3200-series - Updates

[wayfaringrob]

On 6/29/2024 at 10:51 AM, wayfaringrob said:

May also just be my perception, but I have noticed fewer mixed consists and more 3200s. I see a full 3200 consist regularly; I'm not sure I see any full 2600 consists.

In addition to this, I did see at least 10, possibly 12 3200s running dark toward O'Hare late at night a few weeks ago (couldn't tell from my distance, a couple may have been 2600). I also seem to see way more 2600s on the Brown as I walk through the Loop every day.

[Bus1883]

19 hours ago, wayfaringrob said:

In addition to this, I did see at least 10, possibly 12 3200s running dark toward O'Hare late at night a few weeks ago (couldn't tell from my distance, a couple may have been 2600). I also seem to see way more 2600s on the Brown as I walk through the Loop every day.

I did a little kick out with the blue line the whole weekend I have seen 3200s and 7000s back to back and only two 2600s every two to three consists, either most could be in the yard or more have been sent to the orange line.

[Policeman]

56 minutes ago, Bus1883 said:

I did a little kick out with the blue line the whole weekend I have seen 3200s and 7000s back to back and only two 2600s every two to three consists, either most could be in the yard or more have been sent to the orange line.

Most of the 2600s from the blue are at FP in storage due to construction.

[artthouwill]

1 hour ago, Policeman said:

Most of the 2600s from the blue are at FP in storage due to construction.

Construction?  Of what?

[Policeman]

16 hours ago, artthouwill said:

Construction?  Of what?

The loop around, they are doing both tracks for whatever reason.

[artthouwill]

22 minutes ago, Policeman said:

The loop around, they are doing both tracks for whatever reason.

The loop around ar the Forest Park yard?

[Policeman]

2 hours ago, artthouwill said:

The loop around ar the Forest Park yard?

FP yard, the 2 tracks that connect the station to yard

[Busjack]

7 hours ago, Policeman said:

FP yard, the 2 tracks that connect the station to yard

Off the wall:

• Hopefully, they fix it so another consist doesn't go off on its own onto the mainline. See Blue Line Collision at Harlem.

[Bus1883]

Another Brown line 3200 has caught a brake fire …

[wayfaringrob]

13 hours ago, Bus1883 said:

The 2600s are being moved from Blue to Orange Line to retire what’s assigned there since 2012 or 14

 

3 hours ago, Busjack said:

CTA announcement (Tribune reference) that it was putting 3200s on the Blue Line because they were more dependable, and the 2600s ran adequately on other lines

You know, 7000s are at such a trickle lately that older numbers have become interesting to me, and I've noticed that they seem to be continuing to swap with Brown for more 3200s as well. I don't see Brown enough to check numbers, but 2600s are becoming a rarity on the Blue at a seemingly faster pace than the 7000 deliveries. Compared to the '22 roster, I noted the following additional 3200 cars in service on Blue in late Nov/early Dec 2024:

3205 3206

3359 3360
3363 3364
3369 3370
3375 3376
3379 3380
3385 3386
3387 3388
3399 3400

3418 3419** that’s not right, but it was one pair or the other.
3437 3438

Maybe some of these have been noted previously, and there are probably more. The hot hurry to get 2600s elsewhere is understandable--the Blue can get really messed up by a breakdown: few rerouting options, some of the tightest headways, and high passenger volumes.

[Erin Mishkin Jr.]

22 minutes ago, wayfaringrob said:

 

You know, 7000s are at such a trickle lately that older numbers have become interesting to me, and I've noticed that they seem to be continuing to swap with Brown for more 3200s as well. I don't see Brown enough to check numbers, but 2600s are becoming a rarity on the Blue at a seemingly faster pace than the 7000 deliveries. Compared to the '22 roster, I noted the following additional 3200 cars in service on Blue in late Nov/early Dec 2024:

3205 3206

3359 3360
3363 3364
3369 3370
3375 3376
3379 3380
3385 3386
3387 3388
3399 3400

3419 3420
3437 3438

Maybe some of these have been noted previously, and there are probably more. The hot hurry to get 2600s elsewhere is understandable--the Blue can get really messed up by a breakdown: few rerouting options, some of the tightest headways, and high passenger volumes.

All these trains have been on the blue line since 2023. 

[wayfaringrob]

1 hour ago, Erin Mishkin Jr. said:

All these trains have been on the blue line since 2023. 

My mistake!

[artthouwill]

More 7000s seem to be in service.   Also from my observations,  the majority of the the older consists are made up of all 3200s with some consists having only two 2600s in them.  So whatever 2600s haven't been sent to Orange Line appear to be spares.  There is a consist of 2600s sitting in Harlem Yard.

I suppose at some point in 2025 we may see 3200s going back to the Brown Line as more 7000s come in but that probably doesn't happen until the end of summer at the earliest. 

[Bus1883]

#3277-78 is at Skokie Shops as well as #3451-52 

[Javi75]

When riding the brown line I’ve been noticing a lot of problematic 3200s, last week 3433 had the air conditioner blowing full blast with one of the doors out of service. Then there were three other instances in the past month on other 3200s having a door that was out of service. I would expect those issues more on the 2600s than 3200s due to the 3200s having a more modern rehab. Unless all these problematic 3200s were transferred from the blue line which is rough on it’s equipment. 

