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Starting in 1901 as a three-mile-long trolley line in East Chicago, Indiana, the Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad expanded in 1908 to connect South Bend, Indiana, with Chicago, Illinois. Once a treasure in the Sam Insull utilities empire, today it is the only functioning electric interurban in the United States. From a world-class city through rolling agricultural acres, from steel mills through a national lakeshore, some 200 vintage photographs illustrate the unique view of the Calumet region that South Shore passengers have traditionally enjoyed. Images of rolling stock, passenger depots, excursion destinations, and historic sites along the way combine to reveal the century-long story of the railroad and its 90-mile corridor.
About the author
Cynthia L. Ogorek is a public historian based in Calumet City, Illinois, two miles south of the South Shore line. She grew up hearing its whistle in the night and riding it into Chicago for business and pleasure. This is her third book with Arcadia, and it offers another historical glimpse of the bi-state Calumet region at the southern tip of Lake Michigan. Images have been drawn from a wide array of sources, including the author's and other private collections, regional archives, and railroad historical societies.
