Nostalgia & History > 1972 C&NW North Shore Commuter Trains

In 1972 C&NW operated a special commuter train service between Lake Forest and Chicago all parlor cars, no bi-level equipment. It passed through Evanston's Main Street station at track-speed M-F at about 7:10 AM, it's head end E-8 working hard. The train was six or seven cars.

Does anyone remember this service/train? Evanston locals referred to it as the "Bankers' Special," but I have been unable to find any reference to it while searching contemporary C&NW timetables

I used to climb the station stairs just to see it pass (quite a thrill) on my way to class at Northwestern University. 

Evanston Wrote:
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> In 1972 C&NW operated a special commuter train
> service between Lake Forest and Chicago all parlor
> cars, no bi-level equipment. It passed through
> Evanston's Main Street station at track-speed M-F
> at about 7:10 AM, it's head end E-8 working hard.
> The train was six or seven cars.
>
> Does anyone remember this service/train? Evanston
> locals referred to it as the "Bankers' Special,"
> but I have been unable to find any reference to it
> while searching contemporary C&NW timetables

Interesting. I checked the April 1971 Guide (last on before Amtrak), but C&NW did not list the suburban schedules in it. I think I have a suburban timetable from that era in a box somewhere, but I would have to look for it. If I recall, C&NW's North Shore line had three private bar cars (single level) operating during that era, but in the evening they were not all on the same train. One outbound might have had two of the cars and another had one. Did the "Banker's Special" have a mix of single level and bi-level's?

Here's my contribution.  I referred to this train as the "Bankers Express."  Here it was slowing for its stop at Davis Street Station, Evanston, IL, 5/5/72 with a local catching up.  i don't recall ever seeing a train without gallery cars.

Gerry

 

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GPutz Wrote:
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> Here's my contribution.  I referred to this train
> as the "Bankers Express."  Here it was slowing
> for its stop at Davis Street Station, Evanston,
> IL, 5/5/72 with a local catching up.  i don't
> recall ever seeing a train without gallery cars.
>
> Gerry

Is that the morning train to Chicago? If so, it supports my memory of seeing three cars in the evening, but spread over two trains.

These discussions from the archives might have some useful information:

Private cars on Metra

Metra Equipment Question

The North Western had a total of five different (single level, not gallery) commuter club/lounge cars on their roster during this time frame, four of which lasted until the mid-1970's, as detailed below.  The five cars were the #440 Northwest Passage, #510, #553 (2nd), #555 (2nd), and #6700 Deerpath.

Besides the #440, these cars were originally 22-seat parlors, with a day-use drawing room and 8-seat smoking room, built as four of eight total, #6508-#6516, by Pullman-Standard in Lot #6818 to Plan #7587, in November 1949.

#510 was the ex-#6516, rebuilt in 1959, 62 seats, retired in 1974 and sold to a private owner in Ohio.
#553 (2nd) was the ex-#6514, rebuilt in 1959, 68 seats, retired in 1975 and reassigned to MofW duty.
#555 (2nd) was the ex-#6515, rebuilt in 1959, 64 seats, retired in 1975 and reassigned to MofW duty.
#6700 Deerpath was the ex-#6511, rebuilt in 1961, 51 seats, with a galley, retired in 1975, and donated to the Museum of Transportation, Kirkwood, MO.

#440 Northwest Passage, the outlier, was built as one of the #3400-series 56 seat chair-8 seat smokers, specifically the #3461, by P-S in Lot #6812 to Plan #7485 in October 1947, rebuilt in 1963, 75 seats, retired in 1970 and stored.

To replace the four/five retired cars, in 1975 the North Western renumbered two other cars as #553 (3rd) and #555 (3rd), which were 36 seat buffet lounge-bars, formerly the #7901 and #7902, originally two of three cars, #7900-#7902, built by AC&F in Lot #3041 in July 1949 for assignment to the Overland Pool, as buffet lounges, originally with 39 seats, plus barber shop, shower, and steward spaces.  These two cars were modified in 1961, so a full 14 years before they were renumbered for commuter service.

The #553 (3rd) soldiered on in service until fairly recently, while the #555 (3rd) was eventually retired by Metra, and sold to Bengston's Pumpkin Farm in Homer Glen, IL, which also had CRI&P 36 seat diner #425 Golden Banquet (formerly owned by a private owner in Ottawa, IL).  Both cars at Bengtson's were scrapped in September 2013.

