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94-472: The Chicago Tunnel Company was the builder and operator of a 2 ft ( 610 mm ) narrow-gauge railway freight tunnel network under downtown Chicago , Illinois. This was regulated by the Interstate Commerce Commission as an interurban even though it operated entirely under central Chicago, did not carry passengers, and was entirely underground. It inspired the construction of

188-503: A limited liability company . In a filing with the South Dakota Secretary of State dated January 30, 2024, the reason given for the merger is that New York state law does not allow AT&T Corp. to be directly converted into an LLC. Although acquired by SBC in 2005, AT&T Corp. has remained a separate entity within the corporate structure of AT&T Inc. The merger, said to create “greater operational efficiencies”, will end

282-453: A long distance subsidiary until its dissolution on May 1, 2024. AT&T started with Bell Patent Association , a legal entity established in 1874 to protect the patent rights of Alexander Graham Bell after he invented the telephone system. Originally a verbal agreement, it was formalized in writing in 1875 as Bell Telephone Company . In 1880 the management of American Bell created what would become AT&T Long Lines . The project

376-523: A rack for traction. This system was also widely sold to the mining industry and was particularly valuable where mines had steep grades. Temporary Morgan third-rail was installed in the tunnels during installation of the telephone cables on the tunnel ceiling, but after construction was completed, the Morgan system was only used in the context of the grade to the Grant Park disposal station and its use ceased with

470-520: A 171 conference room inn. The AT&T Learning Center won the commercial property known as Somerset County's Land Development Award that year. In 1992, Basking Ridge location would become a corporate headquarters just before AT&T leased the New York City, 550 Madison Avenue building to Sony in 1993. The corporate statue, known as " Golden Boy " was moved in 1992, from the former New York City headquarters to this current New Jersey headquarters. In 1992,

564-609: A 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) 16-minute run. By that time, 45 miles (72 kilometers) of track were in place, with connections to four railroads and 40 on-line customers. A total of 67 locomotives and 400 freight cars were on hand. In fact, coal delivery by subway began on October 13, 1905, when several carloads of coal were delivered from the Chicago and Alton Railroad coal chutes. In 1915, most tunnel operation occurred between 7 am and 5 pm, with limited night operation primarily serving excavation spoil removal and coal and ash service. In

658-407: A Class 1 licensed private helipad , a two-story cafeteria, a wood-burning fireplace, an indoor waterfall at the entrance lobby, and a seven-acre created lake for flood control. The entire property was 130 acre and cost $ 219 million to construct. Later, across the street from the complex, AT&T purchased additional land and established its Learning Center in 1985, at 300 North Maple Avenue, to become

752-483: A capacity of 30,000 pounds (14,000 kg) or 15 short tons (14 t; 13 long tons). Bettendorf's patents include several pertaining to cars that match this description. Ash and excavation debris removal cars were equipped with the Newman patent dump box with a 3.5 cubic yards (2.7 m) capacity. Newman, who was in charge of excavation spoil removal during the early phase of construction, developed this dump box because

846-408: A continent-wide telephone system. On December 30, 1899, the assets of American Bell were transferred into its subsidiary American Telephone and Telegraph Company (formerly AT&T Long Lines ); this was because Massachusetts corporate laws were very restrictive, and limited capitalization to ten million dollars, forestalling American Bell's further growth. With this assets transfer at the very end of

940-549: A contracted rate of $ 172,600 per year. Within six months, it became apparent that the Tunnel Company was having difficulty with timely delivery, and the post office threatened to abrogate its contract. Mail service through the tunnels was terminated at the end of the two-year contract. In 1953, the tunnel company again explored getting into the mail business. Aside from brief experiments, this went nowhere. In 1914, 22 buildings had tunnel connections for coal delivery, including

1034-411: A corporate art consultant approached, artist sculptor, Elyn Zimmerman , to commission a 30-foot diameter project with fountain and seating area for the conference center courtyard gardens. In 1994, the project was completed and had one 34 ton granite boulder centered on top of the other boulders, which flowed water from the fountain designed by fountain engineer, Dr. Gerald Palevsky. AT&T occupancy at

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1128-465: A floor 14 inches (36 cm) thick. Some trunk-line tunnel segments were built larger, 14 feet (4.27 m) high by 12 feet 9 inches (3.89 m) wide. The tunnels were built through a layer of soft blue clay, and tunneling was done by cutting the clay with modified draw knives . Parts of the tunnel were pressurized to 10 pounds per square inch (69 kPa) during tunneling, while other parts were tunneled at atmospheric pressure. The tunnel

