Normal Park branch

The Normal Park branch was a rapid transit line which was part of the Chicago 'L' system from 1907 to 1954. The branch served the Englewood neighborhood of Chicago and consisted of four elevated stations. It opened on May 25, 1907, and closed on January 29, 1954.

Normal Park branch
Overview
Status	Closed
Locale	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Termini	Harvard 69th
Stations	4
Service
Type	Rapid transit
System	Chicago 'L'
Operator(s)	Chicago Transit Authority (1947-1954) Chicago Rapid Transit Company (1924-1947) South Side Elevated Railroad (1907-1924)
History
Opened	May 25, 1907
Closed	January 29, 1954
Technical
Line length	0.85 mi (1.37 km)
Character	Elevated
Track gauge	4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Electrification	Third rail, 600 V DC
Route map Legend Englewood branch to South Side Main Line Harvard 65th Street Marquette Road 69th Street

Operations

The Normal Park branch was a 0.85-mile (1.37 km) elevated line which served four stations. The branch began at the Harvard station, which served a transfer point to the Englewood Branch, and ran southwestward toward the branch's terminal at 69th and Parnell. The branch generally ran only single car trains, although two car trains were occasionally run during weekday rush hours.[1] The branch separated from the Englewood branch at Stewart Junction, west of the Harvard station.[2] Although ridership was low, the stations had enough capacity for 8 car trains, rare around the CTA during that time period. The vast majority of the line's traffic came from the terminal at 69th; the Chicago Normal School was located in this area, along with a small commercial district.

Ridership had always been low on this line: There was very little passenger traffic between Harvard and the 69th St. terminal. By the time the branch was closed in January 1954, it was a shuttle only service between Harvard and 69th. Most of the intermediate stations had been gutted before, and 69th St. station was halfway locked down. The line was completely torn down around Summer 1954.

When the Dan Ryan branch (serving the Red Line) was built in 1969, a brand new 69th station was built a half-mile away from the former Normal Park station. While the original 69th St. was a low ridership station, the new 69th St. is one of the busiest stations on the CTA system.

Station listing

Normal Park branch stations [3]

Station	Location	Notes
Harvard	Harvard Avenue and 63rd Street
65th Street	65th Street and Stewart Avenue
Marquette Road	Marquette Road and Stewart Avenue
69th Street	69th Street and Parnell Avenue	Indirectly replaced by 69th

See also

• Englewood Branch

References

1. "Normal Park branch". Chicago "L".org. Retrieved August 17, 2013.
2. South Side Elevated R.R. (PDF) (Map). South Side Elevated Railroad. 1913. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
3. Chicago Rapid Transit Map (Map). Chicago Rapid Transit Company. 1946. Retrieved August 17, 2013.