There were an earlier #553 (1st) and #555 (1st), which were heavyweight cars, for which I do not have info readily at-hand.

Much of the above info on these cars comes from W. David Randall's "Streamliner Cars" volumes.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/25 21:19 by Rainier_Rails.

Here's the Golden Banquet at Bengston's in August, 2013. I had assumed it was from the Golden State.

 

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No, this is the evening train.  It was RR w/b.  Gerry
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ts1457 Wrote:

Is that the morning train to Chicago? 



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/25 03:59 by GPutz.

I was a teenager in Winnetka, IL during that time and concur with Gerry about never seeing the parlors (CNW called the 'Subscription Cars') operating alone.  I always saw them positioned between an E-unit and the bi-levels.

-John

GPutz Wrote:
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> No, this is the evening train.  It was RR w/b. 
> Gerry
> ===============================
> ts1457 Wrote:
>
> Is that the morning train to Chicago? 

Appreciate it!  At least my memory was right about three cars running on the North Line (which I could see from my apartment), even though it failed on all cars on one train.

On the Lackawanna, work as a car attendant on a subscription car was highly prized for employees.  They would have mixed drinks or coffee at the ready, the newspapers at each person's seat, etc. The table would be set for a poker game in the afternoon.  Christmas time was very lucrative for these hard working staff members.

 

Rainier_Rails Wrote:
>>To replace the four/five retired cars, in 1975 the North Western renumbered two other cars as #553 (3rd) and #555 (3rd), which were 36 seat buffet lounge-bars, formerly the #7901 and #7902, originally two of three cars, #7900-#7902, built by AC&F in Lot #3041 in July 1949 for assignment to the Overland Pool, as buffet lounges, originally with 39 seats, plus barber shop, shower, and steward spaces.  These two cars were modified in 1961, so a full 14 years before they were renumbered for commuter service.

The #553 (3rd) soldiered on in service until fairly recently, while the #555 (3rd) was eventually retired by Metra, and sold to Bengston's Pumpkin Farm in Homer Glen, IL, which also had CRI&P 36 seat diner #425 Golden Banquet (formerly owned by a private owner in Ottawa, IL).  Both cars at Bengtson's were scrapped in September 2013. <<


Here is the only time I saw the late version of 553 and 555 on these rough images of an outbound train from the C&NW station (July 1982).
Were the vestibules added later or original to the cars ?
Gary

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gcm Wrote:
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> Here is the only time I saw the late version of 553 and 555
> on these rough images of an outbound train from the C&NW station (July 1982).
> Were the vestibules added later or original to the cars ?

The vestibules seen here were added during modifications, as like many lounge and food service cars, they were originally built without a full vestibule.  You can see where the eighth window was blanked out as part of the rebuild.  I am attaching a copy of the diagram for the very similar UP #6200-#6208 River-series club lounges, which were built at the same time as the three C&NW cars by AC&F, in Lot #3034.

Also, in my above post, I stated that the #7900-#7902 were built as 39-seat buffet lounges, but they would've been 39-seat club lounges, the same as their nine UP counterparts.

(Diagram sourced from "Union Pacific Railroad Passenger Cars - Volume 2, 1940-1949" by G.B. Davies)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/02/25 09:54 by Rainier_Rails.

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gcm Wrote:
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> Here is the only time I saw the late version of
> 553 and 555 on these rough images of an outbound
> train from the C&NW station (July 1982).
> Were the vestibules added later or original to the
> cars ?
> Gary

Yes, the vestibules were added by the C&NW for the parlor car service.

IIRC they were on the 5:10 northbound out of Chicago. That train stopped at all the wealthier suburbs, while flying through most of the others. I don't recall whether it went all the way to Kenosha or not. 

As far as I know the cars that were sold and later scrapped in Homer Glen/Lemont didn't go to Bengstrom's - they went to a property just to the south owned by the McErney family of Gas City and Coopers' Hawk fame.  

Please don't call this C&NW route "North Shore Line". For those of us from the region, "North Shore Line" refers to the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee interurban line, which ceased operation in January of 1963.

I worked for many years in the advertising business in Chicago. A fellow female writer at Needham, Harper & Steers (now DDB) told me a story about these cars. Her father had a permanent seat on one of them, bought and paid for.. One day she decided to join her dad for the commute to Lake Forest. She went down to the depot and boarded the car. When she came through the door the entire car went silent. No women allowed. She turned around and rode to Lake Forest with the common people. Bankers' Special, indeed.