[Bus1883]

18 minutes ago, Javi75 said:

When riding the brown line I’ve been noticing a lot of problematic 3200s, last week 3433 had the air conditioner blowing full blast with one of the doors out of service. Then there were three other instances in the past month on other 3200s having a door that was out of service. I would expect those issues more on the 2600s than 3200s due to the 3200s having a more modern rehab. Unless all these problematic 3200s were transferred from the blue line which is rough on it’s equipment. 

Kimball does a little better on maintenance than Rosemont and Desplaines. Since there isn’t enough space at Kimball some cars are sent to Midway for maintenance 

[artthouwill]

44 minutes ago, Javi75 said:

When riding the brown line I’ve been noticing a lot of problematic 3200s, last week 3433 had the air conditioner blowing full blast with one of the doors out of service. Then there were three other instances in the past month on other 3200s having a door that was out of service. I would expect those issues more on the 2600s than 3200s due to the 3200s having a more modern rehab. Unless all these problematic 3200s were transferred from the blue line which is rough on it’s equipment. 

These cars are OLD.  There's only a  five year gap between the youngest 2600s and the 3200s.  With the extreme temperatures lately,  it's inevitable that there are going to be equipment issues with the rail cars.  Unlike the bus fleet, the rail cars are literally exposed to the extreme weather conditions around the clock.   I'm sure even some 5000s and 7000s may experience some equipment failures.  At least it isn't A massive problem.  

[Adam Hubbard]

These cars will not last until 2040.

[Sam92]

16 minutes ago, Adam Hubbard said:

These cars will not last until 2040.

If everything goes right we won't have them till 2040. But you gotta remember we kinda have to work with what we have considering how volatile things are getting on the manufacturing side and getting new stuff. Better to have and not need than need and not have 😉. Same for the 1000s since BEB has all the hiccups it has getting implemented. 

[Bus1883]

4 hours ago, Adam Hubbard said:

These cars will not last until 2040.

They’ll be gone before then 14 more years to go we’ll see what’s new 

[Elkmn]

46 minutes ago, Bus1883 said:

They’ll be gone before then 14 more years to go we’ll see what’s new 

On this day 13 years ago the 7000 series discussion was opened, shortly before the cta issued a RFP, so it could be a while until we have enough 9000s to fully replace the 3200s, but hopefully all odds won't be stacked against construction of the new cars this time around.

[Busjack]

1 hour ago, Elkmn said:

On this day 13 years ago the 7000 series discussion was opened, shortly before the cta issued a RFP, so it could be a while until we have enough 9000s to fully replace the 3200s, but hopefully all odds won't be stacked against construction of the new cars this time around.

You missed that there won't be any 9000s.

The official CTA word is 2032 or 2033. @Adam Hubbard may be correct that problems at CRRC might delay things, but since all you two are dealing with speculation, not knowledge, I'll say that I don't think the 3200s will last 48 years unless CTA is forced ti run real antiques like the Cincinnati Car Co. ones such as the heritage 4200s.

[Javi75]

On 1/26/2026 at 4:10 PM, artthouwill said:

These cars are OLD.  There's only a  five year gap between the youngest 2600s and the 3200s.  With the extreme temperatures lately,  it's inevitable that there are going to be equipment issues with the rail cars.  Unlike the bus fleet, the rail cars are literally exposed to the extreme weather conditions around the clock.   I'm sure even some 5000s and 7000s may experience some equipment failures.  At least it isn't A massive problem.  

Considering recent 3200 reassignments to the brown line from the blue line that explains why a lot of 3200s have messed up doors. The doors are stuck partially open and it looks like passengers pulled the emergency lever above the door and the doors got stuck like that. That tends to happen a lot on the blue line especially at Ohare where people will try to force the doors open to keep letting people on. Then there’s a bunch of crazy people on the blue line that will do that anyways. I wouldn’t be surprised if people are messing up the 7000s doors pulling the emergency levers as well. 

[Bus1883]

5 hours ago, Javi75 said:

Considering recent 3200 reassignments to the brown line from the blue line that explains why a lot of 3200s have messed up doors. The doors are stuck partially open and it looks like passengers pulled the emergency lever above the door and the doors got stuck like that. That tends to happen a lot on the blue line especially at Ohare where people will try to force the doors open to keep letting people on. Then there’s a bunch of crazy people on the blue line that will do that anyways. I wouldn’t be surprised if people are messing up the 7000s doors pulling the emergency levers as well. 

It’s a very common issue down south on the red line as well… People wait to the last minute when the operator closes the doors before departure, I’ve seen lots of young folks pull the emergency levers as well especially when the train is in mid deceleration 

[Rhys Pate]

Are the 2600s getting the “2200s treatment” on the Brown Line? On the Brown Line, I have seen multiple trains with 2600s in the middle (cars 3-6) and 3200s at the ends of the train (cars 1-2 and cars 7-8). This was what was done with 2200s and 2600s on the Blue Line back when the 2200s were still in service. Is this because operators prefer to have 3200s leading trains?