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Postcard Spotlight: Cows Under the Elevated Train Tracks


It may seem a bit bizarre to observe a group of cows underneath an elevated train station. The adults and children in the postcard also seem awestruck as they watch the animals. These animals were probably waiting to enter the gates of the Union Stock Yards for meat processing. There was a Stock Yards "L" train branch that served the area from 1908 to 1957. It was 2.9 miles long and had eight stops. It closed down due to lack of ridership. The stockyards at one time received 1,000 carloads of livestock per day from 22 states. This postcard was published around 1910 by V.O. Hammon of Chicago. 

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