of the huge ATSF coach yard just south of Dearborn Station.
Rich
Alton Junction
Remember too that in the 1920's, even before the Crash of 1929, passenger train ridership had been declining for a decade. WW2 caused a spike, but the downward trend continued soon after. Part of the reason railroads went to streamliners and diesels in the 1930's was to try to stem the downward tide of ridership. In that context, spending a huge amount of money fixing up a passenger station may not have made good business sense.
wjstix Remember too that in the 1920's, even before the Crash of 1929, passenger train ridership had been declining for a decade. WW2 caused a spike, but the downward trend continued soon after. Part of the reason railroads went to streamliners and diesels in the 1930's was to try to stem the downward tide of ridership. In that context, spending a huge amount of money fixing up a passenger station may not have made good business sense.
Dearborn Station may have been the shabbiest of the six downtown Chicago passenger stations, but only Dearborn Station and Union Station still remain in place whereas the other four stations were long ago demolished.
richhotrain You might think that the Santa Fe would want better, more modern facilities for its eastern terminus, but a move to someplace like Union Station would not be practical because of the huge ATSF coach yard just south of Dearborn Station. Rich
Santa Fe's Archer Avenue coach yard was easily accessible off of the 21st interlocking from Union Station. It was used for a while by Amtrak for ex-Santa Fe trains until all operations were consolidated at the current ex-PRR location. GM&O hauled their trains through 21st St. out to Brighton Park for servicing, and B&OCT hauled trains from Grand Central out to Robey St., near Western Avenue. More likely AT&SF didn't want to fight for space with PRR and CB&Q on Union's south side.
One of the many interesting points about the Santa Fe tenancy at Dearborn Station is that Santa Fe did its own switching with its own switchers, whereas C&WI switched the five owner roads with C&WI switchers.
Santa Fe always did its own thing at Dearborn Station,so it wasn't about to share a coach yard or servicing facilities with another railroad.
The westbound connecting times between Pennsylvania and NYC trains from New York and Santa Fe trains at Dearborn were unusually long; especially for the San Francisco Chief and Super Chief/ El Capitan. Santa Fe trains were always the leaders in the markets they served in spite of this. Was it an advantage for RI to connect with NYC at LaSalle Street? How many traveled on the 20th Century Limited then rode the Golden State?
I also feel that Burlington would not have wanted Santa Fe in Union Station even though the only market the really competed for was Kansas City- Chicago.
one could and did connect from the PRR or NYCentral trains to the RI at Englewood.
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