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History
| CLINTONVILLE
STATION From Third
Rail to Bike Trail
A short history
written by Jeffrey S. Obarek
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| Next
time you enjoy the Illinois
Prairie Path let your mind think
of another time in our not so
distant past. This path that we
use for riding our bikes and for
walking was the domain of the
Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railway.
Clintonville Station is located
along the Elgin branch which is
on the north part of the wishbone
extending from Wheaton. The
southern part of the wishbone
runs from Wheaton to Aurora. The
mainline ran east from Wheaton to
Wells Street Terminal in downtown
Chicago. Part of this run went
into the city via the Garfield
Park elevated line. In September
of 1953 the railroad's new east
end terminal was located at Des
Plaines Ave. in Forest Park. At
Forest Park riders transferred to
CTA rapid transit cars for the
trip into Chicago. The trains of
this high speed interurban line
first incorporated as the Aurora
Elgin and Chicago in 1902 began
operating past this building on
May 29,1903. The name of the
railway was changed to the
Chicago Aurora & Elgin
Railroad under the reorganization
of 1925. Clintonville
Substation was built in 1902 and
put into service as a power
distribution center to convert AC
power to 600 volt DC needed to
operate the trains which received
this electric current via a third
rail. Chicago Transit Authority
"L" trains use this
same electrical pick-up system to
power their trains today.
Electric power converted at this
facility was also sold to several
of the electric railroads in the
area such as the Fox River
Electric and the Elgin &
Belvedere. Located on a lot south
of the station was a small
bungalow which served as the home
for the station operator, who was
responsible for making out train
orders and maintaining the
substation. A portion of the
substation also served as a
passenger waiting room from May
of 1903 to the end of passenger
service on July 3,1957. The
electric generating equipment was
located in the area now occupied
by the club layout. The lower
level of the building also housed
electrical equipment. The
passenger waiting area was
located along the south wall and
the doors onto the boarding
platform were located on the east
wall in the area now occupied by
the club office. In 1949 the
electrical generating equipment
was relocated from Clintonville
to a new facility in downtown
Elgin along the CA&E right of
way near the terminal at Chicago
Ave. This left much of the main
floor vacant. The Valley Model
Railroaders moved into this
building in 1953 leasing from the
CA&E the portion which once
housed the power generating
equipment. Installation and
enlarging of the layout that was
started in 1949 at a smaller
location in Elgin continued at
Clintonville.
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Clintonville
Station in the middle
1950's
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The
model railroaders shared
Clintonville Station with
CA&E passengers until the
1957 passenger service
abandonment. Freight trains
continued to rumble past powered
by electric locomotives until
June of 1959 when all rail
service was suspended. At that
time all CA&E properties and
assets where placed under the
management of the Aurora
Corporation of Illinois. The
model railroaders paid the rent
to this corporation until the
station was placed under control
of the Kane County Forest
Preserve District sometime during
the 1960’s. Part of our
lease agreement with the forest
preserve district is maintaining
the building and payment of the
utility bills. Look around and
you will be able to see
where the large windows were
located. These were bricked in
during the 1950's as a security
measure.
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| 1999 saw dramatic
change within the walls of the
station. The old layout was
dismantled and the interior was
painted by the club members to
match the last exterior paint
scheme applied to the CA&E
cars in the early 1950’s.
The club also installed new light
fixtures and a drop ceiling at
this time. By 2000 much of the
new bench work was installed and
the track and scenery was
started. So we enter the 21st
century and 100 years of history
has passed into our personal and
collective memories. And the next
time you find yourself passing
this old station platform let
your minds eye wander and listen
for the next train along the path
going back. Resources:
Sunset Lines; The story of the
Chicago Aurora and Elgin
Railroad: vol. I-Trackage (1986)
and vol. 2- History (1989) by
Larry Plachno, Published by
Transportation Trails, Polo,
Illinois 61864
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