How the CTA Orange Line Changed the ‘L’ Map

[@Thom-TRA]

Oops! It was Dan's dad, Bill Lipinski, who voted for aid for the Contras in exchange for the Orange line money. Guess Dan's off the hook for now...

[@kolkoreh]

Dan is not off the hook for being a massive asshole in many other ways!

[@729MendicantTide]

I guess it runs in the family.

[@ayjay4103]

Omg I’m the person you mentioned in the vid! I’m so happy you remembered me and made this video! I loved it!! Like you said this is my home line so I ride it all the time. It was super cool to learn exactly what it is I stare at out the window whenever I go downtown haha. And of course the history of the line was so interesting as well. This vid was so well made, keep up the awesome work!! 🧡🧡

[@Thom-TRA]

I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for the idea!

[@Thom-TRA]

@@kauitsu long live the UPass!

[@jorggastel1312]

There is one interesting travel story which took place at midway airport back in 1996. I was traveling on an Amtrak USA Rail Pass and came into Chicago with a long delay. So I missed my connecting Empire Builder to Minneapolis St. Paul, where I had to get to asap and my Pass expired the next day. So I went to Midway (don’t remember why not O’Hare) and told my story to one of the ladies at an airline counter (don’t remember the airline, probably Delta). She took her phone an told me, if I can make it to a specific gate while it’s still open, they would take me to MSP without charging me for a ticket. So I was just flying through the airport ( That was before 911 and there were no security checks). I made it to the aircraft in time and they placed me in business class with two seats, one for me and one for my oversized backpack.

[@Thom-TRA]

Wow that was so incredibly nice of her!

[@jorggastel1312]

@@Thom-TRA Yes, I met quite a lot of extremely helpful and friendly people in your country. Especially in the Midwest.

[@ChicagolandTransit]

As always your research is on point!! It's always a pleasure collaborating with you. I hope to see you in Chicago again soon.

[@Thom-TRA]

Literally could not have done this one without you!

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Exactly, there's nothing wrong with using an already existing right-of-way, especially if it goes through areas with guaranteed solid ridership! NJ Transit's River LINE for example uses an existing right-of-way that was first used by the Camden & Amboy Railroad and later became Conrail's Bordentown Secondary which NJT bought from them in 1999 for $67.5 million (over $122 million in 2023 money) and reviving this corridor for passenger service has made a huge difference for the communities along the Delaware. And the fact that River LINE is so cheap to go between Trenton and Camden is an absolute steal! The Hudson-Bergen Light Rail also uses existing right-of-ways, like the western side of Hoboken and the Bayonne portion. When the original Roosevelt station opened back in 1892, it was known as 12th Street! 12th Street was renamed to Roosevelt Road in May 1919 after Teddy Roosevelt who had died that January. Halsted Street on the other hand was named after William H. and Caleb O. Halsted, Philadelphia bankers who made large investments in Chicago real estate through William B. Ogden, Chicago's first mayor!

[@edtierney6076]

My original CTA line, would take it on a weekly basis from high school

[@Thom-TRA]

It's a good line

[@edtierney6076]

It's been awhile since I've been on it, should do a ride for old times

[@MikeyLikesIt89]

I remember when that walk to the terminal in midway was just some painted lines through the actual parking garage. Haven’t been through midway in years but it is nice to see that the city finally built a secure enclosed walkway.

[@Thom-TRA]

That’s as bad as at Fort Lauderdale. Literally just a confusing parking garage.

[@RenegadeChauffeur]

So do I. And how confusing (and so what dangerous) it was.

[@pickled51]

I get to use the Orange Line almost everytime I visit Chicago since I usually fly Southwest. I have often wondered why the CTA does not build another new line that would connect Midway to O'Hare. It would interconnect with just about all the other westbound CTA lines. It would eliminate what I find is the biggest gripe I have about the CTA "L" lines - no matter where you have to go, you have to go to the Loop first. This connection between Midway and O'Hare would bypass the Loop for riders who don't need to go downtown.

[@Thom-TRA]

An orbital line is so incredibly needed in Chicago. Will we see it? Probably not...

[@kenmorrison793]

Actually, there's a way to do that now. Take the 62H bus from the Orange Line CTA Bus Terminal to the Archer/Harlem stop. There's a bus turnaround there, where you'd catch the PACE 330 bus from there to O'Hare. Didn't take the time to explore the connection timing, but service on both routes is relatively frequent...

