Eliminated Routes

[artthouwill]

Considering that 9 Expresses were recently eliminated, I thought I would come up with a list of routes that CTA eliminated over my lifetime. This list will not include routes that have been renamed, renumbered, or combined with another route. Feel free to add to this list since I am not the oldest person on this board, but certainly not the youngest. I may comment on why I didn't add some routes that I am sure you guys will come up with. So here goes

2 Hyde Park Local

15 Canal

16 Lake

23 Morgan/Racine

23 Washington Express

31 31st

32 West 31

38 Michigan Express

40 O'Hare Express

41 Elston/Clybourn

42 Halsted/Archer

45 Ashland/Archer

61 Archer/Franklin Express

62 Archer Express

63 63rd Limited

83 83rd

89 North Kedzie

92W West Foster

99M Midway Park N Ride

X99 Chicago Manufacturing

104 Pullman/Altgeld

110 Marquette

127 NW/Madison

127 Madison/Roosevelt Circulator

128 Orleans/Wacker

131 Washington

145/153 Wilson Michigan Local

173 U of C/Lakeview Express

174 U of C/Garfield

[PACE 834]

Considering that 9 Expresses were recently eliminated, I thought I would come up with a list of routes that CTA eliminated over my lifetime. This list will not include routes that have been renamed, renumbered, or combined with another route. Feel free to add to this list since I am not the oldest person on this board, but certainly not the youngest. I may comment on why I didn't add some routes that I am sure you guys will come up with. So here goes

2 Hyde Park Local

15 Canal

16 Lake

23 Morgan/Racine

23 Washington Express

31 31st

32 West 31

38 Michigan Express

40 O'Hare Express

41 Elston/Clybourn

42 Halsted/Archer

45 Ashland/Archer

61 Archer/Franklin Express

62 Archer Express

63 63rd Limited

83 83rd

89 North Kedzie

92W West Foster

99M Midway Park N Ride

X99 Chicago Manufacturing

104 Pullman/Altgeld

110 Marquette

127 NW/Madison

127 Madison/Roosevelt Circulator

128 Orleans/Wacker

131 Washington

145/153 Wilson Michigan Local

173 U of C/Lakeview Express

174 U of C/Garfield

going back to my May 1975 and October 1976 maps,some routes also eliminated were 27 South Deering,37 Sedgwick,74L 'L'ephant ,99 Stevenson Express and 149 Stateliner

[ChicagoNova]

going back to my May 1975 and October 1976 maps,some routes also eliminated were 27 South Deering,37 Sedgwick,74L 'L'ephant ,99 Stevenson Express and 149 Stateliner

I also remember 164 Narragansett Express and Local, 146 Marine/Michigan Local 162 Pulaski/Stevenson Express, 38 Michigan Express, 99M Midway Express, 35W West 35th/Pershing, and 25 West Cermak.

[Guest]

#13 SW Skokie

[artthouwill]

going back to my May 1975 and October 1976 maps,some routes also eliminated were 27 South Deering,37 Sedgwick,74L 'L'ephant ,99 Stevenson Express and 149 Stateliner

I also remember 164 Narragansett Express and Local, 146 Marine/Michigan Local 162 Pulaski/Stevenson Express, 38 Michigan Express, 99M Midway Express, 35W West 35th/Pershing, and 25 West Cermak.

I didn't add the 27 because it still exists as the 71 71st/South Shore

The 99 Stevenson basically was shortened and renamed 62H Archer/Harlem to serve the Orange Line

The 37 was split with the north end being the 11 Lincoln Sedgwick and the south end the 157 Streeterville/Taylor

The 149 Stateliner was first incorporated into the 11 Lincoln (when that route used to end at Michigan/Balbo)then was taken over by the rerouted and current 146.

The 25 West Cermak was combined with the 21 Cermak.

The 162 Pulaski Stevenson Express was shortened to the Orange Line and renamed the 53A south Pulaski Limited

The 164 Narragansett Express was shortened and renamed the 55N 55th/Narragansett.

