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2400-series - Updates (Retired)


BusHunter

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2400's as of 4/1/14 (over the transom)

Purple - 2401-2404, 2407-2410, 2421-2422, 2473-2474, 2477-2478, 2495-2496, 2505-2506, 2531/2482, 2539-2540, 2561-2562, 2565-2566, 2569-2572, 2581-2582 (32)

Orange - 2405-2406, 2411-2420, 2423-2424, 2427-2430, 2433-2436, 2441-2444, 2449-2456, 2459-2460, 2465-2468, 2489-2490, 2507-2512, 2515-2516, 2519-2520, 2525-2526, 2533-2534, 2537-2538, 2541-2550, 2555-2556, 2563-2564, 2583-2584, 2587-2588 (76)

Green - 2437-2438, 2461-2462, 2469/2504, 2475-2476, 2523-2524, 2529-2530, 2551-2552, 2591-2594 (18) (these were retained at Green for sleet train service, not used in passenger service)

Total active 126

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Just because India has overcrowded trains doesn't mean that they want to buy incompatible and obsolete equipment.

Since you got really off topic, the MAN articulateds from Seattle were only a stopgap because the ones originally in Chicago were shot (we were sold the bill of goods that winters were not as bad in Seattle),but those were pretty shot too. Those were a stopgap until CTA got the NABIs, which turned out to be Hungarian garbage (see here and here). And I personally support the Buy America Act to the extent that if U.S. Taxpayer money is going into the expenditure, it ought to generate some American jobs. Even Ronald Reagan recognized that.

CTA was at least partially responsible for the problems with the 7100's. When they were almost new, there was the infamous wreck near soldier field where an artic rear-ended and over-rode a car that suddenly slowed in its path. CTA decided in their ultimate wisdom the artics were "too fast" and had the shops lock their transmissions in low gear. Well, that was found to be a grotesque over-reaction, but whatever was done to do this apparently was difficult to undo, and many 7100's spent the rest of their days in low gear. I remember riding them on ODX, and by the time we got to Oak St the tranny was overheating and stinking. So they had abysmal availability rates and were constantly in the shop for engine, trans problems. But CTA refused to do full rebuilds on them and just let them deteriorate. The one they did do something with, 7100, got a Detroit Diesel engine and Allison tranny, but unfortunately the engine was too big and the bus had problems with "bottoming out" and scraping the oil pan, so it was a one-off.

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2273-74 at 61st should still be there, but they are apparently now considered "sheds". There was that problem with the 6000's too - it took a while to get the ones that had become storage sheds off the books and scrapped. Meanwhile they had become a sort of "ghost", there but not on any list of stored, ready for sale, anything.

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While we are talking about the 2400s, here is a photo series where I contracted a "L" charter in 2006, in connection with my work with the Museum of Science & Industry. The charter was in the final days of the days when the 2400s still wore the red, white, and blue. Also, two-car trains where permitted. The first photo shows the charter at Ashland /63rd St.

P1010363.jpg

The second photo was snapped by the CTA's resident photogaper, Graham Garfield This despirtion was included in "Chicago L"......"By the Spring of 2006, as the CTA® continues to change its railcar fleet to all silver/gray exterior, relatively few 2400-series cars remained with red, white, and blue end caps and belt rails. On April 12, 2006, cars 2551-52, seen passing Madison/Wabash northbound, were chosen specifically for a charter run for railfan David Harrison because they still retained this increasingly-rare livery. (Photo by Graham Garfield)"

IMG_2018.jpg

Another photo was snapped as we took a photo break at Sheridan Rd. on the Red Line on track 4. It was a Sunday and track 4 was not used.

100_0635.jpg

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Aside from the 2200 "sheds," there are no more 2200s on CTA property. ChicagoL.org announced this by adding more photos in honor of them. How nice!

I'm assuming that the 2400 population is continuing to shrink.

