User:414foamer/NSL

The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad (reporting mark CNSM), also known as the North Shore Line, was an interurban railroad that operated between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving the North Shore suburbs and the intermediate cities of Waukegan, Kenosha and Racine. The North Shore Line provided passenger and freight service, as well as streetcar, city bus and motor coach services.

Described by author and railroad historian William D. Middleton as a "super interurban", the North Shore Line was notable among interurban railroads for the standards employed in its construction and its high operating speeds. Among the railroad's innovations were its pioneering trailer-on-flatcar service and twin Electroliner trainsets.

The North Shore Line began operation in 1895 as a streetcar service in Waukegan, gradually expanding into an interurban line linking Evanston and Milwaukee. Under the ownership of Samuel Insull, the railroad gained access into downtown Chicago over the "L" system and undertook a series of large-scale capital improvements, including the construction of a new main line. Weathering the Great Depression, the railroad saw a peak in ridership during the Second World War, but the postwar years brought continual declines in patronage and revenue. Reductions in service followed, and despite organized efforts to prevent its abandonment, the railroad ceased operation in 1963.

In the present day, the Yellow Line of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) operates over a segment of the former North Shore Line between Chicago and Skokie, while much of the right-of-way elsewhere has been converted to rail trails. Several examples of preserved rolling stock currently operate in railroad museums, and the former Dempster Street Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Interurban lines
At its greatest extent, the North Shore Line operated four interurban lines, three of which converged at a junction in North Chicago:
 * The Shore Line Division was a 19.4 mi main line between North Chicago Junction and Linden Avenue in Wilmette.
 * The Skokie Valley Division was a 25 mi main line between North Chicago Junction and Howard Street in Chicago.
 * The Milwaukee Division was a 48.2 mi main line between North Chicago Junction and Harrison Avenue in Milwaukee.
 * The Libertyville Division was a 8.6 mi branch line between Lake Bluff and Mundelein.

Chicago "L"
South of Linden Avenue and Howard Street, trains operated into Chicago by way of trackage rights over the Chicago "L" system, traversing the downtown Loop before terminating at Roosevelt Road. From 1922 to 1938, these trackage rights extended as far south as Dorchester Avenue.

City lines
In addition to interurban service, the North Shore Line also operated two local transit systems:
 * The Waukegan City Lines were a network of streetcar and bus lines that served Waukegan, North Chicago and Naval Station Great Lakes.
 * The Milwaukee City Line was a 3.46 mi streetcar line between Harrison Avenue and Wisconsin Avenue in Milwaukee.

Interurban trains to Waukegan and Milwaukee utilized the streetcar lines to access downtown terminal stations.

Motor coach lines
To supplement rail service, in 1922 the North Shore Line began to provide motor coach service throughout northeastern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin, with routes extending as far as Lake Geneva. The Metropolitan Motor Coach Company was a subsidiary company created in 1927 to operate the motor coach lines.

Carload freight service
Interchange connections existed with the Chicago and North Western Railway (C&NW), the Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad (Milwaukee Road), the Elgin, Joliet and Eastern Railway (EJ&E) and the Wisconsin Central Railway (Soo Line).