Metra in the movies!

[jdcnosse]

I'm watching the movie Source Code right now, and they have some nice aerial shots of Chicago in the beginning, not to mention the beginning also takes place on a Metra train (it stops in Glenwood). I always wondered what the inside of those trains looked like...lol

 

[PerRock]

I haven't seen the movie, but they kinda look like this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Nippon_Sharyo_bi-level_passenger_car_interior_hallway.JPG

peter

 

[jdcnosse]

I haven't seen the movie, but they kinda look like this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Nippon_Sharyo_bi-level_passenger_car_interior_hallway.JPG

peter

Well in the movie they are Chicago Commuter Rail (CCR) cars but they look exactly like the Metra cars we've passed while I was onboard the SWC leaving CUS...

And yup, after watching the whole movie, which takes place onboard the train, it looks just like that

 

[Trogdor]

I haven't seen the movie, but they kinda look like this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Nippon_Sharyo_bi-level_passenger_car_interior_hallway.JPG

peter

They *kinda* look like that, but Metra has different seats on the inside. Metra's seats can flip over to face either direction (the seatback just slides to the other side). The seats in this photograph are in a fixed position (which is how they are on Caltrain; I don't know how VRE's seats look).

 

[jdcnosse]

After watching the special features on the DVD, the train cars in the movie were modeled after the "common" commuter train, so since the train takes place outside Chicago I assumed it was Metra when it was actually custom made lol

 

[John Bredin]

Well, as I recall the trains in the movie included a cafe car. There aren't any on Metra. When Metra had bar cars on select routes (C&NW, Milwaukee), they weren't anything remotely as fancy as the one in the movie. :lol:

 

[Anderson]

Ok, when did Metra have bar cars on routes? The only "actual" commuter line I can think of with any sort of bar service was the LIRR (mind you, I know that a lot of the lines in the NYC and Philly metro areas were a bit of a hybrid between commuter and intercity operations), and IIRC the LIRR's longest lines might technically have been Amtrak-eligible (they ran over 100 miles) but were excluded because the LIRR was (at that point) a state-owned commuter railroad and was clearly only doing commuter business.

 

[MikefromCrete]

Metra continued to run bar cars on the former C&NW North and Northwest routes for a number of years after its inception. Metra also converted a number of bilevel cars to snack/bar cars with the bar located in the usual entry way in the center of the cars. You couldn't get on or off these cars but had to access them from other cars. These cars, which used outside contractors, not Metra employees, ran on rush hour Milwaukee and Rock Island District trains. All of these cars have been converted back to regular coaches.

Bar cars still run on Metro North's New Haven Line and I believe even some of the new M-8 cars will be bar cars.

 

[Trogdor]

I want to say that Metra discontinued its bar car service within the last three or four years.

 

[AlanB]

I want to say that Metra discontinued its bar car service within the last three or four years.

I concur, it was fairly recently that they discontinued the bar cars. Cited reasons IIRC, were costs and the need to add another coach to the trains instead.

 

[AlanB]

Ok, when did Metra have bar cars on routes? The only "actual" commuter line I can think of with any sort of bar service was the LIRR (mind you, I know that a lot of the lines in the NYC and Philly metro areas were a bit of a hybrid between commuter and intercity operations), and IIRC the LIRR's longest lines might technically have been Amtrak-eligible (they ran over 100 miles) but were excluded because the LIRR was (at that point) a state-owned commuter railroad and was clearly only doing commuter business.

As already noted, Metro North still operates bar cars in regular service, only on the New Haven division however. It's really a CDOT thing, as they technically set the rules and fares for the trains once the train crosses the border.

The LIRR doesn't operate a bar car in constant year round service, but the afternoon run that used to be called the Cannon Ball to Montauk still has a special car that requires a premium fare and advanced reservations, where one can obtain alcohol. One can also buy liquor right on the platforms before boarding one's home bound LIRR train.

 

[Bob Dylan]

What's the world coming too when all the Commuters cant "Booze it Up" to their Hearts Content on the way home on the Train! Damn Commie plot!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[GG-1]

What's the world coming too when all the Commuters cant "Booze it Up" to their Hearts Content on the way home on the Train! Damn Commie plot!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

At least they leave the driving to somebody else.

Aloha

 

[MetraUPWest]

I want to say that Metra discontinued its bar car service within the last three or four years.

I concur, it was fairly recently that they discontinued the bar cars. Cited reasons IIRC, were costs and the need to add another coach to the trains instead.

They had bar cars on the Rock Island district until around 4 years ago. They got rid of them to save money on the cost of supplies and "bartenders", also to add more capacity to the trains. I know a good portion of the Source Code was filmed on Metra's SouthWest Service line (former Norfolk & Western), there were some pictures floating around of the "CCR" train filming at Orland Park's 143rd St. station- I'll see if I can find them.

 

[OlympianHiawatha]

Up until sometime in the early to mid 70s the Chicago and Northwestern ran single level

"Bar Cars" in consist with the Gallery Coaches. At least on the Northwest Line through Arlington Heights these were very long trains often pulled by 2 engines!