The Chicago flag is indeed legit! Here's its symbolism: Initially the flag had just two stars when it was adopted in 1917, but it changed to three in 1933 and then a fourth in 1939. Each six-pointed star (six points were chosen because no other flag had this when it was made) represents an event in Chicago's history. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, the Century of Progress Exposition of 1933, and the establishment of Fort Dearborn in 1803. And each point on these stars has a meaning. For the Great Chicago Fire for example the points represent the virtues of religion, education, aesthetics, justice, beneficence, and civic pride. The three white bars represent the North, West, and South Sides of Chicago. The top sky-blue bar represents Lake Michigan and the North Branch of the Chicago River, while the bottom bar represents the South Branch of the river and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal
Literally did not know any of this, so thank you. Wish the city would live up to the points of the star a little more. Sometimes justice can seem far away here.
Those old Amtrak engines are by far the nicest looking in the fleet. Saw #79 on the McHenry spur a while back. They also have brighter, more iconic sounding train whistles that are more pleasing than the standard units, and they run quieter as well.
The one thing I hope they continue with the newer locomotives is throwing a famous Chicago name, suburb, district, or neighborhood stamp on the front just underneath the cabs. Always fun to see which town/neighborhood will be pulling your train.
I love that they operate on their former lines, compared to njt where you can see the CNJ unit on former Erie Lackawanna territory. I find it interesting that they do this in Chicago, because for NJT they just operate on any line needed.
Thank you for another great video ! It was so neat to see all the Metra Heritage liveried locos in one video. I particularly liked the Rock Island MPI unit, and the C&NW F59PHI No 90. Good to see the new SD70 locos almost ready to run, and I’m really looking forward to your report on them. Many thanks indeed.
Fun fact! @7:30 you will see AMTK 184. For some reason Amtrak decided to only repaint that locomotive from their heritage units. It used to rock the Phase IV livery.
IIRC the heritage units are actually painted. The first heritage unit actually doesn't exist anymore as it was a wrap of the original RTA livery for the RTAs 40th anniversary. Still hoping for a GM&O heritage unit for the heritage corridor a Wabash unit for Southwest and an actual RTA unit. Yes CNW was the first with the bilevels and there are actual photos of shiny new yellow and green commuter bilevels being pulled by a 4-6-2 Pacific steam engine. Additionally the Rock Island commuter service was literally a working museum with 1920s " Caponeliners " along with some very rare locomotives saved from the scrappers torches ( though sadly not all of the rare locomotives were saved) simply because they were high mileage units and easily spared for HEP conversion for the new Budd and Pullman smooth side bilevels. Seriously a lot of current railroad museums fleets across the country are donated Rock Island Caponeliners. Just a couple of corrections the older smooth side Metra bilevels are actually steel and former CNW and Rock Island Pullman cars and the new bike livery and oddly painted smooth side cars are actually painted for other commuter lines around the country. Apparently when Metra started getting the new larger window stainless steel cars metra decided the old smooth side Pullmans were considered obsolete and sold to other commuter start ups in other cites. Apparently metra misjudged just how obsolete those cars were and had to buy back a bunch of them. Finally the Milwaukee heritage unit is actually orange and maroon but a lot of modern maroon paints fade rapidly to brown upon weathering.
For the “Stoney Point” (nickname for the Rock Island) I wish they had chosen the maroon/silver scheme-very classy. One additional comment on the Milwaukee electrified lines: they were also in Washington state as well as Montana and Idaho. Your videos are always informative and Chicagoland is still the railroad capital of the US.
Nice one Thom. The latter part of your video reminded me much of my time in Chicago in October 1995. I spent a week exploring the Metra system as it was then and travelled a number of times between Arlington Heights and Ogilvie Transportation Center during my visit. A lot has changed in the 28 years since my visit but some familiar views appeared in this and other of your videos. Keep up your good work. Cheers from Michael🙂
Metra definitely ain’t perfect, but at least they go above and beyond to honor their heritage. And those new Alstom ones look legit! I love a good train car with a livery that stands out! My favorites are the Tri-Rail bi-levels from Florida because of the blue sky and palm trees. It just screams Florida and tropical good vibes and it definitely makes them stand out by doing their own thing. It’s the little things that count, right?
Wonder how they've added HEP to those MACs. Alaska RR did it by having the Inverter for the rear truck produce HEP, essentially halving the traction power.
Thank you for the video Thom! I really enjoyed learning about Metra and it's colourful liveries. I didn't realise Metra went into Wisconsin! As for UK trains. I myself like the LNER 225 in the Intercity Swallow Livery and the Transpennine Express. Speaking of the Netherlands, 5 years ago today, I was visiting Amsterdam for the first time! :-)
Through independent research I learned 405’s emblem was the Milwaukee Road’s Hiawatha Running Indian badge and not the Winged Mercury I first thought. The video encouraged me to acquire new knowledge!