1222-538: A headquarters on 195 Broadway (close to what is now the World Trade Center site ). The property originally belonged to Western Union , of which AT&T held a controlling interest until 1913 when AT&T divested its interest as part of the Kingsbury Commitment . Construction of the current building began in 1912. Designed by William Welles Bosworth , who played a significant role in designing Kykuit ,

1316-490: A look around, but since the Joseph Konopka terrorism scare in the early 2000s, all access to the tunnels has been secured. The accident shut down the entire downtown area for days, causing considerable economic losses. Insurance battles lasted for years, the central point being the definition of the accident, i.e., whether it was a "flood" or a "leak." Leaks were covered by insurance, while floods were not. Eventually it

1410-445: A message could pay a "toll" to AT&T and then air the message publicly. The original studio was the size of a telephone booth. The idea, however, did not take hold, because people would pay to broadcast messages only if they were sure that someone was listening. As a result, WEAF began broadcasting entertainment material, drawing amateur talent found among its employees. Opposition to AT&T's expansion into radio and an agreement with

1504-468: A new building at 550 Madison Avenue . This new AT&T Building was designed by Philip Johnson and quickly became an icon of the new Postmodern architectural style. The building was completed in 1984, the very year of the divestiture of the Bell System. The building proved to be too large for the post-divestiture corporation and in 1993, AT&T leased the building to Sony , who then subsequently owned

1598-510: A part of its planned expansion. In November 1906, the Chicago Board of Local Improvements announced it was considering widening Halsted Street between Chicago Avenue and 22nd Street. 300 property owners on Halsted Street, represented by the Law Firm of Adler & Lederer (now known as Arnstein & Lehr, LLP ), opposed the widening of the street because it would interfere with their business and

1692-699: A projected 60 miles (97 km) of tunnel had been completed. The actual construction work was subcontracted to the Illinois Telephone Construction Company, under the management of George W. Jackson (1861–1922). By 1904, the first round of financing for tunnel system construction had largely been spent. A second round of financing was arranged by James Stillman of the National City Bank of New York City , with public support from E. H. Harriman , Jacob H. Schiff , and Patrick A. Valentine , all directors of that bank. With this financing,

1786-606: A sale-leaseback agreement valued at $ 650.3 million on the complex with the address previously known as One Verizon Way. In 2017, the 35 acre hotel/conference center was known as the Dolce Basking Ridge Hotel and sold for $ 30 million. On February 15, 2024, AT&T Inc. filed notice with the Kentucky Public Service Commission that it intends to make an internal structural change and merge AT&T Corp. into AT&T Enterprises, Inc., which will become

1880-430: A typical 10-hour work day, there were 500 to 600 train movements, all conducted under the authority of a telephone-based dispatching system. Dial telephones were installed at every street intersection so that engineers could easily remain in contact with the dispatcher. In 1914, the tunnel employed 568 people, including 116 motormen , 57 elevator men, 59 truckers, 74 clerks and three dispatchers. A 1916 survey showed that

1974-416: A vertical bucket conveyor running in a small shaft. Before the 1940s the tunnels were used to deliver coal to downtown buildings, and to remove ash or clinkers. Trucks began to siphon off significant amounts of business, however, and by the late 1940s, customers began to switch from coal to natural gas to heat their buildings. The ones that kept burning coal switched to delivery by truck because unloading from

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2068-608: Is called a "hypostyle hall", with full-bodied Doric columns modeled on the Parthenon, marking out a grid. Bosworth was seeking to coordinate the classical tradition with the requirements of a modern building. Columns were not merely the decorative elements they had become in the hands of other architects but created all the illusion of being real supports. Bosworth also designed the campus of MIT as well as Theodore N. Vail 's mansion in Morristown, New Jersey . In 1978, AT&T commissioned

2162-811: The 600 mm ( 1 ft  11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in ) gauge. The Otavi Mining and Railway Company in South West Africa (now Namibia ) were transferred to the 2 ft gauge railways in South Africa and currently some surviving locomotives reside in Wales on the 1 ft  11 + 1 ⁄ 2  in ( 597 mm ) gauge Welsh Highland Railway and the 1 ft  11 + 3 ⁄ 4  in ( 603 mm ) gauge Brecon Mountain Railway . American Telephone and Telegraph Company AT&T Corporation , an abbreviation for its former name,

2256-540: The American Telephone and Telegraph Company , was an American telecommunications company that provided voice, video, data, and Internet telecommunications and professional services to businesses, consumers, and government agencies. During the Bell System 's long history, AT&T was at times the world's largest telephone company, the world's largest cable television operator, and a regulated monopoly. At its peak in

