Eastbound Chicago Transit Authority Route # 51 / 51st ACF Brill electric trolleybus. Photographed on West 51st Street near South California Avenue. Chicago Illinois circa 1950's.

 

I found this historic 1950's era Chicago Transit Authority electric

trolleybus photograph at my Link page Tom's Trolleybus Pictures,

which is located to the right of your computer screen at

www.trolleybuses.net.

 

The Chicago Transit Authority was formed in 1945, but did not begin

operations until November 1st, 1947.  One of the first orders of CTA

business for the new company, was the replacement of electric streetcars

on surface transit routes, with cost effective and efficient transit buses.

 

On the southside of Chicago, the CTA's Route # 51 / 51st -Lake Park

transit route, was converted to bus operation in May of 1948. An extra

overhead wire was added to the existing overhead wires from the recent

electric streetcar era that ended, and electric trolleybuses would then

serve this line beginning on June 20th, 1948, and was converted to diesel

and propane bus operation on June 21st, 1959.

 

In this photograph, an eastbound CTA 1948 ACF Brill electric trolleybus,

is viewed across the street from the huge Central Steel and Wire Works

plant near South California Avenue, in Chicago's Elsdon neighborhood

during the early 1950's.