The Milwaukee District lines also have, or at least had for a period of time, another heritage livery designed to look like Milwaukee Road’s Arrow service which operated from Chicago to Omaha. The Arrow livery was a nice golden yellow and brown color and originally operated exclusively on the Milwaukee District West Line to Elgin, which the Arrow operated on from the 1930s until the 1960s. Whereas the Hiawatha livery exclusively ran on the Milwaukee District North Line. Metra may have discontinued the Arrow livery because I haven’t seen it in a while
Awesome video Thom! I just discovered your channel, and you’ve got some really cool stuff! I am a freak when it comes to Metra. I know so much about the Metra system it’s not even funny. I even know every stop on 10 of the 11 lines. I also know every locomotive the railroad uses. The railroad is also the fourth busiest in the country which I find very interesting
@@Thom-TRA The Metra Electric Line. The thing is that line has three separate branches, and it’s not the best line to be on because it goes into some pretty unsafe areas. Those are the reasons why I leave out the Electric Line. The other lines are good. My friend and I have a goal to ride every Metra line, and we are almost done. All we have to ride is the North Central Service line which goes up to Antioch
That Rock Island red tribute livery is very similar to the old South African Railways or Suid Afrikaanse Spoorweegen in Afrikaans livery right down to the yellow whiskers except for the fact SAR were mainly electric apart for a few branches.
As always, Thom, you're a rail superhero. Great video, and rockin opening music too. Who knew a guy from the Netherlands would have good musical taste 😂 If you had one pet peeve re: railroad rolling stock, what would it be? Mine is trains with mixed livery cars. Amtrak does this often enough... a Superliner car mixed with a Surfliner...or even some of the new coaches mixed with Amfleet ones. And dont even get me started on NYs Metro North when they mix Blue with the Orange coaches from the New Haven division. They just make the train and railroad look junky. We're off on Amtrak from NYC to Niagara Falls, then off to the real world of rail, Switzerland... all aboard.
It would be cool to see a Chicago and Alton/GM&O heritage unit for the Heritage Corridor, Wabash/N&W heritage unit for the Souhwest service (which NS ran until 1993), and an electric multiple unit car in an Illinois Central heritage livery. I prefer the F59PHi and SD70MAC-H liveries over the lightningbolt livery they're starting to give the F40s and F40PHMs. F40PH 100 was wrapped in an RTA heritage livery a few years back before any of these other heritage liveries were applied.
Just amazed and impressed at your knowledge and research in the different Metra lines and reallllllyyyy appreciate you sharing your videos with all of us. I like color on trains too!!! Thank you!!!
Awesome promotional video for Metra and the city of Chicago! This video wants me want to visit and see the units you highlight! Thanks for putting this together! I might just have to press the subscribe button! Do you think I should? Wink😊
Note that not all of Metra’s F59s came from the Pacific Surfliner. Units 88-93 (Ex Amtrak Units 465-470) were from the Amtrak Cascades Service in the Pacific Northwest. Units 73-87 (Ex Amtrak Units 450-464) were from the Pacific Surfliner.
I heard the Rock Island livery was to salute a retiring Metra executive who had a previous career working for the Rock Island. That might just be a rumor though.😀
It’s no rumor at all. His name was Don Orseno. He was the Executive Director and CEO of Metra from 2014-2018. I remember reading on the Metra website that he did have a career with the Rock Island railroad.
I agree with you on the Metra F59PHI Surfliner paint scheme, I think they should really keep it in my opinion because it fits the engine really well. I miss the F59PHI units on the Pacific Surfliner, but I am glad that they are now running on Metra instead of being scrapped. The lighting bolt paint scheme looks good on the F59PHI’s in my opinion. But it looks no where as good as the Surfliner and Cascades paint scheme imo. 79 was originally Amtrak unit 456. I am glad that a saw a few ex Amtrak F59s in Chicago in June 2021. My favorite special Metra units in my opinion would be CNW unit 90, Ex Amtrak 467, Metra 402 and 104. Metra is a cool railroad to film but it could be better system than it is right now, like Metra needs to fix some of their schedules on their lines like the Heritage Corridor, North Central Service, and the Southwest Service, but the North Central Service schedule has gotten a bit better than it was previously. But the good news is that they are getting new passenger cars, which is mentioned in this video and I cannot wait for them to enter service. Metra while a cool railroad to film, like I said and is probably the best commuter railroad outside the East Coast, but it is definitely not the best transit system in the world and exemplifies everything wrong with American passenger rail. Some things about Metra do need to be fixed like run trains every 15 to 20 minutes by adding more equipment and running the trains safely as they can. And they can also electrify all of their lines, with the exception of the Metra Electric District which has been electrified already, which is neat. Even though I am nostalgic for diesels, that I will admit that electric trains are more bettter for the environment. Overall you did a good job making this video about Metra’s different paint schemes. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the great comment! I agree about the liveries and about the necessary improvements! Come back on Wednesday for a video about the future of Metra.
