5000-series cars

Took a visitor from Hamburg, Germany "L" riding today, Sunday, Oct. 16. There are no 5000s out on the Pink Line. Man, Bombardier must really be doing a bad, bad job on these new techno "L" cars. I mean how long???

David Harrison

David, I agree that is is taking very long to get this right. But, I don't lay the fault at Bombardier. This is the stuff that happens for most transit orders of the last 40 years. The cities refuse to use proven technology and the cities refuse to order common-design equipment. Thus, each new transit order is a science experiment.

Look at the CTA 6000 series. They worked great from the get-go because they used proven technology such as PCC drivetrains which had been in use for 20 years in 20+ different cities. Meanwhile, CTA conducted propulsion research on testbed cars (the red 6000's) rather than subjecting the entire fleet (and entire ridership) to such tomfoolery.

byte wrote:Heads up: there are enough 5000s on the property that they may begin operating in revenue service (on the Pink line) as soon as this next Sunday. If this is the case, expect a press release before the end of this week.

Then where would the 2600s go? (The Pink 2600s are the final 1987 cars, 3161-3200)

R36 Combine Coach wrote:

byte wrote:Heads up: there are enough 5000s on the property that they may begin operating in revenue service (on the Pink line) as soon as this next Sunday. If this is the case, expect a press release before the end of this week.

Then where would the 2600s go? (The Pink 2600s are the final 1987 cars, 3161-3200)

I understand that there is money for a second "mid life rehab" for 300 of the 2600 series cars. The Pink line 2600s would be rotated over to the Red line to release those 2600s for the rehab project. So the anticipated retirement of the 2200s and the 2400s is farther off then most have expected.

David Harrison

Good to hear. Ever since the 2010 Snowflake Special, I have a new love for riding the 2200's. I think it's that grinding traction motor noise and seat-intensive interior, as well as the blinker doors.

News on the 5000's from NBC CHicago:

http://www.nbcchicago.com/traffic/trans ... 43128.html

"The first 26 new CTA rail cars were delivered to Chicago over the weekend and riders soon will get to experience them.
Of 706 new rail cars on order, the CTA expects to have 40 more cars delivered from Bombardier Transportation by the end of the year and another 192 cars delivered in 2012, officials told the Chicago Tribune."

EL TREN! EL TREN! EL TREN!

The Mayor of Chicago announced at Midway Airport station on the Orange Line that regular service will begin today on the Pink Line at 2:30 PM.

And they're off - per Pacific's thread above, regular revenue trains of 5000s are on the Pink line. Last year, you could tell the 5000 prototypes because of their faint inverter hum. Now, the production cars sound like a siren. You can hear them from a mile away!

Any chance the 2200s and 2400s will be still running in July? I'm going to be in Chicago some point next summer.

Chicagopcclcars wrote:

R36 Combine Coach wrote:

byte wrote:Heads up: there are enough 5000s on the property that they may begin operating in revenue service (on the Pink line) as soon as this next Sunday. If this is the case, expect a press release before the end of this week.

Then where would the 2600s go? (The Pink 2600s are the final 1987 cars, 3161-3200)

I understand that there is money for a second "mid life rehab" for 300 of the 2600 series cars. The Pink line 2600s would be rotated over to the Red line to release those 2600s for the rehab project. So the anticipated retirement of the 2200s and the 2400s is farther off then most have expected.

David Harrison

Finally scored a ride on the 5000's today, catching car 5022 on run 308 westbound at Ashland to 54th Ave, then back east to Clinton. The bowling alley-style seats definitely give the cars a roomier feel, but when combined with the straps from the poles for standees, it feels less Chicago and more NYC. Since I live in the suburbs, I don't ride CTA that often, so it'll likely take me longer to get used to that. I enjoyed the quicker acceleration, and that seems to include an ongoing learning curve for some of the operators, including the one on my westbound trip; he had to use the track brake several times to stop at stations since we got up to speed so quickly taking off from the previous stop. The technological bells & whistles, from the LED display inside showing the time, date, and next station stop, plus the cameras mounted on the ceiling, to the little chime that plays when the doors are closing, are cool amenities that give the cars a very modern polish.

At 54th, while walking to the other end of the platform for my return trip, I saw a little sign on the coupler warning employees not to mate any other series to these cars. Better safe than sorry, I guess. Also, because stations on the Pink line are spaced roughly a half mile apart, these new cars won't really get a chance to "stretch their legs" until enough of them arrive to start running on the Red & Blue lines; where they can get some median expressway running to help break 'em in.

I'm going to miss the old mylar signs...

Speaking of the old mylar signs, could one direct me to the dumpster where these are disposed of?

Here is said dumpster: http://www.irm.org/about/ctasigns.html

On the subject of mylar signs: To be frank they can be pretty annoying. Especially on our [IRM's] 1-50s/6000s, where they're all hand cranked and you have to change 3 or 4 per car. Our 2000s are a bit nicer, as those are automatic & motorized. But if the mylar gets all out of sync, well, looks like you're blowing a couple hours to take the whole thing apart! Would be nice if the CTA could get mult-colored LEDs in the new cars but aside from that, the LEDs are a great idea.

When will we start seeing these on the Red line?

Byte, mucho thanks man! We gotta get you guys on a wordpress platform with a bit bigger typeface...

No problem Tad. The CTA signs are usually* sold mail-order only and the sign site is administered by only a couple of members, who pick the signs out of the museum's supply and send them out once a week or so. Aside from shipping, proceeds from sales go entirely toward transit-oriented projects/funds at the museum. So ... buy lots of signs if you like "L" cars! There are a couple of interesting projects in the works.

* Sometimes a table is setup for on the spot sales during special events, like Museum Showcase Weekend.