The free "trolley" services connecting AMTRAK passengers with the lakefront museums, the Navy Pier entertainment center and power shopping sites have expanded significantly since we last reported on them.
Ok, they’re not really "streetcars:" The jolly red, box-bodied vehicles trundling past Chicago Union Station do have the high, arched windows of the old trolleys, with angularly rounded noses, clerestory roofs and bells that clang. And the seats inside are lacquered wooden benches with polished brass grab rails for standees. They do at least somewhat recall the days when Chicago streetcars were the old crimson kind instead of the streamlined "Green Hornets" ... so forget for a moment that they’re really diesel-powered mini-buses. They leave from the northwest corner of Union Station’s train-arrival concourse (Canal and Adams Streets) and you can ride for hours without paying.
The three routes mentioned above run daily from Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day, as does a line from North State Street to Navy Pier and a new line running directly between Union Station, the former Chicago and North Western commuter station and Lincoln Park..
"Trolleys" generally operate about once every 20 minutes. If you’re killing time between trains, allow yourself at least an hour for an out-and-back trip --- more for the Lincoln Park run.
Union Station has a long north-south corridor between the main waiting area and restrooms to the east and the escalators up to Canal St. on the west. And, a main east-west corridor serving the ticket windows and information counter. Where they meet, you should find a rack of maps of the trolley system, CTA route maps, and many other useful brochures.
There’s a good chance that at least some of these runs will continue to run after Labor Day --- check when you arrive at the station. Don’t plan on carrying any luggage with you on a trolley tour; the little cars can get very crowded on busy days and there’s no place to put baggage.