Metra has announced it will mark a key anniversary for one of its train lines by displaying vintage rail cars later this week in downtown Chicago.
According to the agency, officials will mark the 100th anniversary of the electrification of the service now known as the Metra Electric Line during an event at Millennium Station on Thursday afternoon.
As part of that celebration, three vintage rail cars will be on display for passengers to tour through beginning at noon on Thursday, according to the agency.
The agency says the event will be designed to celebrate both the line itself and to celebrate its “future as the new Northern Illinois Transit Authority” era begins.
The Electric Line, which travels from the south suburbs into the heart of downtown Chicago, was originally owned and operated by the Illinois Central Railroad, and was first started in the 1850s as a traditional passenger rail line. Later updates added branches servicing South Chicago and Blue Island in the late 1800s, and the line was grade-separated from surface streets in the 1890s.
A key step in the evolution of the line came in 1926 when Illinois Central electrified the route, making it one of the largest electrified rail services available to passengers in the U.S. The line was then extended into Richton Park in 1946 and University Park in 1977, according to the agency.
In the 1960s and 1970s, Illinois Central began losing money on the route, and ultimately when Metra was founded in the 1970s it was paying IC to operate the suburban rail service. Metra purchased the line in 1987 for $28 million, and christened it the Metra Electric Line, the only electrified route the agency operates.
In homage to the Illinois Central’s Panama Limited service, timetables for the Electric Line feature orange coloring, according to the agency.
Today, the Electric Line carries passengers from the south suburbs to downtown Chicago, connecting residents to multiple attractions like the Obama Presidential Center, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Museum Campus, and Millennium Park, among others.
More information can be found on the agency’s website.
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