[@addisonbaker8211]

The CTA isn't building or planning that line because it's extremely strapped for cash and already facing a budget cliff. An orbital line - an inner circle like was being planned before the post-2008 budget cuts, or a further-out one along one of the big north-south corridors like Cicero or Western - would be incredibly useful, but would take well over a decade all told in planning and construction and cost billions upon billions they simply don't have. The main capital improvement projects currently happening are the Red and Purple Modernisation (updating the century-old infrastructure on the Red and Purple shared section in the north side; this project has already resulted in several rebuilt sections of vital track, as well as delay reducing measures like the Brown line flyover at Belmont) and the Red Line Extension bringing the Red line a couple miles south from 95th to 130th and extending south side transit access. There's also a couple station modernisations and infills outside the RPM, as I understand it on the Green line and in the Loop, and then of course the 7000-series cars and the planned 9000-series cars to replace the 30- to 40-year-old rolling stock on the Blue, Brown, and Orange lines (and possibly on others - there's very little information out at the moment about the 9000s, what changes will be made, and what they're intended for). And then the CTA's actual biggest concern and problem, which is the huge lack of bus drivers and train operators - they're in the middle of a multi-year recruitment and training push in an attempt to simply have enough employees to even try to return to pre-COVID service levels, but that's tough because of the aforementioned budget cliff caused by underfunding and significantly lower fare revenue post-COVID. Basically, much as I would love to see my favourite imaginary projects (like an orbital line going north from Midway) happen, the CTA does not have the funding or bandwidth to accomplish them at the moment. There are just too many bigger projects that need to be accomplished. And a new line would only worsen the existing struggles the CTA has with lack of employees and an underfunded operating budget.

[@Melmel_1011]

I take the orange line everyday from midway to go to work and the fact the you mentioned the view between Roosevelt and halsted really made me happy bc it’s also my favorite view of the city! The view of the skyline is amazing at every stop and seeing it from ever station is so worth it

[@andykillsu]

Wow the Orange line opening on Halloween was some great timing!

[@Thom-TRA]

Happy Halloween!

[@JeffFrmJoisey]

In summer 1991, I went on a CTA lead tour of the Midway line under construction. The bus followed the line’s route as best it could. We went by the junction from old to new. We went all the way to Midway, which, if I remember right, looked much different. We even got tours of one or two of under construction, mostly completed stations. CTA was proud to show off its newest line to a bunch of transit professionals from around the country.

[@Thom-TRA]

That’s a cool opportunity you had!

[@victoryleadership1]

If someone really wanted to (or had to), they could fly into Midway, take the orange line to the Clark/Lake station (or State/Lake and walk underground to Washington), transfer to the blue line, and go to O'Hare. Two airports are linked by a train. How many places in North America can you do that?

[@Thom-TRA]

It's certainly a strength of Chicago!

[@arsenicCatnip413]

this can be done in boston! 🔵Take the Blue Libe to State Street 🔵🟠transfer to orange line at state 🟠Ride orange line to back bay 🟠🟣Transfer to mbta commuter rail (providence line( 🟣Ride to TF Green station! (or i suppose you could take a direct logan express bus to back bay and go from there)

[@kenmorrison793]

I answered a previous similar question-it's not by rail, but you can take the 62H CTA Bus from Midway and connect with the PACE 330 Bus to O'Hare...

[@addisonbaker8211]

@@kenmorrison793 That's not the point though. The point is that Chicago has two airports directly connected to its metro system, which is anomalous even in cities and countries with much better and more extensive public transit than Chicago and America. Many world class transit systems do not have as high quality airport connections as Chicago does.

[@Bernardgaming2.0]

Tom, your cta history videos are one of a-kind

[@Thom-TRA]

Thanks!

[@Bernardgaming2.0]

@@Thom-TRA did you see the other comment I left on here?

[@weenisw]

I had no idea that Roosevelt’s elevated station sat vacant for a period. Very interesting tidbit

[@Thom-TRA]

Yeah I didn't know either until I did the research for this video

[@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102]

@@Thom-TRA There's some good cab footage here from 1991 showing the construction of both Roosevelt as well as the Orange Line: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hpnXpXmYhNxgqZY&pp=ygUIY3RhIDE5OTE%3D

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

Not even vacant - they tore it out completely. The one present today was built specifically for when the Orange started service to allow an indoor, farecard/token-free transfer to Red, which otherwise is impossible without transfer to Purple (limited trains) or Brown (opposite platform) in the Loop.

[@mikehook4830]

Just got back from Chicago, and I have to say that I searched up orange line here just to find out more about it, which you have done beautifully. I have to travel to the city every few years on business, and I specifically look for flights into Midway because of this line. As a person who has to travel into the loop, I can't imagine a better way of getting there. My trips are always in winter, so I never get to see the green that your video shows, but perhaps someday I'll see that too.

