Lombard man gives historical input for Lombard's 'Train Town, USA'

LOMBARD, Illinois—Lombard resident Carl Shaver was a great help in putting together the Village's application for designation as a “Train Town, USA.”

A retired employee of the Union Pacific Railroad, Shaver provided some interesting background information and historical significance of the railroad to Lombard, which was one of the requirements of the application process.

Shaver provided the following verbiage for the application:

“Around 1848, artist Sheldon Peck, one of the first settlers of the community known as Babcock's Grove, sold to the Galena & Chicago Union (G&CU) Railroad the land needed for a right-of-way. The G&CU became Chicago's pioneer railroad and the earliest predecessor of the Chicago & North Western (C&NW.) When the Union Pacific began construction westward from Omaha, it was the C&NW that was the supply line for construction materials from the east.

“Lombard was adopted as the name of our village in 1869, also a significant year in the history of the Transcontinental Railroad. The railroad made possible the village's growth as a ‘bedroom community' for Chicago and supplied service not only to Chicago (and thence to points east), but, via the Omaha connection with the Union Pacific, to the Pacific coast — first to San Francisco and eventually to Los Angeles and Portland.

“From before the turn of the century to the present day, Lombard has depended on the railroad for commuter service. The C&NW, and later Metra, has provided an excellent fleet of rush-hour commuter service, as well as dependable, frequent service during the daytime hours and on weekends, a convenient and inexpensive alternative to automobile transportation. Tourists could use the trains to visit Lilacia Park in May, when the aroma of lilac blossoms could be experienced from passing trains.

“With the completion in 1869 of the Transcontinental Railroad, the Chicago & North Western's line was a primary beneficiary of freight and passenger service making the connection at Council Bluffs or Omaha. Lombard has seen, heard and felt the presence of this heavy traffic throughout history.

“When the Union Pacific purchased the CN&W in 1995, the improvements continued. Freight traffic is still very much present, with coal, intermodal and ethanol trains augmenting the traditional carload freight service. The UP operates Metra's commuter service on ‘our' line, with crews that still share the C&NW pride in an on-time service. The UP's willingness to partner with Metra in this area is evidenced by the track work recently performed in the Village, including a new universal crossover that will eventually facilitate an expanded service, together with UP freight service unhampered by delays.

“Lombard is dedicated to the improvement of safety along the Union Pacific's tracks. Signs at the grade crossings reaffirm the ordinances promoting safe use of those crossings. A new bridge over the tracks will carry bicyclists and pedestrians using the Great Western Trail above the tracks instead of over a busy and complex grade crossing. Two of the village's four road crossings have had nearby traffic signals tied in with the grade-crossing signals. And within another year, the passenger platforms at the local Metra station will be improved with the addition of an under-track tunnel to replace the pedestrian crossing of the three busy tracks.

“Lombard is home to many current and former Union Pacific employees, as it has been to C&NW folks since the beginning. Our village is proud and grateful for its connection with the UP, one of its many upstanding corporate citizens.”