HISTORY OF THE DAYLINES

East St. Louis & Suburban Railway (EStL&S):

 

      The EStL&S system ran from Eads Bridge over the Mississippi to Lebanon, Illinois and stretched from Waterloo, Illinois north to Alton, Illinois.  The system served East St. Louis, Belleville, Collinsville, Waterloo, Columbia, Granite City, National City, Winstanley, Edgemont, Lebanon, Horseshoe Lake, Caseyville, and French Village, Illinois resembling an octopus in the process.  From 1870 to 1910, the East St. Louis transportation hub attracted industrial development to the area, nearly doubling the city’s population each decade.  At the same time, the EStL&S developed by assimilating a variety of smaller operations.  During this period, the Illinois Traction System (Illinois Terminal) reached St. Louis via trackage rights over Eads Bridge until the completion of its own McKinley Bridge.  In 1930, the IT leaseded the Alton line from the EStL&S, which had acquired this line in 1924, purchasing the line outright in 1940.  Starting in 1928, the EStL&S begins abandoning lines, shrinking toward East St. Louis and discontinuing streetcar service entirely in 1935.
Text Box: St. Louis & Belleville Electric Railway (StL&BE): The StL&BE operated from Winstanley to the south side of Belleville, Illinois. The main line ran parallel to State St., East St. Louis, which changes into W. Main St. in Belleville. The car barn stood next to the Winstanley Powerhouse on Ridge Ave. in East St. Louis. Basically a coal hauler, the Eastern terminus was a small yard about a block South of Main St. in Belleville, where the StL&BE interchanged with the Southern Railway. The Northern Illinois Coal Co., owner of Peabody Coal Co., purchased the line in 1956, extending the trackage to Freeburg. The

My Version of the Great East Side Electric Railway System:

 

     Instead of disintegrating during the Great Depression, the Daylines, as the East St. Louis & Suburban and St. Louis & Belleville Electric Railways were known, hung on to life.  With World War II, gas rationing boosted ridership and allowed for modernization after the war.  After an incident in Belleville on the Southern’s stub branch involving several cars and a caboose  arriving in the middle of Illinois Ave. less trucks caused the Southern to demolish the round house and abandon the line, the StL&BE bought and electrified the branch adding several online customers.  In addition the system leased the East St. Louis Junction from the National Stockyards gaining that business as well.  Finally the Freeburg extension to the River King Mine brought additional revenue.  Although the primary commodity is still coal, a variety of freight is now carried.  Through connections with the TRRA, Illinois Central, Illinois Terminal, and Alton & Southern, the system interchanges with a dozen class I railroads.  Despite these actions, 1955 represents the beginning of the end of the interurban system as automobiles and trucks continue to make inroads in the transportation market.