Flag Stop 4,614 transit photos from Chicago and beyond, mostly 1940s–2000s
Eras

1940s

130 photographs
A black and white photograph of a vintage Chicago Surface Lines streetcar numbered 6180, showing its side and front with a trolley pole raised, parked on a street with cars and a building in the background. Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar 6180 on route 81, captured in a three-quarter front view on a street in Chicago. 1949 · Lawrence and Cicero, Chicago, IL A vintage black-and-white photo of a Chicago Surface Lines streetcar, number 6178, on a city street with a building labeled 'Commercial Wharf' behind it. Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar 6178 on a summer day, with the Commercial Wharf building in the background. 1949 · Western, Lincoln, Chicago, IL An orange electric locomotive numbered 11008 with a pantograph, pulling a long line of matching orange boxcars in a railroad yard under overhead wires. Chicago South Shore and South Bend Railroad E-1 electric locomotive 11008 in orange livery, pulling a consist of matching orange freight cars in a yard with overhead wires. 1949 · Michigan City, IN A vintage green and cream Chicago Motor Coach Company bus, number 1165, is parked on a street with bare trees in the background. The destination sign reads '26 Jackson Via Harmon'. Chicago Motor Coach Company bus 1165, a GM New Look, is shown on route 26 Jackson Via Harmon in a winter setting. 1949 · Columbus Park, Chicago, IL A vintage red streetcar with the number 606 on its front is stopped on a bridge surrounded by tall buildings and streetlights. A red Chicago Surface Lines Birney streetcar, number 606, is stopped on a bridge in downtown Chicago. 1949 · Franklin and Washington, Chicago, IL A red and cream Chicago Transit Authority trolleybus, number 61, on route 85, is driving on a city street with vintage cars and storefronts, under clear skies. A red and cream Chicago Transit Authority trolleybus, number 61, on route 85, is seen on a city street in the late 1940s or early 1950s, with vintage automobiles and storefronts in the background. 1949 A vintage red streetcar, number 734, is turning a corner on a city street lined with brick buildings and parked cars from the 1930s. A red and cream Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 734, navigates a city street corner in front of a large brick building. 1949 · 60 and Callerton A vintage red and cream streetcar, number 6205, marked with route 93-95, stands on a tree-lined street under an overcast sky, with a Coca-Cola sign visible in the background. A red and cream Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 6205, on a street running route. 1949 · 95th, IN A vintage red and cream streetcar, number 556, is parked on a street with a sign for 'NORTH WESTERN STATION' on its front, a trolley pole reaching to overhead wires, and a 'LUNCH' sign on a building in the background. A red and cream Chicago Surface Lines Birney streetcar, number 556, is shown parked on a street with 'NORTH WESTERN STATION' on its destination sign. 1949 · 56 and Imlay A vintage red streetcar with the number 227 on its front, turning at an intersection with 1940s cars and a brick building in the background. A red and cream Chicago Surface Lines Birney streetcar, number 227 on route 53, navigates an intersection at Pulaski and Lawrence in Chicago on a sunny day. 1949 · Pulaski and Lawrence, Chicago, IL A green and yellow PCC streetcar numbered 1240 travels down a street lined with 1950s automobiles, overhead wires, and storefronts. A Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority PCC streetcar numbered 1240 travels down a city street under overhead wires. 1949 · 8th Western, L. A., CA A green and cream CTA trolleybus with the number 113 on the front and route 86 to Central-Lexington displayed, driving down a street lined with brick buildings and vintage cars. A Chicago Transit Authority trolleybus, number 113, operates on route 86 Central-Lexington on a city street in summer. 1949 A green and cream streamlined streetcar with its trolley pole raised crosses a granite-paved intersection, with cars, a yellow taxi, a large columned building and high-rise buildings around it. A Chicago Transit Authority PCC streetcar turns through the intersection at Madison and Clinton in Chicago. 1949 · Madison and Clinton, Chicago, IL A black and white photograph shows a vintage CTA bus at a street corner, with its destination sign reading '7 MONROE-STATE' and the number 1605 on the front bumper. A Chicago Transit Authority Flxible New Look bus, number 1605, on the 7 Monroe-State route in downtown Chicago, circa 1960s. 1949 · Monroe and Dearborn, Chicago, IL A black and white photograph of a vintage city bus with the number 1411 on its front, parked on a street with pedestrians walking on the sidewalk and tall buildings in the background. A Chicago Surface Lines motor bus, number 1411, is shown on a city street, likely in the late 1930s or early 1940s, with pedestrians and parked cars in the background. 