One of the better resources I have come across to this end is the plethora of
old post cards still around depicting many of these structures, some better than others.
Most of the postcards were found on EBay unless noted, other pictures, mostly
the more recent ones, come from Google and/or Bing images - credit given if the
source is known.
Dates are in the picture name, x means the date is approximate. If they were
available, and interesting, I included the back side of the postcards. 1910a
and 1910b would be the same card, both sides.
If the picture was really, really bad, some of them have been cleaned up and/or
repaired when I had the energy.
If you have the time, other good sources for pictures are:
Shorpy, Google,
and Bing images, and the Library
of Congress (you have to be very patient to find things here :-)
Since many of these stations are no longer around (railfans seem to prefer the
term "extant", I'm not one of them! :-), this page is mostly for historical
reference.
What's the difference between a station and a depot? Most people will say
"nuttin", it's a matter of preference, although many will use depot for older
buildings.
If you have a picture you would like to contribute, please see the bottom of the
page for how to find me, credit is always given to contributing photographers.
The EBay listing for this postcard said it could be either Allerton, or Indianola IL, as the front of the card had Indianola scribbled on it. After looking at
Google Maps, and finding a page of pictures from Allerton, I decided that it was in Allerton, due to the building shown on the left. Allerton is about 135 miles
south of Chicago, east of Champaign. The yellow arrows in the aerial view point to what remains of the R-O-W today.
For more pictures of Allerton: https://www.flickr.com/photos/zaruka/sets/72157623658876118/
GPS Coordinates: 39.6709, -88.3905
125 N. County Road 425E, Arcola, Illinois, 61910
217-268-3500 Rockome Gardens, which used to be an Amish themed park, is now closed. However, it is supposed to be still open as the Aikman Wildlife Adventure. https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/rockome-gardens-amish-themepark
1848 - Galena & Chicago RR builds Chicago's first railroad depot
5/22/1852 - the first LaSalle Street Station opens, built by the Northern Indiana & Chicago RR, used until 12/1866
10/1/1852 - the Chicago & Rock Island RR starts using the LaSalle St Station
1853 - the Galena & Chicago RR builds the first Wells Street Station
6/21/1856 - the Great Central Station (or Depot) was built by the Illinois Central
2/15/1865 - the Galena & Chicago RR and the Chicago & North Western Rwy merge
12/1866 - the second LaSalle Street Station opened, destroyed by fire in 1871
1871 - the LaSalle St Station and the G&C Wells St station are destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 (October)
1872 - the third LaSalle street Station opens, demolished in 1902 to make way for the 4th one
1872 - the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Station opens
1881 - the second Wells Street Station opens, built by the Chicago & North Western Rwy
1881 - the first Union Station built by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul RR (Canal & Monroe Sts)
1881 - the Burlington moves from the Great Central Station to Union Station
1885 - Dearborn Station (in the South Loop, Dearborn and Polk Sts) built by the Chicago & Western Indiana RR
7/9/1866 - the Chicago & Rock Island RR and the Mississippi and Missouri RR merge to form the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific RR
12/8/1890 - Grand Central Station (Wells & Harrison Sts)
4/17/1893 - Central Station opens, built by the Illinois Central on 12th Street (built to meet the traffic demands of the
World's Columbian Exposition)
4/17/1863 - the Great Central Station is closed
1870 - the CRI&P builds the "Rock Island District" line
1890's - the IC builds a station at 57th Street in Hyde Park
1890's - the CRI&P builds the Beverly stations at 91st and 99th streets
1890's - the CRI&P builds the Morgan Park stations at 111th & 115th Streets
1899 - the Soo Line moves its passenger operations from Grand Central to Central after dispute with the Chicago Terminal Transfer Railroad, owner of GCS
7/1/1903 - the forth LaSalle Street Station opens (LaSalle & Van Buren Sts), lasts till 1981
12/15/1903 - the Pere Marquette trains were rerouted from Central Station to Grand Central Station after line to Porter IN opened
7/31/1904 - the Chicago & Eastern Illinois RR starts using the LaSalle Street Station (via trackage rights on the CRI&P from Ashburn)
1910 - the B&O RR purchases the Grand Central Station
6/3/1911 - the Wells St station closes, and the CNW opens the Chicago & North Western Terminal on the other side of the Chicago River (largest at the time until 1925)
1912 - the Soo Line moves its passenger operations back to Grand Central Station
8/1/1913 - the C&EI stops using the LaSalle St Station
12/22/1914 - the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern RR and the New York Central & Hudson River RR merge to form the New York Central RR
1920's - the Wells Street Terminal is built by the Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Rwy near Wells St and Jackson Blvd
3/1/1925 - The C&O Rwy starts using Central Station, moving from the LaSalle St Station
1925 - the second Union Station built (Canal & Adams Sts), Chicago's largest train station
1955 - the Wells Street Terminal is demolished
1/18/1957 - Michigan Central RR moved its trains from Central Station to LaSalle St Station
1965 - the Soo Line moves its passenger operations back to Central Station for its final years of passenger service
10/26/1968 - Penn Central, upon its formation, moves its passenger service from LaSalle St to Union Station
11/8/1969 - Grand Central Station is closed
1971 - Grand Central Station is demolished thinking the site would fetch a lot of money, but has remained vacant
1971 - the Dearborn Station's train shed was razed
5/1/1971 - Amtrak comes into existence, almost all intercity trains become Amtrak trains except for the Rock Island, moves all trains to Union Station
Late 1970's - the last of the Dearborn Station's track removed
3/4/1972 - Central Station closes
3/4/1972 - Amtrak trains rerouted to Union Station after Central Station closes
1973 - Last steam to visit LaSalle St Station (SR 4501) until 2017
