4000 retirements

[andrethebusman]

I am posting a listing of 4000-4361 Americana dispositions, like I did for the 9800/1600's. A few notes:

4351 sold to Great Lakes Naval Training Center apparently for some sort of "terrorist training" - assumed long scrapped

4323 became ironworkers bus WB6, sold 6-23-04 to Metals Management

4240 became ironworkers bus WB11, though this does not appear anywhere except on paperwork. This poor thing still exists, with all windows plated over and badly corroded, under 61st Yard, where it has sat derelict for at least 12 years.

4000.txt

[BusHunter]

Interesting. Where's the #9800's list?

[jajuan]

Your list shows how the Americanas were pretty much retired from both ends, which may sound counterintuitive but makes sense as you look at their final years. A lot of the lowest ones got retired due to age as more routes from Kedzie became accessible with the Novas coming in and displacing 6000s originally at 77th. The highest ones saw a number of retirements from having high mileage compared to a lot of their lower number companions after years of being assigned to 103rd (Beverly before 103rd's opening) and run on the 6 and 14 in those routes' pre-2003 alignments. What wasn't retired when the 6 became accessible and more 7300s came in to replace dying artics needed on the 14 got assigned temporarily to FG to knock the last surviving Flyer D901A buses and hold FG over for coverage of the 91 and 152 while the last remaining Novas to be delivered hit a delay. An interesting thing about Kedzie is its final Americanas (before 125, 156 and 157 were among the last to Kedzie assigned routes to become accessible) happened to be 20-25 buses numbered in the 4200s due mainly to NP not only taking on surviving lower number Americans from Kedzie displaced by 6000s from 77th, but also because NP needed lower mileage Americanas to operate the 135, 136*, 145 and 146. NP had met a similar high mileage issue with the 4200s and most of what 4100s it took on from 74th upon the 6000s' arrival to that garage soon after it replaced 69th. That was one drawback of CTA holding garages' bus assignments more constant than what we see today. Back then buses mostly got reassigned because it was displaced by delivery of a newer model to that garage.

*Despite the 136 getting an accessible designation in 2001 like the 147**, it was regularly getting Americanas almost as long as the 135, 145 and 146 were.

**147 designated accessible in fall pick of 2001 as 7300s came in to temporarily replace the all but dead 7100 series, but occasionally still got a few Americanas until the earliest parts of 2002.

[andrethebusman]

Interesting. Where's the #9800's list?

Look under the 9800-1600 thread if you have not done so already!

[BusHunter]

Look under the 9800-1600 thread if you have not done so already!

Ok I finally found it. Post #40 in the #9800/#1600's lifetime assignments thread. I'd post the link but I can't seem to do that right for a specific post number.