Join us to say ‘Goodbye, old friends!’ to the 2400-series railcars

After 38 years of service to CTA riders, we’ll celebrate the life and retirement of our 2400-series rail cars with a ceremonial last trip on Wednesday, January 21, 2015. (Schedule below.)

Our oldest cars are being retired as we continue to upgrade our fleet, with the introduction of new railcars, as part of an aggressive modernization and infrastructure plan by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CTA President Forrest Claypool.

About these cars

The first of this series of railcars were introduced in 1976—a year where the nation was celebrating its 200th birthday. It was also the year when “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” won multiple Academy Awards (including Best Picture), when Jimmy Carter was elected President, when Apple Computer Inc. was formed by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak and Captain and Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together” won the Grammy for Record of the Year.

The 200 cars in this series were built by Boeing-Vertol between 1976-1978, with the car’s interior and exterior designs done by industrial design firm Sundberg-Ferar, who also worked on cars for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA, DC Metro), Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA).

The cars were delivered with bold, red-white-and-blue graphics on both the sides and the end of the cars—a nod to the nation’s bicentennial—and were initially introduced into Ravenswood Service (today’s Brown Line) and North-South Route (roughly today’s North Side Red Line and South Side Green Line, via the State Street Subway), and West-Northwest Route (today’s Blue Line).

One distinguishing feature of these cars that separated them from hundreds of their most recent predecessors is that they went back to sliding doors, which later made it possible to convert them for wheelchair access under the Americans with Disabilities Act. (Previous to these cars, starting back in the 1940s, our cars were built with streetcar-like folding “blinker doors” which had sets of four narrow panels that swung inward at stops.)

While the last cars of this series ended their service on the Orange and Brown Lines, they were most associated with Green and Purple Line services since the 1990s.

We retain two dozen 2400-series cars that have been modified to serve as maintenance/work trains (you may recognize certain 2400s designated for work service by their reflective red-and-white candy striping, lending them greater visibility if parked at night).

2400-series cars used in the retirement ceremony will become part of CTA’s historic rail car fleet, and will be used for special events and paid charters.

Photo gallery

View larger gallery on Flickr

Join us to say goodbye!

Regular CTA riders and railfans, alike, are welcome to join in on the CTA tradition of saying “Goodbye, Old Friends” as the last, eight-car consist of 2400-series rail cars makes its final trips along the Loop, Brown Line, North Side Red Line and South Side Green Line (to/from the Ashland Branch).

Normal fares apply to access the ‘L’ system and train.

Schedule – Wednesday, January 21, 2015

All eight rail cars will be decked out with their original exterior decals and will even feature interior advertising cards from the period when they first launched.

IMPORTANT NOTE: These times are estimated and are subject to change without notice. Customers can also use CTA Train Tracker for estimated arrival times at their preferred stations. Once in service, this ceremonial train will be indicated with "(2400)" on most Train Tracker displays.

Loop Shuttle Service

We’ll operate a ceremonial late-morning trip on the Loop for those who wish to take part in the celebration.

The train will pick up passengers at about 10:20am at Washington/Wells (Outer Loop/Brown Line side), make two trips around the Loop, then drop off its passengers back at Washington/Wells around 10:50am.

No intermediate stops are scheduled for this ceremonial trip.

Ravenswood Service (All Stop train)

(Brown Line)

The train will make one round trip on the Brown Line between Kimball and the Loop, making all stops.

Use these selected, approximate timepoints as a guide on how to catch the train:

11:55am – Depart Kimball (to Loop)
12:16pm – Depart Fullerton (to Loop)
12:30pm – Depart Washington/Wells (to Kimball)
12:35pm – Depart Adams/Wabash (to Kimball)
12:40pm – Depart Clark/Lake (to Kimball)
12:56pm – Depart Fullerton (to Kimball)
1:17pm – Arrive Kimball

North-South Route (Howard-Englewood All Stop train) - Updated 4:43pm

(North Side Red Line & South Side Green Line)

Howard to Ashland/63rd, via Loop 'L'
The train will make one trip from Howard to Ashland/63rd via the elevated lines and Loop.

The train will make all stops along the Red Line thru Fullerton, the Brown Line thru Merchandise Mart, and then the Green Line from Clark/Lake thru Ashland/63rd.

Use these selected, approximate timepoints as a guide on how to catch the train:

2:45pm – Depart Howard (toward downtown, via Red Line)
3:02pm – Depart Wilson (toward downtown, via Red Line)
3:12pm – Depart Fullerton (toward Loop, via Purple Line routing)
3:26pm – Depart Merchandise Mart (toward Loop, via Purple Line routing)
3:28pm – Depart Clark/Lake (toward Ashland/63rd, via Green Line)
3:35pm – Depart Roosevelt (toward Ashland/63rd, via Green Line)
3:40pm – Depart 35th-Bronzeville-IIT (toward Ashland/63rd, via Green Line)
4:00pm – Arrive Ashland/63rd

Ashland/63rd to Howard, via State Street Subway
The train will then make one trip from Ashland/63rd to Howard via the State Street Subway—just like the old Englewood-Howard trains used to!

The route will take the train on the Green Line from Ashland/63rd thru 35th-Bronzeville-IIT, then onto the Red Line from Roosevelt thru Howard, making all stops along the way.

Use these selected, approximate timepoints as a guide on how to catch the train: