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ON the BI-LEVEL Burlington Trains Have Served on the Bi-Level Western Suburbs for 148 Years Published by Metra’S Media Relations Department

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ON the BI-LEVEL Burlington Trains Have Served on the Bi-Level Western Suburbs for 148 Years Published by Metra’S Media Relations Department ON THE BI-LEVEL Commuter Newsletter, August 2012 CLIFF NOTES Survey will help Metra improve recent RTA survey that A asked riders in the Chi- cago area about the region’s public transportation system is giving Metra some extremely valuable informa- tion about Carman Bryant Howse replaces a window on an Amerail passenger car at Metra’s 49th St. Shop, Alex Clifford what we where the Amerail rehab program is based. Metra CEO should be doing better – and I can assure you Car rehab program benefits we will put the results to good use. The survey asked riders riders, workers and taxpayers to rank attributes of Metra service in order of impor- We could dazzle you with keeping 60 jobs in Chicago. It’s a tance and then say how satis- all the passenger improvements win-win situation for all involved. fied they were with Metra’s we’ve added to our newly re- The program aims to reha- performance in each area. habbed railcars. bilitate 176 cars that were built For instance, riders listed We could point out that the by Amerail (originally Morrison “Getting to destination on passenger cars are being re- Knudson) between 1995 and time” as the most important furbished in-house, by Metra 1998. attribute of Metra service, workers with years of experience, About 45 cars have been Charge iPhone here. and 84 percent said they dedication and know-how. completed so far and we’ll have were satisfied or very satis- We could tell you how we’ve efit riders will most appreciate is 60 done by the end of the year. fied with our performance. streamlined our processes and the smallest: an electrical outlet The entire Amerail fleet, which “Availability of seats” procedures and created an ultra- – several of them, actually – near includes 79 cab cars and 97 trailer was next in importance, and efficient operation that can strip passenger seats that can be used cars, should be done by the end 85 percent were satisfied and fully rebuild a car in just 36 to power all your gizmos. of 2016. The work will extend the or very satisfied. Other at- days. If we sound excited by our life of the cars by 12 to 15 years; tributes, in order of impor- We could boast about a rehab Amerail passenger car rehabili- with more rehabs down the road, tance, were: program that is saving riders tation program, it’s because we we should be able to get 50 years • Safe train operation and area taxpayers a great deal are. We’re getting like-new cars of service or more out of these (99 percent satisfied or very of money while pumping dollars for a fraction of the cost of new cars. satisfied) back into the local economy. ones, giving our riders some nice The work is costing about (See Survey on Page 4) But we think maybe the ben- improvements and amenities and (See Rehab on Page 3) WWW.METRARAIL.COM 2 ON THE BI-LEVEL Burlington trains have served On the Bi-Level western suburbs for 148 years Published by Metra’s Media Relations Department. Send Here’s the latest installment to Chicago from small agricul- rail lines. The “Suburbanaire letters, questions or feedback to of our history of Metra lines. tural towns such as Naperville, Service” cars enabled Burlington On the Bi-Level, Metra, 547 W. Jackson, Chicago IL, 60661- Much of this BNSF history was Downers Grove, Hinsdale and La to expand capacity without the 5717. Or e-mail onthebilevel@ taken from a pamphlet issued by Grange. However, the towns soon need for more trains or longer metrarr.com. Burlington in 1964 to mark the began to take on a more residen- trains. Five of the cars from the We can’t guarantee all letters Chicago-to-Aurora route’s 100th tial character, with businessman 1950s, manufactured by Budd, are will be printed or answered. Please keep letters to less than anniversary. from Chicago moving in. By the still in use. 200 words and include your first It would not be an exag- end of the decade, the first trains 1952: The railroad completed name, hometown and what line geration to say that the western catering to commuters to and the replacement of steam locomo- you ride. (Names are not re- suburbs served by the BNSF line from Chicago started operat- tives with diesel engines on the quired but strongly encouraged.) We reserve the right to edit letter grew up with the railroad and ing, and the towns along the line suburban line. At this time it also for length and grammar. that the railroad grew up with began to grow into the suburbs we moved its Downers Grove termi- Board of