1949 · Michigan Washington, MI A red and cream streetcar with the number 6267 on its front is parked on a city street next to a large industrial building with a sign reading 'Steel Warehouse & Terminal.' A yellow truck and other vehicles are visible in the background. A Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 6267, operates on a street in Chicago on a sunny day in the 1940s. 1949 · 43 and Normal A red and cream Chicago Surface Lines streetcar, number 328, is stopped on a snowy street with bare trees in the background, as a few people wait to board. A Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 328, is shown in winter at the intersection of Pulaski and Bryn Mawr. 1949 · Pulaski and Bryn Mawr, Chicago, IL A red and cream streetcar with the number 1608 on its front is stopped on a paved street next to a stone wall and a multi-story building. A Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 1608, on a city street in the 1930s or 1940s. 1949 · Van Buren and Franklin, Chicago, IL A red and cream wooden streetcar runs down a city street under overhead wires, with a large gas holder and industrial buildings in the background. A Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, likely number [?]2544, operates on a street with overhead wires, passing a street sign for Kilbourn Avenue and industrial buildings including Rissman Lumber Co. 1949 · Kilbourn and Milwaukee, Chicago, IL A vintage motor bus from the 1940s, marked with route 34 Diversey and fleet number 1411, is stopped on a busy Chicago street with pedestrians and period cars nearby. A Chicago Surface Lines bus, number 1411, operates on the 34 Diversey route on a city street in the early 1940s. 1949 · Michigan and Washington, Chicago, IL A vintage red and cream streetcar with the number 3152 on its side and front, running on city streets with tall buildings and a water tower in the background. A Chicago Surface Lines Birney streetcar, number 3152, runs on a city street near the C&EI tracks in the 1930s. 1949 · Roosevelt and Clark, Chicago, IL A red and cream streetcar numbered 1046 is shown from a three-quarter front view, running on a street with bare trees and a gasoline pump in the background. A Chicago Surface Lines Birney streetcar, number 1046, captured in winter on a street-running route. 1949 · Southport and Clark, Chicago, IL A black-and-white photo of a Chicago Rapid Transit Company rapid transit train at an elevated station, showing the front of the lead car with a destination sign and a person in the cab. A Chicago Rapid Transit Company 4000-series rapid transit car, number 4[?]71, at an elevated station in 1949, with an 'EXPRESS HOWARD SKOKIE' destination sign. 1949 · North and Halsted, Chicago, IL An orange and brown interurban railcar on an elevated track, with a sign reading 'LOGAN SQ' and 'LOGAN SQUARE', set against a backdrop of 1940s Chicago buildings and parked cars. A Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee Jewett interurban car on an elevated structure near Logan Square in Chicago. 1949 · Marshfield Jct. A black steam locomotive with the number 1984 on its front, emitting white smoke, is shown pulling a long line of freight cars along multiple tracks next to a station platform under a blue sky with bare trees nearby. A Chicago and North Western steam locomotive, number 1984, pulls a long freight train past a station platform on a clear winter day in 1949. 1949 · Hinsdale, IL A red and cream streetcar, number 1693, is shown on a city street in front of a building, with tracks visible on the ground. A Chicago Surface Lines Master Unit streetcar, number 1693, on a city street. May 10, 1949 · Franklin and Van Buren, Chicago, IL A vintage Chicago streetcar, number 6015, is shown on a city street with passengers visible inside and a trolley pole connecting to overhead wires. Chicago Surface Lines streetcar 6015, a Perley A. Thomas Master Unit, on route 55 at Randolph and Franklin Streets. June 11, 1949 · Randolph and Franklin, Chicago, IL A vintage black-and-white photo of a streetcar with the number 6015 on its front and side, showing passengers inside, on a cobblestone street with buildings and other vehicles in the background. A Chicago Surface Lines Peter Witt streetcar, number 6015, on route 55 at the corner of Randolph and Franklin streets. June 11, 1949 · Randolph and Franklin, Chicago, IL Color photo looking down a long, straight street lined with poles and a dense web of overhead wires. A yellow-and-green streetcar comes up the center tracks toward the camera, with 1940s cars around it and a group of people on the corner at left. A yellow-and-green streetcar climbs a long hill on double track past the Sunbury Food Stores building, likely at 9th and Hoover in Los Angeles. August 1949 · 9th and Hoover, Los Angeles, CA A vintage green and cream streetcar on a city street with 1940s cars, pedestrians, and a Sunbury Food Stores sign visible in the background. A green and cream Chicago Surface Lines Peter Witt streetcar, number 30[?]3, travels down a bustling city street lined with 1940s cars and a Sunbury Food Stores. August 1949 · 9th and Hoover Black-and-white photo of a streamlined streetcar numbered 4087 with the sign 20 MADISON-DOWNTOWN, running on street tracks past office buildings while men in suits walk along the sidewalk. Chicago Transit Authority streetcar 4087 on route 20 Madison-Downtown in downtown Chicago, likely near Madison and Franklin. October 1, 1949 · Madison and Franklin, Chicago, IL A vintage black-and-white photo of a dark-colored electric streetcar numbered 989 on curved tracks, with bare trees, a wooden fence, and a roller coaster structure behind it. Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee interurban car 989 on a private right-of-way, with a roller coaster in the background. November 1949 Front view of a cream and green double-decker bus with the number 145, operated by Marquette Transit Co., passing under a bridge. A Marquette Transit Co. double-decker bus numbered 145 drives under a bridge on a clear autumn day. November 8, 1949 Front view of a vintage green and cream double-decker-style bus under a dark steel railroad bridge, with bare trees and a clear sky. A green and cream Chicago Surface Lines motor bus drives under a railroad overpass on a winter day. November 8, 1949 · 110 and Bell