Chicago L - Operator's View from Start to Finish

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SarahZ

Quality Control
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May 8, 2011
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The CTA has posted the first in a series of "operator views" on every route, from start to finish.

They started with the Red Line (northbound from 95th).

More lines will follow in the coming days. I'll be sure to link them. :)

 
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I want to see one going around the loop at that high speed!
Yeah, I know. :) Maybe it won't be quite as fast, since the Loop trains aren't as long as the Red Line. They won't have as much mileage to condense into a 9-minute video.

I should have made a generic thread instead of calling it "Red Line". I'll keep all the videos in this thread. Would it be possible to change the title to "Chicago L - Operator's View from Start to Finish"?
 
Seems like there were a lot of CTA workers visible in the southbound Red Line video.

Guess everyone wanted their 15 minutes of fame (well, more like 1.5 seconds)!
 
Seems like there were a lot of CTA workers visible in the southbound Red Line video.

Guess everyone wanted their 15 minutes of fame (well, more like 1.5 seconds)!
That made me nervous. The third rail is dangerous. I wonder if they can shut off certain sections of it while they're working? I have to imagine that's possible.
 
There is a YouTube Channel I subscribe to where a fellow does the same thing with road trips videoing from his car. Some of them are really awesome.

 
The CTA videos are cool. Looking forward to seeing those from L trains going through the Loop. This is a good way to document how the system, the stations, and the buildings looked in 2014. Do this every 5 years and future generations could see how the skyline, the tracks and the stations changed over the decades.

It would be neat if other transit agencies were to do the same. Similiar HD videos from WMATA, NYCT, the T, various light rail lines, above and below ground lines from around the US would be fun to watch.
 
Search YouTube and you'll see lots of homemade videos of end to end rides on transit lines. Of course, most of them are from side windows. The CTA's head end videos are much better.
 
In the Red Line videos, it looks like you can walk in between Lake, Monroe, and Jackson on the platforms. Is that true?
It's supposed to be true -- it's actually all one continuous platform, and the exact train stopping locations have changed somewhat over the years (most obviously where "Lake" has supplanted "Washington"). However, there are occasionally construction barriers whenever they work on portions of the platform, and I'm not sure what the current status is.
 
In the Red Line videos, it looks like you can walk in between Lake, Monroe, and Jackson on the platforms. Is that true?
It's supposed to be true -- it's actually all one continuous platform, and the exact train stopping locations have changed somewhat over the years (most obviously where "Lake" has supplanted "Washington"). However, there are occasionally construction barriers whenever they work on portions of the platform, and I'm not sure what the current status is.
Andplusalso, those narrow portions on the platforms make me very nervous. I'm the one who walks down the exact center of the platform and stands there until the train arrives. I've seen too many people jostled, especially when it's the weekend and the platforms are full of drunks and tourists with SUV-sized strollers. (Or the Addison stop after a Cubs game.)
 
Search YouTube and you'll see lots of homemade videos of end to end rides on transit lines. Of course, most of them are from side windows. The CTA's head end videos are much better.
The CTA videos are better because you see both sides of the tracks, the speed-up effect is well done, and each station is labeled as the train pulls up to the platform. These videos will make for a good video documentation of each line in 2014 for posterity.
 
It's really striking when you watch the video of the southern section of the Red Line that was just rebuilt and compare it to the northern section or the Forest Park branch of the Blue Line.

On the Red Line the acceleration seems very smooth and the shot is very stable.

On the Blue Line that the train keeps speeding up, slowing down and bouncing all over as it goes over sections of bad track.

Just a very visual example of how badly the track has deteriorated over the decades.
 
For us out-of-towners, it would be nice to have an imbedded map at the top (right or left) of the screen so we can see where the lines run.
 
And you cannot go wrong with that good German-inspired Techo music! If you go to the Full Youtube they provide a link to a Free Share site where you can download it :)
 
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