BusTalk

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

OUTSTANDING selection of rare "L" photos; man, if we could only travel back in time!

The colorful diversity of the rolling stock, the complex ganglia of elevated trackage, the fascinating varieties of operations......all are recalled here in great (nostalgic!) detail........ENJOY!

"NYO"

https://thetrolleydodger.com/2021/05/30/outtakes-from-chicagos-lost-ls-part-one/

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Note:

Most non-railfans/historians, when visiting Chicago and seeing the "L", have no idea at just how extensive the "L" network once was, and how many branches were once in existence.

So much was destroyed, especially during the 1940s..........

"NYO"

["CHICAGO RAPID TRANSIT"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Further:

In Brian J. Cudahy's "DESTINATION LOOP", he reports that, at its peak, the CRT's "L" car roster hovered around the 1,700 car mark.

But, later in the 1950s, after the introduction of the "6000s", and the closing of several branches of the "L", the car fleet was reduced to roughly 1,200 cars (recall, also, that the CTA retired all of the wooden cars in 1957)............

"NYO"

["DEMPSTER"]

[Cyberider]

More Chicago. Chicago Streetcar & Elevated Lines - 1952 to 1956 and a lot more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd-8pBS9IxA

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Cyberider:

Thanks for the link!

Interesting that, at its peak, the CRT/CTA rostered 1,700 rapid transit cars.

Circa-1950, there were over 13,000 subway/elevated cars in use in New York!

"NYO"

["CITY OF NEW YORK"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Interesting...........

Both the CA&E's and the CNS&M's trains entered the Loop via "L" trackage; now, imagine "Westchester" trains entering Manhattan via an "El" connection in the Bronx.

There had been some talk at one point, but the cost of rebuilding the El structure to handle the heavy steel "Westchester" cars, plus the cost of having to shave back/rebuilt platforms, relocate signals, etc., was simply far too costly an endeavor, and never discussed again.........

"NYO"

["WHITE PLAINS LOCAL"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Historical "L" trivia.........

The "6000s" had the distinction of being the last new CTA rolling stock to operate alongside wooden "L" cars, all of which were retired by 1957..........

"NYO"

["A RAVENSWOOD"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Also......

The "6000s" also had the distinction of being the last new cars to be running side-by-side with the interurban trains of the North Shore and the CA&E..........

"NYO"

["CHICAGO LIMITED"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Further:

The "6000s" were also the first postwar CTA "L" cars to be equipped with streetcar style folding doors, occe so commonplace in Chicago.......

"NYO"

["SKOKIE"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Historic Chicago meets historic Pittsburgh........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?25908

(courtesy: nycsubway.org)

["CHICAGO & WEST TOWNS"]

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]

Recalling the colorful PCC era in Chicago.........

https://www.nycsubway.org/perl/show?13406

(courtesy; nycsubway.org)

["CSL"]

["CTA"]

[Cyberider]

Looks like Kenosha is the place to go. (for those who still go)

[NEW YORK OMNIBUS 2629]