[@Thom-TRA]

The orange line is a great way to travel from midway to the loop!

[@megacide84]

As someone who lived walking distance from the Midway orange line. It was a blessing when I worked in the south loop. These days... I'd strongly recommend never taking your car downtown. Traffic is a nightmare and parking has completely gone to hell.

[@RenegadeChauffeur]

At 12:50, the long haired guy is a very good friend of mine. He’s a retired fire department lieutenant and is a mentor to many, including me. Being from Chicago, this brings back a lot of great memories for me. You definitely have a new subscriber.

[@Thom-TRA]

Wow I can’t believe you recognized him!

[@RenegadeChauffeur]

@@Thom-TRA oh sure I recognized him. He’s the president of the Axemen, a motorcycle group for firemen. That’s the patch on the back of his leather

[@alexlorenz4103]

My dad worked for CTA for nearly 37 years. He worked at the many different shops but finished his career at Midway. He also worked at 54th/Cermak before it was the Pink Line. I even worked at Midway Airport as a Wheelchair Attendant.

[@jazzmann1984]

Speaking of Ford City, on the older cars when they cycle through the placards on the trains when they reverse direction, there is actually an Orange Line sign for Ford City. I've always wondered why they had that destination when it didn't go that far. But, there is a CTA history website, and it talks about their intention of extending the Orange line later.

[@roberthansen2008]

I remember writing the absolute very first train at 7:30 a.m. on that day when it rolled out from Midway airport to downtown. I remember they used to send the ticket agents that used to work in the booths to each station. I rode the first loot bound in service train and I got to see the first Midway bound train from the beach as it went from a work train to an in-service train😊

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

Seeing the view of the city from the Orange Line always makes me realize... I'm home.

[@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102]

4:47 The tracks on the right connect to the Red Line, and were built in 1969 with the Dan Ryan Line's opening. Until 1993, the Dan Ryan didn't connect to the State Street Subway, with the Red Line instead taking the South Side Elevated while the Green Line traveled down the Dan Ryan. The South Side legs of the routes were swapped in February 1993 because the CTA didn't like how the ridership levels were unevenly balanced; West-South Line trains were full on the Dan Ryan but empty on Lake Street, while North-South Line trains were full north of the State Street Subway and empty south of it. The swap was made possible by building new tracks from Cermak-Chinatown directly to Roosevelt-State. The old ramp is still used if Red Line trains need to be rerouted over the Loop for any reason.

[@TheLocalLt]

I’m curious, how did that solve the problem? It seems like it would’ve created a really full red line and a really empty green line

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

​@@TheLocalLtIt did. But it let them balance out the need for equipment since they could just put all of the stuff they needed at 95th and Howard while the leftovers went to Harlem and 63rd. There's a reason Green had the 2400's for the longest time.

[@mdf3530]

I used to have to commute to the Loop. With the hours I was working, the Orange Line made more sense. Every time I’d pass by either Connie’s Pizza or Lindy’s Chili on my way home, I’d get hungry lol.

[@bernardtheaubreycoxandcoolgame]

Thank you so much for highlighting the L" in such a amazing light

[@peters1127]

Enjoyed the ride through some of my old stomping grounds.

[@Thom-TRA]

I’m glad!

[@SteveH-TN]

Thanks for updating a Chicago native on the “el” ( Joined the USAF in 1970, currently living in retirement in half way between Nashville and Huntsville AL) when my older brother entered the Air Force he departed from Midway!

[@tyhik9338]

Best way to get to Midway and downtown.

[@dalecaldwell]

Yay 3:19 ff, I got my BA from Roosevelt University and often had breakfast in the coffee shop that was then just on the corner of the building, underneath the EL lines. On the way home to the apartment that I lived in for a year on North Dearborn Parkway, I would dodge in and out of the El posts on Wabash in a sort of insane game with taxi drivers. It's a miracle I survived to enjoy your videos.

[@Thom-TRA]

Traffic is still just as bad, if not worse these days!

[@gregggyf]

Good Afternoon, I can't wait for the Loop video.

[@rikkichunn8856]

The CTA has used the technique of building L lines on railroad right of way before. The Green Line to Harlem, originally called the Lake Street line originally ran on the ground through Oak Park, adjacent to the Chicago and North Western's elevated five-track main line. The railroad sold the CTA two of those tracks for the L. You can tell this when you ride the L, some of the signal bridges still span across all five tracks.

