CTA Ride the Rails: Brown Line in Real Time
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 ธ.ค. 2014
- 2019 update version is now available!
Ride the Rails in Real-time: • CTA's Ride the Rails: ...
Ride the Rails in Time-lapse: • CTA's Ride the Rails: ...
The CTA has more than 224 miles of railroad tracks across Chicago and surrounding suburbs, serving the agency's eight rail lines. In an average weekday, there are about 2,200 train trips making stops at the system's 145 rail stations. For more than 100 years, the 'L' has offered a unique perspective of Chicago.
In the first-ever documentation of its kind, the CTA has created a real-time ride along the length of each rail line. Shot in HD, you can now experience the 'L' like never before from the vantage point of the rail operator. You can even transfer between lines.
Hop aboard, and enjoy the ride.
For route diagram and guide please visit www.transitchicago.com/brownline/
Southbound Station List
--------------------------------
Kimball (beginning of the line)
Kedzie ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Francisco ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Rockwell ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Western ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Damen ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Montrose ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Irving Park ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Addison ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Paulina ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Southport ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Belmont ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Wellington ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Diversey ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Fullerton ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Armitage ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Sedgwick ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Chicago ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Merchandise Mart ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Loop Station List
----------------------
Washington/Wells ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Quincy ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
LaSalle/Van Buren ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Harold Washington Library ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Adams/Wabash ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Madison/Wabash ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Randolph/Wabash ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
State/Lake ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Clark/Lake ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Northbound Station List
-------------------------------
Merchandise Mart ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Chicago ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Sedwick ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Armitage ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Fullerton ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Diversey ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Wellington ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Belmont ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Southport ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Paulina ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Addison ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Irving Park ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Montrose ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Damen ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Western ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Rockwell ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Francisco ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Kedzie ( • CTA Ride the Rails: Br... )
Kimball (end of the line)
CTA infrastructure should get an award for always sounding like it's going to break into a thousand pieces but somehow working perfectly every time.
I think it is really terrible living near this " kind of transport"
Trains stop every five minutes because of works errrrr.....
🤣
CTA train is raining
dunno about 'working perfectly' but you bring up a very good point lol
as a European than lived in Chicago, the cta made me feel like I was back home, with really good public transportation, and I could either walk, or take the rain anywhere I want. I LOVED the fact it literally runs 24 hours.
I take the blue line rain a lot
I love CTA Rains
I wish all big cities had transportation like this. It would help relieve all of the horrific congestion by cars! This was one of the coolest things about Chicago.........
Chicago has the 2nd largest transportation hub in the US
@@leereeder2293 One of my favorite cities. I always liked the L train.
@@leereeder2293 We have a subway system here in NYC.Runs 24/7.
We have a system here in NYC @ CoopyKat.Runs 24/7.
@@nathanielnelson5123 Chicago has train lines that run 24/7 .
Although City of Chicago is one of the largest cities in the United States with magnificent skyscrapers,
I love very much the scenery of the idyllic suburban train especially from Kimball to Chicago of the Brown Line.
Hello from your sister city Osaka Japan.
What is the pfp
@@Tox2282 Hi!!! Thank you for your reply. This icon means a top secret between you and me.
How cool! Greetings!
@@Tox2282 W rizz
I love how everybody that works on the track waves at the conductor
Ikr, it's almost interactive for the viewers watching 😂😂
They aren't conductors?
Creepy DepressedChic they have to for safety reasons to let them know they’re aware that they are about to pass.
@Epic Game Movies guard isn't commonwealth English, it's British English
@Epic Game Movies Guard is in Britain, most of the commonwealth also says conductor. And in America, the term for a driver is "Engineer" for railroads and "Operator" or "Motorman" for rapid transit and light rail systems.
These type of videos are so therapeutic for some reason
Ok folks, never rode the L but why does the train slow down & speed up for no apparent reason? Just wondering...
@@brianjohnson9456 it's called a slow zone
@@keyshawnscott12 thanks. Slow to reduce noise I presume?
