Chicago: The railroad capital

Since Chicago received its first railroad in 1848, it has grown into the biggest railroad hub in North America. Almost every major railroad in the United States had track in Chicago, and those that didn’t either enjoyed haulage agreements or trackage rights.

Chicago 1964, with all major mainlines and yards shown. Not all branches are shown. By the time the 21st century came around, fewer than 10 colors would remain on this map.

As the project continues, it will be nearly impossible to make new installments without also seeing how the new arrangement affects Chicago — especially with an upcoming merger around 1970.

In that vein, I present a new map of Chicago, one after the UP-Rock Island merger, where we see UP using the former Rock Island mainline through Blue Island. No other changes are made yet.

Union Pacific has replaced Rock Island on this version of the map, and here the Merger Project begins to have its effect on Chicago.

As the project continues, the map of Chicago will change. That’s a given. But Let’s see what it brings.

Keep an eye out for the next installments — the late 60s are going to bring a storm of change.