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The "Shore Line Route" was the third victim of the Chicago, North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad's post-World War II financial struggle, following the discontinuation of local streetcar service in Waukegan, Illinois (1947) and Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1951). While rush-hour traffic on the line remained strong, off-peak service had become practically nonexistent. In stark contrast to the state-of-the-art "Skokie Valley Route" which ran parallel to the west, the Shore Line (which had begun construction in the 1890s) was representative of a classic, turn-of-the-century trolley line, with travel times hampered by frequent, closely-spaced stops and segments of street-running. The one notable exception to this was the trackage through the village of Winnetka, Illinois (pictured below) which had undergone grade-separation and modernization in the late 1930s as part of a WPA Project. Additionally, the Shore Line was in direct competition with the Chicago & Northwestern Railway, whose own commuter route (now Metra's Union Pacific North Line) ran directly parallel to the Shore Line between Waukegan and Wilmette, then again to the shared Chicago "L" trackage between Davis Street in Evanston and Howard Street in Chicago.
(A two-car train in the "Winnetka Grade Separation" in the mid-1950s - note the state-of-the-art catenary. The tracks in the foreground belong to the C&NW, and this particular segment was noticeable for the "races" that would occur between North Shore motormen and C&NW engineers)
Despite all of the factors seemingly working against it, the North Shore Line faced considerable backlash from on-line communities when it announced its intentions to abandon the route in 1954 (a previous attempt in 1949 had been denied by the Illinois Commerce Commission). In a preview of things to come, the railroad was taken to court over the abandonment, where it was eventually determined that the Shore Line Route did not constitute a vital public service when both the C&NW and the North Shore's own Skokie Valley Route provided viable alternatives. Ultimately, the railroad was granted permission to discontinue the service, and the final passenger runs came on July 25, 1955.
A single track was kept between the junction at North Chicago and Highland Park to maintain access to the repair shops at Highwood, Illinois, as well as a handful of on-line freight customers. Profits from the scrapping of the Shore Line were invested into renovating the Skokie Valley Route in the hope that it (as well as the "feeder" branch line to Mundelein) could provide the railroad with enough revenue to permit continued rail service.
This was not to be the case.
The truncated North Shore Line sauntered on for another 3 years before the railroad petitioned for total abandonment in 1958. Due to staunch opposition from the communities served, it was forced by the state of Illinois to operate at a loss for an additional 4 years, until it was proven beyond a doubt that the service could not continue without substantial outside investment or subsidy. The entire system was abandoned in January 1963, having outlasted nearly every other interurban service in North America.
(A three-car train traverses the Shore Line through Wilmette, Illinois at an unspecified date in the early 1950s)

(A two-car train in the "Winnetka Grade Separation" in the mid-1950s - note the state-of-the-art catenary. The tracks in the foreground belong to the C&NW, and this particular segment was noticeable for the "races" that would occur between North Shore motormen and C&NW engineers)
Despite all of the factors seemingly working against it, the North Shore Line faced considerable backlash from on-line communities when it announced its intentions to abandon the route in 1954 (a previous attempt in 1949 had been denied by the Illinois Commerce Commission). In a preview of things to come, the railroad was taken to court over the abandonment, where it was eventually determined that the Shore Line Route did not constitute a vital public service when both the C&NW and the North Shore's own Skokie Valley Route provided viable alternatives. Ultimately, the railroad was granted permission to discontinue the service, and the final passenger runs came on July 25, 1955.
A single track was kept between the junction at North Chicago and Highland Park to maintain access to the repair shops at Highwood, Illinois, as well as a handful of on-line freight customers. Profits from the scrapping of the Shore Line were invested into renovating the Skokie Valley Route in the hope that it (as well as the "feeder" branch line to Mundelein) could provide the railroad with enough revenue to permit continued rail service.
This was not to be the case.
The truncated North Shore Line sauntered on for another 3 years before the railroad petitioned for total abandonment in 1958. Due to staunch opposition from the communities served, it was forced by the state of Illinois to operate at a loss for an additional 4 years, until it was proven beyond a doubt that the service could not continue without substantial outside investment or subsidy. The entire system was abandoned in January 1963, having outlasted nearly every other interurban service in North America.

(A three-car train traverses the Shore Line through Wilmette, Illinois at an unspecified date in the early 1950s)