[wyliepoon]

Some photos and videos of the Chicago elevated trains while I was in Chicago last weekend.

Addison station, near Wrigley Field

Madison/Wabash station, on the downtown Chicago Loop

Trump Tower rising behind the Wabash Ave. Loop tracks

Surprisingly clean tracks. I guess whatever you throw off of the platform ends up through the wooden deck and onto the street below.

Train interior

Adams/Wabash station, with a glass canopy structure making it look more like a greenhouse.

Videos

Overhead view at Madison/Wabash station

Trains at Madison/Wabash

Madison/Wabash to State/Lake

Train at Addison Station

Clark/Lake to Clinton

State/Lake to Library-State/Van Buren

 

[ganjavih]

Oooh... some sweet canyons in Chicago. Nice pics.

 

[Long Island Mike]

Wylie: Good CTA pics! I have many CTA memories-my Uncle was a CTA motorman from 1958-1986 and from 1973-1988 I regularly visited and spent time in Chicago. The one difference on the CTA is those dreaded color names-I personally dislike them-I knew every line by NAME like the North-South Howard-Dan Ryan line,Evanston Express,O'Hare/Congress/Douglas and Englewood/Jackson Park-Lake and Ravenswood Lines as examples. I notice the new Trump Building is under construction replacing the old Chicago Sun-Times Building-always visible from the loops NE corner at Lake and Wabash. The CTA I recall took decent care of the Loop L tracks-I remember when the CTA would do track work they would close the street directly below the track being renewed on weekends-trucks would park below to allow removal of track parts like old ties. That recent construction at Addison looked interesting also. LI MIKE

 

[wyliepoon]

The one difference on the CTA is those dreaded color names-I personally dislike them

I don't mind the name of the lines as much as the colours they are presented on the map. Pink and brown seem like really odd colours to represent L lines.

Some observations of the Chicago L and the CTA in general...

- Although there is no photography ban on the Chicago L or the CTA, I was stopped once from shooting a video on the L by a station janitor who was a Vietnam veteran and kept saying "you can't be too careful".

- Chicago L train drivers have a habit of holding the doors open long enough so that everybody can get on the train, no matter how late you get onto the platform. Certainly not like here in Toronto where our guards have a habit of shutting train doors in people's faces.

- The CTA has a ban on eating/drinking on its vehicles, and it does have an effect on the cleanliness of its trains and buses. The floors of most vehicles I was on were clean and shiny. There were some bits of food lying in hidden spots from people who broke the ban, but you wouldn't find a half-eaten slice of pizza or plastic bottles lying around. Another good thing... the seats aren't covered in discarded free newspapers!

- The CTA has a huge assortment of automated announcements. Trains and buses are equipped with speakers on the outside of the vehicles to announce the route they are on and their destination. Inside the bus/train, every stop on the route is announced (and on trains, which side of the train to exit, while on buses, the next stop is displayed on an electronic ticker). There are tons of reminders for passengers... don't eat or drink, report suspicious activities and objects, report fare evaders, thanks for taking the CTA, take your stuff and newspapers with you, etc. These reminders often follow every station announcement.

One surprising thing about Chicago L station announcements... they manage to make the announcements without saying the word "station".

 

[Long Island Mike]

Wylie: Good to know about your trip to CHI - other than that station janitor,you had no problems with your videos or photography. Call the train operators Motormen(or women) NOT drivers-that's a BUS term-and it is good that the CTA appeared clean to you-but those canned train announcements took some getting used to on my most recent trips to CHI-twice in 2000-compared to the old way by conductors-that was a product of CTA going OPTO in the mid 90s. I did not care for them myself. The problem with color names is other than a few primary colors like RED and BLUE you get color names like PINK-named by schoolkids for a re-routed recent CTA line. With true NAMES you never have this problem! For more CTA info I suggest this website: WWW.CHICAGO-L.ORG/ a great CTA site by Graham Garfield of CTA. LI MIKE

 

[CDL.TO]

The problem with color names is other than a few primary colors like RED and BLUE you get color names like PINK-named by schoolkids for a re-routed recent CTA line. With true NAMES you never have this problem!

Or you have the problem which LA recently had... debates about the need to avoid 'racially charged' colour names, like black or white. Hence the new "Expo line".

 

[ShonTron]

CTA does have the Brown Line, though!

I believe the choices were Pink, Silver, Gold. Pink won,

LA has the Gold, Green, Red, Blue and Orange Lines. Aqua would have been fine too (the colour the Expo Line is on the maps).

 

[Long Island Mike]

ST: The Brown Line will always be the RAVENSWOOD or KIMBALL line to me! LI MIKE

 

[officedweller]

Surprising how small scale the cars are - rather like MKI (SRT) cars - could be due to sharper turning requirements with the elevated line. Even the interior shot looks like the SRT.

 

[doady]

It is normal for rail lines to have wooden platforms? It seems wierd...

 

[scarberiankhatru]

Not so much weird...it feels like you're waiting for the Ghoster Coaster.

 

[Brandon716]

What a trip, Looptopia was fun.

Ya know, the train are wonderful but the platforms of the EL system are too small in many areas. Other than that its a fantastic system, with the coaster like wooden planks and all.

 

[Hipster Duck]

Those tracks are clean! In New York, the elevated portions out in Brooklyn and the Bronx have nets so that pesky NYers can throw their trash onto the tracks. I guess Chicago could offer them a lesson in civic pride.

Does all that wood on the tracks present a fire hazard? It seems that even the elevated station platforms are wooden. Has there ever been a huge conflagration on the system?