When Trolleys Rode the Prairie Path

An Elmhurst Public Library Adult Program. Come and take a ride on the Great Third Rail as noted historian Steve Hyett presents his multi-projector slide show about the electric interurban railroad affectionately known at the "Roarin" Elgin. The Chicago Aurora & Elgin railroad ran from Wells Street station on the Loop elevated structure in downtown Chicago, through the western suburbs of Elmhurst, Lombard, Glen Ellyn and Wheaton, and on to Aurora and Elgin. The line began running in 1902 on streetcar tracks in downtown Aurora and Elgin, and then eastward on its own private right-of-way on what is now known as The Prairie Path. The line died in 1957 with the opening of the Eisenhower Expressway. It was a great ride, and Hyett will rekindle those memories as he brings alive that era in his entertaining program.