Metra does some cool liveries, they all work together well and they never stray too far from their original colours. I really hope they don't use that different battery loco livery though... Or even better don't use battery locos and build overhead electrification. Cool video Thom, I like the different presentation and transitions you used in this video.
Nice video Thom! I would love to see more vibrant paint schemes on some of these locomotives and cars. The stainless steel look reminds me of a classic 1950s American diner, and I think it just looks really dated now. I love the lean and mean green and yellow machine around 12:37, and the windows of the passenger coaches are even yellow-green! I've noticed weirdly tinted Metra windows in some of your other videos as well. Is the tinting noticeable in person as well?
Thank you! I agree about the stainless steel. The tinting is very noticeable, it makes outside look green. I think they did it for a while as a measure against the sun.
And then there's that candy-cane striping on the front and rear. I'm sure there's a story there, but have never heard it. No other U.S. commuter lines seem to have them.
The names of the to liveeres that metes uses are classic and fademteth the older ones with the blue and orange is the classic wech is sen on f40ph-2 f40ph-3 and f40phm-3
Metra needs the EMD F125 because it is both built by EMD and is safe for the environment. Metra should also buy old AEM-7's for the electric line. But what Metra needs the most is a heritage unit in the old BN E9 paint scheme
Very informative and well done. How about New York Central livery? Pennslyvania railroad did use Union Station so that would be ok right? Why not acknowledge all of the old lines that served chicago?
You probably won't see this because I'm commenting late, but you should do a video titled something like "Chicago's Secret Light Rail Line". I'm referring to the South Chicago branch of the metra electric line, where it runs in the median of 71st st and Exchange ave. Could be an interesting video.
Lightning Bolt? More like Athletic Swoosh IMHO. Liked the NS 'Green' treatment - on that note, have they ever done all-over wraps to commemorate MAT '46, '54 or even '57? \m/
Additional heritage colors for Rock Island locomotives would be the blue and white "The Rock" and black, red and white design. For the Burlington Northern, the green and white white with the orange and white stripes, similar to the E9's passenger units that Metra used. CB&Q also had the red and silver freight design as well as black, yellow, red and metallic gray freight color, too. Perhaps these would be great on the F40PH's. As for the commuter cars, wrapping their bodies with the old CNW colors and original Rock Island yellow and red colors would be nice.
It's both, honestly... It's within that blend where it's "neigende naar rood, en neigende naar oranje, maar ook; geen van beiden" to put it in as blunt and abstractly Dutch as I can😁 My bf has a vest that within that transitional circle of being red and orange... And I think I told him it looked more like orange to me, when I finally got to hug him at ORD, whilst he described it messages as red😁💜
I remember reading about something similar before.. Where there's places that do not have a word for blue, and would designate it as a shade of green😁 Tho... Relatively speaking... The colour "orange" as a word, isn't even that old either, and was thought of as a shade of red.... Which is funny; as on the colour spectrum; brown as a colour, is just a darker shade of orange(see technology connections' video) 💜
@@Thom-TRA I wanna try Metra one day! My friend loves advocating for transit and he wishes Metra could start running all day! A lot like Caltrain where I’m from, but Caltrain’s liveries are just too boring
C&NW livery locos should’ve also had matching passenger cars in the C&NW livery. I mean, COME ON! Who wouldn’t want to be riding around in a modern day C&NW passenger train and relive the old days…
You're right about 425 looking like a Happy Meal. Incidentally there's a preserved locomotive on my local heritage railway - Hunslet-built DSA 551 - that's painted in a very bright red and yellow livery which reminds me of McDonald's. The livery isn't even remotely authentic. I like the concept of heritage units. Not just because they add some colour variation to the rail scene, but also because I like seeing these big companies celebrating their past. Some of my favourite heritage units are Norfolk Southern ES44AC No. 8099 and SD70ACe No. 1071. Incidentally KiwiRail still has around eight mainline locomotives (four 'DC' diesels and four 'EF' electrics) running in old liveries, and they are basically unofficial heritage units.
As one who grew up on the Rock Island, I wholeheartedly agree with your color assessment. Possible subject? How does Kenosha conribute to Metra/RTA? Illinois counties offer up some sales tax revenue and Metra and RTA are both Illinois entities, so how does Kenosha fit into the financial scheme? Also, the North Western used to run to Walworth, Wisconsin until 1971 (prior to the RTA coming into being). Why did they lose the service and Kenosha got to keep theirs? Thanks for all your research and happy travels. Cheers.
Kenosha does not fund anything for metra. The service only exist to Kenosha because that's where the CNW had their servicing yard for overnight trains.
