Welcome To The Chicago Tunnel Company Railroad Home Page

Dedicated To Preserving The History Of Chicago's Unique Little Railroad

This website tells the story about a 60-mile, two-foot gauge electric railroad that operated 149 locomotives and over 3000 freight cars in small tunnels forty feet below the streets of downtown Chicago.

The Illinois Tunnel Company ( later known as the Chicago Tunnel Company) started operating trains through the freight tunnels in 1906. The small four wheel electric locomotives hauled pony freight cars between stores, office buildings, post office facilities, warehouses, factories, and railroad stations. The tiny cars carried packages, goods, mail, food, coal, cinders, and occasionally people!

Click on the pictures below to visit this unique and obscure part of Chicago which few people have ever seen:

Learn about the History of the Chicago Tunnel Company from the beginnings of train operations until abandonment. Here, you can also view a map of the tunnels and review statistics about train operations in the 1920's.

Find out what happened to the trains and the freight tunnels After Abandonment in 1959.

Explore the Freight Tunnels in the 1980's. See freight cars, locomotives, signals, and track left behind many years after the tunnels were abandoned.

What did they do with all the excavations from the tunnels? How did the trains get their power? Can someone still get into the abandoned tunnels? Visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Page to find answers to these and other questions about the freight tunnel system.

The Links Page has branches you can take to other websites related to the Chicago Tunnel Company. Here, you can also find links to websites about railroads, subways, trolleys, models, trivia, urban exploration, history, and many other interesting topics.

See the highlights of the Central Electric Railfans' Association (CERA) fantrip in the freight tunnels in September, 2000! These are the most recent photographs taken in the tunnels.

This web site was created and is maintained by Phil O'Keefe.

All photographs on this web site are from the collections of Phil O'Keefe and Bruce Moffat except where noted.

If you have any comments about this site, or if you would like to share information about the tunnels, you can e-mail Phil O'Keefe at: chicagotunnel@ameritech.net

The Chicago Tunnel Company Website has been visited times.

This Website was last updated September 21, 2002.

God Bless America!

Take a ride on The Rail.

	Learn about the History of the Chicago Tunnel Company from the beginnings of train operations until abandonment. Here, you can also view a map of the tunnels and review statistics about train operations in the 1920's.
	Find out what happened to the trains and the freight tunnels After Abandonment in 1959.
	Explore the Freight Tunnels in the 1980's. See freight cars, locomotives, signals, and track left behind many years after the tunnels were abandoned.
	What did they do with all the excavations from the tunnels? How did the trains get their power? Can someone still get into the abandoned tunnels? Visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Page to find answers to these and other questions about the freight tunnel system.
	The Links Page has branches you can take to other websites related to the Chicago Tunnel Company. Here, you can also find links to websites about railroads, subways, trolleys, models, trivia, urban exploration, history, and many other interesting topics.
	See the highlights of the Central Electric Railfans' Association (CERA) fantrip in the freight tunnels in September, 2000! These are the most recent photographs taken in the tunnels.