| Regional Transportation Authority F40PH 130 backing into the C&NW station in Chicago, Illinois on May 12, 1983, Kodachrome by Chuck Zeiler. The two single level cars were private cars owned and operated by Commuter Associates, Inc. for the exclusive use by their membership. The cost was 900 dollars a year plus the RTA monthly pass, pretty good deal if you lived in the northern suburbs of Chicago. The locomotive was named Richard D. Newland, and you might say, who the heck was that. This is what I found so far, from: http://www.railroad.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=11941 In RTA’s beginning, two of the original suburban RTA board members - Richard Newland of Waukegan and Daniel Baldino of suburban Cook County. And from the May 28, 1976 newspaper, THE DAILY HERALD: The suburban directors apparently blocked the budget transfer to demonstrate their power to hamstring RTA operations. Their action came after Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley publicly attacked the suburbs for getting more than their share of the RTA pie. Richard D. Newland, board member from Waukegan, said the suburban directors won their point and now are willing to compromise. 'I think we can work that out', Newland said. 'We certainly don't want anyone to work for nothing '. The RTA staff also announced a new regional fare structure cannot go into effect until Sept 1. And this from the June 30, 1975 RTA Annual Report: RICHARD D. NEWLAND Mr. Newland, the president of the Bank of Waukegan, represents the five outlying counties served by RTA. He left a promising professional baseball career (Cincinnati Reds) in 1951 to enter the University of Wisconsin School of Banking. A native of Iowa, Mr. Newland received his bachelors degree from Drake University. He is active in Lake County civic affairs, serving 10 years as an officer of the YMCA and as a director of the Waukegan School Board. He has also been comptroller of the North Shore Sanitary District. As temporary treasurer of the RTA, Mr. Newland has added to RTA working capital through prudent investment of funds. His term expires June 30, 1978. |