Wow well all of these Heritage units are Awesome! My favorite is the C&NW. But I'm not trying to be rude, but I think you missed METX 100, RTA Heritage Unit or the RTA's 40th Anniversary Heritage unit. Unless the wrap hasen't been taken off or it hasen't been repainted, I'm pretty sure you missed it.
Hello Thom, as always a very interesting video. When i see the trains with on one side a locomotive and on the other side a cabcar i always think their must be a big difference in fuelconsumption between what side the train is running on. The locomotives are pretty aerodynamicly styled, but that cabcars have the aerodynamics of a brick. Do you know anything about it 🤔?
Thanks!
No, thank YOU!!
4:29 I sure wish Caltrain and Muni did it. I’m an Oakland native and I wish Caltrain and Muni had heritage units. BOOOORIIIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG
The Chicago flag is indeed legit! Here's its symbolism: Initially the flag had just two stars when it was adopted in 1917, but it changed to three in 1933 and then a fourth in 1939. Each six-pointed star (six points were chosen because no other flag had this when it was made) represents an event in Chicago's history. The Great Chicago Fire of 1871, the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893, the Century of Progress Exposition of 1933, and the establishment of Fort Dearborn in 1803. And each point on these stars has a meaning. For the Great Chicago Fire for example the points represent the virtues of religion, education, aesthetics, justice, beneficence, and civic pride.
The three white bars represent the North, West, and South Sides of Chicago. The top sky-blue bar represents Lake Michigan and the North Branch of the Chicago River, while the bottom bar represents the South Branch of the river and the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal
Literally did not know any of this, so thank you.
Wish the city would live up to the points of the star a little more. Sometimes justice can seem far away here.
Heritage locomotives are so cool. The rock island is also my favorite livery.
I’m a simple guy, I like bright red trains
They need a green and black heritage unit on the BNSF to honor the old EMD E9’s that used to so famously operate there.
That would look awesome
That will be fun
YES YES YES YES YES YES!!! THATS EXACTLY WHAT METRA NEEDS
@@LakeCountyRails2022 Speak the truth
All the trains in that train game
Those old Amtrak engines are by far the nicest looking in the fleet. Saw #79 on the McHenry spur a while back. They also have brighter, more iconic sounding train whistles that are more pleasing than the standard units, and they run quieter as well.
They are definitely my favorite Metra units as well
The one thing I hope they continue with the newer locomotives is throwing a famous Chicago name, suburb, district, or neighborhood stamp on the front just underneath the cabs. Always fun to see which town/neighborhood will be pulling your train.
I was in Chicago last year, and I saw Metra 211, Metra 402, & Metra 405. But I’m excited to see the SD70MACH’s when I come back to Chicago someday.
I love that they operate on their former lines, compared to njt where you can see the CNJ unit on former Erie Lackawanna territory. I find it interesting that they do this in Chicago, because for NJT they just operate on any line needed.
I love that you mentioned the horrored twotenny😂
It’s spring time, love is in the air
I loved these trains.... CNW 4080C Chicago & North Western Railroad EMD F7(A)
Another great video, can't wait for the next!
Super impressive!
Thank you for another great video ! It was so neat to see all the Metra Heritage liveried locos in one video. I particularly liked the Rock Island MPI unit, and the C&NW F59PHI No 90. Good to see the new SD70 locos almost ready to run, and I’m really looking forward to your report on them. Many thanks indeed.
AMAZING video I love some of some paint schemes but I LOVE Metras heritage units they look soooo cool 405,104,211 and 90 are my favorites.
Great video... Droll jokes, e.g.: Rock Island heritage looks like a happy-meal... Thanks, Thom...
A happy meal with fries dipped in diesel sauce
The heritage liveries are all really well done!
@@Thom-TRA Wish Caltrain had ‘em!
Btw I am from Oakland
Fun fact!
@7:30 you will see AMTK 184. For some reason Amtrak decided to only repaint that locomotive from their heritage units.
It used to rock the Phase IV livery.
I’ve seen Unit 405 on the NCS Line near Prospect Heights
The Twotenny Valentine's Day livery 💀💀💀
IIRC the heritage units are actually painted. The first heritage unit actually doesn't exist anymore as it was a wrap of the original RTA livery for the RTAs 40th anniversary. Still hoping for a GM&O heritage unit for the heritage corridor a Wabash unit for Southwest and an actual RTA unit.
Yes CNW was the first with the bilevels and there are actual photos of shiny new yellow and green commuter bilevels being pulled by a 4-6-2 Pacific steam engine. Additionally the Rock Island commuter service was literally a working museum with 1920s " Caponeliners " along with some very rare locomotives saved from the scrappers torches ( though sadly not all of the rare locomotives were saved) simply because they were high mileage units and easily spared for HEP conversion for the new Budd and Pullman smooth side bilevels. Seriously a lot of current railroad museums fleets across the country are donated Rock Island Caponeliners. Just a couple of corrections the older smooth side Metra bilevels are actually steel and former CNW and Rock Island Pullman cars and the new bike livery and oddly painted smooth side cars are actually painted for other commuter lines around the country. Apparently when Metra started getting the new larger window stainless steel cars metra decided the old smooth side Pullmans were considered obsolete and sold to other commuter start ups in other cites. Apparently metra misjudged just how obsolete those cars were and had to buy back a bunch of them.
