THE GHOSTLY CABLE CAR - Part 2
by Kristi Hollingsworth
Also check out my article about The Ghostly Cable Car Part One Fortunately for Tito, the one person who took care of him every summer was also the only exception in the family, the only person who wasn't a historian--Grandma Lea. And she knew a ton about movies.
Grandma Lea had made costumes for film and stage--lots of elaborate and detailed clothes, just as they would have appeared in olden times. She had worked for famous directors, met actors, and won awards for her designs. Many of her costumes were stored in the attic of her huge house. And that attic was STRICTLY off limits.
Tito had never been invited to play in Grandma Lea's attic. In fact, he was expressly forbidden. Furthermore, he was rarely, if ever, out of Grandma Lea's sight. Tito assumed that she kept a close watch on him because her house was filled with beautiful art and antiques. These were objects that couldn't be replaced if Tito were to thoughtlessly swing a racket, run into a table, or toss a ball and accidentally munch one of these 'teeks', as Grandma Lea called them.
Tito had already climbed all the stairs to the attic before he remembered that he didn't have a key. There was a hush as Tito held his breath and then a barely perceptible click as Tito turned the knob and the door swung open freely.
Now most attics are dusty, cramped, and dark places filled with old furniture, boxes, and a chest or two. There's no order to where things are placed and you have to be very careful not to trip.
You also have to watch your head or you'll bump into the 'A'-shaped ceiling. Sometimes, attics are divided into several tiny rooms off of one skinny hallway. But that wasn't true of Grandma Lea's attic. The room was almost the entire length and width of her house and the ceiling was quite high. Grandma Lea's attic was tidy, brightly lit and exceptionally clean.
No one tripped in her attic, unless walking with his eyes shut, because there was plenty of space to walk between rows and rows of neatly hung costumes. Props, things like watches and umbrellas, were carefully placed with costumes from the same time period. More than anything, Grandma Lea's attic reminded Tito of a museum.
The swirl of color struck his eye immediately on entering the first row of costumes. Tito walked up and down the rows like the aisles of a grocery store, fingering clothes that were soft and velvety, cool and silky, fine and lacey, coarse and hairy. He thought he recognized some of them from movies he had seen. When he reached the middle of the room, there was a tall mirror in a beautiful old frame next to a large piece of furniture that he knew was called an 'armoire'.
"What's that big, wooden box thing with doors, Grandma?" he remembered asking a couple of years ago. They were in a bedroom where Tito was going to stay now that he was old enough to sleep in a 'big person's' bed. The box was tall, taller than the door to the room, and made of shiny wood. It looked like a great place for playing hide and seek.
"That's an armoire," she replied, while unpacking his clothes from his suitcase.
"An "arm"-What?"
"Wharrrr", she replied, folding his socks and putting them into a drawer in a chest. "It's a French word. An armoire is like a closet for hanging clothes." She closed the chest drawer gently and faced him. "When you're able to reach, you can use it. Until then, you must not touch it! It's rather valuable and has some history."
Tito rolled his eyes. Anything with 'history' was something he'd just as soon avoid.
Here in the attic, he examined this armoire very carefully. It was taller and grander than the one in the bedroom downstairs. Elaborate carvings of figures that looked like angels were perched on the top and sides. Tito decided that he had better not touch this 'teek' or his Grandma might not ever let him back in the attic, even if he was 30 years old!
He wandered to a nearby rack of clothes. A terrific felt hat hung from what seemed to be a man's suit. He plopped the hat on his head and glimpsed in the mirror. It was a little big but he liked it.. A sleek, black cane also hung from the suit. He picked it up the cane and strolled in cane-like fashion towards the mirror. He touched the brim of his hat with the cane and whispered, "Good day, Sir!" He smiled at his reflection. "I'll play 'Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde'", he decided, alternating between the gentlemanly doctor and the cruel madman. He twisted his face into a snarl and swishing the cane, he charged the mirror with a blood-curdling yell. Surely he was Academy Award material, he thought, even if he wasn't a star historian.
