The Last Trolley
Welcome. This platform will replace my Facebook notes. Those notes will eventually make it here. For now, to ‘celebrate’, I will post a draft I’ve been working on for a few months.
THE LAST TROLLEY
Gary Railways and Gary & Interurban has a storied nearly five decade history. To cover the entire history of this historic streetcar company from 1908 would require writing a novel. I will condense time significantly -beginning in 1923 when the streetcar company came under the control of Midland Utilities Investment Company.
Midland was a utility holding/investment company that controlled a number of different utility companies related to public transportation and energy distribution in northern Indiana and western Ohio. The main companies that made the most money were Interstate Public Service Co., Northern Indiana Public Service Co., Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad, West Ohio Gas Co., and Gary Railways.
Gary Railways is company that was consolidated from Gary & Interurban, Goshen, South Bend & Chicago, Valparaiso & Northern and The Chicago — New York Electric Air Line Railroad (CNY). Gary Railways had long been firmly planted into Northwest Indiana’s transporation society. Politics would look unfavorably at streetcars in general as years passed. Once seen as essential to the growth of the region, they were now seen as a nuisance and a safety hazard.
RUSH TO BUS
Ideas were conjured about starting an interurban bus system early in the 1920s. The idea was spearheaded by the real estate industry. They wanted to create brand new residential and business districts, yet these districts would be unable to be served by streetcar companies - who were famously frugal. Soon the idea reached bankers. Then merchants - who liked the idea of the busses bring business to them. These ideas percolated quietly behind closed doors until July 1924.
In that year, a Hammond chiropractor named H. E. Miner decided to capitalize on the buzz. He was expecting a baby girl to be born that month. So he got busy, inspiring action in others. Yet Miner beat everybody to the punch. He rubbed elbows with transportation experts, utilizing their resources for conducting surveys, tracing out routes and cutting deals. Minor got Hammond Public Works to grant him a 25-year contract to operate buses over Hammond streets, in direct competition with Gary Railways and nickel cabs (taxis). Miner wanted to start immediately - as fast as humanly possible -dropping thousands of dollars of his own money to insure his franchise could start within 60 days of the contract being signed.
Miner believed buses were best for the city, citing the success of buses in cities like Chicago and New York City. Yet Miner had his detractors and opponents. They were Hammond, Whiting and East Chicago Street Railways, president of the Hammond Chamber of Commerce, the transportation committee of the Chamber of Commerce and the taxicab driver’s union. They took him to task at public works meetings. However, Miner and his attorneys took them to task in return; citing their fears of bankruptcy as reason to justify the quality that buses would offer compared to streetcars. Their arguments were extremely strong.
“The pneumatic tire and internal combustion engine have revolutionized transportation and the day of the motor coach is here…” — L. L. Bomberger, Dr. Miner’s attorney.
THE TIMER STARTS
Miner’s company was officially granted a franchise by the public works board and immediately ratified with endorsement from Hammond’s mayor, Dan Brown. The bus franchise was a hard blow to the streetcar company and taxis. To answer Miner, the streetcar company offered to start its own bus service, but their proposal was rejected. Taxies were also affected, with licenses being suspended in the next year, and taxis outright banned within a month. Taxi drivers damn near rioted - threating to beat up Miner, the city council and the mayor. It was a wild meeting.
This development was worrisome to other municipalities in the region. Developments in Hammond were politically spilling into the region and suddenly transportation was on the forefront of everyone’s political agendas. The Hammond, Whiting and East Chicago Street Railways petitioned its board or works to start its own bus service - but Miner had his hands in East Chicago already.
Buses were accepted by the public, but soon they were faced with the same problem as the streetcars — the frequent blocking of streets by freight trains. This caused considerable delays, which Miner complained about constantly. 15 minute delays. 25 minute delays. A state law was passed that was supposed to make trains cut their cars whenever it stopped on a crossing. Train crews routinely violated this law.
WAKE UP CALL
Seeing the writing on the wall, Gary Railways moved fast to enter the bus market with aim to completely monopolize regional transportation and choke Miner’s company out of business. The rail company was granted a permit in East Chicago and began running buses February 5, 1925 at 5:45am. Another bus line was put into service between East Chicago and Whiting February 6th.
