This website has been archived from TrainWeb.org/northshore to TrainWeb.US/northshore.
Line Poles
Between Green Bay Road and the Skokie Valley the former line poles are still standing. These type poles were used on the Skokie Valley Route from the beginning of overhead near niles, up to Glen Flora Av. in Waukegan. Plans to run catenary the full length of the line never came to pass. The parts of the pole in these photos are 1/3 of what was originally there. The brackets near the top of the pole are where the top section was attached. The wires are high voltage transmission lines, which the North Shore used to supply substations along the line. ComEd still uses the lines for this purpose. On the opposite side of the tracks would be a pole of the same design, but without the transmission wires. The pole would end where the bracket is on this one, and the top span would be connected to both. Below are some pictures.
A line pole with guy wires coming off it. These were in the middle of Green Bay Junction
A standard pole with no guy wires
These two photos give a detailed picture of the base of the pole.