2350-592: The First National Bank of Chicago , several hotels, Marshall Field's , City Hall and the County Building. A total of 16,414 carloads or 57,906 short tons (52,531 t; 51,702 long tons) of coal were handled in 1913. The tunnel had two coal receiving stations in 1915 for loading coal onto tunnel trains. One was served by the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Railroad , the other by the Chicago and Alton Railroad . Surface railroad cars dumped coal into bins under

2444-481: The Grant Park disposal station, which climbed at a 12 percent grade. The tunnel, 40 feet (12.19 m) below street level, was drained by 71 electric pumps. There was very little seepage into the tunnels, a natural consequence of excavation in clay, but any water that did find its way in was quickly pumped up to the sewers above. Ventilation was natural, relying primarily on the piston effect of trains pushing through

2538-482: The Grant Park disposal station. Tunneling work continued around the clock, 24 hours a day, completing an average of 2 miles (3.2 km) of tunnel per year per heading during the first few years of development The 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge track was laid in the tunnels, using rails 4 + 1 ⁄ 4 inches (110 millimetres) high (56 pounds per yard or 27.8 kilograms per meter). Crossties were not used. Instead, rails were mounted on chairs embedded in

2632-543: The Illinois Railway Museum . By 1914, the tunnel company was operating two gasoline powered locomotives built by Baldwin Locomotive Works on the surface trackage in Grant Park . These engines weighed 7 short tons (6.35 tonnes; 6.25 long tons) and were 12 feet (3.7 meters) long, 4 feet 8 inches (1.4 meters) wide and 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) high. The 4-cylinder engines were coupled to

2726-476: The London Post Office Railway . The city of Chicago granted the newly formed Illinois Telephone and Telegraph company the rights to construct utility tunnels under the streets of Chicago in 1899 to carry its planned network of telephone cables. Initial plans for the tunnels called for filling them with phone cables, leaving a 6-foot (183 cm) by 14-inch (36 cm) passage for maintenance. When

2820-493: The National Broadcasting Company to lease long-distance lines for their broadcasts resulted in the sale of the station and its developing network of affiliates to NBC. On April 30, 1907, Theodore Newton Vail became President of AT&T. Vail believed in the superiority of one phone system and AT&T adopted the slogan "One Policy, One System, Universal Service." This would be the company's philosophy for

2914-461: The 1930s, the tunnel company was managed by Sherman Weld Tracy. It was never very profitable, but it avoided receivership, with most of the stock held by J. Ogden Armour , E. H. Harriman and their heirs. Plans for passenger subway service in Chicago date back to the turn of the 20th century, and the original permits to dig the freight tunnels allowed for future cut-and-cover subway development above

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3008-484: The 1950s and 1960s, it employed one million people and its revenue ranged between US$ 3 billion in 1950 ($ 41.3 billion in present-day terms ) and $ 12 billion in 1966 ($ 117 billion in present-day terms ). In 2005, AT&T was acquired by " Baby Bell " and former subsidiary SBC Communications for more than $ 16 billion ($ 25 billion in present-day terms ). SBC then changed its name to AT&T Inc. , with AT&T Corporation continuing to exist as

3102-492: The 19th century, AT&T became the parent of both American Bell and the Bell System . AT&T was involved mainly in the telephone business and, although it was a partner with RCA , was reluctant to see radio grow because such growth might diminish the demand for wired services. It established station WEAF in New York as what was termed a toll station . AT&T could provide no programming, but anyone who wished to broadcast

3196-467: The Chicago Loop. As a result, excavation debris continued to make up a significant part of tunnel traffic after the tunnel system was completed. Ash from coal-fired furnaces was freely mixed with this stream of debris. In the early days of tunneling, excavation debris was hauled to the surface through small construction shafts and then to the lakefront by horse and wagon. By 1903, some excavation debris

3290-528: The Chicago Subway Company, incorporated in New Jersey, became a new holding company for the tunnel system. The Chicago Warehouse and Terminal Company was an affiliate, formed in 1904 to construct and operate terminal facilities for interchanging freight with railroads and other carriers. The Illinois Tunnel Company continued to expand the tunnel system and serve a growing customer base until 1908, when

3384-625: The Jeffrey Manufacturing Company. These weighed 6 short tons (5.44 t; 5.36 long tons) and had two 18-horsepower (13-kilowatt) traction motors each. Commonwealth Edison provided the electric power at 250 volts . On the grades leading up from the tunnel to the Grant Park disposal station, the Morgan system sold by the Goodman Equipment Mfg. Co. was used. Morgan locomotives used a central third rail for power and also as