The opening of Industrial Highway allowed for bus service to be expanded more, justified by Universal Portland Cement’s future plans for expansion. It began a Hammond-Dyer bus line March 4th. The railway ordered new cars for its Gary-Hobart streetcar line and started bus services for certain portions of Tolleston and 25th Avenue by April 20th. Bus services was further expended to 21st Avenue by May.
By July 1925, Gary Railways had gotten permission from the state to operate buses from Hammond to Calumet City, downtown Gary to Lake Front Park and Hammond to Crown Point, with expected routes to Lowell and Chicago Heights as well. July would prove to be a busy month. It began to advertise itself as “A Modern Street Railway”, using all of its political power to box Miner’s bus company into Hammond and prevent their expansion into other cities. It also received an $800,000 cash boost by calling in its gold debentures, further placing itself in position to corner the market.
However East Chicago had yet to grant the streetcar company a franchise. The company wined and dined East Chicago city officials and gave them numerous tours of Gary on their new buses attempting to show how streetcars and buses could coincide with one another…but behind closed doors the opinion was that the buses were little more than an auxiliary service. Streetcars carried far more people and operating buses were highly expensive. Their main focus would continue to be their streetcars and ensuring buses never had a chance to completely supplant rail.
Also in July Gary Railways came forward with a plan to buy three suburban streetcar extensions for nearly $1 million dollars. They were Gary Connecting Railroad, Gary & Valparaiso Rail Company and Gary & Hobart Traction Company. This would further cement itself into the public transportation lexicon while also boxing out competitor bus companies. This made bus companies to draw out more abstract and less economical routes if they ever planned to compete with the streetcar company in the future.
THE MONOPOLY
Indianapolis jumped in the fray, with Attorney General Gilliom declaring franchises for buses could not be approved in a municipality that had already signed a contract with the streetcar company prior to the passing date of bus regulation - which was that April. Gilliom also declared that the public commission did not have the power to grant operating licenses to bus lines that would compete with streetcar lines and that bus lines - if granted permission to operate within a city - should utilize routes that did not directly compete with streetcars. Gilliom also declared the public commission only had authority to grant licenses to bus companies within the City of Gary ONLY, for buses were not seen as competition with streetcar service there. Busses could operate on the same routes as streetcars within city limits in order to reach their own routes in other municipalities.
This was a blow for bus companies who planned on competing with Gary Railways. Gary Railways celebrated the end of July 1925 by hosting dinner at Hammond Country Club and — pretty much — joyriding throughout the region on its bus routes, touring local industries with the likes of Sam Insull, Jr., his brother William and other utility officials from throughout the region and Ohio.
Sale of the three streetcar companies was approved for $991,856.80 on August 7, 1925. Gary Railways was now a regional superpower. The bus and streetcar companies continued to fight one another in the press, in the courts and in city halls. In many ways the fighting was childish, arguing over which company would control which routes when, where and how. All the while Gary Railways kept filing petitions for more and more bus lines, even going as far as trying to get to cities in other regions of Indiana and Illinois. The president of Gary Railways, Charles W. Chase, was also the vice president and general manager of the South Shore Line. He successfully got headquarters for both companies established in Gary by the end of September. Under his rule he bought out every independent bus company they could get their hands on. This method of monopolization went on for a number of years.
The Valparaiso line was threatened with abandonment in 1918, due to falling profits. The Valparaiso Chamber of Commerce ‘abandoned’ their abandonment plans that February. Talk of abandoning the Garyton-Valparaiso streetcar line was being considered again in February 1928. The line was still loosing money and sections of it had fallen into disrepair. Gary Railways was reluctant to reinvest in it out of fear that bettering the route would benefit competitive bus companies. Improvements were eventually conducted and the service was saved.
In March 1928, another sign of trouble popped up. Revenue decreased and the number of passengers carried dropped 3.41% from two years prior. Reasons for this was given as a drop of workers heading to the steel mills. In spite of this, Gary & Southern was bought by Gary Railways in October 1928. Gary & Southern operated between Crown Point and Glen Park. Now Crown Point service could be extended to Gary Works. This route was also rehabilitated and given new cars, rail-beds, electricity upgrades and the construction of a new wye at Main Street & Hack Court in Crown Point, all done in 1929.