Suddenly, he heard a loud pop and a bang. The armoire doors burst open. He was about to yell, "I DIDN'T TOUCH IT, GRANDMA!" when Tito felt a gust of cold wind. He shut his eyes tightly against a cloud of cold, stinging wetness that poured from the armoire. He put his empty hand against his eyes and when he could finally peek through his fingers, he was blinded by a bright light. But he could also see something. Something very strange indeed. A person!
"Right this way, sir," said a strange boy's voice.
Tito clutched the cane tightly and felt his heart thumping in his chest. He couldn't decide whether to challenge the intruder or to simply run like crazy. He took a small step back and could now squint through his fingers. But although he could see, he couldn't quite believe his eyes.
Snow covered the floor and a boy, dressed in very old-style clothing, stood between Tito and the armoire. The armoire doors were wide open and the bright light poured from inside the armoire. The boy spoke again, "It's just a step up, sir. May I give you a hand?"
Tito mumbled something in reply. The boy looked at him questioningly and then relaxed into a smile. "Oh, you must be a foreign gent, sir, otherwise you would have dressed in a heavier coat for this weather. The weather here is very unpredictable." Then Tito heard another voice from inside the armoire. "Captain, have him sit close to the stove where he can get warm." And then it hit him.
"Of coooourse!" Tito mused, "Grandma was in film and theatre. This is all some kind of surprise that she planned! That's why she had that goofy grin that she couldn't hide and that's why she let me play in the attic!"
Considerably cheered, Tito took a step forward. He didn't know why he should climb into the armoire or, for that matter, why the strange boy called him, "Sir", but he figured that his Grandma had staged a special make-believe game for him and that he would play along.
"What is your name, sir?"
"Tito", he said in a friendly tone.
"Step this way, Mr. Tito. There's nothing to worry about. Hop aboard!" smiled the boy enthusiastically.
Tito shrugged lightly, took a step up and walked into the armoire.
"My name is Adam but most people call me 'Captain'."
Tito stared at the boy in front of him and then beyond. They weren't standing in anything that looked like a closet for hanging clothes. They were in some kind of long but not very wide building with hay on the ground. "A train car!" thought Tito with some measure of certainty. The car was about 16 feet long, 10 feet high, had windows throughout, a man who looked like a conductor and, of course, lots of seats. Tito noticed that the seats were wooden. The conductor nodded at Tito and Tito nodded back.
"Come and sit next to the stove and get warm, Mr. Tito", said Adam, gesturing to a squat metal container. Tito could see fire inside the stove and was a little nervous. But then he realized that he was cold.
"You should have a heavier coat, sir. The sun can shine so bright that it hurts your eyes and yet it can still be very cold outside. Especially with this wind, sir."
Tito looked down at himself. He was wearing old-fashioned clothes, too! They looked just like the man's suit from which he had taken the hat and cane but he didn't remember putting them on. He was also wearing gloves and his hands looked big, really big. The hat was still on but it felt snug, not loose. He glanced back at Adam and was surprised to discover that Adam was very short. Tito, who wasn't very tall himself, had to look down to see the boy. Yet the conductor, an adult, appeared to be about the same size as Tito.
"Amazing!" thought Tito, "I wonder if Industrial Light and Magic, Disney, and Pixar all know Grandma Lea! This is awesome!" Tito kept his thoughts to himself, however. He wanted to play his 'part' well in this game of make-believe.
'Captain' Adam and Tito had been sitting for only a moment when the car jerked forward. Tito, who wasn't the least bit prepared for the car's movement, felt his back hit rather hard against the wooden seat.
"I should have warned you, sir," said Adam, "Is this your first time on a cable car, Mr. Tito?"
"A cable car?" Tito asked. He wasn't absolutely sure what that was.
