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The 6000-series was a series of "L" cars built between 1950 and 1959 by the St. Louis Car Company for the
Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...
. A total of 720 cars were produced, and remained in operation on the "L" until 1992.


Design

In 1947–1948 the
Chicago Transit Authority The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) is the operator of public transport, mass transit in Chicago, Illinois, United States, and some of its suburbs, including the trains of the Chicago "L" and List of Chicago Transit Authority bus routes, CTA bu ...
received four three-car articulated trainsets, 5001–5004, to test PCC technology in rapid transit use. Two sets of cars were built by Pullman, two by St. Louis Car, with equipment supplied by competing suppliers, in order to test them directly against each other. The 6000-series was designed with knowledge from the 5000-series. The design would influence the G series for the
Toronto subway The Toronto subway is a rapid transit system serving Toronto and the neighbouring city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). The subway system is a rail network consisting of three heavy-capacity rai ...
.


Bodies

5000-series bodies had a curved profile previously used by North Shore Line and then Chicago, Aurora & Elgin cars which operated on the "L". The floor width was the needed for platform clearance, then above the sides curved outward, so the car was wider at seat level. This profile was used, 6000-series cars were wider at the seats than the floor. Blinker doors, which swing on an arc and open inward, were also successful and were used in the 6000-series. Articulation was not repeated; the 6000s were individual cars semi-permanently attached in
married pair A twin unit, twinset, or double unit is a set of two railroad Railway car, cars or locomotives which are permanently coupled and treated as if they were a single unit. A twinset of cars or coaches can also be called a twin car. In US passenger ...
s. The outside end of both cars had a cab, making a two-car double-ended arrangement. This has become the CTA standard. St. Louis Car Company built all 6000-series cars, as well as their single car variant 1-50 series, many with components salvaged from Pullman streetcars, starting with car No 6201 and continuing until the end of production.


Driveline

The 5000s had modified Clark and St. Louis trucks with wheels designed for high speeds. The 6000s had more standard streetcar trucks, with wheels. These had a top speed of 50, which was adequate for CTA needs until the high-speed Skokie Swift shuttle started in 1964. The first 200 cars were built with new components, including Clark B-2 trucks, the next 310 cars had Clark B-2s salvaged from Pullman streetcars, and the final 210, plus most of the similar 1-50 class, had St Louis B-3s salvaged from St Louis streetcars. All cars had Westinghouse XDA1 controls. 6001–6488 had Westinghouse 1432 motors, all following cars had
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...
1220 motors. Both type motors delivered . The exceptions are test cars 6127–6130, which had non-standard equipment and higher performance.


Routes

The 6000-series became the standard of the system, and were used almost everywhere. In 1975 there were still over 700 6000s in service. Initially, all of the first 130 6000s were assigned to the Logan Square line. The North-South and Ravenswood lines had 6000s in service in 1952 (with the 4000-series cars taking the 6000s' place on the Logan Square line); other lines (except the Lake Street line, presumably due to width clearance issues on the at-grade section of the line west of Laramie Avenue, which was also powered by overhead wire) received cars when they became available. Because of overhead wire, no 6000s were used on the Skokie or Evanston lines, except 6127–6130, which received trolley poles for express service on the Evanston line. (The western section of the Lake line was elevated in 1962; however, it remained equipped entirely with 4000s until the arrival of the 2000-series cars from
Pullman-Standard The Pullman Company, founded by George Pullman, was a manufacturer of railroad cars in the mid-to-late 19th century through the first half of the 20th century, during the boom of railroads in the United States. Through rapid late-19th century d ...
in 1964.) Two of the routes that the 6000s were not used on were served by their single car variants, the 1-50 series. The Evanston line began to receive additional 6000s after it converted entirely from
overhead wire An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, electric multiple units, trolleybuses or trams. The generic term used by the International Union of Railways for the te ...
to third rail in 1973. When the Dan Ryan line was opened in 1969, newer cars were assigned there, but 6000s were sometimes used for special movements. CTA sold some of the cars to
SEPTA SEPTA, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, is a regional public transportation authority that operates bus, rapid transit, commuter rail, light rail, and electric trolleybus services for nearly four million people througho ...
for use on the
Norristown High Speed Line The M, formerly known as the Norristown High Speed Line (NHSL), is a interurban light rapid transit line in the SEPTA Metro network, running between the 69th Street Transportation Center in Upper Darby and the Norristown Transportation Center ...
during the delay of the N-5 car delivery.


Retirement & Preservation

The last of the 6000-series cars were retired on December 4, 1992; the oldest had a service life of 42 years. Some were repurposed as work motors. Several cars have been preserved: *6101-6102, 6711-6712, found on CTA property for preservation as part of the CTA's Heritage Fleet. *6599-6600, stored at the Seashore Trolley Museum, pending restoration. *6719, used for the exhibit ''America on the Move'' at the
National Museum of American History The National Museum of American History: Kenneth E. Behring Center is a historical museum in Washington, D.C. It collects, preserves, and displays the heritage of the United States in the areas of social, political, cultural, scientific, and m ...
*6655-6656, 6461-6462, 6125-6126, preserved by the
Illinois Railway Museum The Illinois Railway Museum (IRM, reporting mark IRMX) is the largest railroad museum in the United States. It is located in the Chicago metropolitan area at 7000 Olson Road in Union, Illinois, northwest of downtown Chicago. Overview ...
in
Union, Illinois Union is a village in McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 551 at the 2020 census. History A post office called Union has been in operation since 1852. The village was named for the federal union of the United States. ...
.


References


External links


6000-series Cars
at Chicago-L.org {{DEFAULTSORT:6000 series Chicago L Chicago "L" rolling stock Train-related introductions in 1950 Railway services discontinued in 1992 St. Louis multiple units PCC rapid transit cars