MIDLAND UNITED
In August 1929, at the onset of the Great Depression, Midland Utilities changed its name to Midland United Company. The change came to differentiate itself from other public utility holding companies with similar titles. Though this company operated in Indiana and Ohio, its controlling interests were headquartered in Chicago. Throughout 1929 the company got bigger by acquiring more utility companies. Though Midland’s profits increased, they increased Gary Railways fairs as well.
In December of 1930 Midland wanted to reorganize. The Indianapolis street railway system, which had filed for bankruptcy and was in receivership, wanted to join Midland. The reorganization of the company was vehemently opposed by municipal lawyers and stockholders. Midland offered to cover the cost of junior securities if the reorganization was adopted. While this was going on, Midland acquired Hobart Light & Water Company, in 1931. The company was now the controlling interest in nearly 700 communities. Indianapolis rejected the offer to purchase the streetcar company themselves. They also staunchly rejected Midland’s attempts to monopolize every alternate transportation industry within its city.
Indianapolis was not the only city to resist Midland. In June of 1931 it was announced that Calumet Railways, which served Hammond, East Chicago and Whiting, would be abandoned that July. It withdrew from Midland, thus leaving it without a funder. All of its equipment was to be scrapped. In its place would run busses from Shore Line Motor Coach Company. Employees who worked for the company for as long as 35 years would be released. An offer was made to buy the company by unidentified Chicago capitalists, who claimed to be willing to invest millions in rehabilitating the entire system.
The deal was signed August 2, which included the purchase of Calumet Railways, Shore Line Motor Coach and Midwest Motor Coach, which were to be operated as a singular company. The new owner was Walter J. Cummings, of Chicago and Calumet District Transit Company. Cummings was the president of Chicago and West Towns Railway, which controlled streetcar service in Oak Park, La Grange, Mayweed, Melrose Park and other Chicago suburbs. He was also president of Cummings Car and Coach and the Des Moines City Railway.
Thus far the Great Depression had not affected Gary Railways as much as it had affected other cities and communities. Yet in February 1932, the company suspended dividend payments on Class A stock for the first time. Prior to this, the company had surplus capital. However the losses were too great and the company was operating with at $1,166,222 deficit. The reduction of ridership to the mills kept the company from being able to catch up. Additionally, the rise of personal automobile ownership further contributed to losses. The company bought more buses to cart people from other communities to their more heavily traveled streetcar lines. Also employees agreed to a 15%-20% wage cut.
THE CUMMINGS ERA
Charles W. Chase, president of Gary Railways for 13 years, was offered the presidency of Indianapolis Railway Company. He moved to Indianapolis in August 1932 and severed his connection with Gary Railways. Gary Railways ended up being sold by Midland to Cummings for $6,000,000. As a result, Cummings owned all 85 miles of street railway in Hammond, East Chicago, Whiting, Crown Point, Valparaiso, Hobart and Gary.
Labor disputes and loss of revenues from Crown Point caused streetcar service to be canceled, being replaced by buses from 45th Avenue to the Lake County court house. The cancelation was seen as temporary at first. However, Gary-Crown Point was severely diminished (one car a day just to retain their franchise) and on the verge of total discontinuance in June of 1933. Labor disputes continued throughout the summer until it was agreed the union would get a 3 cent an hour increase in wages.
In August Crown Point threatened Gary Railways. They wanted streetcar service to be restored using the old schedule or else the city would rip up their tracks within the city limits. The Public Service Commission allowed Gary Railways to continue full bus service until September 10th. On September 8th Glen Park residents petitioned the Pulbic Service Commission to allow Gary Railways to operate streetcars from 45th Avenue to 48th & Cleveland.
In 1934 plans were drawn up that summer for Gary Railways to move streetcar traffic off of Sibley and onto State Street in Hammond, with the new terminus to be at E. C. Minas. A wye was constructed at Calumet Avenue and Sibley that July in anticipation of this plan to fall through. Streetcars would turn north onto Calumet, west onto Sibley and then switch at this wye to hit State Street.
Also in 1934, discussion was started regarding discontinuance of historic streetcar service between Hammond and Indiana Harbor, also to be replaced by buses as in Crown Point. Loss of revenue was cited for the change. The tracks were ordered ripped up in 1935, but not planned to be completed until spring 1936. East Chicago then changed their minds, and favored a single track down Main Street and Guthrie instead of a double. Either way it went, the double track would be removed. Paving of Main Street from Guthrie to Columbus Drive was started May of 1936, but the center lane that was to be reserved for the single track was also paved over. The streetcar line on 150th Street was also removed and paved over. 1936 also saw the removal of center-mounted trolley poles in Gary. The poles were replaced by poles mounted on both sides of the street.
