Nostalgia & History > Maroon Monday - Ottawa to lose rail passenger service

It lasted long past 1968.
Ottawa is still there and thriving.
Talking to the locals, if they don't want to drive all the
way to Chicago, they drive to one of the Tinley Park Metra
stations and take the train the rest of the way.

The letter to Richard J. Daley would not have done much good
unless accompanied by a large bag of long green.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/20/17 19:04 by Englewood.

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One problem was passengers having to carry passports and go through US Customs
departing or arriving Ottawa. Same for the freight crews and their cars.

Oh, wait a minute. That didn't start until 2007 under certain CSX "management".

Nonetheless, great to read some local history right from the local newspaper.

Amazing, after reading the article, you would never guess that service would continue for another 10 years!

Seventyfive Wrote:
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> One problem was passengers having to carry
> passports and go through US Customs
> departing or arriving Ottawa. Same for the
> freight crews and their cars.
>
> Oh, wait a minute. That didn't start until 2007
> under certain CSX "management".
>
> Nonetheless, great to read some local history
> right from the local newspaper.

My thoughts exactly. Originally I was going to put a similar
comment in my post but decided not to go there. Glad you did!

Englewood Wrote:
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> Seventyfive Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > One problem was passengers having to carry
> > passports and go through US Customs
> > departing or arriving Ottawa. Same for the
> > freight crews and their cars.
> >
> > Oh, wait a minute. That didn't start until
> 2007
> > under certain CSX "management".
> >
> > Nonetheless, great to read some local history
> > right from the local newspaper.
>
> My thoughts exactly. Originally I was going to
> put a similar
> comment in my post but decided not to go there.
> Glad you did!


Ummm . . . I was not aware that you needed a passport travel document to go from Ottawa Illinois to Chicago Illinois.

Brian

A very interesting read! Just another painful chapter in the chronicle of doom concerning my Grandfather's career railroad. He passed in 1965 and thankfully didn't have to witness the Rock Island's death...

Lance/199

choodude Wrote:
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>
>
> Ummm . . . I was not aware that you needed a
> passport travel document to go from Ottawa
> Illinois to Chicago Illinois.
>
> Brian

A pre-EHH CSXT manager made a fool out of himself by questioning
whether a car destined to Ottawa, Illinois had the proper customs
paperwork. The ex RI CSXT New Rock Subdiv. was under his jurisdiction so
he should not have been ignorant of the location. Upper CSXT management who
retained such fools in power made the railroad easy pickings for a bandit takeover.

Seventyfive Wrote:
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> Nonetheless, great to read some local history
> right from the local newspaper.

Not exactly...this was from the CHICAGO Daily News, the city's last afternoon paper, whereas Ottawa's newspaper, also an afternoon publication and for which I worked nearly 10 years, was then called the Daily Republican-Times, later shortened to The Daily Times and now known simply as "The Times."

Also found it interesting that the article spoke of the "proposed discontinuance of the Golden State," which according to the date of publication (Feb. 12, 1968) had already taken place eight days previous.

Ironically, the Chicago Daily News and the Rock Island both succumbed to the same fate, whereas freight trains of three railroads (CSX, IAIS and Illinois Railway) still roll through town daily and The Times still cranks out six editions a week, Mon-Fri afternoons and a weekend edition on Saturday morning.

BTW, in my time at The Daily Times I came to know Herb Kanthak pretty well. He was always a social activist and was Bernie Sanders before Bernie Sanders was Bernie Sanders. For all his tilting at the windmills of capitaliasm he had a heart of gold and founded a group home and training facility on a farm south of Ottawa known as Friendship Village, where developmentally disabled individuals of all ages could learn to live independently and be taught marketable job skills.

Thanks for the great look back!

NZ