@@brianjohnson9456 no cause of track conditions
@@keyshawnscott12 ok thanks!
Joliet Jake: "How often does the train come through?"
Elwood: " So often you won't even notice."
You win😂😂😂😂
As long you doesn't watch TV. I know it, you can ignore the trains but not, how they affect listening to radio or television
born and raised in Chicago and took the brown line to work (in the loop) every day for 2 years. thanks for the video. miss you Chicago.
is it true is called the brown line cause the homeless go to the bathroom on the train?
Yes, unfortunately
Really
I still call it the Ravenswood.
Well you should come back to it since you miss it
This makes me miss Chicago so much. I know it gets a lot of negative press but I lived there for 6 years and it's a great town.
Ditto! Born and raised there until age 9 and I loved every second of it. I'm 50 now.....................and I STILL miss it!
Well I guess our driver's name was Jerry, that one guy yelled "Hey Wassup Jerry!" nice they all know each other drivers and line crews. cool!
17:59 "Ey, wassup?"
Those were Mexicans lmao I love my people
@@dexter99999 we love you too from the wild 100s lol
Says wassup Jerry a few moments later and then the train let's out a whistle lol
I went once to Chicago. Took this train because a guy told me to have fun while doing it. I had a blast!!!! This was 1987. I do recall La Salle/Van Buren for that was my exit to go to my hotel. It was a great experience. Chicago is a great city!
Im from the UK and it amazes me how close the track runs to the houses throughout the line.
It gives my anxiety seeing everything so close together😫
@@CreepinCapri1985 look up El Cajon pass train incident I think it'll justify your anxiety.
Same as trains in London........
Remember you're watching a city more or less the same size as London. As someone else pointed out London is the same with how close it is
My mother would take us to ride the CTA and we would run to the front of the first train and sit in that first seat to watch the train on the tracks. One of my happy memories of childhood.
Live in NYC and I think it's cool to see different subways across the country
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@@halukyilmaz476 Liar!
А метро Лос-Анджелеса ещо круче.
I visited Chicago for a conference in 2018. We had a day off so I looked and figured the Brown Line would be an interesting and safe ride. Started downtown went to the end, transferred and rode back. I felt safe and found it a lot of fun. I'm from Vancouver Canada. This ride, the deep dish pizza, and Chicago dogs were some of the highlights. Thanks Chicago. We did get thrown out of Buddy Guy's Blues Bar but that's another story !!
Why did you get thrown out?
@@kitsunefaye1661 Well my boss's wife was with us. She got cut off, and made a stink and then somebody in our group bought her a drink and well you know how it works.
" Ya Ya we were leaving anyway" !! It was our fault, so no hard feelings. Great place the music was awesome. Have another conference scheduled for this Sept. so hope it goes ahead.
@@tonto2009 Wow. I'm sure she's not being taken anywhere anymore.😖😖😖
Fascinating in every way!! I've never been to the US, so all the more interesting to ride through Chicago. great video.
steve doubleu you will enjoy it! the city looks beautiful in every angle. day or night!
Where are you from, BTW?
A complete modernization of the route would be well advised.
To replace at least a large part with reinforced concrete, with rubber inserts between the rails to reduce the noise level.
This would also lead to a quieter ride.
th-cam.com/video/dxYiz4knmkU/w-d-xo.html
People should break the security cameras at the stations for privacy. It would be weird to live in a house where trains are constantly running right past your wall or over your roof. It would droll if somehow in a James Grider novel one of these trains derailed into a building and crashed through the wall. People should buy my "Impact" a James Grider novel on Amazon so I can afford a used car.
Just wondering - where are you from? I'm from Carpentersville in Illinois in the USA
Was a trip down memory lane for me. Recognized street names from when I lived there. I left in 1965.
Good think you did. Much worse now.
Boomer
Really Jayden im 9
KLS who tf are u?
Tim Roar ya dad
Would’ve been cool if during the “would you like to transfer” screens, that if you clicked on one of them, it’ll actually take you to the video of that line at that exact station
I think it actually used to, but TH-cam removed the annotations feature that made it possible, so it doesn't work anymore.