[@himbourbanist]

using the old freight ROW was a smart move. man the L rules

[@mrAhollandjr]

The other thing that was notable was that the 3200 series CTA cara were assigned to the Orange Line. Rhe Orange Line was the first lune to feature One Man Operation. Before then, all CTA trains ran with a motor and a conductor ( who operated the doirs). The 3200s were built to be One Nan Operational. The Red, Green, Blue, abd Brown Line cars were retrofitted so that they could be One Man Operational during non peak times with conductors operating doors during rush hour within the downtown area. Eventually every lune became One Man Operational and the door operating equipment was removed from the ends of every odd numbed car and were only in the motor man cabs which got extended from the front right side to across the entire front of the car. The 3200s were also introduced to the Brown and Yellow Line.

[@officialmcdeath]

Looks like a railfanner's dream, thank you! On a sidenote, given your adroit content planning, I sense your ten-sector mega-trip across the USA is intended to climax during the holiday season at the end of the year - nice one! \m/

[@tdvandy2]

Your work just gets better and better so thank you. I live in Chicago and find this very interesting, as are all of your videos. it appears your channel is really starting to grow.

[@Thom-TRA]

I appreciate it, thank you for commenting! Enjoy that brutal snow today haha

[@tdvandy2]

@@Thom-TRA haha. Good old lake effect.

[@ck4426]

Really love this video, we love the orange line too, and love the reason that you made the video. We agree. The views of the skyline are spectacular while riding. All of your videos are really awesome but we especially enjoy your Chicago content. We miss you here in Chicago but we’re thankful you’re still showcasing Chicago transit in your videos. Awesome!!!

[@fortyforfree]

Midway to state and lake. Northbound 146. Loved that ride during the summers, going to my night shift.

[@rleeAZ]

thanks for continuing to feature Chicago after your move to DC. My two favorite transit towns are Chicago and DC... you cover them both quite well.

[@BrennanZeigler]

Not only do I think the orange line should be extended to Ford city, but CTA should build a couple new L lines as well. I really think they would benefit from some kind of circular line that connects all the lines together, I think the yellow line should run a rush-hour express to the loop like the purple line, and I think another new line needs to be built to connect the far south eastern neighborhoods in Chicago like Hegewisch with the loop

[@abreckenridge3001]

Yes I think they should extend the green line from cottage grove to dorchester, go south and west then south down cottage grove/71st and head south Chicago Ave hitting 75th/79th/87th/93rd/100th/East Side/Hegewisch/Hammond

[@akis3556]

@@abreckenridge3001 I think the east branch of the Green Line should continue on and take over the Metra Electric branch and go down the middle of 71st and Exchange streets.

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

​@@akis3556This. But then also bring back the north Paulina connector and Humboldt Park branch, connect them through the Loop, and run it as the one missing color from the CTA's rainbow: Indigo.

[@728huey]

The CTA is supposed to be building an extension of the red line to 130th Street in between Indiana Ave and the Bishop Ford Expressway near the water reclamation plant.

[@BrennanZeigler]

@@728huey yes but it’s not enough. Some more lines need to be extended including the addition of at least two new lines; a circle line and another line to like Hegewisch. The south side of Chicago is extremely underserved by CTA. You’re literally spoiled for choice if you’re on the north side or the west side on which CTA route you wanna take

[@harlemRose381]

Whenever i was in the southside to see my family, i always pass the orange line, now as a adult i was able to ride it and loved this line to bits, i usually take the green line more often but when i feel like going back there i will take the orange line to connect to Pace services to Oak Lawn 👍

[@HighHolyOne]

Its great to have the connections to the airports from the trains. Problem: once in the terminal area, wheelchairs are available. But it's a long, long walk to the terminal if you have a disability.

[@teon343]

The orange lines reminds me a lot of the south line from Marta both go to the airport quick and fast&the run on freight right away

[@Thom-TRA]

I just rode that recently!

[@FlightAndTrack]

You know it's a good day when tra posts another vid😀

[@Thom-TRA]

Happy Halloween!

[@FlightAndTrack]

@@Thom-TRA you too🎃👻

[@joserivera-yc5rr]

Great video, thanks

[@Thom-TRA]

Thank you

[@briansivley2001]

Some people are still calling the L Lines by their original names like The Skokie Swift with the Yellow Line lol. I find myself sometimes doing it too.

[@ChrisFisher-hz5cy]

Midway used to run the best equipment from 1993 to about 2018. Then they got the oldest cars which are ready to die(2600s)

[@dmnddog7417]

It's strange to me that both Blue and Orange lines run old trains. They are the first impression travelers get of Chicago transit when they step off the airport, so they should be running the nicest trains. Also, those trains should have accommodation for luggage. To this day, I don't understand why all CTA train cars have that end with a crew cabin and that weird little "closet" that just encourages smoking and other annoying activity. As short as CTA train cars are, they should use every bit of space for passengers, and in the case of these two lines, luggage racks.