"Yes, sir, a cable car." The boy looked delighted. "I'm so glad that it's your first time riding one. I can tell you anything you want to know. In fact, I ride whenever I can, telling people how it works, where it goes, and its history."
Tito raised an eyebrow. "History!" he groaned, "I can't get away from it." But for the first time, he wasn't the least bit bothered. In fact, he was intensely curious to know more.
"That's why they call me, 'Captain', because I know everything about cable cars", Adam continued. "Oh, I almost forgot! Do you have your ticket, Mr. Tito?"
Tito, panicking for a moment, immediately patted his suit jacket, hunting for pockets. He found one inside the jacket and felt a stiff piece of paper. When he pulled it out, he saw just a few words before Adam took it from him with a hearty "Thank you, sir!". Adam handed back a stub that Tito put in his pocket, planning to look at it more closely later.
"The cable car is a WONDER, Mr. Tito. Did you know that we're second in the nation to have them? California was first."
"San Francisco?" ventured Tito. He had seen a post card of a trolley car going down a steep hill."That's correct, sir. Do you know how they work?" "Don't they run on metal train tracks with wires pulling them on top?"
"They do run on metal tracks, sir, like the locomotive, but the cable is underground. In fact, the cable is 4 feet underground, one foot more than in San Francisco. Because the cable is buried so deep, the cable car doesn't have a bit of trouble getting through the snow or even ice."
"The wires must be really thick, as big as a fist to move a car like this", suggested Tito.
"Not really, sir. The whole cable line is only 1 and 1/4th inches thick. The center isn't even wire-it's made from hemp". Tito cocked his head looking puzzled and Adam paused.
"Forgive me, sir, I forgot that you were a foreigner and you don't know some of these words. I'll try to describe things better."
Tito decided not to correct Adam about his being a 'foreigner'. He needed as much explanation as possible.
"Hemp rope comes from a plant. It makes very strong cloth that lasts a long time. Sailcloth is made from it, too. Now the center, or core, as they say, of the cable is hemp. Covering the hemp are 96 steel wires, bundled into 6 strands of 12 each. A strand is like..., a braid, a girl's hair braid. So there's 6 braids, you might say, of 12 steel wires each. It's very strong."
"Does the cable last forever?" Tito asked.
"I'm afraid not. Bits of it have to be replaced about every 167 days."
Tito had tons of questions. He could picture the cable running under the car but where did it go? How did it move the car? But just then, Adam pointed to the man who looked like a conductor.
"Watch the gears, sir. We're in what's called a 'grip' car. That means that we stop and start all of the cars. Perhaps you noticed when you were about to board that there are three cars behind us. Those are called trailers and they seat twice as many passengers as a grip car."
Tito looked at the seats in the grip car and counted twenty. That meant that the trailers could each carry 40 passengers. 140 people total! "That's more than a CTA bus, even the 'accordion' bus, I'll bet", thought Tito. He'd have to count, next time he rode one."We're about to stop so please lean back and brace yourself, Mr. Tito."
As Tito watched, the conductor released one gear and braked with another. The grip car came to a sudden and complete stop. People were getting on the cable car and Tito did his best not to gawk. A lady wearing a long dress, long coat and big hat was being helped on the car by the conductor. She was followed by a man who tipped his hat to Tito. Tito tipped his in return, glad for having practiced in front of the attic mirror a short time ago. Captain Adam pointed to the conductor.
"Now, the conductor is gripping the cable."The car jolted and again moved forward. Tito wondered how the grip car could move so quickly."Except for gripping and ungripping the cable, you must admit, sir, that the cable car has a wonderfully smooth ride. Riding a horse is much rougher."
Tito nodded his head. He had been on a horse a couple of times and remembered swaying with each of the horse's steps and practically falling off when the horse stumbled. That horse had stumbled a lot! This was nothing like riding a horse.
