General
A single car version of the post-World War 6000 series rapid transit cars which modernized the elevated and subway service of CTA by replacing the old wooden L cars. These cars use an all-electric power and brake system adapted from the streamlined PCC streetcars first developed in the late 1930’s. It seats 46 passengers and has four 55 hp 300-volt motors that operate in series pairs to handle the 600-volt DC traction power. These motors also become generators to provide electric braking.
History
Car 45 and her museum sisters 40 and 43 were part of the final fifty car order of rapid transit cars based on the 6000 series rapid transit cars which were operated in married pairs after four 5000 series 1947 experimental cars proved the all-electric control system could be used in a rapid transit environment. The articulated design of the 5000’s turned out to not be practical, so it was not repeated.
The Evanston line (now the Purple Line), which was and is primarily a shuttle from the northside Howard Street terminal, needed a car that could be operated by one person who could also collect fares on the car and thus eliminate the need for station agents to staff the ticket windows as is done at all other L stations on the rest of the system. The Evanston line was also unique in that the City of Evanston did not allow third rail power collection, so trolley wire had to be used, thus a group of the cars (39-50) were trolley pole equipped to cover this service. Eventually the CTA convinced the City of Evanston to change its ordinance in 1974. Those cars built not having trolley poles (5-38) were used primarily on the Ravenswood line (the Brown Line).
As a side note: cars 1-4 of this group were experimental cars, although having the same body, were equipped with trucks, motors and electric control systems that tried out new concepts and were painted a special red and cream paint scheme. These four became the first cars to cover the “Skokie Swift” operation in 1964 using former Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee trackage, half of which the CTA needed, to have continued rail access to their main Skokie Shops which was built in the 1920’s when the North Shore and Chicago Rapid Transit were under the control of utility magnate Samuel Insull.
Narrative
Car 45 was initially purchased from the CTA by another museum which installed trolley poles on it and repainted it into the 1970’s era white over dark green paint scheme. As this museum acquired other older cars, they decided to dispose of the all-electric cars they had and made 45 available to the Fox River Trolley Museum at a nominal cost. We had problems with car 40 and needed a backup car, so it served as a substitute for it on the very poplar Polar ExpressTM service for several winters. Once 40 was repaired, repainted and equipped with trolley poles, 45 returned to reserve status and developed some issues of its own and is now undergoing a restoration. The car is being restored to its “alpine white and mint green” paint scheme from on the CTA in the 1960s and 70s, and we have a farebox which we hope to install to represent how the car was used on the Evanston shuttle service.
Author: Joseph Hazinski, Curator