Calvary station (Chicago and North Western Railway)

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Coordinates: 42°01′23″N 87°40′40″W / 42.0230°N 87.6777°W / 42.0230; -87.6777
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Calvary
Staircase leading to the northbound platform
General information
LocationMulford Street
Evanston, Illinois 60202
Coordinates42°01′23″N 87°40′40″W / 42.0230°N 87.6777°W / 42.0230; -87.6777
Line(s)
Platforms2 side platforms (C&NW)
1 side platform (C&E)
Tracks3 (C&NW)
2 (C&E)
History
ClosedMay 16, 1908[1] (C&E)
December 1, 1958[2]
Rebuiltc. 1908
Former services
Preceding station Chicago and North Western Railway Following station
Main Street
toward Milwaukee
 Milwaukee Division
Chicago
Preceding station Milwaukee Road Following station
South Evanston
towards Llewellyn Park
 Chicago – Evanston
Birchwood
towards Chicago
Location
Map

Calvary was a commuter railroad station on the

Chicago and North Western Railway's Milwaukee Division, today's Union Pacific North Line. The station was located at Mulford Street and Chicago Avenue, in Evanston, Illinois
.

History

Calvary opened as a stop on the

Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad, which operated between Chicago and Waukegan and served the adjacent Calvary Cemetery in (what was then) the village of South Evanston. At the time, the line only had a single track. The station was situated on the east side of the line, across Chicago Avenue from the main entrance to the cemetery (approximately mid way between Mulford and Oakton Streets). In May 1866, the Chicago and Milwaukee Railroad was leased in perpetuity to the Chicago and North Western Railway[3] with the Chicago–Milwaukee line becoming the Chicago and North Western’s Milwaukee Division. A second track was later added in 1882.[2]

Station layout
Legend

Shared station (1885–1908)

Rinn St. (South Blvd.)
Oakton St.
C&E
 
cemetery
entrance
C&NW
to Milwaukee
to Chicago

After elevation

 
Calvary (“L”)
Mulford St.

Following the opening of the

side platforms were provided for boarding and alighting from the western and easternmost tracks while an island platform
was set between the two eastern tracks. The Chicago and Evanston side, immediately east of the North Western, was less complex. This line had two tracks which passed by the cemetery entrance, but only one platform was provided and this was set on the west side of the western track. A joint station building was set between the two rail lines.

On May 16, 1908, the Northwestern Elevated Railroad assumed operation of the Chicago and Evanston line north of Wilson Avenue in Chicago and replaced the line’s existing passenger service with its own.[5][6] To facilitate the new rapid transit service, the Northwestern Elevated elected not to reuse the existing C&E stations and instead built its own at the same locations.[1] The cessation of Milwaukee Road service over the Chicago and Evanston line brought an end to the dual operation of the Calvary station.

Following the elevation of the line through Evanston onto a solid fill

through track and did not serve the station. A new station building was erected at track level on the east side of the tracks and, as with Rose Hill to the south, Calvary was equipped with an elevator to allow pallbearers on funeral trains
to bring coffins down to the ground for interment in Calvary Cemetery.

By the 1950s, the management of the Chicago and North Western began to reassess its commuter service and came to the conclusion that the road could be operated more economically and efficiently by closing stations in and near Chicago and focusing on suburban and long-haul traffic.

Wisconsin Divisions
.

References

  1. ^ a b Garfield, Graham. "Calvary". Chicago-L.org. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  2. ^ a b "The Devil's Carriage Comes to Heavenston". TrainWeb. Retrieved August 11, 2018.
  3. ^ Carlson, Norman, ed. (2011). Competing Rails: The Milwaukee Road's Legacy in Evanston and Wilmette. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 6.
  4. ^ Carlson, Norman, ed. (2011). Competing Rails: The Milwaukee Road's Legacy in Evanston and Wilmette. Lake Forest, Illinois: Shore Line Interurban Historical Society. p. 35.
  5. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  6. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  7. ^ "Elevating the Elevated". TrainWeb. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  8. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  9. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  10. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  11. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  12. Newspapers.com. Open access icon
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