Built in:1960 by St. Louis Car Company (ord#1804)
Out-of-service/Retired:n/a
Type of car:rapid transit car (high-performance PCC)
Current Owner:General Electric(Erie, Pennsylvania)
Car History by Frank Hicks
General Electric 1
Between 1950 and 1959, the CTA took delivery of 670 rapid transit cars of a type generally known as 6000's. The 6000's used modern PCC trucks and control equipment and nearly all extensively used remanufactured components from scrapped Chicago PCC streetcars, which lent them a distinctive look with their small standee windows. The first 620 cars were numbered 6001-6720 and were arranged in permanently-coupled ("married") pairs, but for the last fifty cars CTA chose a more traditional layout. The final 50 cars, numbered 1-50, were single units with an operating cab at each end and designed for one-man operation. Of these cars, cars 1-4 were fitted with unique high-performance electrical equipment. Capable only of training with other high-performance cars, they were capable of faster acceleration speeds of around 75mph and were given a flashy paint job to separate them from the rest of the fleet. They were used on the Skokie Swift starting in 1964, but as oddball cars they fell out of favor. Car 1 was converted from GE MCM control to chopper control in the early 1970's, and in 1974 was sold to GE for use in testing at the Erie plant. At some point it outlived its usefulness and is currently stored on a siding at the GE facility; it is the only one of the CTA's high-performance fleet to survive.
Ownership History:Chicago Transit Authority #1 1960-1974 / General Electric #1 1974-now / General Electric(Erie, Pennsylvania) 1974-present
Facts and Figures
| Status:stored inoperable | Gauge:4'8.5" |
| Construction:aluminum/steel | Roof type:AR | Ended:DE |
| Length:48'0" | Width:9'4" | Weight:46000# |
| #Seats:46 | #Wheels/Conf.:8 (B-B) | Total HP:400 |
| Trucks:St Louis B3 | Brakes:Electric | Compressor:n/a |
| Motors:GE 1250D1 (4) | Voltage (if not 600DC): |