Is this Chicago?

It's not really, but this shot of MARC trains being shunted around, with P-S gallery cars and Sumitomo single-level coaches, might fool one into thinking the shot is taken out here. Kudos to MARC for good equipment choices.

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=170942

Nice shot, though I'd say that looks like Van Buren St on a bad day.

I especially like that caption "Taken suspiciously from the parking garage."

I don't believe it is chicago because most of trains (except metra painted bilevel) is MARC, which is in Maryland. I guess it is maybe Washington DC.

cheerleader

Yup if you look at the railpicutres info it says its in DC

YEah... Tadman was making a joke. It's NOT Chicago, but there is plenty of ex-Chicago equipment around the MARC yard.

-otto-

One of the pleasures of visiting DC was seeing the MARC adn VRE both using Metra bilevels in various stages of repaint. Except for VRE's Sounder trainset and some other oddities, I'd nominate MARC for the most varied commuter fleet in the land. Unfortunately, since I spent more time along the NEC, I never got any photos of the MARC bilevels in motion.

SlowFreight wrote:One of the pleasures of visiting DC was seeing the MARC adn VRE both using Metra bilevels in various stages of repaint

It's funny how, as a railfan, you can visit another city's transit system and be reminded of home, particularly if they're using equipment that had been operating in your home city not that long ago. For those of us that remember them in their previous life, getting a ride on those cars in their new home is just like stepping into a time machine. Is this a great hobby, or what?

Yes I agree I miss the EX CNW pullmans very mutch. I have a lot of fond memories riding on those cars. I was sad to see them go but I am happy to know that another system is using the great cars.

The only thing I didn't like about them was the window arrangement. There were only a few seats that had a nice view. I used to try to get to the train early so I could snag one of those seats.

I also remember before the conductors controls to open/close the doors were refitted with push buttons, they had "holes" and the conductor had to stick a solid lexan tube into it to operate the doors.

Speaking of the windows, not only were they small, but on a bright sunny day, you couldn't really see out of them because many of the windows had become grainy and sratched with time, and as such, it overly enhanced the glare. And on days with just a light overcast, it looked darker outside than it really was; you'd have thought it was either dusk or dawn. Chalk it up to the age of the equipment, I suppose.

I never really rode the old Pullmans that much, so I don't really miss them as much as others would. Besides, to me, they're not that much different from the old Budd cars still trolling on the Burlington, especially on the interior. And the windows on those cars are starting to become grainy and scratched as well, but then again, those cars have been, and continue to be worked pretty hard...

I was fortunate in that I was finished with having to commute downtown right when they took the Pullmans off. For creature comforts I liked the unrebuilt Pullmans the most. They had great high back seats with lots of leg room which enabled a taller person to sit straight and put their head back on the seatback. Their heaters were great, no drafty air blowing on you like on the new cars, you could put your hand up against the heater on the wall. I liked the length of the windows and the little ledge that I could rest my elbow on. The only cars that I can think of that are just as comfortable are a few rebuilt MILW Budds that have the orange seats with the high seatbacks.

This reminds me of a song from Soul Coughing...

A man
drives a plane
into the
Chrysler building

Saskatoon is in the room
Poulsbo is in the room
Bennetsville is in the room
Palmyra is in the room

Is Chicago!
Is not Chicago!
Is Chicago!
Is not Chicago!

A man
cuts in half
just like he
snaps a pencil

Khartoum is in the room
Phnom Penh is in the room
Pyongyang is in the room
Cairo is in the room

Is Chicago!
Is not Chicago!
Is Chicago!
Is not Chicago