By this time, the Randolph branch east of Lombard was abandoned except for the Suburban's occasional streetcar, so 14 railcars that had been stored in the Lake Street's central track were moved to that area during mid-day hours. This displeased residents, and the Village ordered the cars' removal in early September; Clarence Knight countered that the lack of storage capacity would mean that reverting to use of the center would mean the discontinuation of express service. The village persisted and directed the company to stop storing cars on Randolph by November 1; although originally lenient in enforcing this, it became apparent that the Lake Street was sluggish in the process of relocation, resulting in the village ordering the cars' removal. This led to the discontinuation of express service starting Monday, November 10; passengers abandoned the "L" in favor of the nearby Chicago & North Western (C&NW), causing such a drop in revenue that Knight had to temporarily store cars in Chicago while extending the center track to hold the excess. Express service resumed on November 12.