I think those links only work on pc not mobile. At least that's my experience whenever I try to click on a link in a video on mobile. Sucks tbh
I thought it was and clicked on the logo, doh!
This train system in my opinion is a class act, took it first time and first time visiting Chicago. Although this train system is a lot smaller than the MTA in NYC, it seems much cleaner and more efficient!
Larry K That's because it's smaller and closes at night. It's also not as trafficked.
I wonder if they have many maintenance issues, compared to systems with similar size. Being a system that is mostly above ground, one would think that they would have?
Well actually Dexter first of all Chicago also never sleeps so the subway system over there also runs 24/7
Only two lines and that's because one runs to O' Hare and the other must be very highly used. The entire thing is not 24/7 therefore what I said still applies.
Dexter Dugar oh well I'm from New York so I don't know much about the CTA EL subway in Chicago and by the way so at least the rest of the lines still run during the day and night but lot late night? I mean what time the rest of the lines shut down for the night while the last two lines will be running?
Can see my family's old home on the right @15:52, though the patio on the roof deal wan't there at the time.. I remember standing on the back porch or in the pantry and watching the L go by. I wonder how many times I heard it passing while we lived there. Would be a dream come true to go back in the house and watch again.
How did u mange to sleep?
@@rangerdave1973 i was literally raised from infancy with the train running by on the regular. It took me years to learn how to sleep without it after we moved.
I loved this. Never been to the US before so it was great to see Chicago like this, loved seeing the skyline come into view. Thanks
But you wouldn't want to live there. City Mayor and BLM likes the murder rate high. Brings in government big bucks.
and he's lying to begin with.
@Colorado Strong murder capital? Go to Baltimore or St Louis and tell me how safe you feel, then you can talk about Chicago.
Where are you from?
This Ride was so cool.
Greetz from Berlin,Germany
Sitting in Elwood Blues' walk up room, adjacent to and level with the elevated CTA with trains whizzing by, back and forth, Jake asks Elwood, "How often do the trains go by?" "So often you wont even notice it", replies Elwood.
I haven't been on the old Ravenswood line since I moved to Michigan 23 years ago. This was a nice trip down memory lane. It was nice to see some old landmarks are still standing. Some new ones, and some I never expected to go away!
Damn, I'd really hate to live in one of those places right on the tracks. They don't seem that loud in the video but they're loud as hell in person.
Right. You should ride the "EL" in NYC then you'll know what loud is all about.
I lived right next to the. "L" for decades and you sort of get used to ---- what ?????
Bet you get used to it quickly.
Honestly being next to a freeway or major road is more annoying because theres always cars going by and assholes with loud exhausts can blast by
On elevated structures they are loud especially if a train has to do a hard turn. Although when on ground they're really quiet.
I lived near Chicago for 40 years and did everything by public transportation while I was there. I loved CTA when I needed to use it
I remember when this was the Ravenswood line. It's always kind of scary to see the CTA crews straddling the third rail in many of the clips..I'd be scared to death up there near that juice!
This is an excellent video. I love riding around and looking at buildings, the older, the better. I have never been to Chicago and doubt that I'll get the chance to go there, but videos like this are the next best thing. I spend about 2 1/2 hours each night before bed looking for videos like this one. I have this page bookmarked so I can come back and enjoy it again. I also plan to try some of those transfers. Also, thanks for putting the names of the stations on. It certainly saves me the trouble of trying to pause the video to read the names on signs.
Never say never you'll come one dsy
yes, I agree, putting the names was very helpful so I didnt have to keep looking at the map on another tab.
as a NY'er myself, doubt I will ever get to chicago, I too, loved these videos and the brown line was my first ride, and will complete all of them if I can.
@@adrastos761 what lmao its a 12 hour train ride away. Not that far haha. Flights are like 60 bucks and train is like 90 bucks to take it
@@vicmanthome6605 I am in NY, I have not a clue on those trains.
