Chicago Transit Authority 41

Dave's Electric Railroads

Built in:1960 by St. Louis Car Company (ord#1804)
Out-of-service/Retired:1998 (1993)
Type of car:rapid transit car (PCC elevated car)
Current Owner:Illinois Railway Museum(Union, Illinois)

Car History by Frank Hicks


Chicago Transit Authority 41
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. This capacity for one-man operation suited the 1-50 series cars to more sparsely-used routes. Car 41 was assigned to the Evanston line for virtually its entire 33-years of operating on the CTA. It was unusual in being one of only two 1-50 series cars to retain its trolley poles up to the end of its active service life. Retired in 1993 along with the rest of its series, car 41 spent most of the next five years in storage but did see occasional service. It was one of two 1-50 series cars acquired by IRM in 1998 and has been in revenue service at Union since.

Ownership History:Chicago Transit Authority #41 1960-1998 / Illinois Railway Museum(Union, Illinois) 1998-present



Facts and Figures


Status:operated oftenGauge:4'8.5"
Construction:aluminum/steelRoof type:AREnded:DE
Length:48'0"Width:9'4"Weight:46000#
#Seats:46#Wheels/Conf.:8 (B-B)Total HP:220
Trucks:St Louis B3Brakes:ElectricCompressor:n/a
Motors:WH 1432LK (4)Voltage (if not 600DC)

PHOTO PHOTO