"And", added Adam with a gleam of pride in his eye, "the cable car is fast--three times faster than the horse-drawn cars!"
"Do you mean 'horse and buggy'?" asked Tito. He had ridden one in Chicago. They were four-wheeled carriages for carrying people and a fun way for tourists to see the downtown area along Michigan Avenue. Otherwise, and except for the occasional mounted police, you didn't see horses in the city, unless you went to the zoo."No, sir. Cars like these but drawn by horses. The first cars on rails were all drawn by horses. Next came the dummy engine."
"A stupid engine?" blurted Tito."No", grinned Adam, "'Dummy' means silent. Only they weren't that quiet! We still have to share the street with people on horseback and horse-drawn buggies, too, sir, like you mentioned. But the dummy engine, also called a steam dummy, used to huff and puff and scare the horses." "But wasn't a dummy engine or steam dummy better than horses?"
"Not as much as we thought. The dummy engine was faster but it was also expensive to maintain. We did get a better road, though. They made the road from granite, to support the weight of the steam dummy. And", Adam placed a finger against his nose, "the steam dummy was certainly cleaner."
Tito pointed at the hay on the floor. "Cleaner than this?"
Adam hid a smile. "The straw was put on the floor to keep your feet warm, sir. Although, I suppose you should look before you dig your feet in because sometimes, people do track in some of the manure from the streets."
"Manure!" exclaimed Tito. As in dog doo, he wondered?
Adam suppressed a giggle before continuing, "I meant cleaner than the horse-drawn car. That was the best thing about the steam dummy and of course, is one of the advantages to the cable car--no horse manure!"
Tito laughed out loud. He was frequently chided for not cleaning up after his dog in the yard. But he had never stopped to imagine what it must be like to live in a place where everyone traveled by horse. Didn't the horses wear diapers? But even if they did, what did you do with all that doo doo?
"With the city of Chicago growing, so did the number of horses," said Adam very matter-of-factly. "The CCR is an example. Oh, just in case you didn't know, 'CCR' stands for Chicago City Railway. That's the company that owns the cable car. They've been in charge of street rail transportation since '59. And would you believe that even in '59, it cost just 5 cents to ride? Same as today!"
Tito thought that he hadn't heard correctly. '59? What year was this supposed to be? Surely people didn't dress like this in 1959. Did they? And only a nickel to ride! What would the CTA or Metra think of that price? "Of course, those were horse-drawn cars in '59. The CCR started out with four cars, twenty-five horses, three miles of rail, and managed to carry thousands of people each year."
"And just eight years later in '67, I think that was the year that my father started working for CCR, they had more than 50 cars, 375 horses, over 12 miles of track, and carried more than 5 million people!"
1967, Tito knew, was the era of hippies. Adam certainly wasn't talking about NINETEEN 67. Was it 1767? Or, 1867? Tito realized that he just didn't know. Tito pressed him to continue.
"Did CCR keep growing?" asked Tito.
Adam's eyes were shining. He must like numbers and dates, thought Tito. But he really did want to know.
"Oh, yes, sir. By '73, just 6 years later, there were 75 cars, 600 horses, more than 20 miles of track and 6 million people who traveled on CCR. After just 7 more years, in '80, CCR had nearly 300 cars, almost 1500 horses, and just about 50 miles of track."
Tito considered. There were five times as many horses as cars in something '80. Did five horses pull each car? The most horses that he had ever seen pulling a wagon or carriage in the movies was four. Were the cars heavy like the steam dummy? Tito's mind kept racing. Fifteen hundred horses and that was just for the CCR. There would have been hundreds or thousands of other horses pulling carts, wagons, and carriages, and carrying people on horseback. The manure from all those horses! Just imagine the smell in summer! You probably got used to it. Nevertheless, Tito was glad that it was winter here.
"You look like you have some more questions, Mr. Tito", proposed Adam, "and I would be more than happy to answer them."
