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Railroad History
of the Area
In
the early years of the Rock Island Railroad, it saw no need
to stop after Englewood until it reached Blue Island, the
next real area of civilization. The scattering of farmers
along this route did not warrant the necessity of stopping
the trains. Produce could be taken by wagon to Chicago or
Blue Island. The small population did not require the services
of passenger trains. The event that changed this was the
construction of the Chicago and Great Eastern Railroad in
1864. This railroad would cross the Rock Island at Vincennes
Avenue and Tracy (103rd Street). A small settlement of immigrant
railroad workers and farmers developed around this point.
This area, known, as "The Crossing" required the trains
from both railroads to stop before crossing the other's
tracks. This area today is known as Washington Heights.
The
Great Eastern, later called the "Pan Handle", agreed to
build a small station for the accommodation of the area's
residents. It was now possible to travel to downtown Chicago
on the train. An additional stop was made at Upwood ( the
site of Thomas Morgan's country estate at 91st and Longwood
Drive). The Great Eastern provided an "accommodation" train
between The Crossing and Chicago, which was essentially
the first suburban commuter train to the area. Recollections
of residents speak of a "dummy train" painted blue.
Dummy
locomotives were a combination locomotive and passenger
car housed in a body designed to disguise the steaming beast
from skittish horses. The horses were rarely fooled, and
the trains limited capacity, slow speed, and habit of jumping
off the track hindered the growth of passenger traffic.
The name was also applied to the original connection point
of the Rock Island main and branch lines at 97th Street
(Dummy Junction) and the branch line itself (Dummy Line).
While there is no record of the Rock Island using dummy
equipment, they did use small locomotives designed to run
backwards and forwards. Residents may have named these diminutive
locomotives "dummys" as well.
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