Chicago to New York in 10 hours! That is what A.C. Miller, President of the Chicago-New York Electric Air Line Railroad, promised in 1906, hey-day of the electric interurban. His double-track speedway would cut straight across four states, span valleys on high fills, cross streams on lofty viaducts, penetrate hills through deep cuts and tunnel through the mountains of Pennsylvania, reducing the distance between America's two greatest cities to 750 miles. Streamlined electric locomotives would average 75 miles per hour over the arrow-straight track with a maximum gradient of one-half of one percent, and without grade crossings. The

cost of building this super-railroad would be covered many times by its certain popularity, Miller told the hopeful stockholders; The C-NYEALRR was incorporated on August 1905, under the laws of Maine with $200 million capital stock, of which $25 million was issued in common stock immediately.

The biggest job undertaken was the fill across Coffey [formerly spelled 'Coffey'] Creek Bottoms, which was to extend nearly two miles. A temporary trestle here, 50 feet high at its tallest point, carried construction trains out to dump their fill. The Coffey Creek fill, while only 30 feet wide at the top, measured 180 feet in width at the bottom after the earth assumed its natural incline. A million feet of timber formed the temporary trestle, which would eventually be buried within the fill. The promoters of the Air Line probably felt it would be an admission of error in their fundamental policy to accept a larger or curved grade so early in the construction of the railroad that claimed to be straight and level. So they stuck to their specifications and the construction work stuck at Coffey Creek. Good progress was made in the first year in spite of difficulties. One could stand between the rails, gaze toward the horizon and see them meet in the distance without the slightest deviation from a straight line. On June 15, 1907, service was inaugurated over the five-mile branch from LaPorte to South LaPorte. Investors of record and many prospective stockholders visited the property and gained inspiration from riding back forth on the short branch.

The cars they rode were two big green interurbans built to order by the Niles Car Works. They were 50-foot combination baggage-passenger coaches with steam-type roofs, sturdy wooden pilots, and windows grouped in pairs with stained-glass arches above. Each was equipped with four 75-horsepower Westinghouse motors and control equipment, air brakes, and trolley poles. Along the letterboard of each car was the gold-leaf inscription "CHICAGO-AIR LINE-NEW YORK". The crews sported dark blue broadcloth uniforms with much gold embroidery; AIR LINE was embroidered on their coat collars and embossed on their gold-plated buttons.

The Coffey Creek fill remained a jinx. In May, the tail end of a cyclone caught a trestle bent that was going into position, hurling it against several others that were not yet completely secured. Men were injured and one killed as 140 feet of structure went down. More trouble occurred in November, when the immense weight of the new fill that rested on soft river bottom slipped. Down went a section of trestle with a train of dump cars. Miller explained that construction would be comparatively simple between Coffey Creek and Chicago, and east to Goshen and clear across Ohio. The stockholders responded by digging deep into their pockets for more money to get the Air Line across Coffey Creek, keeping it straight and level. The first construction train finally crossed over the expensive work to the high ground beyond in October of 1910

By 1914 the Air Line was a 19.6-mile stretch between LaPorte and Goodrum, Indiana, (named for the largest shareholder), simply a part of a little network of interurban lines, however, the coaches still read New York on one end, Chicago on the other, although neither city had been reached; the actual Air Line itself was abandoned November 3, 1917, and sadly its stockholders lost every cent they had invested. Today the Coffee Creek is now the exact spot where the Indiana Toll Road is located, so though the Air Line never reached its destination, ironically traffic crossing the old grade is indeed Chicago or New York-bound.

The above image shows car 102, one of the original coaches that carried investors on the short trip from LaPorte to South Laporte on that June day in 1907. This car was eventually sold to the Milwaukee interurban system when the Air Line was scrapped, and ran there for many years; unfortunately, it was eventually scrapped.

The information for this story was found in various articles posted in the Air Line forum, which is a Yahoo! Group moderated by Louis Rugani. For more information, please visit them at http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/AirLineRR