Interurban Transportation

Interurban Transportation. Illinois Lincoln Highway. Prior to the onset of paved roads like the Lincoln Highway public transportation in the form of an electric passenger railroad known as interurban enjoyed widespread popularity. These light rail lines were mainly electrified operating with technology somewhere between that of a streetcar line and a full-scale railroad, utilizing simply strung overhead wire, or on heavily trafficked high speed lines. Systems often ran on extensions of existing streetcar lines between connecting cities. By 1910, there was a very large network of small interurban lines especially in Chicago and suburban areas of the Lincoln Highway. Interurban carried commuters from the suburbs to city jobs as well as nearby weekend getaways., With the onset of paved highways and steady increase in automobile ownership, traveling by car became a way of life allowing travelers' independence from this form of public transportation. Insufficient passengers, decreased revenue and dwindling track space caused the interurban rail system's decline, giving way to the automobile., Image [showing Lockport Street through downtown Plainfield] provided by Debra Olsen