By the late 1970s, the Chicago, South Shore and South Bend Railroad was living out the last years as a step-child of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway. The C&O had purchased the South Shore in 1965 as a bridge route for its freight business. A decade later, the drain on revenues from extensive passenger operations was taking its toll on the 91 mile railway running from downtown Chicago to South Bend, Indiana.

Born shortly after the dawn of the twentieth century, the South Shore had been the sturdiest of Samuel Insull’s network of Midwestern electric interurban railways and it managed to survive on that strength when all the others faded away. By 1976, the paint on the cars was chipped and frayed, and the many stations were becoming, well, a little run-down.

Despite this, the South Shore rolled on in the hands of its capable employees. Join with us as we look at the 1976-1980 era South Shore through the movie camera lens of Roger M. Koenig.

Approx. 64 minutes
Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound