6000-series Flxible - Retirements

[TaylorTank1229]

On 5/10/2026 at 8:23 AM, jtrussel said:

While its would of been nice to have 6163 as part of The heritage fleet at CTA, there might of not been many volunteers to do the work or money like what's been done to the 60s model busses they have now. I wish cta was like new York they bring out and place in service their old school busses every year around Christmas. They also have a model bus from every decade starting from the 60s to the 90s in their historical fleet. CTA as we know only has 3 60s era busses in its fleet. It would of been nice to have a 70s era fishbowl a 80era flyer or MAN. 90s era flxible TMC etc ,but on a good note at least 6163 will get some much needed TLC hopefully I will see it at IRM soon and would love to drive it. I have a class A and those 6000s were my favorite childhood bus

Frankly, I think CTA should have at least one of each bus for their Heritage Fleet… one Flexible, one TMC-RTS, one Nova (2000), and so forth. But I suppose I can understand that maintenance to keep those old things running varies. Costs for work and specific parts to keep it running, and the people openly willing to do mechanical work on those buses… 😔

[5745-5764]

Keep buying things from www.ctagifts.com to help with funding for the heritage fleet equipment 

[YoungBusLover]

On 5/11/2026 at 7:06 PM, TaylorTank1229 said:

Frankly, I think CTA should have at least one of each bus for their Heritage Fleet… one Flexible, one TMC-RTS, one Nova (2000), and so forth. But I suppose I can understand that maintenance to keep those old things running varies. Costs for work and specific parts to keep it running, and the people openly willing to do mechanical work on those buses… 😔

Newer management didn't want to keep #6163 among other units due to quote on quote finances and storage space, which I find to be straight B.S.

[Busjack]

16 hours ago, YoungBusLover said:

Newer management didn't want to keep #6163 among other units due to quote on quote finances and storage space, which I find to be straight B.S.

 

On 5/13/2026 at 2:16 PM, 5745-5764 said:

Keep buying things from www.ctagifts.com to help with funding for the heritage fleet equipment 

@5745-5764 is correct. CTA's job is to provide safe, convenient, clean transportation, which it claimed it didn't have the resources to do, not run a foamer museum. Maybe it makes enough in charter fees to justify keeping two 100-year old L cars for party service, but after doing such things as closing Archer, and saying it needs a new garage (somehow Fisk fell through the cracks) plus replace 77th, NP, and FG, it does not have the room to store what appear to be historically insignificant buses, such as Flxible Metros (noted as being not as bad as Grumman 870s). So, it isn't b.s. Maybe the real issue is that CTA is using boneyards to store buses that have not been in service for at least 15 years to last year.

[YoungBusLover]

2 hours ago, Busjack said:

 

@5745-5764 is correct. CTA's job is to provide safe, convenient, clean transportation, which it claimed it didn't have the resources to do, not run a foamer museum. Maybe it makes enough in charter fees to justify keeping two 100-year old L cars for party service, but after doing such things as closing Archer, and saying it needs a new garage (somehow Fisk fell through the cracks) plus replace 77th, NP, and FG, it does not have the room to store what appear to be historically insignificant buses, such as Flxible Metros (noted as being not as bad as Grumman 870s). So, it isn't b.s. Maybe the real issue is that CTA is using boneyards to store buses that have not been in service for at least 15 years to last year.

The reason why I stated it's B.S is due to the fact they didn't even want to keep the current heritage fleet which is twice as old as the current two buses getting sent to IRM. The space is easy to accommodate when they have enough to store #4374 year round at SS along with TI-1 and TI-2 at Skokie and NP. #301, #3706 and #8499 collect dust inside the overhaul shops at SS so I call it B.S to say you couldn't find space for and extra Bus that was intended to be saved by older management but now all of a sudden newer management wants to wipe the slate clean of a bus Heritage fleet completely.  They use to store #1257, #3091, #5678 and #6163 at Chicago garage for a long time and as usual work politics get involved which derails saving equipment that didn't need to be removed. The logistics on the cost of maintenance and storage between #6163 and #6770 can't be that much compared to #301, #3706 and #8499. It's incompetence all across the board if you ask me.  Charters for buses would have made a killing if promoted correctly by the CTA. It's unfortunate though to see how far down they've gone to erase there own foot print.

[Busjack]

4 hours ago, YoungBusLover said:

The reason why I stated it's B.S is due to the fact they didn't even want to keep the current heritage fleet which is twice as old as the current two buses getting sent to IRM. The space is easy to accommodate when they have enough to store #4374 year round at SS along with TI-1 and TI-2 at Skokie and NP. #301, #3706 and #8499 collect dust inside the overhaul shops at SS so I call it B.S to say you couldn't find space for and extra Bus that was intended to be saved by older management but now all of a sudden newer management wants to wipe the slate clean of a bus Heritage fleet completely.  They use to store #1257, #3091, #5678 and #6163 at Chicago garage for a long time and as usual work politics get involved which derails saving equipment that didn't need to be removed. The logistics on the cost of maintenance and storage between #6163 and #6770 can't be that much compared to #301, #3706 and #8499. It's incompetence all across the board if you ask me.  Charters for buses would have made a killing if promoted correctly by the CTA. It's unfortunate though to see how far down they've gone to erase there own foot print.

• Maybe current management has better priorities. If, based on such things as "The Breakdown Thread," it can't keep the current fleet on the streets, how is it going to keep something that hasn't been touched for about 15 years?
• 8499 and 301 were kept because the garages kept them in good repair even after their normal service lives, when they were still on fringe routes such as West 31st and 90N. 
• Similarly, CTA used to store the heritage fleet at the Lincoln-Wrightwood carhouse. Now it is Jonquil Park.
• Federally funded buses may not be used for charter service under any circumstance. They have to be on publicly published routes. The 1924 L cars were funded by Sam Insull or bondholders that were subsequently burned.