BEGINNING OF THE END
In April 1937, Gary Railways informed Valparaiso that it would be formally pursuing the abandonment of the Valparaiso to Gary line. In October they announced streetcar service would be replaced by buses between 5th Avenue and the Sheet and Tin mill at Gary Works. The Indiana Public Service Commission granted permission to execute this plan. The petition to abandon the Garyton-Valparaiso line was submitted in March of 1938.
Gary Railwaysspent much of 1938 purchasing busses, at $9,000 a piece. They abandoned and tore up its 16-mile line between Valparaiso and Garyton in December 1938. The iron poles which held overhead wires were removed in January 1939 leaving little trace.
The reason given for abandoning this particular route was the high cost of upkeep. Secondly there was a loss of ridership due to the increasing popularity and affordability of motor vehicles. A horde of Valparaiso citizens disliked that their streetcar line was to be abandoned and formed an organization to fight. In order to keep the Valparaiso-Garyton line open, a fare increase was necessary, and Gary Railways requested as such to the Public Service Commission. Tolerance for fare increases was low, yet the Interstate Commerce Commission passed a new ruling in 1939 which would require, by decree, that Gary Railways increase fairs anyway. When a trolley line was abandoned, the city of abandonment would pay for the removal of the tracks and subsequent repaving. In turn the trolley company had to reimburse the city for the work. This was the case in Valparaiso.
In January 1939 the company gave Hobart politicians a ride on their new bus, which they hoped would replace the current streetcar system in that city. Also, the elimination of the Gary Railways line between Indiana Harbor and Gary was litigated to be replaced by bus service. Both were granted by the beginning of March and service switched from streetcars to busses in Indiana Harbor and Hobart on Sunday March 19, 1939 at 3a.m..
The only major streetcar route left standing was between Hammond and Gary.
OUT LIKE A LAMB
“Behind 27 years of service lies the story of the biggest industrial disappointment in Lake County.” — Col. T. G. Hamilton
Gary Railways almost derailed their entire plan by overzealously attempting to eliminate competition from other bus companies who hoped to fill the gap of the loss of the streetcar system in both Hobart and Valparaiso. Gary Railways’ bus service was forced into competition with other local bus companies, to its dismay. They wanted an interurban monopoly, citing streetcar to bus replacement was for them to make a profit with exclusively. They felt having competition would put them out of business. However they were thwarted every time the issue was raised to town boards. The state also sided with municipalities and allowed even more bus companies to service former Gary Railways streetcar routes, even companies based in other regions. However, these companies were restricted as to where they could run. Busses could not run on Gary Railways property without a permit. Some busses ignored this rule and their drivers were actually jailed by state troopers.
Gary Railways started the removal of tracks on the Gary-Hobart line the week of July 16, 1939. The Hobart car barn was announced September 30th to be turned into an auto repair garage, a business originally located at 6 Morgan Boulevard. It was purchased by John Falls.
In August 1940 the Ambridge division of Gary Railways was formally abandoned. This was done because the company did not want to pay to repair it, which cost $20,000 (nearly $400,000 in today’s money).
In the spring of 1946 Gary Railways and AFL union initiated collective bargaining negotiations. A strike was threatened, but was averted temporarily. March 10, a bus and streetcar strike went into effect. 200 operators and 100 maintenance workers stepped off the job at 3:50am. The strike lasted three days. Workers got their pay increase, but the cost was offset by fair increases. By July it was announced that Gary Railways was ordering 55 new buses. Upon receipt of these buses, streetcar service in the region would be eliminated for good.
The buses arrived on August 21, 1946. That day, the last streetcar, №16, left Sibley eastbound towards Gary at 1:30am on August 22. The last commercial streetcar ride only had a handful of passengers, most of which were unaware that this trip would be the final one. Streetcar service continued on a small scale, serving the tube and armor plate mills in Gary until Christmas. The president of Gary Railways, Col. Tom Hamilton, died the day before the last streetcar made its final run. He wasn’t buried until March 1947.