Finally the Milwaukee heritage unit is actually orange and maroon but a lot of modern maroon paints fade rapidly to brown upon weathering.
For the “Stoney Point” (nickname for the Rock Island) I wish they had chosen the maroon/silver scheme-very classy. One additional comment on the Milwaukee electrified lines: they were also in Washington state as well as Montana and Idaho. Your videos are always informative and Chicagoland is still the railroad capital of the US.
I ❤metra locomotives 🚂
At 15:44, I believe you filmed that shot at my apartment building on Arlington Heights Rd! Haha. I get to watch the NW line from my couch!
The amount of times I’ve driven to the wrong building trying to get there…
@@Thom-TRA haha. There is second building on the next street over. Happens all the time!
Nice one Thom. The latter part of your video reminded me much of my time in Chicago in October 1995. I spent a week exploring the Metra system as it was then and travelled a number of times between Arlington Heights and Ogilvie Transportation Center during my visit. A lot has changed in the 28 years since my visit but some familiar views appeared in this and other of your videos. Keep up your good work. Cheers from Michael🙂
Metra definitely ain’t perfect, but at least they go above and beyond to honor their heritage. And those new Alstom ones look legit! I love a good train car with a livery that stands out! My favorites are the Tri-Rail bi-levels from Florida because of the blue sky and palm trees. It just screams Florida and tropical good vibes and it definitely makes them stand out by doing their own thing. It’s the little things that count, right?
I love liveries with attention or bright colors. I agree TriRail is a fun one. Very excited for the Airo livery.
How come I almost always find you in the comments of the videos I watch
Wonder how they've added HEP to those MACs. Alaska RR did it by having the Inverter for the rear truck produce HEP, essentially halving the traction power.
Thank you for the video Thom! I really enjoyed learning about Metra and it's colourful liveries. I didn't realise Metra went into Wisconsin! As for UK trains. I myself like the LNER 225 in the Intercity Swallow Livery and the Transpennine Express. Speaking of the Netherlands, 5 years ago today, I was visiting Amsterdam for the first time! :-)
The TransPennine express livery is absolutely my favorite British livery
Great video mate
Thank you!
I love Metra commuter rail.❤
Very diverse looks! Unlike Caltrain, my local commuter rail’s livery. BORING!!!!
Through independent research I learned 405’s emblem was the Milwaukee Road’s Hiawatha Running Indian badge and not the Winged Mercury I first thought. The video encouraged me to acquire new knowledge!
Hey that’s the best news I’ve heard all day!
The Milwaukee District lines also have, or at least had for a period of time, another heritage livery designed to look like Milwaukee Road’s Arrow service which operated from Chicago to Omaha. The Arrow livery was a nice golden yellow and brown color and originally operated exclusively on the Milwaukee District West Line to Elgin, which the Arrow operated on from the 1930s until the 1960s. Whereas the Hiawatha livery exclusively ran on the Milwaukee District North Line. Metra may have discontinued the Arrow livery because I haven’t seen it in a while
Awesome video😊
Thanks!
@@Thom-TRA your welcome
Awesome video Thom! I just discovered your channel, and you’ve got some really cool stuff! I am a freak when it comes to Metra. I know so much about the Metra system it’s not even funny. I even know every stop on 10 of the 11 lines. I also know every locomotive the railroad uses. The railroad is also the fourth busiest in the country which I find very interesting
Which line do you have yet to memorize?
@@Thom-TRA The Metra Electric Line. The thing is that line has three separate branches, and it’s not the best line to be on because it goes into some pretty unsafe areas. Those are the reasons why I leave out the Electric Line. The other lines are good. My friend and I have a goal to ride every Metra line, and we are almost done. All we have to ride is the North Central Service line which goes up to Antioch
That Rock Island red tribute livery is very similar to the old South African Railways or Suid Afrikaanse Spoorweegen in Afrikaans livery right down to the yellow whiskers except for the fact SAR were mainly electric apart for a few branches.
Great video! Learn something new each time! Hope your efforts are rewarded
If you learned something new then my efforts are rewarded :)
Metra should consider painting one locomotive for Burlington Northern.
Have a nice day/night.
As always, Thom, you're a rail superhero. Great video, and rockin opening music too. Who knew a guy from the Netherlands would have good musical taste 😂
If you had one pet peeve re: railroad rolling stock, what would it be? Mine is trains with mixed livery cars. Amtrak does this often enough... a Superliner car mixed with a Surfliner...or even some of the new coaches mixed with Amfleet ones. And dont even get me started on NYs Metro North when they mix Blue with the Orange coaches from the New Haven division. They just make the train and railroad look junky.
