Chicago South Shore & South Bend
and Metra Electric Trains
All images © 2003 - 2008 by Robert E. Pence
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The Chicago South Shore & South Bend Railroad electric commuter trains between South Bend, Indiana and Chicago are operated by Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District (NICTD) and Metra. They provide an excellent alternative to driving into Chicago (and then paying to park); service is frequent, reliable and on-time, and the trains are clean and restroom-equipped. Parking is free at most stations, and reasonably priced at the South Bend airport. Between Kensington (Pullman/115th Street) and Randolph Street/Millennium Park Station South Shore trains use Metra Electric tracks, stopping at 56/57/58th Street, McCormick Place (weekends only), 12th Street/Roosevelt, and Van Buren.
These first few photos were taken from Grant Park around 1980 and show the South Shore rolling stock and Randolph Street boarding facilities before the NICTD/METRA acquisition of new cars and construction of covered concrete platforms. The condition of the cars then could only be described as wretched; they looked as though they hadn't been washed in years, and the windows on some were almost completely obscured with grime. I'm told the insides of the cars were just about as bad. Is it any wonder that ridership was dwindling and even riders who depended upon the service spoke of it in unflattering terms? One of the nicknames from that era that comes to mind is "vomit comet."
These black-and-white photos from the 1990's show the Randolph Street platforms before they were covered over by the construction of Millennium park. In daylight or after dark, in fair weather or rain and snow, I always liked the city views.
These pictures show the early stages of construction of Millennium Park in the vicinity of the Randolph Street platforms, a train at a platform after the station had been covered over but before the platform canopies had been removed, and the appearance of the boarding area in April 2004. The catacomb-like tunnel passage from the then-under-construction station to the platforms, the claustrophobia-inducing low clearances, and the alkali smell of raw concrete were oppressive; I had hoped they planned to brighten things up with some tile and decoration, but the boarding area is still pretty austere and industrial-feeling.
Dune Park Station is located adjacent to the entrance road to Indiana Dunes State Park, about a mile from the campground and perhaps a just a little farther from the beach. When I go to Chicago, I often take a campsite at the state park a day or two before my trip and enjoy the park, and then ride my bike to the station to catch the train. Indiana Dunes offers miles of good hiking trails through dunes, marshes and forest, and a beautiful sand beach on Lake Michigan. Dune Park is a major commuter station on the South Shore. During the day, some freight traffic takes turns with passenger trains, but most freight runs late at night when passenger traffic is infrequent.
On a cold, dreary, rainy fall day in the early 1990's, while most of the passenger rolling stock was out on the road or in Chicago ready for evening rush, I stopped first at the old downtown Michigan City Depot at 11th and Franklin for a couple of photos and then prowled the Carroll Avenue Shops area with my camera.
Carroll Avenue, on the east side of Michigan City, is the maintenance and crew base for South Shore trains. On weekdays, four or five round trips continue eastward from here, stopping at Hudson Lake and terminating at the Michiana Regional Airport on the west side of South Bend. Line Car 1100 was built in 1926 by St. Louis Car Co. as a deluxe coach for Wabash Valley Lines, an electric interurban line running between Fort Wayne and Lafayette. It was later sold to Indiana Railroad and ran as a standard coach and railway post office on the Hoosier Flyer route between Fort Wayne and Indianapolis. The South Shore acquired it when Indiana Railroad shut down in 1941, and converted it to a line car in 1947. It has been replaced with a new line car, and is slated for restoration and museum display in Indiana.
Originally, South Shore trains ran into downtown South Bend. Among the Urban Renewal travesties of the 1970's, street tracks into downtown were removed and the line was terminated west of downtown near the Bendix plant, where trains shared a cinder block building with Amtrak. The neighborhood was/is nasty, and both Amtrak and South Shore agents advised patrons not to leave their cars in the lot overnight. One Amtrak agent said his car was broken into in the lot during the day, while he was on duty. Overnight travelers were advised to park at the airport and take a cab to the station. In the 1990's tracks and catenary were extended to the airport, where the trains share a terminal with airlines and intercity buses. The airport is also served by city transit buses. Amtrak still uses the Bendix station.
I took these photos on December 7, 2004. This was the first time I'd been inside Randolph Street Station since they started putting it back together. For a few years it's been a gutted out shell as Randolph Street overhead was rebuilt and Millennium Park was under construction. It's coming together nicely.
Metra Electric
Some views of Metra Electric and South Shore trains and Millennium Park Station as work progresses, taken in April 2007.
South Shore train 12 arrives at Metra Electric 55-56-57th Street (Hyde Park) Station
Metra Electric new bi-level cars - pretty spiffy. I think the 14 new cars on order for South Shore are similar.
Older bi-level cars
I stopped at the Metra desk and obtained permission to take these photos inside Millennium Park Station (Formerly Randoph Street Station). South Shore and Metra Electric trains terminate in this below-grade station at Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street.
The retail shops are starting to open up, giving the station a more complete look. Several are still under construction, but yay for Starbucks and a Venti Caramel Macchiato!
There were some wonderful colors inside the flower shop, but the employees declined my request for permission to take photos inside.
South Shore trains lined up ready for passengers to Indiana.
Looking from the station entrance onto Randolph Street
Carroll Avenue, January 22, 2008
Michigan City 11th & Franklin, March 30, 2008
South Shore & Metra Electric - September 15 -16, 2008
The South Shore web site carried a notification that trains were running approximately 20 minutes late because of high water in the Gary, Indiana area following the passage of the remnants of Hurricane Ike. By late in the day on September 15th, delays cascading through the system had accumulated so that a train from Chicago was about 45 minutes late at Carroll Avenue.
A freight train passed over the mainline to do some switching, and then remained in the clear until the passenger train came through.
Westbound Train #20 arrives from South Bend.
Train #20 proceeds westbound.
Train #109, terminating at Carroll Avenue, arrives from Chicago.
On Tuesday morning, allowing plenty of time in case of storm-related delays, I caught an early train to Chicago. On arrival I had plenty of time to spare, so instead of detraining at 57th Street Metra Station as usual, I rode on to Van Buren and took some photos, and then rode the Green Line el train back south. Rush hour hadn't yet begun, and only a few people detrained here.
Both South Shore and Metra Electric trains serve Van Buren. South Shore trains may only discharge passengers inbound from Indiana and pick up passengers outbound to Indiana.
On Tuesday evening after watching the sun set over Lake Michigan from the beach at Indiana Dunes State Park, I drove a short distance to the 1929 Beverly Shores station on the South Shore. It's the last survivor of the Spanish-styled stations built in the 1920s along the Samuel Insull-owned electric interurban lines. When built, it incorprated a ticket office, waiting room, and residence for the station manager. It was in severe disrepair when restoration was undertaken in 1998.
Beverly Shores is now a flag stop for both eastbound and westbound trains. I'm surprised it's still in service in any form, considering the very limited amount of parking and the movement by the railroad toward tightening schedules. On this evening I had hoped at best to get a good night shot of the depot with the blur of a train speeding by at 70mph. I was pleasantly surprised when Train #117 slowed and pulled to a stop to discharge several passengers.
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