Well, the oldest pairs of 2400's.... the original pairs that underwent a 600-hour test on most lines before the 2400's started coming in bulk are officially off revenue service.... #2401-2402 and #2403-2404 are, for the moment, relegated to work train service. Eventually, they'll meet the scrapper unless the CTA wants all work motor 2400's to stay around to haul flatcars and do whatever other work train jobs are required.

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Well, the oldest pairs of 2400's.... the original pairs that underwent a 600-hour test on most lines before the 2400's started coming in bulk are officially off revenue service.... #2401-2402 and #2403-2404 are, for the moment, relegated to work train service. Eventually, they'll meet the scrapper unless the CTA wants all work motor 2400's to stay around to haul flatcars and do whatever other work train jobs are required.

I've always wondered why the CTA doesn't cutoff the upper car body except for the cabs for work trains.

Is it a structural issue? If there was just a pair of cars with large flat decks they could haul material around without using flatcars for a lot of work.

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I've always wondered why the CTA doesn't cutoff the upper car body except for the cabs for work trains.

Is it a structural issue? If there was just a pair of cars with large flat decks they could haul material around without using flatcars for a lot of work.

How much could a flatcar cost, compared to the cost of ripping apart an L car, especially since it is assumed that the car has a structural integrity based on the way the body was designed?

Basically, we saw the mess when 3061 was cut apart. Given the motors and similar stuff on the trucks, I don't think you would even want to reuse those on a flatcar.

The last time anything like this was tried was during CSL days when wooden cars were converted to derricks. I don't see that being practical now.

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Looking at the rosters, there are 96 #2400's left in revenue service.

Spotted the 2400s that are at Harlem Yard.

attachicon.gif20140419_162249.jpgattachicon.gif20140419_162956.jpg

With the way they're deployed, it sometimes feels like less than that. It's getting to the point most of the time I see 2400s is on the Orange Line or on the Brown Line's Brownage runs. On the Purple Line I only see two cars at most per train if I see them as part of a Purple Line train. And very surprised that any are still assigned to the Green Line by this point in time with approximately 430 5000-series cars here now either in service or at the relevant shops facility as a new arrival for inspection.

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80 percent of them are on the Orange line, some days there it's like where are the #3200's? Soon we should be finding out what the story is on the spare cars there. Some members say the orange is going all #3200. They should be receiving some #2600's there by the summer. But the CTA could always just start sending #2600 cars to the Blue line and retire some of those there and keep the #2400's on the Orange line for a little longer until they they do go there with #5000's or they could just start going to the Orange with #5000's after the next 20 #2400's are retired from the Purple line. So lots of possibilities. I know one thing, one look at Skokie Shops and you see there is now quite a few #2600's there. They could be using those for parts, it makes sense. They could save some money on their repair bills.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Today #2539-40 and #2505-06 are the only #2400's in service on the purple line. #2569-70 is in the yard but that's all I see.

Word is that this will be the last week of #2400's on the Purple line. There is a possibility they might not go until next week, but they should be gone by this friday at the earliest or next friday at the latest.

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Word is that this will be the last week of #2400's on the Purple line. There is a possibility they might not go until next week, but they should be gone by this friday at the earliest or next friday at the latest.

Speaking of Purple Line, I've just spotted a set of the work cars with S-618 crane idle at Sheridan about an hour and a half ago.
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Speaking of Purple Line, I've just spotted a set of the work cars with S-618 crane idle at Sheridan about an hour and a half ago.

Reports are one of the work cars went defective, I think it's #2415-16 and #2505-06 was spotted at Midway yard taking it's place. I'll have to check and see if it's still up north.

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Reports are one of the work cars went defective, I think it's #2415-16 and #2505-06 was spotted at Midway yard taking it's place. I'll have to check and see if it's still up north.

I know for sure that #2403-04 were part of the set. I couldn't get the other two pairs because they had all the lights off pitch black! And it's worse on Sheridan because the lights are too dim.
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