Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad

Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad
A train on the Metropolitan main line passes over the Chicago river.
Overview
Locale	Chicago, Illinois
Service
Type	Rapid transit
Services	Logan Square Humboldt Park Garfield Park Douglas Park
Operator(s)	Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad Company (1895–1899) Metropolitan West side Elevated Railway (1899–1924)
History
Opened	May 6, 1895; 129 years ago (1895-05-06)[1]
Closed	1924; 100 years ago (1924) (merged into Chicago Rapid Transit Company)
Technical
Character	Elevated
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Electrification	Third rail, 600 V DC
Route map Legend Wells Street Terminal to Loop Franklin Terminal Franklin/ Van Buren Canal Halsted Racine Laflin Marshfield Logan Square Garfield Park Douglas Park Madison Polk Lake Street Transfer Roosevelt Grand Ogden Chicago 14th Place Division Hoyne Robey 18th Street Humboldt Park Western Western Western California California Logan Square Humboldt Park Kedzie Wood Ballou California Lawndale Hoyne Sacramento Western Kedzie California St. Louis Douglas Park Garfield Park Kedzie Crawford Homan Tripp Clifton Park Kilbourn Lawndale Cicero Crawford Laramie Kildare Central Kenton Austin 48th Avenue Lombard 50th Avenue Gunderson 52nd Avenue Oak Park 54th Avenue Home 56th Avenue Harlem 58th Avenue Hannah Austin Des Plaines 62nd Avenue Concordia Cemetery Waldheim Cemetery Des Plaines River Chicago, Aurora & Elgin Railroad Metropolitan "L" trackage Chicago Aurora & Elgin trackage Metropolitan "L" trackage rights This diagram: view talk edit

The Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad (known as the Met or Polly "L"^[2]) was the third elevated rapid transit line to be built in Chicago, Illinois. It was the first of Chicago’s elevated lines to be electrically powered. The main line ran from downtown Chicago to Marshfield Avenue, with branches to Logan Square, Humboldt Park, Garfield Park, and Douglas Park (eventually extended to the suburb of Berwyn, Illinois). Portions of the system are still operated as sections of the Blue Line and the Pink Line.