They had been riding for some time, stopping and picking up passengers. Tito had barely noticed. He had automatically tipped his hat to all of the people boarding but his mind had been absorbed by Captain Adam's 'history'. He had to confess, he was fascinated.
Tito opened his mouth. He was dying to ask what year it was but he didn't want to reveal his ignorance. "Imagine! Wanting to know some history and feeling foolish because I don't! Wouldn't Grandpa Albert laugh now", Tito grumpily admitted to himself. But if Tito just asked questions, sooner or later, surely, Adam would give him clues. "Well, I would like to know more about the CCR horse-drawn transportation." Tito said.
"Certainly, sir!" Adam jumped right in, "Cars and rails cost a bit to make but once you have them, they're easy to take care of and not costly. That's still true today. But the horses are a problem for CCR. After all, you have to feed and care for them. Horses tire after about 4 or 5 hours of pulling a car and since the cars run twelve or sixteen hours a day, you have to keep lots of fresh horses on hand. CCR needs a lot of people to care for the horses."
Tito did some quick math. That meant that fewer than five horses were used per car, otherwise, you'd be out of horses in four or five hours. One or two horses would have to be used per car.
"Horses, as you know, can be temperamental creatures because of their personalities. Some refuse to travel at night, others want to keep going and don't like the stops. But the biggest problem for everyone is the manure. Did you know that a horse generally makes 22 pounds of manure per day, sir? It takes a lot of people just to clean up after them. The cable car doesn't need to rest, eat food, isn't bothered by weather, and, as I said, it's a LOT cleaner."
"Hm, yes. I see that you're right, Captain. What year did the cable car start?", Tito asked, hoping for a four digit answer.
"Last year!", Adam beamed. Tito tried to return the smile but he was disappointed. He still didn't know the date and he was keen to know. He glanced toward the window, wondering if he could learn any more clues from the outside, but the window was fogged by the warm stove. He reached up to wipe the steam but then hesitated. "May I?", he asked Adam. "Please, sir", Adam replied courteously.
Tito wiped and looked out. Snow was still falling and blowing, making it hard to see, but Tito thought he saw several two or three-story buildings. They didn't look like houses.
"Am I still in Chicago?"
"No, sir, you're in Hyde Park". Tito looked puzzled, prompting Adam to explain, "Hyde Park is a village, just south of the city. Actually, Hyde Park is the first suburb of Chicago."
Tito raised his eyebrows inquisitively. "Since when?," he wondered silently, "If I only knew when Hyde Park became a village and later a part of Chicago, then I'd know at least a range of dates and I'm some time in between them". But before he could ask another question, Captain Adam pointed out the window at the buildings.
"The cable car has brought lots of new businesses to 55th street. Nearly all of those buildings were built within the last year."
"What street is this?""55th Street. We're on the CCR Hyde Park line."Tito glanced out the window again at the buildings and at 55th street. He didn't see anything that he recognized. Where were the banks, the townhouses, the park? Where were the big condo buildings, Monoxide towers, so named because they were stuck in the middle of 55th Street, with cars passing them 24/7? "I guess high rises and mid-rises don't exist yet."
"Pardon me, sir?"
Tito blushed. He had accidentally spoken out loud. "Non, Pardon-moi! I was just thinking in my language. How fast does the cable car go? Where does it go?"
"Pretty fast, sir, twelve miles an hour. The Hyde Park line goes from 55th and Cottage Grove to Lake and back again to 55th and Cottage Grove." Adam seemed concerned. "I hope that you didn't miss your stop, Mr. Tito. I'm afraid that we've run a full route and we're almost back to where you got on board."
"No, no," Tito reassured Adam, "I am a, um, a tourist, riding for fun. I still have time to listen, if you can tell me more."Adam was relieved. "We're almost back to 55th and Cottage Grove and if you look on the north-east corner, you'll see the cable car power house."
