Portrait of two Chicago landmarks: The Chicago Board of Trade dominates the background as E6A 630 eases out of LaSalle Street Station at 4:08 pm on March 20,1975, to begin its regular afternoon commuter run to Joliet. A textbook example of art-deco high-rise architecture, the 45-story building was erected at the south end of the city’s financial district in 1930, a decade before the 630, an equally fine example of streamlined modern design, rolled off Electro-Motive Corporation’s erecting floor in nearby suburban McCook. In 1972 The 630 acquired its golden prow in celebration of EMC’s (later EMD’s) 50th anniversary. Both building and locomotive survive today as examples of the best of their eras.
Several Chicago railroads, including Burlington, Chicago & Northwestern, Illinois Central, Milwaukee Road and Rock Island, provided extensive service to and from the Chicago suburbs.
