Central (5600W/800S)
Central Avenue and Railroad Avenue, Austin

Service Notes:

Garfield Line

Quick Facts:

Address: TDB

Established:	Late summer/fall 1902 (AE&C interurban service inaugurated)
	March 11, 1905 ("L" service inaugurated)

Original Line:	Aurora, Elgin & Chicago Railway (interurban service)
	Metropolitan West Side Elevated, Garfield Park branch ("L" service)

Previous Names: none

Skip-Stop Type:

Station

Rebuilt: n/a
Status: Demolished

History:

The Aurora Elgin & Chicago (AE&C) interurban began service from Aurora and Wheaton to a connection with the "L" at 52nd Avenue (Laramie) on August 25, 1902. On opening day, not every station was ready; in the Maywood and Oak Park areas, the stations in service on the first day were Maywood (5th Avenue), Harlem (referring to the Village of Harlem, not the Avenue, so this was Desplaines Avenue), Oak Park (Avenue), Austin Avenue, and 52nd Avenue. However, early photos and records indicate that other stations were soon added.¹ A map in an October 1902 Street Railway Journal article lists all the stations planned on this section of line, suggesting that the remaining stations, including one at Central Avenue, opened between August and October 1902.

As with many smaller, local AE&C stops, the Central Avenue station appears to have consisted of little more than a pair of ground-level side platforms with a walkway leading between the street and the boarding areas. As was the case at many local stops in this area, the platforms were split on different sides of the street--a 1908 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map shows the outbound platform on the west side of Central Avenue, while the inbound platform is on the east side of the street.

The Metropolitan "L" assumed local service between 52nd Avenue and Desplaines Avenue on March 11, 1905, relieving the AE&C of this unwanted chore. The extension of Garfield Park service to Desplaines and the Met's servicing of the local stations between was part of the reciprocal trackage agreement that allowed the AE&C to extend to downtown Chicago and the Fifth Avenue Terminal over the Metropolitan Elevated.

Later, the ground-level platforms were replaced by high-level wooden platforms for the "L", with the side platforms appearing to remain split on different sides of Central Avenue. A station house was located at the entry to the inbound platform from the street. The design was typical of other small wood frame ground-level Met station houses. The headhouse was positioned between the street and the boarding platform, requiring passage through the station house before reaching the platform. The exterior used clapboard siding and a peaked roof with eaves that extended out about a foot. Wooden steps led up to the front doors, while the rear opened out onto the inbound platform.

During the 1950s, the City of Chicago and Cook County undertook construction of the Congress Superhighway [Eisenhower Expressway] along the general alignment of the Garfield Park "L" line. Part of the project also included the new new Congress "L" Line to replace the Garfield Park. The Congress Expressway opened in stages between 1955 and 1960; on June 22, 1958, the first section of the new Congress Line opened between Halsted and Laramie, replacing the Garfield Park elevated.

Work on the Congress Expressway and "L" line west of Laramie Avenue resulted in some complicated staging and several temporary facilities along the at-grade portion of the Garfield Line. On August 29, 1954, Garfield trains were rerouted trains via temporary tracks north of original alignment between Central and Lombard to allow for highway construction. At the same time, the old side platform station was abandoned and a new island platform station was opened on the west side of Central Avenue.

Just under two years later the Garfield Line shifted to a second set of temporary tracks, even further north than the first temporary alignment. A new island platform served this second temporary alignment, with westbound trains switching to the new alignment on July 8, 1956 and eastbound trains making the switch a week later on July 15. At that point, the old temporary tracks and island platform were removed from service.

Over a year later, the permanent right-of-way was ready, although the permanent replacement Congress Line station was not. On October 16, 1959, the permanent eastbound Congress Line track was placed in service between Parkside and Pine avenues thru Lotus Tunnel. A temporary side platform was placed in service. Three days later, on October 19, the permanent westbound track and a temporary westbound side platform was placed in service, closing the previous temporary platform. Meanwhile, between the permanent tracks, the new, permanent island platform was constructed. The new Central station platform (with temporary fare controls) was placed in service on October 10, 1960, with westbound trains first using it, followed by eastbound trains the next day. On October 11, 1960, the third and final temporary Central station was closed.

Notes:

1. Plachno, Larry. Sunset Lines: The Story of the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad - 2: History. Transportation Trails, 1990.