The skills weren't completely lost. I remember a fantrip on CTA 4271-4272 which were equipped with both trolley poles and third-rail shoes. The supervisor who was assigned to the run was responsible for raising the poles. He commented that he wasn't that good at raising the poles since he didn't do it too often, presumably on work trains.
The single-unit cars equipped for the Skokie Swift had motorman-controlled pan trolleys (standard pantograph shoe mounted on two side-by-side trolley poles) to avoid having to stop for the changeover without adding a second crewman.
The transition occurred on the Skokie Valley line in the vicinity of the East Prairie and Crawford avenue crossings. This stretch was a few blocks long. Each car had a conductor on it who would get on the platform just outside the rear door and raise the trolley poles.
But the real drama was when they were inbound to Chicago and had to lower the poles before they ran out of overhead. It was a sight to see and I never saw a conductor fail to get his trolley pole down
When the CTA started the Skokie Swift in 1964 they had some sort of a bow collector connected to two trolley poles that the motorman controlled.
So the skills that the North Shore conductors had was lost forever..
The outer tracks on the L between Chicago Avenue and Armitage (Subway portal) were used exclusively by North Shore trains after about 1949. On the Main line NS trains were generally operated on tracks 1 and 4, the outer tracks (1 south 4 north). Track 1 had no third rail from near Howard south to Granville, since it was used by CRT/CTA's freight operation and did not have gantlet rails so freight cars could clear the third rail (Gantlets on track 1 south of Granville). Change from overhead to third rail at speed.
In CRT days there were a variety of local and express services, withthe express services using the outer tracks. Bruce Moffat's "L" from CERA has a droll story of two commuters with one trying to get a faster trip by switching to an Express run and both arriving at their destination at the same time. The biggest bottleneck was the reduction from four to two tracks south of Chicago Avenue.
Trainmen raising or lowering poles were supposed to give two bells when finished. CRT's Asbury station on the third rail side of the changeover had evidence of damage from unsecured trolley poles on its track-straddling station house.
Bethayres SamAnyone have any more details on that?
Not so much details, but I found a picture of the transition section:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:3rd_rail_to_overhead_wire_transition_zone_on_the_Skokie_Swift.jpg
How well I remember riding the "Toonerville Trolley" while I was at Great Lakes. It's too bad this film didn't show one of the exciting parts of the ride, coming in to or leaving Chicago. I forget just where it took place, but I recall that they had to switch from trolley poles (overhead catenary) to 3rd rail or vice versa somewhere in the vicinity of Evanston. As I remember, it was done on the fly and there was a very short distance where third rail and catenary overlapped each other. When they were running on catenary, every car had its pole raised. I remember seeing trainmen running through the cars to make the changeover. Anyone have any more details on that?
I always knew about the Milwaukee-Chicago service and the Electroliners - the rest of the operation is eye opening.
It also highlights that vehicles 'couldn't' wait for even short Interurban trains at road crossings, as well as pedestrians crossing immediately in front of the North Shore cars.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
i understand that after CTA took over the L, North Shore trains no longer could pass around L trains due to reductions in L tower staff.
Those switches had to be pneumatic rather then Armstrong to make those moves that quickly....CTC was used on the SF Key System from the 1930s-WW2
It was also dependent on consistent, non-varying operations and lots of manned interlocking towers that no longer exist.
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=north+shore+interurban&view=detail&mid=9F1ED198CC0E0F4515D99F1ED198CC0E0F4515D9&first=0&FORM=NVPFVR
If you notice in the first part the NS interurban swings in and out of slower L trains at a heart attack rate and this was before computers and PTC.
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