Thanks for your comment. I live here most people who live here and have seen the changes, thinks the city sucks. Especially the trains you are looking at. Saying all that to say comment like yours might help me to re appreciate my city
Living in Philadelphia, it's beyond weird seeing an elevated train in such an open residential area. Like our Market-Frankford Line does go through residential areas, but it still follows main streets with a ton of businesses on them the whole way, and the houses are much more densely packed than this.
That and these stations look more like they're designed to be on the ground.
Azenturi Yes the MF route looks a lot like Brooklyn NY
I miss riding the "L" in Chicago. It is one of the best ways to get around Chicago.
Residents of adjacent houses adore the sound of these trains.
Happyness what - I can't hear you !
Surprisingly yess😂
I'm from NYC and I can't believe these trains run on street level with railroad crossings.
I loved living in Chicago, was there for two years. My favorite city in America. Maybe the world.....will be back for vacation.
Kimball 0:48
Kedzie 2:17
Francisco 3:31
Rockwell 5:11
Western 6:04
Damen 7:18
Montrose 8:49
Irving Park 10:08
Addison 11:21
Paulina 14:08
Southport 15:09
Belmont 19:01
Wellington 19:57
Diversey 20:54
Fullerton 22:08
Armitage 23:45
Sedgwick 23:44
Yup..... the video is a loop that begins at Kimball, proceeds through those stops and eventually returns to them in reverse order.
I take it the operator then drives the train from the other end of the train when they reach the end?
Nope, in downtown there’s a loop which you can loop around
This is one of the only memories I have left of my grandfather. He worked on the CTA at kimball and took me for a ride on a train for the first time. He had me look out the window as we rode around. I miss him so much.
This is delicious. Just a bit too relaxing. Nodded off at one bit. Not through boredom, though. The soft rattling sound acted as white noise and knocked me out. Lovely.
If this isn't nice enough or too boring, you should see inside the train... either drunk people, people playing music, or a person falling from not holding on good enough
thats what i meant by the contentment and soothing, you got it...all us NY'ers fall asleep on our trains, how can you not...
@@foudii1654 non rail fan detected.
Beautiful Train, and system. Love Chicago
Haven't been on that line since 1973. Wow, have things changed! But somehow stayed the same. Miss it , but don't. Strange.
Been on the El half a dozen times as a kid back in the late 60's & early 70's. Dad took me to Wrigley to Cubs games. Got on in Evanston and the El dropped us off at the front door. This brings back memories.
I go from Paulina to Sedgwick fascinating to watch
Im from westcliff...essex...england.....i really enjoy these trips.....looking at the life, the areas the train passes on its route...ill never go there, yet ive been all around in real time
My favorite. There seems to be a sense of so much of the route being tucked in between buildings in some way not like the other routes. With dual monitors I often just have this video running on one while I'm working on the other. Feel good to be vicariously riding while working.
Brown Line take me to my job every morning and take back to home again..thank you CTA 😎
...this footage is so stunning to engage in...I love it.
Out of all the cities I visit, CTA is among the cleanest and best run transportation system in the country. Also the CTA app is great!
ABSOLUTE highlight of Chicago, visitor from Boston!
36:13 Impressive track construction!
at one point a century ago that was the busiest track intersection in the world
Visited Chicago for the first time last week, I’m from New England and there’s a bit of a rivalry between the Northeast and Midwest...I absolutely loved it. Definitely recommend visiting if you’ve never been as it’s a beautiful city with so much to do. Was also skeptical about the crime but felt safe the entre time even on the subway, in the parks, and at night.
Visit Chicago
Lot of folk don't understand that the crazy crime stats are coming out of pretty specific small areas. Single war zone neighborhoods counter out dozens of safe and peaceful ones pushing the cities average numbers up
You must have stayed in the downtown area or north of it near Lincoln Park.