We're off on Amtrak from NYC to Niagara Falls, then off to the real world of rail, Switzerland... all aboard.
It would be cool to see a Chicago and Alton/GM&O heritage unit for the Heritage Corridor, Wabash/N&W heritage unit for the Souhwest service (which NS ran until 1993), and an electric multiple unit car in an Illinois Central heritage livery.
I prefer the F59PHi and SD70MAC-H liveries over the lightningbolt livery they're starting to give the F40s and F40PHMs. F40PH 100 was wrapped in an RTA heritage livery a few years back before any of these other heritage liveries were applied.
Metra should do a custom wrap of #420 on 4/20 sometime. It would be so hilarious.
Metra 404 should get a Cybernetic livery
Great video and your historical explanations, Thanks.
I think that a locomotive in the GM&O red would be appropriate as well.
Plate C
I’d love to see a Green & Black throw back to the Burlington Northern on the racetrack.
I am all for this
Great locomotives!
Just amazed and impressed at your knowledge and research in the different Metra lines and reallllllyyyy appreciate you sharing your videos with all of us. I like color on trains too!!! Thank you!!!
Colorful trains are soooo much better
Awesome promotional video for Metra and the city of Chicago! This video wants me want to visit and see the units you highlight! Thanks for putting this together! I might just have to press the subscribe button! Do you think I should? Wink😊
Hey I might be biased, but I think you should! Wink
@@Thom-TRA lol I browsed it and couldn’t resist but subscribing mr!
Awesome channel!!! Will explore in the fullness of time.
Metra should get a Ex-Amtrak AEM-7 painted in IC Electric colors pulling old Highliner 1 EMUs
6:28 I saw this one in Naperville a week ago!
The CB&Q colours look fantastic on the F40.
Note that not all of Metra’s F59s came from the Pacific Surfliner. Units 88-93 (Ex Amtrak Units 465-470) were from the Amtrak Cascades Service in the Pacific Northwest. Units 73-87 (Ex Amtrak Units 450-464) were from the Pacific Surfliner.
7:27 Wow, a rare shot of 184 after its repaint from its Heritage IV Livery
I heard the Rock Island livery was to salute a retiring Metra executive who had a previous career working for the Rock Island. That might just be a rumor though.😀
It’s no rumor at all. His name was Don Orseno. He was the Executive Director and CEO of Metra from 2014-2018. I remember reading on the Metra website that he did have a career with the Rock Island railroad.
“With a bright front telling bigger trains they’re venomous” 😂
🐍🐍
I think seeing a couple EMUs on the electric line with old Illinois Central livery would be pretty cool
They should totally give the emus some color
@@Thom-TRAOr Metra could get a Ex-Amtrak AEM-7 painted in IC Electric colors pulling old Highliner 1 EMUs
Leo: 7:31 i see amtrak 184 just repaint in phase 5 the farewell of 184 the phase 4
I agree with you on the Metra F59PHI Surfliner paint scheme, I think they should really keep it in my opinion because it fits the engine really well. I miss the F59PHI units on the Pacific Surfliner, but I am glad that they are now running on Metra instead of being scrapped. The lighting bolt paint scheme looks good on the F59PHI’s in my opinion. But it looks no where as good as the Surfliner and Cascades paint scheme imo. 79 was originally Amtrak unit 456. I am glad that a saw a few ex Amtrak F59s in Chicago in June 2021. My favorite special Metra units in my opinion would be CNW unit 90, Ex Amtrak 467, Metra 402 and 104. Metra is a cool railroad to film but it could be better system than it is right now, like Metra needs to fix some of their schedules on their lines like the Heritage Corridor, North Central Service, and the Southwest Service, but the North Central Service schedule has gotten a bit better than it was previously. But the good news is that they are getting new passenger cars, which is mentioned in this video and I cannot wait for them to enter service. Metra while a cool railroad to film, like I said and is probably the best commuter railroad outside the East Coast, but it is definitely not the best transit system in the world and exemplifies everything wrong with American passenger rail. Some things about Metra do need to be fixed like run trains every 15 to 20 minutes by adding more equipment and running the trains safely as they can. And they can also electrify all of their lines, with the exception of the Metra Electric District which has been electrified already, which is neat. Even though I am nostalgic for diesels, that I will admit that electric trains are more bettter for the environment. Overall you did a good job making this video about Metra’s different paint schemes. Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the great comment! I agree about the liveries and about the necessary improvements! Come back on Wednesday for a video about the future of Metra.
Where is that location at 7:20? Is there towboat/ barge traffic there?
It’s on Roosevelt street, the river is the Chicago River
What do you think about the Battery Electric Multiple Units Metra is buying from Alstom?
Though I wish they’d just electrify, I am very excited about the multiple units.
