Parmelee and Santa Fe through passenger cars to eastern railroads

Chicago had six major train stations. All the information in these notes comes from the comments on a post that was effectively asking: how did passengers get between Santa Fe (Dearborn Station) and Pennsy (Union Station)? If the passengers were in coach, they used their legs. Parmalee had a set of limousines and provided a transfer service between the stations to reduce the distance that passengers would have to walk.

Jack Steen commented
 Parmelee adverts appear in each and every timetable from each railroad that entered Chicago back in the day ! (Here, at Central Station - 1950s)
[And I've read that a ticket for Parmelee was sometimes included with your tickets to a Western and an Eastern railroad.]

The question really concerned passengers in through Pullman sleepers where the railroad would have to switch the car from one station to another. A comment by Andrew Townsend also indicated that through baggage/mail cars would also have to be switched between stations.

Harold J. Krewer provided a copy of the following diagram with the comment:

There was a physical connection between the C&WI tracks to Dearborn Station and the PRR/CUSCo. tracks into Union at the 21st St. interlocking.

Even after Amtrak started, they used the former Santa Fe coach yard and engine facility for several years until the former PRR coach yard and diesel shop had been sufficiently rehabbed to move all work there. All Amtrak trains using the Santa Fe facility had to use that connection.

Here is a 1948 PRR map of 21st St.:

DeBruler

Comments on Harold's diagram comment

Bob Lalich added:

Interchange of passenger cars between ATSF and PRR was accomplished at 21st St, as mentioned above. There was a connection between NYC and ATSF south of 18th St for such interchange. Connecting between ATSF and B&O was more complicated. I don't know the exact route but it had to have been roundabout because there was no simple connection between Grand Central and Dearborn, or the respective coach yards.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bob's comment
Since the C&WI and RI+NYC were grade separated at their crossing, I wondered where that connector was. This map is at 50%, and it shows that the connector to RI+NYC was along Archer Ave. The 21st connection to the Pennsy is at the top of this excerpt.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bob's comment
The map at 100%.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bob's comment
This connector turned out to be a good test of the accuracy of topo maps. The 1929 and 1953 maps did not show it. But the 1963 map does show it.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bob's comment
This 1938 aerial shows that the balloon track was added later and cut down the size of the Grape Yard. It appears the connector crossed Wentworth at grade level. So it would have had a steep grade to get up to the RI+NYC tracks. But that grade should have been no problem for one or two passenger train cars.

Dennis DeBruler commented on Bob's comment

Actually, the grade is not too bad because Wentworth goes down here to clear the overpass.

https://www.google.com/.../data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s.