3478-520: The Rockefeller mansion north of Tarrytown, New York , it was a modern steel structure clad top to bottom in a Greek-styled exterior, the three-story-high Ionic columns of Vermont granite forming eight registers over a Doric base. The lobby of the AT&;T Building was one of the most unusual ones of the era. Instead of a large double-high space, similar to the nearby Woolworth Building , Bosworth designed what

3572-745: The United States and Canada through a network of companies called the Bell System . At this time, the company was nicknamed Ma Bell . AT&T had a domestic and global presence in laying the infrastructure of undersea routes for telecommunications. In 1950, the U.S. Navy commissioned a network of undersea surveillance cables for foreign submarine detection. AT&T was probably, according to internal employees, involved in this Sound Surveillance System ( SOSUS ). After completion, AT&T began commercial operations in cable laying for communications in 1955. The implementation of cables assured local and long-distance telephone or data services would provide revenue for

3666-455: The actual sale until 1916. By 1920, all telephone cables had been removed from the tunnels. By 1914, about 60 miles (97 km) of tunnel had been constructed, typically 7 feet 6 inches (2.3 m) high and 6 feet (1.83 m) wide, with 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge track . 19 elevators connected the tunnel with customers, and five elevators served universal public stations where freight could be dropped off or picked up by

3760-552: The bankrupt holding company, claiming it could operate at a profit, but by 1959, the tunnel asked for abandonment permission. The Interstate Commerce Commission consented to abandonment that July, and the tunnel assets were sold at auction for $ 64,000 in October. In late 1991 near the Kinzie Street Bridge , a new set of pilings (collectively known as a " dolphin ") were driven into the riverbed to prevent barges from bumping into

3854-408: The bridge. As the pillars were installed, a miscalculation was made that caused severe damage to the tunnel directly below the river. The risk of flooding was well understood by George W. Jackson, the chief engineer who built the tunnel system. In 1909, Jackson received a patent on a portable bulkhead that could be used to seal off flooded tunnel sections. The tunnel developers were also concerned by

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3948-588: The building until it was sold in 2013. In 1969, AT&T began plans to construct an administration corporate complex in the suburbs. In early 1970, AT&T began purchases of land in the suburbs of New Jersey for this office complex and began construction in 1974. The award-winning architect, Vincent Kling , designed a Fordism style, luxurious "Pagoda" campus layout and the construction firms: New York–based Walter Kidde and Newark, New Jersey –based Frank Briscoe, managed this joint venture construction project with Vollers Construction of Branchburg, New Jersey , as

4042-415: The city refused to permit manholes through which cable could be unreeled into the tunnels, the plans were changed to include rails for hauling cable spools through the tunnels. The city was largely unaware of the nature of the tunneling, and the first 16 miles (26 km) of tunnel were excavated somewhat covertly, working from the basement of a saloon and carting away the spoil after midnight. Initially,

4136-416: The clay removed during tunnel excavation was so sticky that it was difficult to dump from conventional side-dump cars. Additional cars were built by Kilbourne & Jacobs. These were simple metal flat cars 4 feet (1.22 m) wide by 10 feet 6 inches (3.2 m) long with closely spaced stake pockets to restrain the cargo. Revenue service in the tunnels officially began on August 15, 1906, with

4230-524: The closure of that disposal station. Between 1906 and 1908, the tunnel company purchased a number of Baldwin engines. One of these, number 508, was recovered from the tunnel leading to the Field Museum in 1996, when the rebuilding of the Outer Drive past the museum uncovered the old Grant Park Disposal Station elevator shaft. While not functional, this engine and cars is now on display in the collection of

4324-522: The coastal areas of Queensland , which carry more than 30 million tonnes of sugar cane a year. Many 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge and 600 mm ( 1 ft  11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in ) gauge railways are used in amusement parks and theme parks worldwide. The interchange of rolling stock between these similar track gauges occasionally occurred; for example, the South African Class NG15 2-8-2 locomotives started their career on

4418-528: The company. AT&T Long Lines was one of the divisions responsible for the cable-laying and maintaining of Long Lines' undersea cables. Western Electric was the manufacturing company responsible for production and supply of undersea coaxial equipment and later, fiber cables. Equipment such as repeaters was manufactured in Clark, New Jersey and coaxial cable was manufactured in Baltimore, Maryland . Also, Bell Labs