@@manedwolfwithagmailaccount1478 That's true about the crime
But the trains are bad and skank all times of day and night
I always noticed on TV that Chicago's elevated lines don't have protective side rails (for the most part). Elevated sections of New York City trains have them, start to end. Not that they would do much if a train tipped over. It's likely for track workers and emergencies. Just an observation. These are great videos if planning a trip to the windy city. 😊
While rare, there have been train cars over tracks. In late 1970s, the Lake Street El (now called Green Line) crashed into each other and sent train over the rails in the Loop to street below. Videos on YT of news reports when happened, like here: chicagoist.com/2016/02/05/cta_derailment_1977.php
At 16 yrs. of age, two friends & I rode the CTA system (L-trains & subways), 24 hrs...on ONE fare. Our story was written-up in the Sun Times. Also, the CTA system contacted us, asking HOW we did so.
Rode the brown line many times as a kid of 4 through college as a young adult of 22. Really enjoy both versions (2015/2019). Watching this at double the regular speed is a real hoot.
I'm really tired that Chicago is so far away from Graz/Austria… I really want to visit Chicago! 😍
Yes, I feel the same.
I am from Düsseldorf/Germany and it's so fuckin' expensive (especially for a student) to fly to Chicago for a week or so....damn!
But I will definitely visit Chicago someday, I hope you will do the same!
Interessant, dass es soviele deutschsprachige Personen gibt, die sich ebenfalls für Chicago interessieren, da die Stadt außerhalb der Staaten wenig bis kaum (positive) Aufmerksamkeit bekommt.
Alle wollen nach San Fransisco, Los Angeles, New York, Miami, aber kaum nach Chicago...schade!
@@random8149 ja stimmt! Ich wil ja Chicago, Detroit und New Orleans sehen ☺ Das sind so meine Favoriten. Klar gibt es in der USA noch sehr viel mehr sehr schönes zu sehen, aber die 3 habens mir angetan 😅
Lassen Sie Ihren wunsch wahr werden. Excuse me if that is not perfect German. If you and "Random Vids" reach our side of the Atlantic and you visit Chicago enjoy but use caution and good sense. Stay in the Loop or the downtown area to the near north of the Loop or the neighborhoods to the farther north of the downtown area. Avoid the subway/metro trains late at night weekdays or anytime after dark on weekends. Avoid riding the Red or Green Lines more than two or three stops south of the Loop. Avoid winter as the weather can be brutal, and the homeless defecate in the cars they use as home during winter.
The Best city in the world...
See how smart they did this video, it was shot in April or early May, so that the Trees weren't all in full bloom & alotta the view would've been hidden, Good Job.... Love it's Horn/whistle.
Kimball should be renamed Lawrence line....
When the trees have all bloomed, taking the L is almost like a museum tour of the city.
It’s so weird seeing Madison/Wabash and Randolph/Wabash after them being demolished now replaced with Washington/Wabash
I've never been to Chicago - or the US at all - so this gave me just a glimpse of Chicago. Awesome, thank you. And now I hope I'll go there someday to see it all for real. It seams to be a great city, a great place.
Greetings to all from Vejle, Denmark.
This city is amazing in every way! I hope you get a chance to come here and enjoy everything it has to offer. Chicago welcomes you with open arms
you cant visit chicago without riding on the el.
It is.
I've now committed to visiting at least once every year.
Where are you from?
Chicago Aviation fanatic It's a liberal town riddled with crime and corruption.
I love how we're riding along the other train, awesome video
Nice to see a train ride in a city for a change - thanks guys.
Thank you! Now that I live on the east cost, I MISS MY CITY!!! Thank you for sharing.
I wish you'd make some of these when it's snowing. It's truly relaxing to "ride along." Great videos!!
They did one a few months ago : th-cam.com/video/K-k5h-SfjNU/w-d-xo.html
Not sure if you know but they recorded that on the Brown Line during the pandemic
th-cam.com/video/K-k5h-SfjNU/w-d-xo.html
Simply Splendid, Thank You I did not know Chi Town is this huge !! This brought back memories for me when I would ride the Philly blue line trains from one end to the other for over a year!
