I will spend a day in Chicago mid-month for the express purpose of exploring the elevated rail lines, which will be a new experience for me. I hope I can tap into the expertise of my Chicagoland forum mates for some help with the following:
** VENTRA CARD WITH 1-DAY PASS: I will be buying this from a retail outlet. Will this be from a human or from a machine? Cash or credit card? (I am technologically challenged, aka an idiot.)
** BOARDING: The CTA website advises, "Touch the yellow target with your Ventra card. Go when you see the green 'go'." Okay -- but where is the yellow target? On a turnstile?
** GETTING STARTED: I'm staying at the Palmer House. It looks like the handiest stations are at Madison/Wabash and at Adams/Wabash. Would the interconnected Adams/Wabash be the place to go?
** WHICH ELEVATED RIDES are do-not-miss for the feel of Chicago?
** RED & BLUE SUBWAY LINES: Are these underground all the way, or do they ever see daylight? Worthwhile?
** Any other tips?
Your help will be gratefully received. Thank you in advance for your trouble!
Red and blue come out of the hole pretty quickly outside the center subway areas. Blue is interesting out to O'Hare. Red going north is interesting, going by Wrigley Field and on up north. Going south, my recollection is it goes by US Cellular field (Comisky was still there when I last took that route), though I-90 is now between the tracks and the park.
Ride the Brown line (Ravenswood) from whichever Wabash L stop you use to the end (Kimball) and back to Belmont and change to the Red to either go north up to Howard (you could change to theYellow - aka Skokie Swift there if interested) or back south to the Loop.
C&NW, CA&E, MILW, CGW and IC fan
The Midway (Orange) line can also be boarded on the Loop L and parallels various railroads along most of its route to the airport. Also has a fair number of neighborhood views.
dakotafred I will spend a day in Chicago mid-month for the express purpose of exploring the elevated rail lines, which will be a new experience for me. I hope I can tap into the expertise of my Chicagoland forum mates for some help with the following: ** VENTRA CARD WITH 1-DAY PASS: I will be buying this from a retail outlet. Will this be from a human or from a machine? Cash or credit card? (I am technologically challenged, aka an idiot.) ** BOARDING: The CTA website advises, "Touch the yellow target with your Ventra card. Go when you see the green 'go'." Okay -- but where is the yellow target? On a turnstile? ** GETTING STARTED: I'm staying at the Palmer House. It looks like the handiest stations are at Madison/Wabash and at Adams/Wabash. Would the interconnected Adams/Wabash be the place to go? ** WHICH ELEVATED RIDES are do-not-miss for the feel of Chicago? ** RED & BLUE SUBWAY LINES: Are these underground all the way, or do they ever see daylight? Worthwhile? ** Any other tips? Your help will be gratefully received. Thank you in advance for your trouble!
Green Line between Harlem & Lake and Ashland-Cottage Grove: Interesting. This route includes the main line of Chicago's original South Side Elevated and the Lake Street Elevated, constructed shortly afterwards. It's all above ground.
Purple Line - Interesting. The original Northwestern Elevated Railroad of 1900, plus later extensions over the next decade or so to Howard Street and to Evanson. All above ground. A short stretch of surface running near the north end of the line in Evanston. Trains run to/from Loop during rush hours. Otherwise, they operate as a shuttle from the Red Line at Howard Street to Evanston. Ride it during a rush hour.
Yellow Line - Howard Street to Dempster - Interesting. A surviving remnant of the old North Shore Line. All above ground. About half of line is at grade. Until recent years, this segment still used trolley wire, but it was replaced by 3rd rail a few years ago (the NSL catenary towers are still in place). The NSL Skokie station is still extant at the Dempster Street terminal, althoug it has been moved a hundred feet or so from its original location. CTA's main shops are visible midway along this line (on the north side), just as it is descending to grade level.
Red Line North - Interesting. The 1943 subway beneath State Street (Chicago's first rapid transit subway). The Red Line and Purple line share the same structure/embankment from Armitage (where the subway comes up to the 'L' structure) and Howard Street. The Red Line South (Loop to 95th Street) is a much newer line, mostly constructed in the 1960's in the median of an expressway.
Brown Line - Interesting. All above ground. Built in the first decade ot the 20th century (Northwestern Elevated Railway). Shares structure with Purple Line to Belmont, and then diverges onto its own route. Comes down to surface (with grade crossings) west of Western avenue.
Pink Line - Interesting. All above ground. Most of this line is a remnant of the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railway's Douglas Park line. The line comes down to grade (with grade crossings) west of Pulaski. Closer to downtown, the line runs on a heavily reconstructed portion of the old MWER Logan Square line above the Eisenhower Expressway to the Green Line (the 1890's vintage Lake Street 'L'). It then runs on the Green Line to the Loop.
Loop 'L' - Interesting. Not a separate line, but a pretty famous rapid transit line circling the Chicago Central Business District. Many believe that this structure gave the Chicago "Loop" its name (although it was actually named for earlier cable car loops). Lines using the entire Loop Structure are the Purple, Brown, Pink and Orange Lines. The Green Line uses only two sides of the structure (over Lake and Wabash).
Blue Line - Interesting, although not as much as the previous lines. A roller coaster. Starts at O'Hare Airport as a modern line in an expressway median. At Logan Square, goes onto a 1895 elevated structrue built by the Metropolitan West Side Elevated Railway. Just east of Damen, goes into a 1950's subway. The line emerges from the subway near Racine Avenue onto one of the first rapid transit lines built in an expressway median (opened 1958), which repaced the 1895 Garfield Park Elevated. I've alway found the latter part of the line to be pretty uninteresting, and it's become less so as its condition has deteriorated due to many years of deferred maintenance.
As for the "modern" lines, the one I think is most interesting is the Orange Line to Midway Airport, which is all above ground. Much of it is on old railroad rights of way. The Red Line South is almost entire in an expressway median, and is (to me) uninteresting. Ditto, the Blue Line west from Racine to Des Plaines Avenue.
Hope you have an "elevating" experience.
Thank you fellows indeed for your ideas. Falcon's entry is a veritable thesis! I have printed all your posts for serious digestion before my trip. I knew in advance I wasn't going to see everything in a day; now I realize that, next time, I need to budget closer to a week!
Again, a big thank you to all.
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