1974 - Illinois creates the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) to fund and plan Chicago's commuter trains
6/3/1974 - Central Station and train shed demolition starts
12/31/1978 - the Rock Island runs its last two passenger trains
1980 - the CNW began operating the "Rock Island District" trains
1981 - The LaSalle Street Station is demolished
3/1981* - the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation (METRA) is formed by assuming CNW's operation
12/1982* - the RTA (METRA) purchases the "Rock Island District" from the CRI&P
1983 - the state of Illinois reorganizes the RTA
1984 - the RTA creates the Commuter Rail Service Board due to its expanded role
1985* - the RTS renames itself METRA, the operating arm of which is the Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter RR Corp
6/2015 - METRA begins weekend express service on the Rock Island District
6/2017 - NKP's 765 visits the LaSalle Street Station, bringing back steam after a 44 year absence
NOTE: Most dates are fairly accurate, but can be off by a day or two depending on their source
* NOTE: A reason to dislike Wikipedia as a source, these dates of METRA's formation are widely out of sync :-)
-- Grand Central Station served:
the Baltimore & Ohio RR
the Baltimore & Ohio Chicago Terminal RR
the Chicago Great Western Rwy
the Pere Marquette RR
the Minneapolis, St Paul & Sault Ste Marie (SOO) until 1899; and then from 1912
until 1965, when it went back to the Central Station
the Chicago & Northern Pacific RR (Wisconsin Central)
the Chicago Central RR
the Chicago & Southwestern RR
-- the Great Central Station served:
the Illinois Central RR (owns and built it)
the Michigan Central RR until 1957
the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy RR
the Chicago & Alton RR
the Galena & Chicago Union RR
the Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago & St Louis Rwy (the "Big Four" RR)(1886 to 1893)
-- Central Station served:
the Illinois Central RR (owns and built it)
the Michigan Central RR (part of the NYC)
the Chicago & West Michigan Rwy (which became part of the Pere Marquette in 1900)
the B&O RR (up until the new Central Station was built further away from downtown)
the Minneapolis, St Paul & Sault Ste Marie (SOO) from 1899 until 1912, and
from 1965 until the end of SOO Line operations
the Chesapeake & Ohio Rwy starting in 1925 until the 1940's, moving from the Dearborn Station
the Pere Marqutte until 1903
Amtrak until 1973
-- Dearborn Station served:
the Chesapeake & Ohio Rwy until 1925
-- Polk Street (early Dearborn) Station served:
the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe RR
the Chicago & Western Indiana RR
the Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville RR
the Erie RR
the Grand Trunk RR
the Wabash RR
-- LaSalle Street Station served/serves:
the Northern Indiana & Chicago RR (New York Central)(builder & owner)
the Michigan Central starting in 1957
the Lackawanna RR
the New York Central (until 1968 when it became the Penn Central)
the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific RR (until 1978)
the Chicago & Eastern Illinois RR (1904 to 1913)
the New York, Chicago and St. Louis RR (Nickel Plate Road)
Metra's Rock Island District trains
-- Union Station served/serves:
the Penn Central from its inception until Amtrak
Amtrak from its formation in 1971
Built in 1890 by the Chicago & Northern Pacific RR, but they went bankrupt in the depression of 1893. It was sold to the Baltimore & Ohio RR in 1910.
Demolished in 1971 when it had les than 300 passengers a day. Had a 247 foot tall tower, with a 11,000 lb bell. The station also contained a 100 room hotel
and a high-end restaurant.
Prior to the station being called the LaSalle Street Station, it was known as the LS&MS (the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern) Rwy Station. The LS&MS was
formed in 1869 with the consolidation of several railroads. On December 22,
1914, the New York Central and Hudson River RR merged with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Rwy
to form the New York Central RR. For more on the LS&MS,
click here
Please note: the following is a personal opinion, and you may skip over it if that is not what you came here to read..... I included the following picture from Marty's
page to illustrate a point. Most of us who take the time to post material on the internet spend a LOT of time doing so. As of my last count before Christmas 2017,
I have just over 800 pages. I know what it takes, I know how much effort I put into even a simple page, not to mention one of my complete railfan pages where I draw custom
maps, which alone, can take up to a weeks worth of work..... The comments of Kent are not only very, very inconsiderate, but they show off his ignorance - so we all now
know that Kent is an asshole because he has done so in a public forum (one could also say the same about me :-). Marty has gone to great lengths to tell us about
the trains, the equipment (like it's an E7 and not an E9), and other info. I didn't know the the Central didn't have any E8B's, and I doubt that most of us know that
detail, so thank you Marty for taking the time! One in a while I receive a number of these types of comments directly, and one of my usual replies is to tell them to
go "do" their own website (not just a blog at someone else's expense) if they are not happy with what they get to view for free, and let their work be judged
by the railfan community.
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photo: Scott Lothes
1988, photo: John Bjorklund
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from an estate sale, seller: dfwu
1971, from Wikipedia
1887
1887
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https://chicagology.com/transportation/railroadstations/ 
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Photo from the above source
1963, photo: Cervin Robinson
1968
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#3, 1872, from Wikipedia and the LofC
1909, seller: trentonstampandcoinco
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1965, photo by Marty Bernard
1965, photo by Marty Bernard
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sorry for the quality, the seller held it by hand
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Courtesy Carl Hirst
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CB&Q Depot; seller: njrtsr
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Courtesy Carl Hirst
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