I was watching Bernie Mac and saw they were on the brown line and immediately thought “This is a Brown Line train to Kimball” it took me back to when my uncle used to drive the train and I went to work with him. I didn’t even recognize Kimball I haven’t seen it in person since 2004.
Reminds me of my early Navy days, going to school in a big city. I'm from a small Texas town and the first time I saw this, i rode it A LOT just to see what city life was about.
Very well done CTA!
Wow. Now I have to look at a Chicago CTA train map. I didn't realize there were so many T-junctions, watching all these video. I'm from NYC (none are there).
Also, there are no side guard rails except on curves/turns. 😵
NYCeyes eight?! My iitial thoughts as well being from NY
What’s amazing about this ancient line was that before they built the state street subway. Almost every train line passed on those tracks from northside to southside to west side including the defunct North Shore interurban.
I rode this train to work for many years. Sometimes no heat and no air conditioning. We used to open all the interconnecting doors and get a great breeze through the train. In the winter my feet would be numb by the time we got downtown! Oh, the memories.
There is a lot I remember about the CTA rail system from the Loop going south. The old green and white trains, the jolt when the train started, the squeal when the train made its turns. The name change...Jackson Park "B" trains and Englewood "A" trains became the Green line, Lake/Dan Ryan became the Red line. Lake/Dan Ryan ran parallel to the expressway and became elevated after 31st going into Cermak. Jackson Park/Englewood would start off elevated then go into subway at Roosevelt. The "skip stop" on both lines. These videos have really sparked up nostalgia for me...one day I would like to ride these lines...notably the Blue line..just to be adventurous!!
Same.
Sorry Mark, I seem that days ago you replied to my question "What is the most beautiful CTA station?" in one link of these ones. Oh my God! I have lost this link with your reply, omg! I can't find it! Can you reply again here, please? Thank you so much! :)
+Stefano Montesanti can't remember exactly what I said, but at this point I think the most beautiful station will be the Wilson station. Also looking forward to the reconstruction of the Madison/Wabash station
Mark Broadnax ok mark thank you so much
Now I'm to search the old notifications but Google Plus gives me the last ones! Sob! It has been changing in these days!!! Uff!
They can call it the Brown Line all they want.
It is still the Ravenswood to me.
It is hard to believe that Ravenswood hospital closed down. Now they have to take all the stabbing and gunshot wounds to Illinois Masonic.
What a masterpiece and a beautiful build too. Rode this from the Airport to the Sears tower 20 years ago. It was cool then too and I really enjoyed it. Thanks for posting this as well. Have a nice day.
Thanks for a ride. I love Chicago!
I like it,so nicely mix, no graffiti ,clean,spectacular to watch at every corner,at any moment and direction.
I watch these videos and it always amazes me how close the buildings are to the tracks
This video is great. Chicago looks like a cool city. I hope to visit someday.
bcg77777 it is a cool city I've been there many times
same
Just wondering - where are you from? I'm from Carpentersville in Illinois
Take a chance then and hope you don't get murdered. Crime and murder rate going through the ceiling. BLM part of the problem too.
WHAT IS BLM?
The classic above level "CTA", for movies like:"Trains, Planes, and Automobiles"!
I think I saw Carl Kolchak working hard on a story at the INS, and Dr. Robert Hartley, he was heading home to Emily, after dealing with Mr. Carlin lol
Kolchak was my boy. Love that show and McGavin!
Chicago,; one beautiful city, one great transit system, The ultimate lol! ,Thnx for the video.
its like a wooden rollercoaster going trough the whole city
Not really. The wooden track cross ties (the Brits I think call them "sleepers" for God knows what reasons) and the upper support platform on which the track is placed is wood but it is all supported by steel columns between street level and track level.
These are great videos. This ride along has a very relaxing effect. Cool peeking in on bits of Chicago too.
