page_title: Kenwood branch
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Kenwood branch / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Remains of the platform of the former Vincennes station in December 2018
context_page_description: The Kenwood branch was a rapid transit line which was part of the Chicago 'L' system from 1907 to 1957. The branch served the Kenwood neighborhood of Chicago and consisted of six elevated stations. It opened on September 20, 1907 and closed on December 1, 1957.
context_section_description: The predecessor of the Kenwood branch was a freight line the Union Stock Yards and Transit Company built in 1864, which paralleled 40th Street between the Union Stock Yards and the Illinois Central Railroad. The freight line began passenger service in 1882, which continued along the line until 1904. In 1903, the Chicago City Council passed a measure to elevate the 40th Street line as part of an effort to remove grade crossings from Chicago railroads. The Chicago Junction Railway was formed to bear the costs of the elevation, and the task of running passenger trains on the line shifted to the South Side Elevated Railroad. The elevated Kenwood branch ultimately opened on September 20, 1907.
  The new line led to increased residential development in Kenwood, a mostly white-collar neighborhood when the line opened. Crosstown service through the Ravenswood line began in 1913; in 1931, this service was changed to a Kenwood-Wilson routing. Shuttle service on the line was discontinued between 1943 and 1949.
  In the 1930s, the Chicago Junction Railway stopped regularly maintaining the branch due to financial difficulties; since it did not operate trains on the line, it cared little about its upkeep. The Chicago Rapid Transit Company, which by then had taken control of operations, replied to the Chicago Junction's actions by refusing to pay rent on the line. The Chicago Junction took the CRT to eviction court over the matter; the Illinois Commerce Commission initially ruled that the Chicago Junction had rights to operate on the line, but federal bankruptcy court ultimately granted the CRT a stay on eviction. The CRT agreed to assume maintenance of the line and deducted maintenance costs from its rent. The CTA took over the line from the CRT in 1947. Ridership on the line began to fall in the early 1950s, and the line continued to deteriorate from the ongoing lack of maintenance. The CTA contemplated refurbishing the Kenwood branch in 1956, but the costs of modernizing the branch were prohibitive, and it ultimately closed the line on December 1, 1957.
caption: Remains of the platform at Vincennes station seen in 2018
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