OK, it's time for your Fox Valley transportation quiz
A regular - and often requested - feature during 13 years of this area history column has been an annual quiz. Today you will have the opportunity to test your knowledge about transportation in the Fox Valley. These questions deal with the various ways we've gotten around over the years from automobile and street cars, to boat and airplane, to bus and train.
This is not meant as a quiz for those who lived during prior times, but as a way for everyone to learn about our past. Those who would like to find out more are invited to a program sponsored by the Elgin Community Network at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20 at the Gail Borden Public Library.
The program will not only focus on transportation as well but other aspects of making our lives more sustainable. And, as you just might suspect, some aspects of the ways we lived in the good old day are gaining in popularity again.
1. In the mid 1950s, an Elgin man said he had a connection to the Wright Brothers. What was it?
A) He worked at the same bicycle shop with the Wright Brothers.
B) He saw the first flight.
C) He was a distant cousin of the famous pair.
D) He went to high school with Orville Wright.
2. What idea was proposed for Elgin's Walton Island in the late 1960s?
A) Install a boat dock.
B) Eliminate the island.
C) Install equipment on the island to help regulate train traffic.
D) Make it a parking lot.
3. Just after World War II, over 60 cabdrivers in Elgin went on strike. Why?
A) The city license fee for cabs was doubled.
B) The drivers felt police were issuing them too many speeding tickets
C) The drivers wanted to park free by parking meters
D) Cab stops were removed from the train stations
4. In the early 1920s, 400 people met in Elgin to form what?
A) An airplane society
B) A commuter club
C) A bicycle club
D) A group to oppose the north end bridge
5. What happened to fares on the Milwaukee line between Elgin and Chicago in the summer of 1984?
A) Free rides were offered on Sundays.
B) Fares were doubled on some trains.
C) Some fares were cut in half.
D) A special city of Elgin tax was added.
6. Twenty-three of Elgin's bus stops were eliminated in the early 1940s. Why?
A) To save tires.
B) Riders ship was down because men were at war.
C) There were too many weather-related accidents at these stops.
D) The introduction of one-way streets made some stops unnecessary.
7. In May 1984, a group of Porsches, Jaguars and Ferraris arrived in Elgin. Why were they there?
A) For a race.
B) Opening of a new car dealership.
C) To film a movie.
D) To be in the Memorial Day parade.
8. In the mid 1930s, 250 train commuters signed a petition asking for what?
A) Install gates at all intersections.
B) Add more commuter parking.
C) Reduce fares.
D) Elgin should join Chicago in going on Eastern Standard Time.
9. In the spring of 1895, twenty-five train cars left Elgin for Chicago with an estimated one-third of the city's population. Why were they going?
A) Elgin was affected with scarlet fever.
B) They wanted to cool off at the lakefront.
C) They were part of an excursion to see the Chicago sites.
D) The president of the U.S. was speaking.
10. The current Route 20 bypass through Elgin was completed in 1962. When was the land for the road first surveyed?
A) 1910
B) 1936
C) 1940
D) 1960
11. What did a bus ride in Elgin cost in 1952?
A) 10 cents
B) 25 cents
C) 50 cents
D) 60 cents
12. What happened to the first engine to pull a train into Elgin?
A) It's in a Chicago museum.
B) It was sent to a Colorado gold town.
C) It was destroyed in a crash.
D) No one knows.
13. Elgin's first car dealership sold what type of vehicles?
A) Cadillacs
B) Fords
C) Ramblers
D) Maxwells
14. When the Elgin Airport at Route 31 and I-90 closed in 1983, it reduced the number of airports in the six-county Chicago area to 23. How many airports were there just after World War II?
A) 25
B) 35
C) 46
D) 80
15. What unusual step did Elgin take to reduce accidents and traffic offenses in the mid 1950s?
A) Citizen volunteers recorded offenses and sent notices to offenders.
B) Radar was introduced.
C) Police cars with mannequins were parked on the streets.
D) Cash prizes were awarded to good drivers.
Bonus Question:
What was the "Roarin' Elgin?"
A) A speedboat
B) A bus
C) An interurban railroad
D) A fire truck
Answers
B) Saw the first flight: Early Elgin car owner Frank Wood said he was attracted to Kittyhawk by a newspaper story about gliders.
D) Make it a parking lot: This idea was proposed by downtown business owners to address the parking shortage, but never got much attention.
C) They wanted to park free by parking meters - The city said they would no longer tolerate this practice by cabs.
4. B) A commuters club: The members wanted to address rate hikes and service concerns.
5. C) Some fares were cut in half: This was a promotion to increase ridership during off times.
6. A) To save tires: This was part of the war effort
7. A) For a race: It was the fourth annual "Cannonball Run" from Elgin to northern Wisconsin. The contestant's cars were equipped with Citizen Band radios and in communication with a helicopter that alerted them to speed traps.
8. D) Elgin should join Chicago in going on Eastern Standard Time.
9. C) They were part of an excursion to see the Chicago sites.
10. B) 1936: Shortly after that time Elginites passed a $50,000 bond to buy property for the road.
11. A) 10 cents: Today it's $1.75.
12. A) It's in a Chicago museum: "The Pioneer" at the Chicago Historical Society.
13. C) Ramblers
14. C) 46
15. A) Citizen volunteer recorded offenses and sent notices to offenders: This was a project done by the Elgin Jaycees.
Bonus question: C) An interurban railroad. The line, also known as the "Great Third Rail" or the "Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin," ran between these cities with a branch line to Batavia, and was capable of speeds up to 80 miles per hour. Service ended in 1957, and much of the rail bed is now bike paths.