[@doomsdayrabbit4398]

​@@dmnddog7417When I first started riding the L, Blue still had the 2200's, which were way more ready to die then than the 2600's are now. Pink, which just had just been introduced as an experimental reroute of Blue's Douglas Branch, also ran those ancient trains.

[@mdf3530]

@@dmnddog7417The Purple, Brown and Red Lines get all the newest trains because they all serve the North Side. The North Side aldermen (most notably former alderman Tom Tunney) see to that.

[@addisonbaker8211]

@@mdf3530 The 5000-series cars are in service on the Red, Purple, Pink, and Green lines (and technically the Yellow but it doesn't count). They began service on the Pink line. The Red line also serves the chronically under-invested-in South Side, and has the highest ridership, so it makes sense for it to get the newest cars, but in this case it still didn't, because the 5000 series started on the Pink line, and the new 7000-series cars started and are still exclusively on the Blue line. The Brown line's "newest trains" that the North Side aldermen apparently secured for them are the 30 and 40+ year-old 2600 and 3200 cars, despite it being the third busiest line (after Blue and Red). So if the North Side aldermen really have been unfairly hogging the CTA's newest rolling stock, they're doing a pretty bad job of it - the newest cars on the CTA (discounting the 7000s, of which not enough have been made to replace the full fleet of even one line) are split between lines that run in the North Side (Red and Purple) and lines that run in the West and South Sides (Pink, Green, and Red in the Dan Ryan), while the second most important line in the North Side, the Brown Line, runs the oldest series the CTA has to offer.

[@addisonbaker8211]

@@mdf3530 Perhaps the reason your privileged North Side narrative doesn't work (apart from the fact that public transit, by design, connects regions, and so the benefits the Red Line gets from running the relatively new 5000-series cars are enjoyed by the North Side just as much as everywhere else the Red Line serves) is that the actual factor that seems to correlate to which line gets the newest cars is really mostly just *how old the existing cars are*. Which is why the new 7000-series cars are going first to the Blue Line, with intentions if the full order is made to eventually run on the Blue, Brown, and Orange Lines. Those 3 lines are the ones still running the 2600s and 3200s from the 80s and 90s. Personally, I do think it's weird that the Blue and Brown lines run the oldest rolling stock the CTA still operates, while the much less used Pink and Green lines get the newer 5000s, but of course the busier lines also have more service, which means you need more cars to run the whole thing, so it's easier to replace old rolling stock on a less used line.

[@oddityscrash]

Video quality is great on this one! Great content as always.

[@ninthwardchicago]

I didn't traverse the Orange Line just because until about 2001 which was about 8 years after it had opened. It was brand spanking new compared to the L infrastructure I was used to. And it used the connection to the loop that the Dan Ryan or the Red Line used to use to connect with Lake Street or the Green Line.

[@timothysworld1028]

Orange line is Ok. But the Brown linr (Ravenwood) is my favorite. You are so close to buildings. You see the true Chicago.

[@Thom-TRA]

Brown is by far my favorite too

[@jorggastel1312]

Thank you Thom for another extremely informative and interesting video.

[@Thom-TRA]

You’re welcome!

[@roberthansen2008]

I rode the first train from Midway to the loop and October 31st 1993. It was a Sunday morning. That was back when it started up from Midway to the loop on Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. but they did have a train from the loop to Midway. What they did back in is the train leave out of service from Midway to the loop and wants it entered the loop it would start dropping off the yes back then fair collection agents at the inner loop stops. Then it would enter service at Clark and lake and go back out to Midway. That's a long time ago.

[@ikatbrun1553]

Video suggestion: go to the IRM and explore and explain its history. I enjoyed this video more because as a Chicagoan, I really love the CTA and as a railfanner this is entertaining❤ hope to keep seeing more videos!❤

[@ikatbrun1553]

Another video idea: Ride a CTA electric bus!

[@256emmitt]

Bravo!! Great video!

[@Thom-TRA]

Thank you, thank you

[@user-jm5ur6kk4g]

very beautiful !!!! chicago ------ cool !!!! 🙂🙂🙂 ❤❤❤ 🧡🧡🧡

[@arrowbishop5426]

This was a great video, also I love your shirt!

