andrethebusman Posted January 1, 2015 Report Share Posted January 1, 2015 Went by 77th Mon to see for myself what is going on with the "historic fleet" since there were rumors they had disappeared. Nope, still there, in the tight little cluster they have been in for a while now. However, a couple of observations:No sign of the three Fresh Moves Flxibles. They must have gone bye-bye.4901 has red "scrap" on frontThe 5454 is a goner - engine cradle broke, engine sitting on ground.The half-dozen 6000's still there, looking sadder and sadder. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garmon757 Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Went by 77th Mon to see for myself what is going on with the "historic fleet" since there were rumors they had disappeared. Nope, still there, in the tight little cluster they have been in for a while now. However, a couple of observations: No sign of the three Fresh Moves Flxibles. They must have gone bye-bye. 4901 has red "scrap" on front The 5454 is a goner - engine cradle broke, engine sitting on ground. The half-dozen 6000's still there, looking sadder and sadder. I remembered in 1996 (yes I was about 5-6 at the time) that #5454 had some kind of a serious problem (I'm guessing the engine) because it was getting towed on Cicero Avenue and it was sidelined for quite a while. That bus did bring me back memories when me and my mom was chasing it while it was operating #81 back in 1994 after we left from Weiss Hospital on a late night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Im being told but not confirmed that the CTA historical buses #301, 3706 and 8499 wont be donated to IRM and instead will be scrapped! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Im being told but not confirmed that the CTA historical buses #301, 3706 and 8499 wont be donated to IRM and instead will be scrapped! It probably comes down to CTA wants to be paid. I don't know what IRM's fundraising situation is, but if the auction for the 900s as scrap is any indication, it probably will need $6,000 and a tow truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 That would be a tragic shame losing those three buses to the scrapper!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Im being told but not confirmed that the CTA historical buses #301, 3706 and 8499 wont be donated to IRM and instead will be scrapped! That's just crazy!! These vehicles are priceless. This is where the MTA is a better transit agency. It's a real head scratcher, on one hand CTA tries to preserve history with "L" platforms and on the other hand they flush away historic vehicles like they don't even care about history. Too bad vintage vehicles can't have some sort of landmark status. It's almost like protecting an endangered species. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 That's just crazy!! These vehicles are priceless. This is where the MTA is a better transit agency. It's a real head scratcher, on one hand CTA tries to preserve history with "L" platforms and on the other hand they flush away historic vehicles like they don't even care about history. Too bad vintage vehicles can't have some sort of landmark status. It's almost like protecting an endangered species. There is some precedent for CTA "not caring" when they closed the Wrightwood barn, thus giving up on their historic trolley collection, but supposedly that was donated to IRM. As I noted above, the question is whether CTA has, in fact, given up on donations and expects cash, but definitely it has given up on running a museum. But this reminds me (with respect to 301) that the statement in the 2015 calendar that "The last of these buses, which presented quite a drastically different appearance from their predecessors, were retired in 1983" is incorrect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BusHunter Posted January 2, 2015 Report Share Posted January 2, 2015 Yeah but if they don't want them they should at least offer them up to a museum. To shred them is nuts especially when they have been indoors alot. I was wondering why the FG buses are all chipped up. They have been sitting in the weather for 12 years. No wonder these older buses exteriors actually look better. It's really a shame these historic buses are outside in the weather. In a way their journey to the great unknown has already begun. BTW, i didn't know about the trolley barn. Interesting. In some of the historic photographs there's pictures of a CSL #3407 in Chicago like CTA did once keep that bus in a historic fleet maybe in the 80's. I wouldn't doubt CMC #605 was around either as those buses may have just been too old even for IRM to acquire them in the late 60's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Busjack Posted January 3, 2015 Report Share Posted January 3, 2015 ... BTW, i didn't know about the trolley barn... Mentioned in Lind's book. It was visible from the L at Lincoln and Wrightwood, but now is a dog park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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