Rail Photo of the Month: June 2023

Bombardier 5000 Series 5040

Location: Quincy/Wells Station, Chicago, IL
Operator of Vehicle: Chicago Transit Authority
Date of Photo: July 9, 2014

This month, the Chicago “L” celebrates its 131st birthday!  The first section of what is now known as the “L”, then operated by the South Side Elevated Railroad, began service on June 6, 1892.  The line ran from a station at 39th Street (between the current 35th-Bronzeville-IIT and Indiana stations on the Green Line) to Congress Terminal.  When it opened, a ride on the steam powered trains from end to end took 14 minutes and cost five cents.  The line was later extended to Jackson Park and the site of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair (World’s Columbian Exposition), where incidentally, the concept of an electrified third rail to power trains was introduced.  This form of traction would ultimately be used on the entirety of the “L” as well as on underground and elevated train systems around the world, replacing steam powered locomotives. 

The Lake Street Elevated Railroad and the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railroad came into existence after the South Side Elevated, and each railroad had its own terminal on the edge of Downtown Chicago.  Financier Charles Tyson Yerkes had bought up many of the streetcar and elevated railroad lines in Chicago in the 1890s and proceeded to build an elevated loop track in Chicago to connect the individual lines.  The Loop was completed in 1897 and its two tracks along a 1.79 mile (2.9 kilometer) route remain in service to this day.  

In the featured photo, a relatively new train of 5000 Series cars is seen departing the Quincy station, which opened in 1897 shortly after the Loop was completed.  Some of the station’s features are original to its 1897 opening.

For more photos of CTA 5000 Series trains, please click here.  

Bus Photo of the Month: September 2021

Flxible Metro-E 6177

Location: Madison Street at Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL
Operator of Vehicle: Chicago Transit Authority
Date of Photo: July 30, 2007

It has been over ten years since my last proper visit to Chicago.  I’m not sure when my next one will be, but one thing that won’t be there is a Flxible Metro-E such as this one.  The CTA retired its last Flxible Metro buses in 2010, and the fleet now consists solely of New Flyer and NovaBUS models.  

For more photos of CTA buses, please click here.

Rail Photo of the Month: April 2020

3200 Series 3274

3200 Series 3274

Location: Quincy/Wells Station, Chicago, IL
Operator of Vehicle: Chicago Transit Authority
Date of Photo: July 9, 2014

As of this writing, the Chicago Transit Authority is the largest transit system in the United States that is still running normal weekday service despite the Covid-19 Health Crisis.  Ridership is down 82 percent on CTA trains and about 76 percent on CTA buses according to local news reports.  Transit workers are considered essential employees, so despite the “stay at home” order in place in Illinois and many other US states, they are still reporting to work in order to help other essential workers, such as doctors, nurses, paramedics, firemen, and police officers to their jobs.  Determining how much service ought to run in light of lower ridership numbers and the desire to maintain social distancing protocols is a challenge that agencies will be wrestling with as this crisis continues.  However, regardless of how much service is operated in Chicago or wherever you are, be sure to thank the transit employees and other essential employees for their service, especially in these times (assuming you yourself have essential business, otherwise, please stay home).  Being a transit employee is challenging enough in normal circumstances as it is, so your thanks will be even more appreciated now.

For more photos of CTA’s 3200 Series trains, please click here.

Rail Photo of the Month: October 2019

2200 Series 2222

2200 Series 2222

Location: Polk Station, Chicago, IL
Operator of Vehicle: Chicago Transit Authority
Date of Photo: July 30, 2007

Yesterday, the Chicago Transit Authority celebrated its anniversary.  On October 1, 1947, the CTA assumed the operations of the Chicago Rapid Transit Company (the ‘L’ system) and the Chicago Surface Lines (the streetcar system).  In recent years, the CTA has marked the occasion with a “Customer Appreciation Day.”  This year’s edition included the first public run of the 6000 Series trains since their retirement on December 4, 1992.  The 6000 Series cars were introduced in 1950 and featured “blinker doors” to facilitate better movement within the cars for ingress and egress.  They were also the first cars in the CTA rail fleet to be married pairs.  

To celebrate its 72nd anniversary, the CTA ran the cars in the Loop during the midday yesterday.  I wasn’t in Chicago, so I don’t have any photos of the event.  (This post could turn in to a lament about how it has been too long since I’ve visited Chicago, but it won’t.)  Instead, I decided it was fitting to share a photo of a 2200 Series Car that featured the same type of blinker doors that the 6000 Series cars featured.  The 2200 Series cars were retired in August 2013, and like the 6000 Series cars, a limited number have been preserved for historical purposes.  