The 38 and the 99M ARE on my list

I should've added the 146 Marine/Michigan Local

I don't remember a 35W but it does count. Thanks.

Doesn't the 74 cover the 74L terrority?

[artthouwill]

#13 SW Skokie

Should've added that one too. Thanks.

[ArcherRider]

CTA routes #200 Main Shuttle, #202 Main/Emerson and #203 Grant St routes in Evanston.

[chgofan78]

CTA routes #200 Main Shuttle, #202 Main/Emerson and #203 Grant St routes in Evanston.

Plus the short-lived #10 Lunch Loop and #15 Shopping Loop.

[RJL6000]

I should've added the 146 Marine/Michigan Local

Yes, when the 146 was still called the Marine/Michigan Express, locals were operated on Monday through Saturday late evenings and all day on Sundays. Later, selected Sunday trips became express as well. But since that route was restructured into the 146 Inner Drive Express, all trips including on Sundays are now express. All former 146 Marine/Michigan Local stops are now served (indirectly) by the 151 Sheridan route whose stops are no more than a block or two from the former locations of the 146 Local stops.

[ArcherRider]

I forgot about the X21 Cermak Express that ran only on the weekend and holidays.

[jajuan]

I didn't add the 27 because it still exists as the 71 71st/South Shore

The 99 Stevenson basically was shortened and renamed 62H Archer/Harlem to serve the Orange Line

The 37 was split with the north end being the 11 Lincoln Sedgwick and the south end the 157 Streeterville/Taylor

The 149 Stateliner was first incorporated into the 11 Lincoln (when that route used to end at Michigan/Balbo)then was taken over by the rerouted and current 146.

The 25 West Cermak was combined with the 21 Cermak.

The 162 Pulaski Stevenson Express was shortened to the Orange Line and renamed the 53A south Pulaski Limited

The 164 Narragansett Express was shortened and renamed the 55N 55th/Narragansett.

The 38 and the 99M ARE on my list

I should've added the 146 Marine/Michigan Local

I don't remember a 35W but it does count. Thanks.

Doesn't the 74 cover the 74L terrority?

Actually 99 and 164 do count because they still existed at the time of the current routes in service. Though originally the 62H originally served Pulaski instead of Midway and 55A and 55N were originally 62A and 62N, served Pulaski instead of Midway Orange Line and operated on Archer instead of 55th. One more tidbit is that 99 shared the Archer/Neva terminus with the 62 and did not operate beyond that point. 35W is what CTA created when they experimented with trying to terminate the 35 and 39 at the 35th/Archer Orange Line station at the opening of the Orange Line before putting them back to their original terminals.

To add in on the 37, it was split originally into 37 Sedwick and 38 Ogden/Taylor before 37 was the first to get absorbed, that being absorbed into the current 11 and the 38 being absorbed just last year into the current 157 route.

As for the 146 Local, those runs became express runs when 146 was still called 146 Marine/Michigan a short time before it got renamed to 146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express.

[jajuan]

CTA routes #200 Main Shuttle, #202 Main/Emerson and #203 Grant St routes in Evanston.

203 survives as the current 201 along Ridge and part of the 205 on that route's Grant trips. 202 essentially became 200, surviving up to that route's elimination in September.

[Busjack]

I didn't add the 27 because it still exists as the 71 71st/South Shore

The 99 Stevenson basically was shortened and renamed 62H Archer/Harlem to serve the Orange Line

...

The 149 Stateliner was first incorporated into the 11 Lincoln (when that route used to end at Michigan/Balbo)then was taken over by the rerouted and current 146

.....

The 162 Pulaski Stevenson Express was shortened to the Orange Line and renamed the 53A south Pulaski Limited

The 164 Narragansett Express was shortened and renamed the 55N 55th/Narragansett.

...

Doesn't the 74 cover the 74L terrority?