I don’t think it’s been decided yet that it’s Alstom.
@@Thom-TRA Apperently there's another bidder which was Stadler so Metra FLIRTs Confirmed?!
My choice would be Metra electric locomotives with Illinois Central Railroad livery. With the green diamond logo on the nose.
Metra should get a Ex-Amtrak AEM-7 painted in IC Electric colors pulling old Highliner 1 EMUs
Nice
Metra should get a Ex-Amtrak AEM-7 painted in IC Electric colors pulling old Highliner 1 EMUs
Santa Fe red and silver Warbonnet would look great on a MP36?
IMO the Lightningbolt Livery should be carried over to every other locomotive besides the ones with extra special liveries and F59PHI fleet
Metra 404 should get a Cybernetic livery
i love the thumbnail!
Thanks! Making some cool stuff with these soon so stay tuned!
Do we know when the sd70s are being put into service and what lines they will be on
They will be put on the BNSF. I don't know when.
The rock island heritage unit looks like a mix between ketchup and mustard
It looks like a happy meal box
I know right
Where did you find out about the new car liveries? I've been desperate to find out! 😂
Metra had a vote on their Instagram a few months ago!
Just realized that they missed the Wabash colours on a F59PHI/F40PH/SD70MAC-2H.
Metra does some cool liveries, they all work together well and they never stray too far from their original colours. I really hope they don't use that different battery loco livery though... Or even better don't use battery locos and build overhead electrification. Cool video Thom, I like the different presentation and transitions you used in this video.
I agree with everything you say about batteries and electrification
Wonder if there would ever be a Metra AEM-7 IC Electric Heritage Unit.
That will never happen
Nice video Thom! I would love to see more vibrant paint schemes on some of these locomotives and cars. The stainless steel look reminds me of a classic 1950s American diner, and I think it just looks really dated now. I love the lean and mean green and yellow machine around 12:37, and the windows of the passenger coaches are even yellow-green! I've noticed weirdly tinted Metra windows in some of your other videos as well. Is the tinting noticeable in person as well?
Thank you! I agree about the stainless steel.
The tinting is very noticeable, it makes outside look green. I think they did it for a while as a measure against the sun.
Does Metra Operate any ex Santa Fe or BN Lines? if so i'd like to see BN or Santa Fe HU's
An ex BN route but I don’t think any Santa Fe
And then there's that candy-cane striping on the front and rear. I'm sure there's a story there, but have never heard it. No other U.S. commuter lines seem to have them.
“Safety”
6:06 damn they left out Kenosha County
Well, the unit is called State of Illinois, and unfortunately Kenosha County is in Wisconsin.
The names of the to liveeres that metes uses are classic and fademteth the older ones with the blue and orange is the classic wech is sen on f40ph-2 f40ph-3 and f40phm-3
12:55 & 13:08 what is sticking off the windshield?
I actually have no clue lol
Those are “blue flags” which basically tell the engineer not to move the train because mechanical personnel are inspecting the train.
I don’t see ‘em on Caltrain
thom really dragged two tenny into this 😂 please no, no Valentine's wrap
Celebrate the love man 😂
Metra should extend the UP-N line to Milwaukee.
And the NW line is going to Rockford👍🏻🚂
No, actually the Milwaukee West line is going to Rockford.
No Wabash, Illinois Central or Alton? That's sad.
Metra needs the EMD F125 because it is both built by EMD and is safe for the environment. Metra should also buy old AEM-7's for the electric line. But what Metra needs the most is a heritage unit in the old BN E9 paint scheme
Metra doesn’t need old, unreliable locomotives for the Electric line when they already have new electric multiple units
@Trains Are Awesome Ik, it would be cool though
@@Thom-TRA I mean the AEM7s are Electric Locomotives.
Very informative and well done. How about New York Central livery? Pennslyvania railroad did use Union Station so that would be ok right? Why not acknowledge all of the old lines that served chicago?
A Penn Central Heritage Unit?
@@maas1208 Why not? Pennslyvania, New York Central and a Penn Central.
With the newer cars, they should keep half, They could donate a few pullmans and maybe A cab car to the IRM? Idk what their gonna do with the cars
They need one for the ICG electric line.
I like Metra a lot, and I have almost seen every livery that metra has, but I haven’t seen 425, 402, and 104.
You probably won't see this because I'm commenting late, but you should do a video titled something like "Chicago's Secret Light Rail Line". I'm referring to the South Chicago branch of the metra electric line, where it runs in the median of 71st st and Exchange ave. Could be an interesting video.
Thanks for the suggestion!
Lightning Bolt? More like Athletic Swoosh IMHO. Liked the NS 'Green' treatment - on that note, have they ever done all-over wraps to commemorate MAT '46, '54 or even '57? \m/
Nope. Somebody graffitied an old livery onto a train once though.
Additional heritage colors for Rock Island locomotives would be the blue and white "The Rock" and black, red and white design.
