| Acknowledgments | p. 6 | |
| Map | p. 7 | |
| Foreword | p. 9 | |
| Timeline | p. 10 | |
| Introduction | p. 11 | |
| Precursors and Prototypes | p. 13 | |
| First "L"-South Side | p. 23 | |
| Second "L"-Lake Street | p. 35 | |
| Third "L"-Metropolitan | p. 43 | |
| Union Loop "L" | p. 51 | |
| Fourth "L"-Northwestern | p. 61 | |
| Expansion and Unification | p. 71 | |
| Serving and Shaping the Suburbs | p. 79 | |
| Finally a Subway | p. 91 | |
| Chicago Transit Authority | p. 103 | |
| Brown Line Turns 100 | p. 131 | |
| Magic and Mystery of the "L" | p. 143 | |
| Epilogue | p. 166 | |
| Bibliography | p. 167 |