Rapid Transit

Rapid Transit, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

Former CTA 5000 series cars. These are, I believe, the sole survivors of just four built.

Trolley

Trolley, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This is the former Chicago Surface Lines #3142, one of 169 steel "pay as you enter" streetcars ordered in the early 20's. Built in 1923 by the J.G. Brill Company, 3142 was used by CSL, and later the CTA, until 1953, when it was parked and used as storage at the CTA's South Shops. Donated to the Illinois Railway Museum in 1973, a fifteen year restoration finally put it back on the tracks. Today it is the only surviving CSL steel "arch roof" streetcar.

I saw this operating at the museum, and got it rolling past the Museum's Riverview billboard. I like to think that 3142 delivered patrons to the park at one time.

Garfield Park

Garfield Park, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

One of the two rare 5000-series L cars at the Fox River Trolley Museum. Shot through the viewfinder of a 50 year old Kodak Duaflex II.

#36 Broadway

#36 Broadway, a photo by William 74 on Flickr.

This is the destination board on an old Chicago bus from the fifties or sixties.I like taking pictures of the destination boards of old trolleys and buses-they're kind of poetic in their own way and are a neat detail. But this one is a personal favorite-I used to take the #36 Broadway when I lived on the Far North Side. It's still a regular route today.

Rapid Transit

Not that 5th Avenue! This is a vintage station sign from the Chicago Rapid Transit Company's elevated train system, also known as the L. This one happens to be for 5th Avenue on the now-defunct Westchester branch, which ran from the old Metropolitan Elevated's Garfield Park line at Desplaines Avenue all the way out to Mannheim Road. It was meant to be a bypass for the Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin interurban, serving what was hoped to be the newly booming town of Westchester. Development never happened, and the line remained a footnote in CA&E and CTA history until it's abandonment in the fifties. Today, parts of it make up the Illinois Prairie Path.

The sign itself is pretty interesting too. This style of station sign was current in the CRT from 1892 until 1977, when an entirely new, unified sign package was introduced in the CTA's system. Quite a few of the classic blue and white signs remained in use, though, the most famous one being at Sheridan on the Red Line, which remained in place until 2002! These signs are quite sought after today, along with the old yellow street signs, as a piece of Chicago history.

Evanston Express

Evanston Express, originally uploaded by William 74.

A pair of Chicago L trains. The Evanston Express was originally a "shoppers' special", a fast train to the Loop to serve Christmas shoppers from the suburbs. After the war, the Express was reinstated, making limited stops on the Howard line until reaching the Loop. These trains typically ran several times a day, although they lost the "Shoppers' Special" name in the mid fifties.

By the time these 6000-series cars were running the Express, it was running several times a day and was very popular with Evanston residents. The name stayed until 1993, when the various lines were renamed with colors, and the Evanston Express became the Purple Line Express.