For the Burlington Northern, the green and white white with the orange and white stripes, similar to the E9's passenger units that Metra used.
CB&Q also had the red and silver freight design as well as black, yellow, red and metallic gray freight color, too. Perhaps these would be great on the F40PH's.
As for the commuter cars, wrapping their bodies with the old CNW colors and original Rock Island yellow and red colors would be nice.
I’d love to see the cars in old C&NW colors
It's both, honestly... It's within that blend where it's "neigende naar rood, en neigende naar oranje, maar ook; geen van beiden" to put it in as blunt and abstractly Dutch as I can😁
My bf has a vest that within that transitional circle of being red and orange...
And I think I told him it looked more like orange to me, when I finally got to hug him at ORD, whilst he described it messages as red😁💜
It’s funny how cultures call colors differently. For example, in Japan, there are many cases where people call things blue, that I would call green!
I remember reading about something similar before.. Where there's places that do not have a word for blue, and would designate it as a shade of green😁
Tho... Relatively speaking... The colour "orange" as a word, isn't even that old either, and was thought of as a shade of red.... Which is funny; as on the colour spectrum; brown as a colour, is just a darker shade of orange(see technology connections' video) 💜
What about the Metra Christmas train??
They’ve only been running Christmas trains on the Electric district recently
If you were here before he changed the thumbnail and title
👇
If you’re here twice 👆🏻
@@Thom-TRA I wanna try Metra one day! My friend loves advocating for transit and he wishes Metra could start running all day! A lot like Caltrain where I’m from, but Caltrain’s liveries are just too boring
Bro is like the Mrbeast of trains
I’ll take it
@@Thom-TRAMrThom
I consider the SD70MACHs to be “Stomach” units, since the spelling very similar, swapping out the T with 7 and O with 0.
I like that!
C&NW livery locos should’ve also had matching passenger cars in the C&NW livery. I mean, COME ON! Who wouldn’t want to be riding around in a modern day C&NW passenger train and relive the old days…
I know right? I’m so sick of all the silver everywhere. Let’s add some color!
@@Thom-TRA AMEN TO THAT!!!
You're right about 425 looking like a Happy Meal. Incidentally there's a preserved locomotive on my local heritage railway - Hunslet-built DSA 551 - that's painted in a very bright red and yellow livery which reminds me of McDonald's. The livery isn't even remotely authentic.
I like the concept of heritage units. Not just because they add some colour variation to the rail scene, but also because I like seeing these big companies celebrating their past. Some of my favourite heritage units are Norfolk Southern ES44AC No. 8099 and SD70ACe No. 1071. Incidentally KiwiRail still has around eight mainline locomotives (four 'DC' diesels and four 'EF' electrics) running in old liveries, and they are basically unofficial heritage units.
I really like the thought of preserving the memory and honoring the past too! Too bad there was no toy in the locomotive though
I love Burlington route livery. I wouldn't mind if all the streamlined f40s got that livery
It’s really well done
The Rock Island locomotive matches The Flash color scheme.
Or a happy meal!
As one who grew up on the Rock Island, I wholeheartedly agree with your color assessment. Possible subject? How does Kenosha conribute to Metra/RTA? Illinois counties offer up some sales tax revenue and Metra and RTA are both Illinois entities, so how does Kenosha fit into the financial scheme? Also, the North Western used to run to Walworth, Wisconsin until 1971 (prior to the RTA coming into being). Why did they lose the service and Kenosha got to keep theirs? Thanks for all your research and happy travels. Cheers.
I’m traveling to Kenosha next week so thanks for the great idea!
@@Thom-TRA All aboard! 🚂
Kenosha does not fund anything for metra. The service only exist to Kenosha because that's where the CNW had their servicing yard for overnight trains.
@@erict5234 Thank you for answering that nagging question. Cheers to the Cheeseheads!
Wow well all of these Heritage units are Awesome! My favorite is the C&NW. But I'm not trying to be rude, but I think you missed METX 100, RTA Heritage Unit or the RTA's 40th Anniversary Heritage unit. Unless the wrap hasen't been taken off or it hasen't been repainted, I'm pretty sure you missed it.
That wrap’s been off for years
@@Thom-TRAMmm aha. Sorry, I don't keep updated on this stuff. 😅
If only METRA could wrap the Highliner 2 MUs in the Illinois Central colors.
Or have an Ex-Amtrak AEM-7 painted in IC Electric colors pulling old Highliner 1 EMUs
Hello Thom, as always a very interesting video. When i see the trains with on one side a locomotive and on the other side a cabcar i always think their must be a big difference in fuelconsumption between what side the train is running on. The locomotives are pretty aerodynamicly styled, but that cabcars have the aerodynamics of a brick. Do you know anything about it 🤔?
These trains are very slow so I’m not sure if it really matters much to them unfortunately
Reogrand pant were be good.