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Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad
	Cincinnati car 700 in Lake Bluff circa 1958.
Overview
Headquarters	Highwood, Illinois
Reporting mark	CNSM
Locale	Illinois and Wisconsin
Dates of operation	1916–1963
Predecessors	Bluff City Electric Street Railway (1895–1898); Chicago and Milwaukee Electric Railroad (1898–1916);
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Overhead line, 650 V DC; Third rail, 600 V DC (Chicago "L");
Length	In 1954:; 88.9 route miles (143 km); 285.1 track miles (459 km);
Route map
Route map
	Legend
	South Milwaukee
	Road
	Wisconsin
	Illinois
	Holdridge's
	Crossing
	Saint Mary's
	of the Lake
	Thornbury
	Village
	North Chicago
	Junction
	Skokie Valley
	Route
	Shore Line
	Route
	Sacred Heart
	Academy
	Sheridan
	Elms
	Skokie Valley
	Route
	Shore Line
	Route
	LaSalle &
	Van Buren
	Congress
	Terminal
	This diagram: view; talk; edit;

The Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Railroad (reporting mark CNSM), also known as the North Shore Line, was an interurban railroad that operated between Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, serving the North Shore suburbs and the intermediate cities of Waukegan, Kenosha and Racine. The North Shore Line provided passenger and freight service, as well as streetcar, city bus and motor coach services.

Described by author and railroad historian William D. Middleton as a "super interurban", the North Shore Line was notable for the high standards employed in its construction and the record-setting speeds at which its trains operated. Among the railroad's innovations were its pioneering trailer-on-flatcar service and twin Electroliner trainsets.

The North Shore Line originated in 1895 as a streetcar line in Waukegan, and by 1908 had expanded into an interurban line linking Evanston and Milwaukee. Under the management of Samuel Insull from 1916 to 1932, the railroad gained access into downtown Chicago over the "L" system and undertook a series of large-scale capital improvements. After weathering the Great Depression, the railroad saw a peak in ridership during World War II, but the postwar years brought significant declines in revenue. Reductions in service followed, and despite a campaign to prevent its abandonment, the railroad ceased all operations in 1963.

In the present day, the Yellow Line of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) operates over a segment of the former North Shore Line between Chicago and Skokie, while much of the right-of-way elsewhere has been converted to rail trails. Several examples of preserved rolling stock currently operate in railroad museums, and the former Dempster Street Station is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Route

Interurban lines

At its greatest extent, the North Shore Line operated four interurban lines:

The Shore Line Division was a 19.4-mile (31.2 km) main line between North Chicago and Wilmette that operated from 1899 to 1955.
The Skokie Valley Division was a 25-mile (40 km) main line between North Chicago and Rogers Park that operated from 1926 to 1963.
The Milwaukee Division was a 48.2-mile (77.6 km) main line between North Chicago and Milwaukee that operated from 1908 to 1963.
The Libertyville Division was a 8.6-mile (13.8 km) branch line between Lake Bluff and Mundelein that operated from 1905 to 1963.

Trackage rights on the Chicago "L"

The North Shore Line utilized trackage rights over the local rapid transit system for access into Chicago, with connections made to the Shore Line Division at Linden Avenue in Wilmette and the Skokie Valley Division at Howard Street.

Operation over the Evanston Line began in 1899 and continued until 1955. From 1919 to 1963, trains operated south of Howard Street over the North Side Main Line, traversing the Loop before terminating at Roosevelt Road. Between 1922 and 1938, certain trains continued over the South Side Elevated to Dorchester Avenue in Woodlawn. After its opening in 1943, trains were occasionally rerouted through the State Street subway when the route over North Side Main Line was obstructed.

City lines

In addition to interurban lines, the North Shore Line also operated local transit:

The Waukegan City lines were a network of streetcar lines and bus routes that operated in Waukegan and surrounding communities from 1895 to 1947.
The Milwaukee City line was a 3.46-mile (5.57 km) streetcar line that operated in Milwaukee from 1908 to 1951.

Interurban trains utilized these streetcar lines for access into Waukegan and Milwaukee, a practice which continued after the end of streetcar operations.

Motor coach lines

To supplement its rail service and preempt potential competition, the North Shore Line and its subsidiaries operated motor coach routes throughout northeast Illinois and southeast Wisconsin.

Motor coach service began in 1922 with two routes, linking Kenosha to Waukegan and Lake Geneva. By 1928 a network of motor coach routes paralleled the interurban lines and connected the railroad to off-line communities such as Antioch, Fox Lake, Wauconda, Wheeling and Woodstock, but these operations were impacted severely by the Great Depression, and by 1938 only a solitary route from Waukegan to Winthrop Harbor remained in service, a component of the Waukegan City lines. Following World War II, the railroad briefly acquired ownership of bus companies serving Appleton, Fond Du Lac, Kenosha, Racine, Rockford and Sheboygan, but these properties were all sold off prior to 1963.

Operations

Passenger service

Train numbers

Class	Destinations	Type	Route description
200	Chicago–Waukegan	Express	Roosevelt Road–Howard Street via Chicago "L", Howard Street–North Chicago Junction via Skokie Valley Division, North Chicago Junction–Edison Court via Milwaukee Division
300	Lake Bluff–Mundelein	Local	Lake Bluff–Mundelein via Libertyville Division
400	Chicago-Milwaukee	Limited	Roosevelt Road–Howard Street via Chicago "L", Howard Street–North Chicago Junction via Skokie Valley Division, North Chicago Junction–Harrison Street via Milwaukee Division, Harrison Street–6th Street via Milwaukee City Line
500	Chicago–Waukegan	Express	Roosevelt Road–Linden Avenue via Chicago "L", Linden Avenue–North Chicago Junction via Shore Line Division, North Chicago Junction–County Street via Waukegan City Line
700	Chicago–Mundelein	Express	Roosevelt Road–Howard Street via Chicago "L", Howard Street–South Upton Junction via Skokie Valley Division, South Upton Junction–Mundelein via Libertyville Division
800	Chicago-Milwaukee	Limited (Electroliner)	Roosevelt Road–Howard Street via Chicago "L", Howard Street–North Chicago Junction via Skokie Valley Division, North Chicago Junction–Harrison Street via Milwaukee Division, Harrison Street–6th Street via Milwaukee City Line