4512-412: The concrete tunnel floor. Frogs and crossings were built on steel plates that were then embedded in the concrete floor. Curves in the tunnels were very tight. Mainline curves were as little as 16-foot (4.88 m) radius , and the grand unions under street intersections were built to a 20-foot (6.1 m) radius. Grades in the tunnel system were limited to 1.75 percent, except for the lines up to

4606-560: The corporate logo designed by Saul Bass in 1983 and originally used by AT&T Information Systems , was created because part of the United States v. AT&T settlement required AT&T to relinquish all claims to the use of Bell System trademarks. It has been nicknamed the " Death Star " in reference to the Death Star space station in Star Wars which the logo resembles. In 1999 it

4700-544: The cost would result in burdensome assessments. Attorney Charles Lederer charged that there was graft connected with the proposition to widen the street and that if this was done the scheme was then to utilize the street to connect the tunnel with the Chicago Stockyards so that it would have access to the railroads. By 1909, the cost of construction had bankrupted the Illinois Tunnel Company. By this time, it

4794-633: The driving wheels through a jackshaft and side rods . These machines had a two-speed transmission with a top speed of 10 miles per hour (16 km/h). The standard freight cars on the tunnel were 12 feet 6 inches (3.81 m) long and 3 feet 11 inches (1.2 meters) wide, running on two 4-wheel trucks and designed to operate on curves with a 15-foot (4.57-meter) radius . Cars were equipped with National Steel Castings Co. "Sharon" 1/2 size MCB Couplers , and were of all steel and iron construction. The tunnel bought hundreds of Bettendorf flat cars that could be converted to gondolas and had

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4888-472: The employees moved to join the Amalgamated Association of Street and Electric Railway Employees . The tunnel company refused to recognize the union and began firing union members. Despite the intervention of Congressman William Lorimer , all 260 employees went on strike on May 9. The company hired strikebreakers and refused to rehire any of the strikers. The Tunnel Company ran into a problem with

4982-627: The existence of the nearly 140-year-old entity. The internal merger took effect on May 1, 2024. AT&T, prior to its merger with SBC Communications , had three core companies: AT&T Alascom sold service in Alaska. AT&T Communications was renamed AT&T Communications – East, Inc. and sold long-distance telephone service and operated as a CLEC outside of the borders of the Bell Operating Companies that AT&T owned. It has now been absorbed into AT&T Corp. and all but 4 of

5076-556: The first victim, declaring a water emergency at 5:57 am. City Hall began to flood by 6:02 am, the Federal Reserve Bank at 8:29 am, finally, the Chicago Hilton and Towers at 12:08 pm. The long delay before some buildings were flooded was the result of closure of some sections of the tunnel system in 1942 when the passenger subways were built. Many businesses had not realized that they were still connected to

5170-472: The flooding risk posed by firefighting efforts in buildings connected to the tunnels. Should a building catch fire, immense quantities of water could pour into the tunnels through elevator shafts and basement connections. To deal with this risk, watertight fire doors were fitted into all building connections. Small leaks in the tunnels under the Chicago River had become commonplace by 1913; to deal with them,

5264-495: The following Monday, November 21 as " the new AT&T " and began trading under the "T" symbol on December 1. Present-day AT&T Inc. claims AT&T Corp.'s history as its own, but retains SBC's pre-2005 stock price history and corporate structure. As well, all SEC filings before 2005 are under SBC, not AT&T. From 1885 to 1910, AT&T was headquartered at 125 Milk Street in Boston. With its expansion it moved to New York City, to

5358-505: The former complex, excluding the hotel/conference room building, from Pfizer for Verizon Wireless Headquarters and consolidation of employees from Manhattan as well as other nearby New Jersey building locations. In 2007, Pfizer placed the North Maple Inn for sale. At the time, it was a four-diamond, certified hotel and conference center under IACC ("International Association of Conference Centers") designation. In 2015, Verizon performed

5452-480: The former parent company's main business was now AT&T Communications Inc. , which focused on long-distance services, and with other non-RBOC activities. AT&T acquired NCR Corporation in 1991. AT&T announced in 1995 that it would split into three companies: a manufacturing/R&D company, a computer company, and a services company. NCR , Bell Labs and AT&T Technologies were to be spun off by 1997. In preparation for its spin-off, AT&T Technologies

5546-458: The government reached an agreement that allowed AT&T to continue operating as a telephone monopoly, subject to certain conditions, including divesting its interest in Western Union. While AT&T periodically faced scrutiny from regulators, this state of affairs continued until the company's breakup in 1984. Throughout most of the 20th century, AT&T held a semi-monopoly on phone service in