[@ganadu]

Wow 30 years already! Yes, politics, this is why you may have heard it nicknamed The Contras Line. I like the Orange line quite a bit, for all the same reasons. We lived on the Southwest side for a couple years and it really gets you near anywhere. I do wish it had gone all the way to Ford City, I like that It is such an easy ride to Midway. You can tell how long a person has lived in Chicago, by the way they refer to the L lines. For example I still call the brown line Ravenswood. 😊

[@Thom-TRA]

I’m sure ravenswood is easier to say than Howard englewood Jackson park though!

[@ganadu]

@@Thom-TRA Lol absolutely! Probably why I have graduated to saying Redline, Pinkline, Greenline etc. for the others.

[@EpicThe112]

Excellent video and for Chicago it joins Washington DC both IAD and BWI and San Francisco by having rapid transit reach the airport directly. In San Francisco BART serves the International Terminal G gates directly although a people mover is needed for OAK WN airport in the Bay area. Just wish that NYC and Boston have this setup like ORD and MDW.

[@akis3556]

The Blue Line has been serving O'Hare since the early 80s.

[@ozarkharshnoisescene]

this line and the pink line are my favorite

[@Thom-TRA]

My two favorites are orange and brown!

[@ntatenarin]

Knock knock. Who's there? Banana! Knock knock. Who's there? Banana! Knock knock. Who's there? Banana! Knock knock. Who's there? Orange! Orange who? Orange you glad we have the Orange line?

[@samgrunsfeld9335]

I understand that the 7000 series will first replace the Blue line and then start replacing the other 2600 and 3200 series. The obvious reasons are that the Blue Line is highly trafficked and with most tourists flying into O'Hare having the newest trains will look good. But one of the biggest problems on the Blue Line is its power constraints and since the 7000 series are more energy efficient thanks to their AC motors they can run more trains.

[@Thom-TRA]

The 7000s have been on the blue line for a little over a year now

[@samgrunsfeld9335]

@@Thom-TRA Yeah, as the 7000 series come in they're replacing all 2600 and 3200 on the blue line before going on to other lines.

[@michaelb9629]

Yeah that’s right! I remember now that the Orange line opened on Halloween exactly 30 years ago. My mom would’ve liked for there to be a train at Midway Airport sooner to get to downtown. That actually happens to be my favorite CTA train line of all time because of the route it takes. It’s industrial and there’s all kinds of nice views throughout parts of the ride. I also like riding some of the bus routes that serve Midway, mostly Pace. I’ve also been on that River Valley Metro to Kankakee county several times in those 2019 Ford F550 buses, another name for them is Eldorado Aerolite.

[@thickernell]

Good job. Can’t believe it’s been 30 years already. I can remember how annoyed people were though with the walk to the terminal. It was almost twice as long as now because the new terminal had not been built. Also, I think they had a good reason for not going on to Ford City. It and the mall had horrible crime then. That was a time when we had 1000 homicides a year. Also at that time the Evanston Express experienced a decline in ridership when snipers ruled Cabrini Green and Dantrell Davis was killed in crossfire. I even switched to the subway when that happened.

[@keyshawnscott12]

I hope i meet you on the orange line someday lol i was on it last week

[@dfwrider3830]

Ive been working in that shop for a few weeks now. theres currently 4 7000 cars in the yard. they are sitting like theyre lined up to be brought in the building. but theyve been were for over a week now unmoved. i know one has a propulsion fault. I was just working on one of those red and white striped cars, they are modified to be able to provide 600vdc power to work trains, through a special plug next to the coupler. the ride to midway is quite nice. im always surprised how short it is.

[@michaelvaughan3929]

My biggest complaint about the Orange line is that it doesn't provide a one-seat ride to O'Hare. Do you know why that wasn't done? Yes, I know that it's in the elevated Loop downtown and the O'hare line is a subway, but that could have been fixed. Note: as an old time Chicagoan, I still don't remember the colored names of the various lines! My trains were the Ravenswood A and, later, the Jackson Park B!

[@Thom-TRA]

Probably because there’s not much demand for a Midway to O’Hare connection. You either go to one or the other.

[@juelzkellz]

My Mom took me for a ride on the Orange Line when it first opened when I was little. I think I was in 1st grade. I also think the Orange Line has the best views on the L system.

[@cocoaorange1]

Back in the 70's and 80's, the CTA use to have a paper transfer called the Super Transfer, used on Sundays. You could ride all over the city. My late mom and I use to ride all over the city back in the city. I recall when the Orange Line opened as well. I used to work on the Southwest Side back in the 90's, and use to take the Orange Line occasionally.

[@cocoaorange1]

Correction, back in the day!

