A bit of history regarding Riverside's Railroad

From Encyclopedia of Chicago: In 1863 the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad was built through the area, and five years later a group of local investors decided to take advantage of both the railroad and the uniquely attractive site where it crossed the Des Plaines River. Forming the Riverside Improvement Company, they purchased a 1,600-acre tract of land along the river and hired Frederick Law Olmsted of New York to design an elite suburban community. Olmsted and his partner, Calvert Vaux, were already famous for creating Central Park in New York City. Their reputation, plus the lovely curvilinear streets, open spaces, and attractive village center they designed for Riverside, attracted Chicago's elite. By the fall of 1871 a number of large, expensive houses were occupied or under construction and an elegant hotel had opened.

Railroads ran out from Chicago’s center to a growing hinterland by the mid-nineteenth century. Settlements emerged around stops along these rail lines for farmers, industries, commuters, and various institutions. Real estate speculators who hoped to attract commuters to new subdivisions offered amenities such as paved streets and a community water supply. Riverside was among the first and most famous of these speculative commuter enclaves. Potential residents were offered “the conveniences peculiar to the finest modern cities, with the domestic advantages of the most charming country, in a degree never before realized.”