Chicago Rapid Transit Company

The Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT) was a privately owned firm providing rapid transit rail service in Chicago, Illinois and several adjacent communities between the years 1924 and 1947. The CRT is one of the predecessors of the Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago's current mass transit operator.

Chicago Rapid Transit (CRT) Pin for Employees
Chicago Rapid Transit Company
Overview
LocaleChicago, Illinois
Service
TypeRapid transit
History
Opened1924
Closed1947 (merged into Chicago Transit Authority)
Technical
CharacterElevated
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
ElectrificationThird rail, trolley wire 600 V DC
Route map
1922 vintage Chicago Rapid Transit Company "L" cars. This car had a trolley pole in addition to contact shoes on the trucks

Leading up to the consolidation of the 'L' companies into the CRT was decades of the Chicago Elevated Railways Collateral Trust (CER), an entity directly attributed to utilities magnate Samuel Insull. CER laid the groundwork for the companies to become one, including financial agreements and simplification that allowed for free transfers between the various lines at the places where they shared facilities, such as at Loop elevated stations. CER also resulted in the through-routing of trains from one company's line to another, enabling riders to take a single train from Ravenswood on the Northwestern 'L' to 35th Street on the South Side 'L'.

The CRT was an amalgamation of several elevated railroad operators, each of which operated service in a particular section of the city.[1] These predecessors include:

The CRT network was entirely at or above grade level until the 1943 opening of the State Street subway, now part of CTA's Red Line.

Following World War II and the continuing financial malaise of the privately owned bus, streetcar and elevated/subway operators, both the city government of Chicago and the Illinois legislature favored consolidating the three separate systems into a single, public-owned authority. The assets and operations of the CRT were assumed by the newly established Chicago Transit Authority on October 1, 1947.

References
  1. "Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT)(1924-1947)". Chicago-L.org. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
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