[@juelzkellz]

@@cocoaorange1 I missed out on the supertransfer but the 1 day pass more or less does the same thing, just with a less cooler name lol

[@erichhouchens3711]

One interesting thing about Chicago is it's one of two cities, the other being Washington, that have two airports that are both served by heavy rail mass transit. You could possibly include Dallas and the San Francisco area sort of. In Dallas DART directly serves DFW International but the nearest station to Love Field (Southwest again) requires a short shuttle bus ride. There had been plans to tunnel under Love Field but that was dropped due to the cost and objections from the airport. In San Francisco BART directly serves the San Francisco airport but the Oakland airport BART station requires a short ride on a cable hauled people mover. Regarding building lines along side freight railroads things have changed greatly since the Orange line was built. The freight railroads are very weary of having mass transit lines along side their lines due to liability issues as well as the bad publicity should something go wrong. In Washington CSX has had a derailment TWICE along side the Red line between Rhode Island station and Silver Spring that resulted in freight cars on the Metro tracks. As luck would have it both derailments occurred at night when Metro wasn't running. Next time you ride any part of Metro that runs along side a freight line take note of the fence that separates the two. You'll see a cable running along the top of the fence. This cable carries an electrical current and if that cable/fence is broken due to say a derailing freight car the signals on Metro (cab signals) go to stop. This will also trigger an alarm at the Metro Control center and possibly in Jacksonville at the CSX dispatching center. I believe part of the delay to the Minneapolis Green line southwest extension was due to BNSF fighting the planned route along side their tracks.

[@Thom-TRA]

I'd noticed the fencing but never thought twice about it. Thanks for the interesting fact, will incorporate it into my future red line video!

[@erichhouchens3711]

@@Thom-TRA Google "csx washington red line derailment" and you'll find articles about the two derailments. One was in 1987 and the other was in 2016. Both articles are from the Washington Post which is a pay to view site. There's also an ABC video taken from Metro cameras at Rhode Island Avenue station that shows one of the derailments!

[@TheLewistownTrainspotter8102]

The OAK peoplemover is actually part of the BART system.

[@thyagarajannatarajan425]

Such an amazing video. Great content. I rode a DC metro orange line train over the summer. How do you identify the rolling stock on the DC metro? Also will there be a collab vid with Classy whale?

[@Thom-TRA]

There is no collab vid as of yet. Also, the DC metro trains all have numbers which is how you can identify them.

[@kevinb8881]

The Orange Line should be 24/7 just like the Blue Line since they both have airport terminals!!

[@Thom-TRA]

I'm not sure if Midway is open 24/7 though

[@kevinb8881]

@@Thom-TRA Oh ok!!

[@iwouldliketoorderanumber1b79]

It’s only stops running for 2 hrs, between 1:30am and 3:30am I believe. So technically they should just run it 24hrs but I’m sure it will be in the future.

[@JBRailfan324]

I haven't been to the Chi but 30 years ago is wild

[@windycitytransit4054]

This makes me miss the 3200s on that line like they basically downgraded

[@Zions_Awesome_YouTube_Show6381]

Safe travels

[@amfm889]

11:45 Bike racks! Re. Freight right-of-way: saved on costs, but some of those stations have terrible "walksheds", especially Halsted and Ashland on the other side of the Stevenson Expressway. I'm guessing a lot of riders arrive at stations by bus.

[@jameskubajak8489]

They do use those 9000 series cars on the Orange Line on a regular basis. I have no idea how they ended up with the older equipment by the time you made this video! And the Ford City extension, I hope it does come around. I even have an idea on where they could put the station. The main mall and the north plaza has an underground connection. Some of this space was used for retail stores. But it is an ideal spot to build Orange Line's future station.

[@Thom-TRA]

There’s no 9000 series yet. And the orange line has been using the 2600s exclusively for a few years now…

[@kevanhubbard9673]

Speaking of the Contras you could investigate the railways of Central America.As far as I'm aware only Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and Honduras have functional systems.The only trains in Central America I've ever ridden is the Mexico City Metro.

[@osmar4449]

Hey, I would recommend the Pink Line's Polk-Ashland Path, you'll get a lot of good downtown views.

[@Thom-TRA]

Been on that line many times!

[@roberthansen2008]

Actually River road changed to Rosemont in about 1995.

[@Thom-TRA]

Did you read the large text at the bottom of the screen? The one that says “This continued until 1995.”

[@anthonyhunt701]

You two have to be local folks!

[@Thom-TRA]

We lived in Chicago for a while yes

[@edwardmiessner6502]

I think the parapets and concrete decks on the new elevated structures make the train quieter both inside the carriages and in the neighborhood down on the ground. What do you think?