Tito knew that some building called the "Friend Center" or something like that was supposed to be on that corner but he pushed the thought from his mind. What was the power house? Did it give the cable car its ability to move? "What does the power house do?" he asked.
Adam cleared his throat and looked very serious. "The building over there houses three coal-burning boilers that power steam engines that, in turn, power two giant pulleys. The diameter of each pulley is twenty-five feet and the cable runs on those pulleys."
"I don't understand. How is the cable pulled back and forth? Is there another station at the other end?"
"Oh, it doesn't go back and forth, sir! The cable is shaped like this". Adam put his thumbs and forefingers together, making a loop, shaped like, Tito thought, a stretched rubber band. Adam continued, "So the cable forms an 'endless' circle that goes around and around."
"How does the cable know when to stop and pick up passengers?"
Adam was in his glory. He continued excitedly. "The cable never stops, Mr. Tito, the cable car lets go! Actually, it's the conductor who ungrips and brakes. When he's ready to go again, he grips the cable."
"Ah!" exclaimed Tito. He understood perfectly. He had gone skiing one year with his family. To get up the snowy ski slope, there was a rope that moved continuously. His father told Tito to grip the rope firmly. He did and he was jerked into motion, just like the cable car!
"Mr. Tito? Mr. Tito!" Adam had been trying to get Tito's attention. "We're back, sir. This is where we picked you up. Would you like to ride again?" Adam looked at Tito somewhat hopefully. Tito felt bad but he figured that he should get back to the attic. That is, if he could!
He stood up. "Thank you, Captain, I had a wonderful time." And he meant it.
"Don't forget your cane, sir, it's a handsome one." Tito retrieved the cane, thanked Adam, touched his hat and walked to the door. He hesitated. Turning back to Adam he said, "Au revoir! That means, 'until we meet again'. He stepped down and into utter darkness.
When his eyes had adjusted, Tito was grateful to find himself in the attic. He had the cane in his hand but he wasn't wearing gloves or a suit. He looked quickly in the mirror and saw the hat. Again, it was too big, not snug. The armoire doors were closed and there was no snow on the floor, not a trace of a flake.
"TITO!"
His grandmother was calling him. Did she really know what had just happened to him? "Had it been planned, after all?" he asked the mirror. He wasn't sure. He would wait for her to say something first. "Just a minute, Grandma!" he yelled. He put back the hat and the cane.
He had reached the attic door when he remembered the ticket stub! If he could find one in the pocket of the suit, then he'd know whether Adam had been real. And, he'd know the date!
"Did you fall asleep? You missed lunch!" Grandma Lea was close, probably nearing the top of the stairs.
"I'll be right there. I'm coming!"
Tito raced to the suit and dug in the pocket. He felt some paper! But what he pulled out was faded and worn, not new like the stub that he had seen. He couldn't read it. Had he traveled back in time? Or, was Adam a ghost?
"Tito!"
Tito whirled around. His grandma was in the attic. "I made your favorite dish AND I'm quite ravenous. It' time to go."
"Grandma, when did Hyde Park become a village and when did it become part of Chicago and when did the cable car run on 55th?
"Good gracious, Tito, calm down! Let's go downstairs and eat. Afterwards, if you like, we can do some research in the library."
"Don't you know, Grandma?"
"1853, 1889, and 1887, in the order that you asked, Tito." They started down the steps. Tito walked mechanically. His eyes were glazed over and a fixed smile was attached to his face. "Did you enjoy the attic, Tito?"
"The what, Grandma? Oh. Oh, yes. It was...," his voice trailed off with Tito staring at his feet but not seeing them. Then he smiled and looked into his grandmother's eyes knowingly. "It was...a wonder."
For more stories written for the Hyde Park Historical society linked text
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Contributor's Note
This is part two of the Hyde Park Historical Society story.
Read the story on our web site. Kristi Hollingsworth used original historical documents to write this story.
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