5640-521: The greatest concentration of 600 mm ( 1 ft  11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in ) gauge railways to date. In preparation for World War II , the French Maginot Line and Alpine Line also used 600 mm ( 1 ft  11 + 5 ⁄ 8  in ) gauge railways for supply routes to the fixed border defenses. Australia has over 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) of 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge sugar cane railway networks in

5734-422: The intended purpose of the narrow gauge railroad below the telephone cables was limited to hauling out excavation debris and hauling cable spools during the installation of telephone lines, but in 1903, the company renegotiated its franchise to allow the use of this railroad for freight and mail service. In early 1905, the system was taken over by the Illinois Tunnel Company. By this time, 26 miles (42 km) of

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5828-405: The latter connection depended on the depth of the building's basement. Chicago's new City building on the corner of Washington and LaSalle had a subbasement 38 feet (11.58 m) below sidewalk level, so the tunnel connection was made by a 10-foot-deep (3.05 m) trench. The Commercial National Bank's coal bins were under the sidewalk on Clark Street. There, coal was lifted from the tunnel by

5922-512: The laying or repair of cabling under the subsidiary, Transoceanic Cable Ship Company. After the break-up, AT&T operated their ships under a subsidiary called AT&T Submarine Systems Inc, based in Morristown, New Jersey, until they sold six ships to Tyco International Ltd in 1997 for $ 850 million. AT&T continued to maintain their communication building facilities. Here is a list of the cable laying-ship fleet: Between 1951 and 2000, AT&T

6016-594: The location peaked to 6,000 employees in its heyday before AT&T experienced competition and downsizing. In October 2001, the Basking Ridge property was 140 acre with 2.6 million square feet and was placed for sale. Basking Ridge employee occupancy, prior to the sale were approximately 3,200 employees. In April 2002, Pharmacia Corporation purchased the complex for $ 210 million for their corporate headquarters from existing Peapack-Gladstone, New Jersey headquarters. A short time afterwards, in 2005, Verizon purchased

6110-470: The next 70 years. Under Vail, AT&T began buying up many of the smaller telephone companies including Western Union telegraph . These actions brought unwanted attention from antitrust regulators. Anxious to avoid action from government antitrust suits, AT&T and the federal government entered into an agreement known as the Kingsbury Commitment . In the Kingsbury Commitment, AT&T and

6204-410: The original 22 subsidiaries that formed AT&T Communications continue to exist. AT&T Laboratories has been integrated into AT&T Labs , formerly named SBC Laboratories . AT&T was also known as "Ma Bell" and affectionately called "Mother" by phone phreaks . During some strikes by its employees, picketers would wear T-shirts reading, "Ma Bell is a real mother." Before the break-up, there

6298-460: The public. The railroad operated 132 electric locomotives, typically 30 to 50 horsepower (22 to 37 kW) each, and had 2,042 merchandise cars, 350 excavating cars and 235 coal and ash cars. In 1914, the tunnel company handled 609,320 short tons (544,036 long tons; 552,766 t) of freight, 275,218 short tons (245,730 long tons; 249,674 t) of which were merchandise. The remainder was presumably coal, ash and excavation debris. From 1912 into

6392-649: The specification and inspection of non Bell System cable for networks such as the TAT-2 . By the continuous undersea network installations, AT&T was a globally technology leader with the 1970 installed TAT-5 and the 1975 installed TAT-6 , achieving 720 channels and then 4000 channels for transmitting voice or data. Prior to 1963, AT&T had to charter oceanic ships, such as the CS Monarch (1945) for installations. AT&T purchased CS Long Lines in 1961 and operated it with several cable laying ships that would provide, either

6486-522: The subcontractor. The 295 North Maple Avenue and Interstate 287 location of Basking Ridge in Bernards Township , New Jersey was completed in 1975 for the AT&T General Department offices. Employees began moving, in November 1975, to the seven inter-connected building complex using 28 acre of the property. The property had a 15-acre underground parking garage with spaces for 3,900 vehicles, and included

6580-399: The surface was easier, and a complex conveyor system was not required. Early operation in the tunnels was dominated by removal of excavation debris from the tunnel itself, and once tunnel service reached various areas, several construction contractors found that it was less expensive to dump excavation debris down into tunnel trains than it was to haul it out through the congested streets of

6674-411: The track, from which chutes led down to the tunnel. A tunnel car could be loaded with a full load of 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 short tons (3.18 t; 3.13 long tons) of coal in two seconds. Coal was carried in side-dump cars, from which it was dumped into a hopper below each customer's boiler room. A conveyor then carried the coal up from the trackside hopper to the customer's boiler room. The details of

