What is now the Chicago and Oak Park Elevated Railroad began operation in 1893 also with steam locomotives. Electrical operation began in September, 1896. [Illustration: 30,000-KW. CURTIS TURBINE IN NORTHWEST STATION OF COMMONWEALTH EDISON COMPANY] The Metropolitan West Side was originally planned for steam locomotive operation, but developments in electric traction during the construction period were so rapid that orders for steam equipment were cancelled and operation began in May, 1895, with electric equipment. The Northwestern Elevated began operation in May, 1900, and was planned as an electric rad from the start. In 1897 the “Union Loop” was built to facilitate interchange of passengers from the different lines, but a separate fare was required on each road up to 1913. The population served by the Chicago Elevated Lines is estimated at more than 1,000,000 people; the total number of passengers handled annually is about 190,000,000. Trains of from six to eight cars are operated during rush hour service on a two-minute headway with a maximum of 72 trains per hour on a track of the loop. Plans are being made to extend some of the station platforms to permit the use of more than 6- and 8-car trains. An extensive program of improvements to the present rapid transit system has been proposed, but no definite steps have yet been taken toward authorizing the work. These plans include a subway section under the present loop district with several additional elevated lines. PRESENT MILEAGE OF CHICAGO ELEVATED LINES ══════════════════════╤═══════╤═══════╤═══════╤═══════ │ Route │Single │ Yard │ Total │ Miles │ Track │ │ Track │ │ Miles │ │ ├───────┼───────┼───────┼─────── Northwestern Elevated │ 19.7│ 52.33│ 9.28│ 61.61 Chicago & Oak Park │ 9.32│ 20.38│ 2.28│ 22.66 Metropolitan West Side│ 23.83│ 53.63│ 7.78│ 61.41 South Side │ 16.15│ 35.99│ 9.97│ 45.96 Loop │ 2.12│ 4.72│ ....│ 4.72 ├───────┼───────┼───────┼─────── │ 91.12│ 167.05│ 29.31│ 196.36 ──────────────────────┴───────┴───────┴───────┴─────── [Illustration: CHICAGO ELEVATED RAILROADS] [Illustration: TRAIN ON INTRAMURAL RAILWAY CHICAGO, 1893] [Illustration: 8-CAR TRAIN—CHICAGO ELEVATED ROADS—EQUIPPED WITH GE-243 MOTORS] [Illustration: 4000-KW. SYNCHRONOUS CONVERTERS AT CAMPBELL AVENUE AND HOMER STREET STATION] _Power Supply_