Building the Fox River Line Elgin Aurora & Southern
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Issue 04-4, Winter 2004 Building the Fox River Line It appears that this picture is looking south from the north-side of the bridge. Some of the scaffolding appears to be in place for the rescue effort. Note Elgin Aurora and Southern name on the car. Quoting the local newspaper "July 2, 1902 - St. Charles officials and officers of the Elgin, Aurora and Southern Traction Company met in St. Charles to decide on repairs needed for the St. Charles Bridge. Company officials offered to pay half the cost of repairing the bridge, and the city offered to pay up to $10,000." In addition to EA&S (AE&FRE) cars the new bridge carried the AE&C (CA&E) West Chicago - Geneva - St. Charles branch trains until 1937. This new bridge remained in use until 1997 when a new bridge opened for traffic on November 26, 1997. This is part eight of a nine part article dealing with the "ROOTS" of the Fox River Trolley Museum's history. Research has caused the expansion of this series from the original seven to eight. Andy Roth deserves a huge round of applause and appreciation for persevering in this significant endeavor. - Ed. Elgin Aurora & Southern Traction Company and the Cleveland Syndicate AE&FRE (Part 8) Officers of the business partnership known as the "Cleveland Syndicate" incorporated a new railroad in May 1901 named the Elgin, Aurora & Southern Traction Company (EA&S). The officers consolidated all of the railways they owned in the Fox River Valley communities under the EA&S corporation. The EA&S operated streetcar routes in Elgin and Aurora. The EA&S also operated an interurban line stretching from Carpentersville south through Elgin, South Elgin, St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia, Aurora, Oswego and ending in Yorkville. The Cleveland Syndicate had purchased a mixed bag of rolling stock and physical assets when creating the EA&S. The Elgin City, Carpentersville and Aurora Railway had 30 motor cars and one power station to generate electricity for the streetcars and to sell electricity to communities. The rails varied in weight size from 40 to 65 pounds. The Aurora & Geneva Railway had four motor cars and 60 pound rail weight. The Aurora Street Railway had 72 motor cars, 2 snow plows, 4 other railway vehicles and 2 horses along with rail size weights varying from 56 to 67 pounds. Some of the older streetcars were worn out. The interurban cars did not have enough power to run on a faster schedule and lacked needed seats. EA&S officials publicly stated in May 1901 that they intended to invest about $203,000 in their electric railways to make many improvements. (The actual amount was higher.) Significant track and trolley wire improvements were made. Four new interurban cars were purchased as described in Part 7 of this series. The new interurban cars entered service on July 11, 1901. Twenty new streetcars, one baggage express car and two street sweeper cars were also ordered and arrived later in the year. The St. Charles newspaper reported on July 26, 1901, "The city fathers have about completed arrangements with the EA&S for the improvement of Anderson Boulevard. The plans call for a reduction of the track grade from one to two feet, beginning at Bowmen Street and continuing to the crest of the incline at Wilcox Street. The City will grade and stone-chip the street to that point and the residents of that section will rejoice. It is a piece of work that should have been done when the electric line was built." L. J. Wolf, the President of the EA&S wrote a letter to accompany a prospectus for a bond sale dated June 1, 1901 which gives a great description of the newly formed EA&S. Dear Sirs: The Elgin, Aurora & Southern Traction Company is the successor of the Elgin City, Carpentersville & Aurora, The Aurora & Geneva, The Aurora, Yorkville & Morris and The Aurora Street Railway companies. The properties of the constituent companies make a north and south system, situated about forty miles west of Chicago, having sixty-nine miles of main track-including local lines in the cities of Elgin and Aurora-and serving a contiguous population of about 75,000. The system comprises six miles of electric railway from Carpentersville (population 1,002) through Dundee (pop. 2,765) to Elgin (pop. 22,433); twelve miles in Elgin, twenty-one miles from Elgin through South Elgin (pop. 515), St. Charles (pop. 2,675) Geneva (pop. 2,446) and Batavia (pop. 3,871) to Aurora (pop. 24,147); eighteen miles in Aurora and twenty miles through Montgomery (pop. 350) and Oswego (pop. 618) to Yorkville (pop. 413). Across the river from Yorkville, connected by bridge and lying so close as to be practically a part of the same village, is Bristol (pop. 427). We have