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"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."
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