Probably easier to deal with this in inverse order. The 74 does not cover the 74L territory, because the 74L essentially went from the L station into Lincoln Park (hence being painted as the Lephant bus). 74 pretty much is as it was from trolley bus days, to the loop via Lincoln, Webster, and Halsted. If anything stands in for the 74L, it is 76 to the Nature Museum.

I'll deal with the rest after quoting the following

203 survives as the current 201 along Ridge and part of the 205 on that route's Grant trips. 202 essentially became 200, surviving up to that route's elimination in September.

The main issue here is when is a renumbering really a renumbering.

As you point out, 201 and 203 essentially traded south ends, but 203 became 205. The question is why. I assume that part of it was that in the ridership report, they didn't want to compare something that became totally secondary (205) to something that was only partially secondary (203, which had the St. Francis Hospital traffic on Ridge, given over to 201).

For that matter, I would argue that the 6 South Shore Express has nothing to do with the former 6 Jeffery Express, except both used S. Hyde Park Blvd. and ended (more or less) at Michigan-Wacker.

Finally, to go back to art's, I find it how to rationalize that a southwest side feeder is essentially the same as an expressway bus. I suppose you argue that the 6 and 6X Garfield (which went downtown) were equivalent to the 55 Garfield (which I just consider to be the 55 55 Street to Morgan, just extended).

And, to go back to the premise of this thread, it depends on whose lifetime how far one wants to go back. One would have to go back at least to the 1973 cuts, which did away with such overlapping former boulevard routes as 127 Jackson-Independence, and 136 Douglas Park (which basically duplicated 58 Ogden-Randolph). There was also the 148 Monroe Parking Garage, which bit it at about the same time. At that time you could also throw in the ones that didn't go downtown like they used to, such as the 41 Elston Clybourn, or essentially got cut because they were merged with the dominant route (such as the 10 Lincoln Larrabee and the 11 Lincoln Wabash). Others that got cut in the 1970s include the 5 Jeffery, which went local via Drexel, 43rd, and Indiana/Michigan (I rode it once, and did not find it to be a satisfactory substitute for the 1 Drexel Hyde Park, which I also consider to be dead, as the current 1 is essentially the former 38).

The only way one is going to get close to a complete list is to go through the history on Chicago Transit and Railfan SURFACE TRANSIT ROUTES - PAST AND PRESENT. That seems about as complete as I know, but there are still nits in it. For instance, he acknowledges that 3 and 4 had some limited stop runs, but basically does not acknowledge the X routes, nor that there was limited stop service on 9 (the X9).

[RJL6000]

As for the 146 Local, those runs became express runs when 146 was still called 146 Marine/Michigan a short time before it got renamed to 146 Inner Drive/Michigan Express.

And with last year's route restructuring at the south end of that route, 146 is now the only route which directly serves Soldier Field and the Museum Campus. It also now continues south on State Street to Roosevelt Road before turning east so that the route also directly serves the Roosevelt Red Line subway and Green/Orange Line elevated stations. Previously, the route operated on Michigan Avenue between Congress Parkway and Roosevelt Road - and before the bridge over the Metra Electric tracks at Roosevent Road was built as part of the reconfiguration of Lake Shore Drive during the 1990s, southbound 146 runs operated via Congress - Michigan - Balbo - Columbus while northbound runs operated via Lake Shore Drive - Balbo - Michigan - Congress.

[Busjack]

...southbound 146 runs operated via Congress - Michigan - Balbo - Columbus while northbound runs operated via Lake Shore Drive - Balbo - Michigan - Congress.

Heck, if you want to get technical, when the express routes got numbers in 1976, 146 was Sheridan Express, running on Sheridan between Broadway-Rosemont and Wilson. Wondered then why there were then two 146 readings in the right side roll (you could only see 146 Marine).

[qwantae]

How did X99 (Chicago Manufacturing) got eliminated? Did one of the industrial plants/ factories got shut down due the economy?

As for Artthouwill: This is a good Thread here: since I haven't lived in Chicago that long and I wanted to know more about the routes that were eleminated long time ago.

