Miscellaneous "L" Accidents

Pre-CTA Era (1892-1947)

 

The following are less serious incidents that have occasionally occurred on the "L" between the beginning of rapid transit service in 1892 and the formation of the Chicago Transit Authority in 1947. These may include situations in which there was very little damage or injury and incidents that caused little or no disruption of service. Also included here are those incidents which may indeed be of a serious nature, but of which we have too little specific information to create an individual page for that particular incident.


This is not an exhaustive list of accidents and mishaps that have occurred on the "L" over the last hundred years. There are, indeed, a good handful of incidents that are not listed on the site. Mostly, incidents that are omitted aren't listed because we do not know about them or have too little information to discuss them accurately and authoritatively, and in the interest of fairness we will not list incidents for which there is not corroborated information. At a later date this page will be updated as more research can be undertaken on additional incidents. If you believe you know of an incident that is not listed below, feel free to contact us and we will add it to our roster of information to be investigated at a later date.


 

* = Ed.: Further details are not known or exact date unknown.

 

 


Sources:

Campbell, George V., North Shore Line Memories, Northbrook, IL: Domus Books, 1980.

Cudahy, Brian J. , Destination Loop, Brattleboro, VR: The Stephan Greene Press, 1982.

Hanzell, Wesley. "Loop tragedy was second major crash in 13 months". Chicago Tribune 5 February 1977

Keevil, Walter R. and Norman Carlson (editors), Chicago's Rapid Transit Volume I: Rolling Stock/1892-1947 (CERA Bulletin 113), Chicago: Central Electric Railfans' Association, 1974.

Keevil, Walter R. and Norman Carlson (editors), Chicago's Rapid Transit Volume II: Rolling Stock/1947-1976 (CERA Bulletin 115), Chicago: Central Electric Railfans' Association, 1976.

Moffat, Bruce, The "L": The Development of Chicago's Rapid Transit System, 1888-1932 (CERA Bulletin 131), Chicago: Central Electric Railfans' Association, 1995.

Various interviews