[@Thom-TRA]

It’s definitely as quiet as an L car can be…

[@edwardmiessner6502]

@@Thom-TRA I think so too. I'm acquainted with both old fashioned and modern elevated metropolitan railways.

[@BDavinci06]

@1:28-1:40 I guess Iran-Contra got Chicago a new L line. I guess that's something good out of that scandal!! That's typical of Chicago, Someone's always exchanging money for a project. And the one that's giving the money is involved in a larger scandal.🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️🤷🏾‍♂️😂 Anyway, good video on the CTA Orange line. I did ride it one time all the way to from th Loop going to Ford City Mall. I still hope it goes there one day. But a very short bus ride on the #54B bus does the job.

[@Thom-TRA]

Yep, if you look at the construction of the original L lines, there’s a lot of shady stuff that went on

[@coolboss999]

Are there any future plans that the CTA have to extend the Orange Line to the mall?

[@Thom-TRA]

None right now

[@Bernardgaming2.0]

If I can make a request: could you make a video about my neighbor (west town)? Which the orange, pink, & brown line stop at. Thanks!

[@ChinaAl]

You should have been wearing a portable lav mike. the audio would have been so much better.

[@Thom-TRA]

Okay whatever China AI

[@jorggastel1312]

Thom, you use the term Chicagoland in the vid. I've never heard that. Is it an official term for a geographical area, or just a common term people use for the suburbs?

[@Thom-TRA]

Chicagoland is the name of Chicago plus its suburbs. It's very widely used.

[@amfm889]

@@Thom-TRA I think it started with car dealership ads, and then the media picked it up.

[@delibakerytravel]

Are The Different Lines accessible for people with disabilities,especially the Downtown area? Elevators And Escalators?? Thank You.

[@Thom-TRA]

Not all the stations are, but all the stations on the Orange line are outside of the loop. The map shows which stations are and are not accessible.

[@rabbbirumba2397]

Why did they close university station on the greenline?

[@Thom-TRA]

When they closed the line for reconstruction, they tore it down and never built it back up again

[@rabbbirumba2397]

@Thom-TRA oh ok thanks for letting me know. Seems like a shame. University of Chicago is probably the most important university in the city and doesn't actually have a good CTA connection unlike every other university in the city (Northwestern, Loyola, Depaul, UIC, Northeastern, IIT).

[@amfm889]

The story of why the Green Line no longer goes all the way to Jackson Park is a long and sordid one! An entire video could be made about it.

[@Thom-TRA]

Perhaps I should... I have most of the footage for it@@amfm889

[@chicagolandrailfan143]

14:57 hire me please

[@Zions_Awesome_YouTube_Show6381]

I live next to the pink line can you do a video bout it 😌 please I think it had a cool story also like this comment

[@haj8579]

Using old trains for the newest line in the city is... not weird, but somewhat ironic, isn't it?

[@Thom-TRA]

It is very ironic. I hope they get new trains soon.

[@FlightAndTrack]

Second

[@weenisw]

I understand why they used the railroad alignments for cost, land reasons, and nimby dodging reasons, but I think running on a new elevated structure down Archer Ave would have been much better for the communities walk-shed area and proximity to business districts along Archer. I think ridership would be higher because it would discourage driving with the increased convenience.

[@jfmezei]

Since neither CN nor CP (now CPKC) built tracks in USA, it would be nice to mention "Canadian National , formerly Illinois Central Railroad" (or Wisconsin Central Transportation" when mentioning it, especially in a video such as this one that looks at history sicne when Orange line was built, it definietly was not a line line next to it as CN hadn't even been privatized yet. (once govt sold it shares, CN started to divest from canada and invest in USA by buying railroads left and right, and CP did the same). Also, drop bakcground noise when you speak. I guess KZbin is pushing youtubers to put in annoying background music, but it is annoying.

[@Thom-TRA]

KZbin isn’t pushing anything, adding background music has been my style for literally 7 years. Please don’t tell me how to make my video. The history of the CN line is also completely irrelevant to the content. You calling things annoying is a bit like the pot calling the kettle black.

[@jfmezei]

Thank you. you lost a viewer. Good luck with your videos. @@Thom-TRA

[@Thom-TRA]

@@jfmezei finally! Bye bye now

[@a81517]

I think they shouldn't have built the entire line on freight right of way.

[@Thom-TRA]

Why? It’s the only way it would have gotten built

[@a81517]

@@Thom-TRA The alignment between western and kedzie is really silly, Archer has enough room for an elevated line in that stretch, but maybe the budget was just super tight? I mean, you can't do that much with diverted highway funds.