First let’s get the terminology straight. We’re talking here
about a local street railway, drawing power from overhead
electric wires, by means of a trolley pole. Other cities called
these vehicles “trolley cars.” In Chicago they were always known
as “streetcars.” In 1906 the last horse cars and cable cars were
banished from the city’s streets. Meanwhile, the various
privately-owned street railways had been consolidating. The
final merger took place in 1914, with the creation of a company
called Chicago Surface Lines. CSL operated mainly within the
Chicago city limits. A few of the lines crossed into the
suburbs, and there was even an interstate route that extended
into Hammond and Whiting. But the suburbs were still tiny, and
CSL didn't bother with them. Larger towns, like Evanston and Oak
Park, had to depend on their own transit carriers. A Chicago
streetcar was a two-man operation — “man” is appropriate here,
since CSL crews were all male. The motorman was the driver. He
operated from a standing position a