[Rhys Pate]

6000 series Flxible 6163 at the Illinois Railway Museum today (May 16th, 2026)! 6163 is now in IRM’s bus collection, along with 6400 series Nova 6770!

[5745-5764]

On 5/16/2026 at 5:16 PM, Rhys Pate said:

6000 series Flxible 6163 at the Illinois Railway Museum today (May 16th, 2026)! 6163 is now in IRM’s bus collection, along with 6400 series Nova 6770!

 

On 5/16/2026 at 5:16 PM, Rhys Pate said:

6000 series Flxible 6163 at the Illinois Railway Museum today (May 16th, 2026)! 6163 is now in IRM’s bus collection, along with 6400 series Nova 6770!

 

It’s amazing how you caught it going down Riverview Dr at IRM

[Rhys Pate]

On 5/19/2026 at 1:17 PM, 5745-5764 said:

It’s amazing how you caught it going down Riverview Dr at IRM

Is 6163 on Riverview Dr in the first picture?

[Rhys Pate]

6163 at IRM today. May 23rd, 2026. Front destination sign displays route 91, route 25 (discontinued), and route X21 (discontinued), and is blank in the pictures. Chicago Fire Dept has been removed from the front of 6163. 6163 will be repainted back into CTA colors.

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, Rhys Pate said:

Front destination sign displays route 91, route 25 (discontinued), and route X21 (discontinued),

What hit me as even stranger was 25 54-BLUE Line. What I'm assuming, though, is that even though it has an amber LED sign, which replaced the green flip dot sign, the Luminator controller was not replaced, and, as usual, CTA didn't clear out the obsolete readings.

[MetroShadow]

3 hours ago, Busjack said:

What hit me as even stranger was 25 54-BLUE Line. What I'm assuming, though, is that even though it has an amber LED sign, which replaced the green flip dot sign, the Luminator controller was not replaced, and, as usual, CTA didn't clear out the obsolete readings.

The rehab and the Horizon Update of the Metros happened before the 2006 West Side Restructuring, so there's a bit of an overlap. That said, after June 2006, you're right - they never deleted it. 

[Bus1517]

any updates on 6163 at irm with the livery restoration?

[Piesciuk]

On 6/16/2026 at 1:53 PM, Bus1517 said:

any updates on 6163 at irm with the livery restoration?

I believe the current goal is to have it done (or mostly done) by Bus Day 09/26/2026.

[Bus1883]

Came across this on FB. Looks like 6163 has something major

[5745-5764]

On 8/8/2026 at 8:07 PM, Bus1883 said:

Came across this on FB. Looks like 6163 has something major

It’s nothing major. 

[chitowndude84]

Update on 6163!!!

Great to see a 90's CTA bus saved and in its original colors!!!

Now I gotta track down a chance on riding a PACE Orion 1 lol  

This is Awesome!!

Photo credit from Midwest Bus muesum 

[Bus1517]

10 hours ago, chitowndude84 said:

Update on 6163!!!

Great to see a 90's CTA bus saved and in its original colors!!!

Now I gotta track down a chance on riding a PACE Orion 1 lol  

This is Awesome!!

Photo credit from Midwest Bus muesum 

I gotta say, the workers at IRM did a good job on the bus, but the only things I see is they forget the red livery on the front bottom on the bus, the grey bottom on both sides, and lastly, the Flxible logos attached on both front and the rear, will be giving this a 7.5/10, they still did a good job restoring the bus.

[Busjack]

5 hours ago, Bus1517 said:

I gotta say, the workers at IRM did a good job on the bus, but the only things I see is they forget the red livery on the front bottom on the bus, the grey bottom on both sides, and lastly, the Flxible logos attached on both front and the rear, will be giving this a 7.5/10, they still did a good job restoring the bus.

I thought something was missing, and whether the red stripe was over the louvers, but looking at the 6000s page, you're correct.

[YoungBusLover]

5 hours ago, Bus1517 said:

I gotta say, the workers at IRM did a good job on the bus, but the only things I see is they forget the red livery on the front bottom on the bus, the grey bottom on both sides, and lastly, the Flxible logos attached on both front and the rear, will be giving this a 7.5/10, they still did a good job restoring the bus.

This is what it will look like once they're finished. They wanted to showcase what they had so far before finishing after Bus day at IRM.

[dailycommuter62]

cant let it have mismatched panels and the front passenger access door hanging open, its not a 74th bus 😂

[chitowndude84]

10 hours ago, dailycommuter62 said:

cant let it have mismatched panels and the front passenger access door hanging open, its not a 74th bus 😂

PREACH BROTHER!!! PREACH!!!   And ya none of that nonesense out of FG when I lived in NW side 25 years ago lol

 

I look forward to seeing it finished with red painted front panel and grey lower paint on the sides😎🤘

[Bus1883]

On 9/21/2026 at 7:00 AM, Bus1517 said:

I gotta say, the workers at IRM did a good job on the bus, but the only things I see is they forget the red livery on the front bottom on the bus, the grey bottom on both sides, and lastly, the Flxible logos attached on both front and the rear, will be giving this a 7.5/10, they still did a good job restoring the bus.

Only thing is left is the red livery to the front that goes on the bottom between the headlights

[Bus1883]

On 9/21/2026 at 12:28 PM, Busjack said:

I thought something was missing, and whether the red stripe was over the louvers, but looking at the 6000s page, you're correct.

that should be the last thing they have to put on. Nice to see it with the speed line logo, thought they’d go with the current logo 

[busfan2847]

6163 in use yesterday at the IRM Bus day