Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee

Company History: In 1916, traction and utility magnate Samuel Insull purchased the Chicago & Milwaukee Railroad and reorganized it under the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee name. This 138 mile electric interurban line ran from Chicago to Milwaukee by way of Waukegan, Kenosha and Racine. North Shore was running head to head against Milwaukee Road and C&NW for passengers in this corridor and did so with panache. They even offered parlor and dining car service. They worked with St. Louis Car Co. to develop the “Electroliner,” an articulated interurban train that could handle the tight curves of the Chicago “L” and still get up to 85 miles per hour out in the open. Freight traffic was handled with little fanfare, consisting mostly of a few transfer runs and some LCL business. Passenger traffic went into free fall when a parallel highway opened in 1960. The last CNS&M train ran in January of 1963.

Brief History: The U.S. is a country of 50 states covering a vast swath of North America, with Alaska in the northwest and Hawaii extending the nation’s presence into the Pacific Ocean. Major Atlantic Coast cities are New York, a global finance and culture center, and capital Washington, DC. Midwestern metropolis Chicago is known for influential architecture and on the west coast, Los Angeles' Hollywood is famed for filmmaking.