[jajuan]

How did X99 (Chicago Manufacturing) got eliminated? Did one of the industrial plants/ factories got shut down due the economy?

As for Artthouwill: This is a good Thread here: since I haven't lived in Chicago that long and I wanted to know more about the routes that were eleminated long time ago.

The manufacturing companies are still there. The route just never really picked up the ridership needed to survive.

[Busjack]

How did X99 (Chicago Manufacturing) got eliminated? Did one of the industrial plants/ factories got shut down due the economy?

...

The manufacturing companies are still there. The route just never really picked up the ridership needed to survive.

Especially since the route was designed to service the supplier campus next to the Ford plant. So, it could be a combination of either you didn't buy a Taurus (or Five Hundred, Montego, Sable, or MKS), or, if their livelihood depends on selling those cars, the workers bought them.

I remember in the old days, when the local steel mills supplied Ford, supposedly people who worked there that drove Toyotas had their cars salted (corrosion resistance not being then what it was now). Of course, these days more Toyotas than Fords are built in the U.S.

[Chicago13]

Especially since the route was designed to service the supplier campus next to the Ford plant. So, it could be a combination of either you didn't buy a Taurus (or Five Hundred, Montego, Sable, or MKS), or, if their livelihood depends on selling those cars, the workers bought them.

I remember in the old days, when the local steel mills supplied Ford, supposedly people who worked there that drove Toyotas had their cars salted (corrosion resistance not being then what it was now). Of course, these days more Toyotas than Fords are built in the U.S.

With what's been happening to Toyota lately, not for long....

[New Flyer]

You also had Ogden and Ogden Randolph, Vincennes Express

[jajuan]

With what's been happening to Toyota lately, not for long....

That's more true right now on number of Toyotas sold not built. Time will tell if it trickles over to numbers built. But that's left for a different discussion than transit issues.

[Busjack]

Attached is my take from when I came to Chicago in 1968 to the present. I used a 1969 map and Chicago Transit and Railfan to refresh my recollection, but not much. For instance, the old maps I have, plus Chicago Transit and Railfan do not reflect that Evanston was first established as three looping cross town routes.

There may be some things in the late 80s, early 90s that I missed, but those should be few. I left out things that I thought were pure renumberings (such as Outer Drive Express becoming 147, or 97 and 204 basically just being combined), but I used a more "fine toothed comb" than others.

cancelled CTA bus.pdf

[trainman8119]

Attached is my take from when I came to Chicago in 1968 to the present. I used a 1969 map and Chicago Transit and Railfan to refresh my recollection, but not much. For instance, the old maps I have, plus Chicago Transit and Railfan do not reflect that Evanston was first established as three looping cross town routes.

There may be some things in the late 80s, early 90s that I missed, but those should be few. I left out things that I thought were pure renumberings (such as Outer Drive Express becoming 147, or 97 and 204 basically just being combined), but I used a more "fine toothed comb" than others.

I see a slight boo boo on your reference to the North Kedzie route number. When the L was 1st extended to Jeff Park, 93 was North California serving Logan Square headed north on Kedzie from Logan Square. That route was scaled back, but was brought back as 89 North Kedzie later on...and I think that also died later on too.

[Busjack]

I see a slight boo boo on your reference to the North Kedzie route number. When the L was 1st extended to Jeff Park, 93 was North California serving Logan Square headed north on Kedzie from Logan Square. That route was scaled back, but was brought back as 89 North Kedzie later on...and I think that also died later on too.

I mentioned N. Kedzie, and also that I may have missed a few late 80s, early 90s changes.

I suppose one could go through the various lists (and back to CSL times) to find the most recycled numbers. I hadn't done that yet, but would put bets on 38, 89 and 98. 13 isn't too lucky, either. Conversely, Jeffery probably went through the most route number changes.

[geneking7320]

I should have looked at this thread earlier!

How about:

131 Washington Express

17 Westchester

:)