Directors the suburbs. The two have been know today. nal operation to Aurora, which intricately linked since the very The 1871 Chicago Fire further resulted in more train service for Larry A. Huggins beginning, nearly 150 years ago. highlighted the advantages of liv- the towns west of Downers Grove. Vice Chairman The route had its origins in ing in the suburbs. (The Burling- 1965: Burlington started to use Chicago 1850 with a 12-mile railroad that ton’s offices at 2 S. Water were a push-pull operation into and out Jack Schaffer connected Aurora to the recently destroyed; but company records of Union Station. Treasurer completed Galena & Chicago survived in a fireproof safe.) In 1970: The Burlington North- McHenry County Union, now the UP West Line, the years following the fire, real ern was formed by the merger Arlene J. Mulder in what is now West Chicago. estate developers and the railroad of the Chicago, Burlington & Secretary The Aurora Branch Line allowed promoted suburban life over liv- Quincy, Great Northern, Northern Suburban Cook County trains from Aurora to head north ing in the city. Pacific and Spokane Portland & to the G&CU and then east into In 1881, Burlington trains Seattle. Also that year, the rail- Paul C. Darley Director Chicago. By 1855, the branch began to use the original Union road adopted a new schedule with DuPage County line became part of the Chicago Station at Canal and Adams. more express trains to and from Burlington & Quincy. Before this time, Burlington used far western suburbs. Don A. De Graff That route, however, proved the Illinois Central station at Ran- 1972: The West Suburban Director Suburban Cook County to be short-lived. Traffic on the dolph and Michigan, reaching the Mass Transit District was formed G&CU became so heavy that IC’s tracks via the St. Charles Air by communities along the line James C. LaBelle it moved to terminate its track- Line. In 1925, its trains started to to help BN secure funding for Director age rights agreement with the use the current Union Station. capital improvements. Lake County Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Other notable events in the 1973: Area voters approved Mike McCoy to make way for more of its own BNSF Line’s history include: the creation of the Regional Director trains. After trying to buy one of 1934: Burlington debuted its Transportation Authority to assist Kane County the two G&CU tracks, the Burl- stainless steel, diesel-powered all public transportation. Brad S. O’Halloran ington decided instead to build its Zephyr “streamliner” locomo- 1983: The RTA Act was Director own direct route to Chicago. tive in stylish fashion – it cov- amended; Metra and Pace were Suburban Cook County Work began during the Civil ered 1,015 miles from Denver to created. War in October 1862. There were Chicago’s Century of Progress 1996: BN merged with the Jack E. Partelow Director many hurdles, including the Exposition in 13 hours, 5 min- Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Will County high cost of labor due to the war, utes, half the time of a conven- Railway to form BNSF Railway. a harsh winter that year and a tional train. The Zephyrs never Today, BNSF Railway still Stanley C. Rakestraw “seemingly bottomless bog” pulled suburban trains, but diesel owns the BNSF line, and operates Director Cook County between Hinsdale and Western engines were here to stay – and the commuter rail service with Springs that had to be filled in. the lightweight stainless steel was its own crews under a purchase- William A. Widmer III The work was done by May 1864, soon adopted for passenger cars. of-service agreement with Metra. Director at a cost of about $1 million. 1950: Burlington became the It is by far the busiest line on the Suburban Cook County Although passenger trains first Chicago area railroad to use system, providing 16.6 million of started operating on the line im- stainless steel, bi-level, air-con- Metra’s 82.7 million passenger Chief Executive Officer mediately, the first trains primar- ditioned gallery cars, setting the trips in 2011. (The UP-NW was Alex Clifford ily carried milk, hay and wheat standard for Chicago commuter second, with 11.1 million trips.) WWW.METRARAIL.COM AUGUST 2012 3 Rehab program has many benefits (Continued from Page 1) battery box are replaced. A new $650,000 per car, or $115 million retention toilet tank is installed for the entire project. Contrast and new heating and lighting is that with the going rate for a new put in. car, which is $2.5 million to $3 At the third station, all the in- million depending on the type terior work is done. That includes of car and the number ordered. installing new passenger seats, That’s a savings of about 75 rebuilt AC units, new toilets percent or more.
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