Special Publications

Shore Line produces special publications through its Dispatch Series.

Publications in the Dispatch Series are topics that are too large for an article, but not necessarily large enough to be a book. Dispatch Series publications will appear at irregular intervals; however, our intention is to issue one bi-annually if resources are available to Shore Line.

NEW!
You may now purchase special publications online and pay by credit card. Prefer to pay by check? See the instructions at the bottom of this page.

Dispatch No. 4, published in late November 2012, is The Road of Service – Perspectives on the North Shore Line (formerly referred to by its working title "Perpetual Adoration"). This 100-page publication, edited by Norman Carlson, brings together a collection of diverse recollections by Shore Line members and people of different backgrounds who rode and/or lived along the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad. Collectively, it explains the influence the North Shore Line had on our lives and why, 50 years after its January 1963 abandonment, the railroad still fascinates many people.

The Road of Service includes an impressive collection of color photographs— most of which have not been previously published — an extensive then-and-now section of the railroad between Waukegan and Milwaukee comparing May 30, 1962 with May 30, 2012, the evening rush hour at Briergate, Ed Tobin’s recollections of the streetcar service in Waukegan, and the "Kenosha Kid," Mike Seiberlich, takes us back to hanging around the Kenosha station. Dispatch No. 4 also includes a dining car article by Dick George, as well as maps and the photos of the last day of operation, complete with the names of the crew members and the numbers of the cars on the trains.

The Road of Service is an excellent gift for those people who remember the railroad that Bill Middleton named the Standard Interurban Railroad of North America. Electroliners, Silverliners, standard cars, streetcars, on the "L," on the streets, flying down the Skokie Valley Route and a leisurely ride out to Mundelein, it is all in The Road of Service.

Dispatch No. 4 is available from Shore Line for $32.95. Shore Line members pay only $21.95. Add $6.00 for postage to a U.S. address, $6.00 for postage to Canada and $12.00 for other international destinations.

Dispatch No. 3, published in 2008, is One Hundred Years of Enduring Tradition — South Shore Line by Norman Carlson, Stefan Loeb, and Dr. George M. Smerk. Very different from all other railroad publications, Dispatch No. 3 covers the history of the South Shore Line as told by the people who were involved since 1926. We reflect on the first 100 years of the South Shore Line.

• Discover fascinating new information
• Enjoy in-depth discussions of why "The Last Interurban" survived
• Understand how a successful public-private partnership was created
• Many previously unpublished photos
• 84 pages in color and duotone
• Cover illustration by Mitch Markovitz
• A must addition to your library

Dispatch No. 3 is available from Shore Line for $29.95. Shore Line members pay only $19.95. Add $4.00 for postage to a U.S. address, $6.00 for postage to Canada and $20.00 for other international destinations.

Dispatch No. 2, published in February 2011, is Competing Rails: The Milwaukee Road's Legacy in Evanston and Wilmette.

Learn all the details about early rail competition on Chicago's North Shore, steam vs. electricity, and connecting Evanston and Chicago by rail

Available February 2011

What is Competing Rails all about? John Evans, one of the founders of Northwestern University, desired rail competition. He did not want the Chicago & North Western to be the exclusive railroad in Evanston, Illinois. He obtained a horse-car franchise that ended up as a steam railroad commuter service, the Chicago Evanston & Lake Superior, a subsidiary of the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, operating between Chicago Union Depot and Evanston. (In those days The Milwaukee Road was referred to as the “St. Paul.”) The St. Paul’s plans to expand beyond Evanston never materialized. Instead from the north came the Chicago & Milwaukee Electric, predecessor of the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee.

Read more about Competing Rails: The Milwaukee Road's Legacy in Evanston and Wilmette.

This is a complex story full of business, political and financial intrigue covering the early days of the railroads serving Evanston. A subsequent edition of the Dispatch series, Surviving Rails, will cover the rapid transit, interurban and suburban rail operations that have served Evanston and Wilmette over the past 100 years.

Dispatch No. 2, Competing Rails, is available from Shore Line for $29.95. Shore Line members pay only $19.95. Add $4.00 for postage to a U.S. address, $6.00 for postage to Canada and $20.00 for other international destinations.

Dispatch No. 1, published in 2006, is Cooperation Moves the Public, by well-known traction railroad author Bruce Moffat. It tells the story of the integrated operations of the Chicago Aurora & Elgin Railroad and the Chicago Rapid Transit Company and later the Chicago Transit Authority over the Garfield Park Branch of Chicago's rapid transit system until September 19, 1953. Trains were operated seconds apart "on sight" as there were no signals and no radios. This was a very complex operation, best described as cars of wood operated by men of steel pursuant to a book of rules that included a rule stating that “no collision with another train will be excused.” This publication has received superior member acceptance and excellent reviews.

Cooperation Moves the Public is available from Shore Line for $24.95. Shore Line members pay only $16.95. Add $4.00 for postage to a U.S. address, $6.00 for postage to Canada and $20.00 for other international destinations.

To order Dispatch series publications, send a check or money order in U.S. funds along with your name and mailing address to Shore Line, P.O. Box 425, Lake Forest IL 60045-0425.