1–50 series (CTA)
| Industry | Railcar manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | St. Louis , United States |
The 1–50 series consisted of Chicago "L" railcars manufactured by the St. Louis Car Company during the period from 1959 to 1960. In contrast to the comparable 6000 series, which were designed as married pairs, the 1–50 series featured a double-ended configuration allowing for operation as individual cars. Due to a reduced need for single units, vehicles numbered 5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 19, 21, 23, 24, and 31 were subsequently converted into married pairs and re-designated as 61a/b through 65a/b.
Equipment
Out of the total cars, forty-six incorporated parts recovered from decommissioned Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) streetcars, following a similar practice to that employed in the 6000 series. The PCC trucks originally came with resilient wheels instead of the usual solid wheels standard in rapid transit systems, which restricted their maximum speed to , adequately fulfilling most of the Chicago Transit Authority’s operational requirements. Replacement wheels continued to be of the solid type.
Units 1 through 4 were fitted with high-speed experimental equipment and larger diameter wheels. In 1964, these cars were modified with a locally engineered “pan trolley” system to enable overhead wire operation on the high-speed Skokie Swift shuttle service. Subsequently, cars numbered 23–26 and 29–30 also received pan trolley installations; notably, cars 29–30 were upgraded with solid wheels to accommodate higher velocity operation.
Cars numbered 27–28 and 39–50 were equipped with trolley poles for use on the Evanston route until its transition to third rail power in 1973, after which most of the trolley apparatus was removed.
Routes
The cars outfitted with Skokie pan trolleys, characterized by their taller design, were confined to that particular route and operated in consists of up to eight cars. Those equipped for Evanston service utilized smaller trolley poles and ran into the downtown loop with trains reaching up to sixteen cars. The remaining units served on the Ravenswood and West-Northwest lines, generally operating paired alongside 6000 series cars.
Preservation
The majority of vehicles from both the original 1–50 series and all converted married pairs (61–65) were dismantled by the CTA or sold for scrap. Nonetheless, several cars from the 1–50 group have been preserved in museums across the United States and one example is held in Canada:
- Car 1 – Seashore Trolley Museum, Kennebunkport, Maine
- Cars 22, 30, 41 – Illinois Railway Museum, Union, Illinois
- Cars 40, 43, 45 – Fox River Trolley Museum, South Elgin, Illinois
- Car 44 – National Museum of Transportation, St. Louis, Missouri
- Car 48 – Halton County Radial Railway Museum, Ontario, Canada