For more photos of the CTA 2200 Series Cars, please click here.

 

Who Wants to Play LOOP?

It’s holiday shopping season!  If you’re looking for something to get the transit fan in your life, or you’re looking for transit themed things to add to your holiday gift wish list, check out LOOP: The Elevated Card Game.  According to CityLab, the game has similarities to UNO and Crazy Eights, but instead of numbers, suits, or colors, the game cards have names of stations, “L” lines, or special cards such as “Forgot Farecard” and “Manspreading.”  You can order the game (as well as other licensed Chicago Transit Authority merchandise) from Transit Tees

What other transit themed holiday gifts are you hoping for this year? 

 

Oren’s Reading List: Transportation Gifts

The holiday shopping season is well underway.  If you’re reading this, odds are you wouldn’t mind receiving or are looking for ideas for transportation related gifts.  The Chicago Tribune recently compiled a list of CTA and METRA themed holiday gifts and links to where you can find those items for purchase.  Many other transit agencies, including New York City Transit and WMATA, also have online gift stores that you can peruse.  While a friend of mine has received three copies of Transit Maps (and doesn’t seem bothered by the fact based on my conversation about it with him), I hope some of these links are useful if you’re looking to make sure the person you are giving  Happy shopping!

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Rail Photo of the Month: September 2016

CTA 5000 Series 5040

CTA Bombardier 5000 Series 5040

Location: Quincy/Wells, Chicago, IL
Operator of Vehicle: Chicago Transit Authority
Date of Photo: July 9, 2014

The Chicago L is one of my favorite rail systems in the United States. The mostly elevated system twists and turns its way through the Chicago skyscrapers in the Loop in a way that no other transit system does in this day and age. Right in the middle of downtown, it feels like you can just reach out and touch the passing buildings. And to top it off, at Tower 18, you have one of the busiest train junctions in the country, and it is a flat junction at that!

I have yet to ride the CTA’s newest rolling stock, the 5000 Series, pictured here. The 5000 Series introduced a number of features to Chicago for the first time, such as AC traction, which is pretty much standard on new rail vehicles these days.  However, some of the features proved to be a bit more controversial.  Gone were the colorful roll signs that identified a train’s line color and destination, replaced with amber LEDs.  That didn’t last long, as the CTA opted mid-order to have multi-color LED signs installed on cars that had not been delivered prior to the decision to switch being made.  Cars that had the amber LEDs received colored LED signs through retrofit.  Another change was a mix of transverse and longitudinal seating.  Unlike the amber LEDs, this feature was not modified, though Chicagoans might prefer otherwise.

As I said, I haven’t been on one of these trains yet, though I look forward to having the opportunity the next time I find myself in Chicago.

For more photos of CTA’s 5000 Series cars, please click here.

Oren’s Reading List: The 11 Most Beautiful Train Stations Across America

Even if the golden age of train travel in the US is more of a memory than anything else today, its remnants are still visible to anyone who still travels by rail.  Thrillist.com has put together a list of the 11 most beautiful train stations in the United States.  I’ve been to 7 of the 11.  How many have you been to?  Which is your favorite?  Was something left off the list that you think should have been included?  Check out the list here and then answer any or all of these questions in the comments below!

Oren’s Reading List: Stories Behind CTA ‘L’ Lines’ Strange Curves, Dips and Twists

The L in Chicago is one of my favorite transit systems to ride in the US.  The system is mostly elevated and at times it feels like you can just reach in to the apartment buildings you pass by because they are that close to the right of way.  But another highlight of the system are the many sharp twists and turns the trains take as they snake their way through the city.  How did some of these, such as the two 90 degree curves on either side of the Red Line’s Sheridan station (pictured here), come to be?  Chicago radio station WBEZ looked in to this question and offers the answer in this article on their website, accompanied by an audio report as well.

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.

Oren’s Reading List: The World’s 15 Most Complex Subway Maps

Ever look at a subway map and think to yourself “how on earth am I ever going to figure out where I’m going by using this thing?”  Recently, a group of theoretical physicists and mathematicians attempted to figure out which maps “exceed our cognitive limits.”  If you think the New York City subway map is overwhelming, the research team would agree with you.  You can read a summary of the study’s findings and see the list of the 15 most complex maps at CityLab, or you can read the entire paper (it is only 8 pages) at ScienceAdvances.

Oren’s Reading List is an occasional feature on The Travelogue in which I share articles that I’ve read that might also be of interest to the readers of this website.