Railroad: Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railroad
Location: Villa Park, Illinois
Date: 1953
Credit: Collection of Mark Llanuza
An electrified Chicago, Aurora & Elgin interurban passenger train pauses at the station in Villa Park, Illinois, in 1953.
The Chicago, Aurora & Elgin was an electric “interurban” railroad in northeastern Illinois. Interurban railroads were essentially long-distance trolley lines that also carried freight. While they once provided valuable service to both rural and urban communities, their focus on local traffic made them especially vulnerable to competition from cars, trucks, and buses. Passenger service on the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin ended in 1957, and freight was suspended two years later.
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Trail: Illinois Prairie Path
Trail length: 61 miles
Date: 2015
Credit: Mark Llanuza, courtesy of the photographer
The Illinois Prairie Path, the second oldest rail-trail in the country, runs west from the Chicago suburbs and diverges on two branches to connect with Elgin and Aurora. Here the path passes through the quiet village of Villa Park, about halfway between the trail’s multiple termini.
The Illinois Prairie Path is named after the nonprofit corporation formed in 1963 to assist May Theilgaard Watts, a well-known naturalist, environmental educator, and conservationist, in constructing a public path on the abandoned route of the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin. The campaign was led by community organizers and today the trail’s emblem includes railroad spikes that reference its history.
