I
realized that there is a new series of transit rail cars by the CTA called the
5000-series. The
2400-series rail cars are still used by the CTA but because
of the recession and the need to get rid
of outdated items that can cause budget-busting maintenance
repair costs in the future, I understand
that these 2400-series cars are going to be eventually
phased out. I can remember those 2400-series
cars being awashed in red-white-and-blue (an allusion to the
1976 Bicentennial) with untouched parts
awash with dark and white gray trim. I also observed that
the front and rear ends of the trains also
featured 8 LED buttons with the colors red, yellow, green
and white on one side, and the reverse colors on the other, almost resembling the pinwheel multi-color
setup on the top of Comiskey Park’s
exploding scoreboard.
Later on, I observed that there was another line of 2400-series cars
that did not have the American flag colors aforementioned and only were
white and two shades of gray on its
exteriors.
I was informed
on TV news that starting January 15, the 2400-series cars will be like the
dinosaurs, 8- track, and Betamax recorders—no longer in service anymore.
Dead.
How did I feel
about the end of the 2400-series? Not terribly angry, but with the main
complaint of
these cars I rode in hundreds of times---the iconic
squealing on the trains’ banks left or right, and the
hard bumping noises as the trains go past the interlock
track sections (that is, where the tracks seem to crisscross---these tracks are often used for re-routing
purposes), I felt a bit of relief that the old series trains are going to be gone.
So, as I
experienced my first rides on the new CTA 5000-series cars, let me tell you
what I
experienced…
1. I realized that the “door closing” signal now
has a doorbell sound and the pre-recorded message
that said “Doors closing”. As an extra precaution,
there is an additional warning signal, 2 higher-tones released 3 times just
before the doors close---an indirect allusion on how they close doors
in the Parisian subway trains.
2. In the past, those train cars I saw did not have
too many sideward-facing seats, but now, I realized that the new car series
have much more sideward-facing seats, eliminating almost all
of the forward- and backward-facing seats.
I am guessing that this would allow extra standees
to be in the aisles during the rush hour.
3. I also realize a bit of a quieter sound—the new
car series is welded better, so there is less
outside wind noise, even as the train goes
through aboveground or on the subway at 50 to
60 mph.
4. In the old cars, especially the 2400 series, the
major complaint also comes in the door area,
especially the swinging type of doors,
which give off loud squeaks as it opens or closes.
I can only guess that this was caused by
not lubricating the areas of the doors that can trigger such noises. In the
5000 series, you hardly hear a squeak, so I think the lubrication in those
doors were much better.
5. I saw that the cars’ interiors and exteriors now
have LED signage, and in the interior, you get
a lot more information on screens at the
ends of the car, indicating time, date, the next
station stop that is going.
6. CTA in the 1990s cut back the door operators
during hard times when the CTA had to cut
its budget several times in the 2400 series
cars, leaving the motormen and motorwomen
much heavier responsibilities of calling
the stops and opening the doors. But in the 5000-
series cars, I realized that conductors
have less responsibility thanks to pre-recorded messages.
7.
Better aesthetics color-wise on the 5000
series—I observed that the seats, that were
lavender trim with dark brown in the
2400-series, are now light blue trim with dark blue
seats. Guessing that because the CTA had
been a watering hole for robberies and crime
in the past, I am guessing that the CTA
used “blue” as some color that tries to depict peace
and calm.
No comments:
Post a Comment