science · 15 August 1906 · 118 years ago
In 1906, a freight delivery tunnel system, the first in the U.S., began operation underneath Chicago, Illinois, but the whole underground system was not finished until 1 Sep 1907. The finished system was put into operation on 2 Jan 1908. The original franchise was issued to the Illinois Telephone and Telegraph Company, 20 Feb 1899 for carrying telephone and telegraph cables. After about twenty miles of tunnel had been accomplished, funds were exhausted. The concern was sold to a new company, the Illinois Tunnel Company, which obtained powers to handle merchandise and package freight between stores, warehouses and delivery points.
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