Metropolitan main line

Metropolitan main line
The four tracks of the Metropolitan Main in 1895
Overview
Locale	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Termini	Wells Street Terminal and Loop Marshfield
Stations	8
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Chicago "L"
Operator(s)	Chicago Transit Authority (1947–1958) Chicago Rapid Transit Company (1924–1947) Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad (1895–1924)
History
Opened	May 6, 1895; 129 years ago (1895-05-06)
Closed	June 22, 1958; 66 years ago (1958-06-22)
Technical
Character	Elevated
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Third rail, 600 V DC
Route map Metropolitan main line highlighted in gray, including the entrance to the Wells Street Terminal Show interactive map Legend Quincy Wells Street Terminal 1 2 1: Franklin Street Terminal 2: Franklin/Van Buren Chicago River Canal Union Station Halsted 1 2 1 1: Racine 2: Throop Shop Laflin Marshfield 1 2 1: Logan Square branch 2: Douglas Park branch Garfield Park branch Former direct connection outside of paid area This diagram: view talk edit Show BSicon diagram map

The Metropolitan main line was a rapid transit line of the Chicago "L" system from 1895 to 1958. It ran west from downtown to a junction at Marshfield station. At this point the Garfield Park branch continued westward, while the Douglas Park branch turned south, and the Logan Square branch turned north with the Humboldt Park branch branching from it. In addition to serving the Chicago "L", its tracks and those of the Garfield Park branch also carried the Chicago Aurora and Elgin Railroad, an interurban that served Chicago's western suburbs, between 1905 and 1953.

The main line and its associated branches were originally operated by the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad, one of four companies that built what would become the Chicago "L". After the four companies were merged into the Chicago Rapid Transit Company (CRT), the Metropolitan's former holdings became known as the "Metropolitan Division" of the CRT. This arrangement continued until the Chicago "L" was brought under municipal control with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) in 1947.

The main line had a total of seven stations – Wells Street Terminal, Franklin/Van Buren, Canal, Halsted, Racine, Laflin, and Marshfield – between 1904 and 1951, in addition to the stations of the Loop also served by Metropolitan trains. After the Logan Square branch was rerouted through the newly constructed Dearborn Street Subway in 1951, the main line was merged with the Garfield Park branch and both collectively became known as the Garfield Park Line or Garfield Line.

The Dearborn Subway was constructed from the late 1930s to 1951 to replace the Logan Square branch's entry into downtown via the main line, and the Congress branch would be finished in 1958 in the median of the Eisenhower Expressway to replace the Garfield Line, which was demolished to make way for them. The Congress branch contained stations designed to replace those on the Garfield Line. Both the Dearborn Street Subway and Congress branch are parts of the modern-day Blue Line.