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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The definitive work on the history of the AE&C, CA&E,
By A Customer
This review is from: Sunset Lines: The Story of the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin Railroad (Hardcover)
Very few stones have been left unturned in the research that led to this work. The book is not really written for the casual reader, as it goes into considerable depth on many aspects of the conception, construction, rise and fall, reorganization and the final convoluted spiral into abandonment. Mr. Plachno admits in the introduction that the final product is larger than he would have liked, but that paring it back would have failed to do justice to the railway. Volume I covers the physical plant, primarily the trackage, and is divided into logically cohesive chapters. Volume II is devoted to the actual history and it too is well organized. Volume III, which will contain material on equipment and operations, has been promised for a very long time but for whatever reason is not yet complete. The text of both volumes I and II is well supported with photographs and an occasional map. There is reasonably good coverage of the principal characters of the story, some of whom, e.g. Samuel Insull, are worthy of having a biography on their own and indeed some do. The text does a good job in covering most of the period from 1900 through about 1952. When Mr. Plachno addresses the period after that time, when the CA&E came face to face with the construction of the Congress Street Expressway, the writing becomes harder to understand. This is largely due to the complicated--almost byzantine--manner in which events played themselves out. There is a very important social message in the death of the CA&E. The proximate cause is the loss to the passengers of the one-seat ride. Much more important is the failure of people to work together because there is nothing in it for them. Mr. Plachno's account leads one to the conclusion that, had there not been such unwillingness on the part of the Chicago Democrats to do something for the suburban Republicans of DuPage County, the ending might have turned out very differently. This work is open to criticism for the somewhat large number of style faults, indicating that the proofreaders failed to ferret out overused expressions. Put into perspective, however, these are at worst only a minor nuisance. A greater criticism, from this reviewer at least, is that the epilog is far from complete. Although the CA&E as a corporate entity is now long gone, there is a surprisingly large body of artifacts still around, including the right of way (now the Illinois Prairie Path), several of the buildings, and a substantial part of the equipment. Probably in the interest of not making the history any more lengthy than it already was, the epilog was cut. Nontheless, there is more to be told. Mr. Plachno will provide answers to many questions if and when volume III appears.
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