Elevated trains. The old “El” around the corner.
You know, the train that runs above the street, next to the neighborhood bodega.
The so-called el’s have become almost nonexistent in today’s world. But fifty, sixty, even seventy years ago, they could be found all over the rapidly-growing American 20th century cities of the East (and Midwest, in Chicago’s case).
After Boston’s demolition of the Causeway Street Elevated in 2004, only three cities with el trains remained: New York, Chicago, and the commonly forgotten Philadelphia.
So what led to the demolition and replacement of these rapid transit lines?
The answer is simple: decreased land value. Who wants an elevated train running feet away from their backyards, or over their houses? I know I wouldn’t, and many people during the time the elevated trains were in service felt the same way.
Elevated trains were seen as old and dirty, even during the era in which they prevailed. They were, believe it or not, also seen as outdated. Clifton Hood, a history professor at the Hobart and William Smith Colleges, a university in Geneva, New York, and author of New York City Subway history book 722 Miles, stated:
The els were loud, dirty, messy and slow…the subways were modern and the els looked bad.
Despite the fact that many wanted them gone, some–especially the poor–wanted to keep them, fearing that they would be displaced and would not be able to commute if the els had disappeared.
The Lexington Avenue Line in Manhattan, which currently carries more people alone than the entire subway systems of Boston, Washington and San Francisco combined, was one of the first subway lines in New York City to be converted from an elevated to a subway.
A subway?
Yes, a subway. You know, those metro trains that run underground.
Those who wanted the els gone praised the idea of them being replaced by underground subways. Many of them were, particularly in Manhattan, and later, in Boston. These subways were a relatively new idea, and many, especially those who wanted to keep the els, did not trust they would be as effective as the els.
But despite the fact that subways were seen as ‘in’, and els were seen as ‘out’, subways were expensive to build, far more expensive than els, and they took much longer and required more labor to build than els did. Most of the subways that were proposed during the 1930s to replace the els came to a halt during World War II, and the els stayed.
But after the war, during the economic boom, the money came.
And gone were the els.
Most of ’em. But not all.
The elevated trains that were demolished were replaced with subways, but the ones that weren’t demolished stayed. In fact, it seems as if almost all of the els were torn down, but there are quite a good amount that still exist today. In New York and Philadelphia, the els in the dense downtown areas were demolished, but the ones running in the suburbs, away from the dense areas, stayed. Chicago is a prominent example where el trains in dense areas remained; the Chicago Loop–which is the downtown area–is named for its elevated trains that run through it, which form a loop over the streets.
It’s quite a good thing that many of the els were preserved, and they didn’t just tear all of them down. Riding a subway train which suddenly goes from a dark tunnel underground to lightness, becoming elevated, and the whiff of sunshine invades the car through the windows, is a great feeling. A feeling I’m glad I can say I’ve witnessed.
Riding the el train also gives you a great aerial view of the neighborhoods it travels through. You get to see every crack, leak and pipe on each rooftop.
I personally like to ride the el trains in Brooklyn, predominantly the Culver and West End Lines (that’s the F and D trains, respectively). You get to see a unique perspective of the Borough Park and Bensonhurst neighborhoods from the D train, and of the Midwood, Gravesend and Coney Island neighborhoods from the F train. There are others, such as the 4 train in the Bronx (which passes the elegant Yankee Stadium) and the 7 train (which passes Citi Field, home of the not-so-amazin’ Mets).
But a great el to ride, possibly the best one, is the Chicago “L”. As mentioned, it’s the only el today that runs through a dense downtown area, and because of this, the views you can get on it are utterly unique. And there’s no intention of removing them at all; a new elevated station, Washington/Wabash, opened in 2016, showing that development on the els still continue to this day.
And if you’re wondering if els only exist in the United States, the answer is no. There are many different forms of el trains that exist worldwide, the most prominent example being the Wuppertal Suspension Railway in Germany. In fact, the first el was built in London, so it’s not like el trains are a solely American thing.
The els may be clunky, old, and noisy, but they’re still a classic element of the cities that contain them, representing their once (and still) booming nature.
Chris6d is a writer and publisher who travels America, and loves doing it. He also loves pizza, video games, and sports, and can tell you a thing or two about each. Contact him by joining his Discord server, the Fear League Squad.