6768-528: The tunnel carried 18 percent of the freight traffic in the Chicago loop. In 1929, it was estimated that the tunnels handled between 200 and 300 train movements a day, with 10 to 15 cars per train. At the time, the tunnel had 150 locomotives, 2,693 merchandise cars, 151 coal cars and 400 excavation and ash cars. In 1954, the tunnel was carrying 500 carloads of freight and 400 carloads of cinders and debris daily. There were 83 locomotives, 1,609 freight cars, 55 trucks and 272 semi trailers on hand. Surface trucking

6862-505: The tunnel carried 544,071 carloads or 617,891 short tons (560,541 t; 551,688 long tons) of merchandise. Of this, 231,585 carloads were sent from public stations, 177,743 carloads from industrial customers served by the tunnel, and 134,743 carloads from railroad freight terminals. The Illinois Tunnel Company built connections to post offices and passenger stations specifically for mail service. Tunnel mail service began in September 1906 at

6956-422: The tunnel company drilled holes in the tunnel wall and pumped grout at high pressure into the soil outside the tunnel in the vicinity of the leak. The 1992 flood was not the first time that a contractor's action threatened to flood Chicago by puncturing the tunnel. In 1959, an excavation punctured the tunnel, leading to a dramatic and successful fight to prevent disaster. In 1992, a cable television employee in

7050-403: The tunnel complex, as the openings were boarded up, bricked up, or otherwise closed off—but not made watertight. At that point, government agencies belatedly responded. The leak was stopped and the tunnels were emptied within days at great cost. The tunnels are still used for power and communication cables. They have been popular with urban exploration groups who would sometimes sneak in to have

7144-626: The tunnel made it practical to remove large volumes of excavation spoil, and deep basements permitted easy access to the tunnel for coal delivery and ash removal. 2 ft and 600 mm gauge railways Most of these lines are tourist lines, which are often heritage railways or industrial lines, such as the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales and the Cripple Creek and Victor Narrow Gauge Railroad in Colorado . World War I trench railways produced

7238-419: The tunnel system was operated using overhead lines and trolley poles for power. Between 1903 and 1904, the Illinois Telephone Construction Company purchased 22 class L. M. locomotives from General Electric . These weighed 5 short tons (4.54 t; 4.46 long tons) and had two 20-horsepower (15-kilowatt) traction motors. Most of the engines used in the tunnels were standard mine haulage locomotives made by

7332-412: The tunnel underneath the Chicago River videotaped mud and water oozing in where the bottom of the wooden pilings had cracked the tunnel wall. The pilings making up the dolphin had been driven only a few feet from the side of the tunnel, and the wooden pilings were visible through the collapsed tunnel wall where wet clay had slumped away from the wood into the tunnel. Official response to the reported leak

7426-403: The tunnels to circulate the air. While buildings with deep subbasements could connect directly to the tunnel, connections to surface level and shallow basements were by elevator shafts . George W. Jackson, the contractor who built the tunnel system, received several patents related to building such shafts. The first test trains were run a few years after the start of construction. Most of

7520-760: The tunnels. In the 1930s, when the Chicago Rapid Transit Company and the city finalized the design of the State Street and Dearborn Street subways, plans called for the tunnels to be dug through the blue clay along the line originally followed by the freight tunnels. Excavation debris from the new subway tunnels was hauled away by the Chicago Tunnel Company as the subway replaced the freight tunnels along their route. The Chicago Tunnel Company went bankrupt and applied for voluntary reorganization in 1956. The tunnel company attempted to sever itself from

7614-422: Was among the construction sites that disposed of excavation debris through the tunnel system. Before the digging of the freight tunnels, shallow spread foundations were common using iron grillage to spread the heavy weight where tall buildings were involved. Deep foundations became almost universal with the construction of the tunnel system because the tunnel threatened to undermine shallow foundations, access to

7708-723: Was an important part of the business, required to reach customers located outside the loop. The workforce had declined considerably from the tunnel's heyday, with just 30 motormen operating the trains. The tunnel workforce was so dominated by attrition that someone with 25 years of experience in the tunnel was viewed as a newcomer. In 1914, the tunnel had direct connections for freight interchange (by elevator) with 26 railroads and two boat lines. In addition, there were four public tunnel stations where shippers could drop or pick up merchandise, and 36 industries had direct tunnel connections, including Chicago's big department stores , Marshall Field's , Carson Pirie Scott and Rothchild's. In 1913,