two power houses of brick at Elgin and Aurora respectively and three car barns, one in each of the cities named and in Geneva. The sites of these buildings area all owned by the company fee simple. Our rolling stock consists of twelve large motor cars for through traffic, forty-one smaller motor cars for local service, twelve open trailers and necessary construction and repair equipment. Twenty combination cars, being cars suitable for summer and winter traffic, have been ordered but have not yet been delivered. We operate a public lighting plant in Elgin and has a franchise to operate such a plant in Aurora. For ten and one-half miles our tracks are on private right-of-way. Most of the remainder of the inter- urban portion is operated under franchises granted without time limit. Those having time limits expire in the years from 1916 to 1920. None of our municipal franchises expire before 1915, except in Elgin where the shortest grant expires in 1909. When the constituent properties came under one management in May, 1901, they were in two groups, each touching Geneva, but without connecting at that point. One of the first acts of the new management was to connect these groups and make the properties a continuous system. Our value of improvement something further to be said. It was also evident that earnings could be greatly increased and cost of operation reduced by expending a considerable sum in improving the physical condition of the line then operated. Accordingly, a comprehensive plans was prepared, contemplating an expenditure of about $250,000. This plan provided for supplementing the present power plants, improving road bed with ballast and new ties where needed, re-bonding rails where necessary, reconstructing considerable of the inter-urban overhead wire system, repairing rolling stock then in service and purchasing new car for both inter-urban and urban use, replacing old motor equipment with new and making many minor betterment. We have been diligent in carrying out this plan and the contemplated improvements will be practically completed within three or four months. Disregarding current bills, the company had no debts except such as are represented by mortgage bonds, and this will still be true when the above mentioned improvements have been fully paid for. The increased earnings of the company have already furnished a sufficient demonstration of the wisdom of making these improvements. Elgin and Aurora, the two most important places in Kane County, are separated by almost the entire length of the county. There is naturally large traffic between these cities. Moreover, Geneva, situated almost midway between Elgin and Aurora, is the county seat and this is a special reason for travel between Geneva and the other cities. By building at Geneva to connect the northern and southern parts of the system, a through service between Elgin and Aurora became possible. Yorkville is the county seat of Kendall County, and this tends to draw travel to that point. We have no competitors for the electric railway business in our territory. There are nine parks and resorts along our line so distributed as to draw pleasure seekers from every city and considerable town served by our system. For the better security of our bonds the mortgage provides that $17,000 shall be paid into a sinking fund in each of the first five years of the life of the bonds and $25,000 in each of the thereafter until the bonds become due. Our bonds are a first lien on all the property of the company, except for a mortgage covering the city lines in Elgin and securing $200,000 bonds, and a mortgage covering the inter-urban line between Carpentersville and Geneva, securing $100,000 bonds. Our bonds are steel engraved. Yours Respectfully, L. J. Wolf, President Dated August 30, 1901 In addition to many physical improvements, train operation improvements were also made. The Geneva newspaper reported on August 10th, "Trolley Lines New Rules. Conductors to Ring up Cash Fares Only and Tickets Punched With Care," read the headline. "New regulations for the streetcar employees went into effect on Thursday August 8th. Each employee was furnished with a copy of the new rules he is expected to rigidly observe. The Conductors and motormen are hereafter to be identified by numbers worn consciously on their caps. The numbers begin with 200, then even numbers being given conductors and the odd to the motormen. John Matteson who of the present employees had been longest in service was assigned 200 and the others follow consecutively according to length of service. The bridge at St. Charles had not been constructed with the idea that 20 ton electric interurban cars would be crossing it. The result above. The first cars (circa 1896) of the CE&A weighed about one third of that amount.