CTA 6069/6070

General

This set of Chicago rapid transit cars were designed and constructed to operate as a pair by the newly formed Chicago Transit Authority with the order being placed in 1948 to begin to replace the many hundreds of wooden elevated cars in service at the time.  It incorporated many of the things learned from the construction of four experimental units in 1947 (including car 5001, which is in our collection).  All-electric operation of both propulsion and braking were carried over but the articulation was deemed not as useful, so they are identical cars coupled semi-permanently back-to-back, a design feature that has endured well into the Chicago L cars of the 21^st century.

History

6069 and 6070 were in the early part of the first order of 200 cars using the all-electric PCC streetcar type control system and more than likely arrived sometime after August 1950.  They were made of all new components as CTA was still operating a large fleet of PCC streetcars at the time.  Their side entrance doors are flat as opposed to later 6000 series cars which used salvaged parts from the PCC streetcars that were being replaced by rubber-tired trolley coaches and motor buses which were both diesel and propane powered.  These later model 6000’s were equipped with side doors that conformed to the curved sides of the cars.  Our pair served the L and subway lines of CTA until 1987, when they were to be sold the South Eastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority to fill in on its Norristown high speed line until new cars could be built to replace the failing and wrecked cars that had reduced their fleet.  Our pair served with six other pairs of 6000’s in this assignment until the new cars finally arrived in 1994.

At that time, Wendell Dillinger purchased this pair and had them moved to his short line railroad in Middletown, Pennsylvania.  The conjecture is that he intended to use the trucks or bogies to regauge some Philadelphia streetcars he had to standard gauge.  [Many streetcar lines and even interurban lines in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania were constructed with a broader track gauge to prevent the movement of railroad freight cars over them.]  Fortunately for our museum this never came to pass.  Upon Mr. Dillinger’s passing in 2024, he willed his short line railroad to his employees.  These new owners have less interest in electric railroads, concentrating on its’ freight and tourist operations so in early 2026, donated the pair to the Fox River Trolley Association which in May of that year was able to have them moved via highway to the museum.

Narrative

The cars arrived in their well-worn SEPTA paint scheme and fleet numbers of 476 and 477.  It is the museum’s intention to restore the pair to their original CTA paint scheme and with the addition of trolley poles, return them to operating condition to supplant our other CTA all-electric cars and fill a gap in the history of 20^th century Chicago L cars.

Author: Joe Hazinski, curator