7802-410: Was being dumped onto scows for disposal in the lake. In 1904, tunnels sloping up at a 9 percent grade to the Grant Park disposal station were opened, and the vast majority of excavation debris and ash was hauled out to fill Grant Park. A derrick with a 65-foot (19.81 m) boom picked the dump boxes off the cars and swung them out over the lake to dump the fill. The new Cook County Courthouse

7896-491: Was classified a leak, which is why some have called it the "Great Chicago Leak." On October 14, 2009, workers pumping concrete into the tunnel under the Kennedy Expressway caused the roadway to buckle, shutting down all but one lane of the westbound expressway. The standard tunnel was egg-shaped, 7 feet 6 inches (2.29 m) high and 6 feet (1.83 m) wide, with tunnel walls 10 inches (25 cm) thick and

7990-726: Was estimated that $ 30,000,000 had been spent on building and operating the tunnel. The receiver's sale was completed in 1912, with the Chicago Tunnel Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chicago Utilities Company, acquiring all assets of the former company and its affiliates, the Chicago Warehouse and Terminal Company and the Illinois Telephone and Telegraph Company. In 1913, the Chicago Tunnel Company agreed to sell its telephone operations to American Telephone and Telegraph Company , although regulatory approval delayed

8084-503: Was greater consumer recognition of the "Bell System" name, in comparison to the name AT&T. This prompted the company to launch an advertising campaign after the break-up to increase its name recognition. Spinoffs like the Regional Bell Operating Companies or RBOC s were often called "Baby Bells". Ironically, "Ma Bell" was acquired by one of its "Baby Bells", SBC Communications , in 2005. The AT&T Globe Symbol,

8178-502: Was lined with coarse concrete and then waterproofed with a Portland-cement limestone-dust plaster. George W. Jackson was granted a patent on the system of forms used in making the concrete tunnel lining. The city asked that the tunnel be built no shallower than 22 + 1 ⁄ 2 feet (6.86 m) below the pavement in order to allow room for a future streetcar subway. During construction, temporary 14 in ( 356 mm ) gauge tracks were laid. The 6-foot (1.83 m) tunnel

8272-453: Was listed 73 times in cable laying operations for specific routes deployed. The Cable Ship Long Lines had 23 cable runs from 1963 to 1992, with the first deep-sea trial of optical fiber cable in 1982 leading to the consortium of countries and locations for the TAT-8 fiber cable implementation of 1988. The United States Justice Department opened the case United States v. AT&T in 1974. This

8366-400: Was prompted by suspicion that AT&T was using monopoly profits from its Western Electric subsidiary to subsidize the cost of its network, a violation of antitrust law. A settlement to this case was finalized in 1982, leading to the division of the company on January 1, 1984, into seven Regional Bell Operating Companies , commonly known as Baby Bells. These companies were: Post-breakup,

8460-491: Was renamed Lucent Technologies . Lucent was completely spun off from AT&T in 1996. On January 31, 2005, the " Baby Bell " company SBC Communications announced its plans to acquire " Ma Bell " AT&T Corp. for $ 16 billion. SBC announced in October 2005 that it would shed the "SBC" brand and take the more recognizable AT&T brand, along with the old AT&T's "T" NYSE ticker symbol. Merger approval concluded on November 18, 2005; SBC Communications began rebranding

8554-536: Was responsible for the innovations of products or technologies in cabling in transmission by undersea systems. In 1955, the first trans-Atlantic telephone undersea cable, TAT-1 , from North America to Europe was installed by AT&T. This installation allowed 48 telephone circuits to be used for long-distance calling. When partnering with other global Telecommunications companies, such as the French Cables de Lyon and German Felten & Guilleaume , Bell Labs provided

8648-455: Was slow; no emergency measures were deemed necessary, and a formal bidding process began for the contract to repair the damage. On April 13, some six months later, the slow oozing of wet clay opened a clear passage from the riverbed, allowing the river to pour directly into the tunnel. In what became known as the Chicago Flood , the entire system was quickly flooded. The Merchandise Mart was

8742-466: Was the first of its kind to create a nationwide long-distance network with a commercially viable cost-structure. The project was formally incorporated in New York as a separate company named American Telephone and Telegraph Company on March 3, 1885. Originating in New York City, its long-distance telephone network reached Chicago, Illinois , in 1892, with its multitudes of local exchanges continuing to stretch further and further yearly, eventually creating

8836-424: Was wide enough for double tracks with this small size. The tunnel company had 900 small cars built specifically to run on this track. The cars had a box with a capacity of only 0.47 cubic yards (0.36 m), and were pulled by mules from the tunnel headings to hoists that removed the spoil to the surface or later to points where the spoil could be transferred to 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge cars for haulage to

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