RAILROAD BUSINESS INTERLINE 26 Jan 02
by
John Horachek
First of a series
The North Shore Line has been gone for more than thirty-eight years, yet
her legions of enthusiast fans appear to be undiminished in number, fond
of seeing new information, and as insistent as the press corps when it comes
to asking questions.
The railroad's surviving people don't have all the answers, and they have
a few questions of their own.
Welcome to the RRB Interline!
In railroad parliance, 'R.R.B.' is shorthand for 'Railroad Business,' and
the RRB frank appears in the upper right corner of envelopes which contain
Company mail. Whenever a new Employee Time Table was issued, the Special
Instructions designated certain trains which would carry mail, and the Company
mail schedule was set up to provide same-day delivery of internal correspondence.
It was frequently fast enough for a message to be sent and a written reply
received the same day.
This is an entirely new form of North Shore Line 'RRB'- because it will be
conducted on the internet instead of carried on the trains. "Interline" is
an older term, and in this instance is an appropriate one for an on-the-internet,
inter-fan communication from Company people....about your favorite
interurban.
Information will be given out. Information will be asked for. Information
will be received, and information will gladly be exchanged.
There is some sense of urgency today. The North Shore veterans are getting
up in age. Anyone who worked for the North Shore Line is 60 or older. There
are Company folks who have a special interest in the railroad's history and
are working hard at it; RRB Interline provides the opportunity for the railroad's
fan enthusiasts to learn about some of this work- and to participate in it.
RRB Interline may at times be dialogue or commentary, or a taste or recorded oral history. At times we will post information likely to be new to most readers- and there's a mass of unpublished information. At times we may ask questions with the hope that fans will have some of the answers.
The medium for this exchange is NORTHSHORELINE.com
The column is called RRB Interline
Our first subject is Time Tables, and we'll begin with a listing of all known Time Tables for the Chicago & Milwaukee Electric Railroad and the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad.
Time Table listing to follow soon.
John Horachek