Fascinating for sure. I grew up in New York City (1947 - 1979). There are no more elevated trains in Manhattan. I lived in the Bronx, and remember when they torn down the Bronx section of the Third Ave. El in 1973 - from 149th Street to Gun Hill Road. A sad day indeed. But there are many lines throughout the boroughs of the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn (called the Dual Contract System - where it's part subway, part elevated- built at the turn of the 20th century). Interesting that the Chicago Transit seems to be run down. A lot of rust on the steel. No yellow warning paint at the edge of the platforms. And other things I've noticed. There are hardly any cat walks because of the narrow streets. The structure touches a lot of the buildings along the route.The station platforms are narrow also, and the trains don't utilize the entire station length. They stop almost in the middle of the station. The transit workers have to cross back and forth over the third rail. Dangerous work. It's basically a two track system...few express trains. I'd have to do some research to see when the transit system was built. But it's unique to see elevated trains in the center of a major city. I always was intrigued with Els. Chicago keeps the heritage alive as a major form of transport around the city. Great video.
They have been rebuilding many of the older platforms and stations over the last few years and much of it on the Northern Red, Purple & Brown lines. You can see some of that in the 2019 remake of this video (which also has interesting facts if you turn on captions) and you can also look through the CTA website to see what they're working on improving next. +5/8 of the stations in the loop do have a way to cross over (the other 3 stations are all between loop exit points so they technically don't *need* catwalks), 3 of them are just under the station rather than above it
Great video, and an important historical document. Imagine if you could watch a similar film from a hundred years ago. What would the trains look like? The platforms? The neighborhoods? The people?
A long time ago, (the 1970's) when I was in college, the Brown line was known as the Ravenswood line, and I rode it a lot. Back then I think the Ravenswood's ridership was lower than the other major lines. It seemed like most of the other passengers were old ladies in babushkas who'd take the train to do their shopping. It was the last of the city lines to get air conditioned cars. I'd wait on the platform in the Loop and watch all these Lake Street-Dan Ryan trains and Evanston trains go by, waiting for my lowly Ravenswood to finally show up. But it was nice because the cars were never crowded. I used to love the slow ride through the neighborhoods along the Ravenswood on a lazy, sunny afternoon, with the warm smell of the old wooden platforms in the air.
Then the hipsters started moving in, and now the Brown line is a big deal, the trains come frequently, the people are packed in like sardines, and there's not a babushka in sight.
I love the deep bass sounds on this. I'm in Europe, never been to Chicago. Oh
This is great. I've ridden this line and enjoyed this immensely.
Ahh, the old Ravenswood el, or the Brown Line as it's called now. My favorite of all the lines.
I missing Chicago! Irving park and brown line forever
Very nice ride! Thanks for uploading this.
Great to see people passionate about what they do. Very few cities here in the US like that. Chicago is the largest city in my country I haven't seen yet, but hope to see someday!!!
fantastic HDvideo thanks for the ride .
2:16 I've never seen a stop sign for trains before.
I've seen one in Seattle, but it's for a railroad siding in SODO that's so underused, I thought it was abandoned for a while (there are no crossing gates where it crosses the road, and I've never seen a train operating on it, though I have seen train cars parked in it, untouched for months)
This railway are incredible with these trains crossing simultaneously all lineas.
It is a wonderful video!! Thank you very much for posting it!
its amazing how close to the tracks some of the buildings are
And some folks' bedrooms. Fun.
Хорошая была поездка. Красивые городские пейзажи. Спасибо.
I'm really amazed how quiet these trains are, especially compared to the ones I grew up with - the Soviet-built trains of the Kyiv Metropoliten
Always wanted to go to Chicago and ride the rails!
this is so awesome! i feel super inspired to paint something now!
L train. Yeah, seen this in movies, and loved how its part of Chicago's landscape.
Waiting for your train on these elevated platforms in Chicago winter is something else.
I love the brow ine. It took me to my first downtown job up North!
Loved it! Brought me back to 2006-2016 when I lived in Chicago. To get to work, I'd take the Red at Sheridan towards 95th, then get off at Monroe. Weekends, it's all about the Blue and Brown lines. Thanks for this!