Chicago Elevated Railway 4293
Built in:1922 by Cincinnati Car Company (ord#2660)
Out-of-service/Retired:1976 (1973)
Type of car:rapid transit car (standard)
Current Owner:Indiana Transportation Museum(Noblesville, Indiana)
Car History by Frank Hicks
Chicago Elevated Railway 4293
When the Chicago elevated system was unified in 1913, design and construction of the system's first steel cars began. The result was several series of all-steel cars built with more modern trucks and electrical equipment than the older wood cars and designed with subway operation in mind. The early 4000's were built with all-steel roofs and no trolley poles and were nicknamed Baldies, but in the early 1920's more of the cars were built to a somewhat different design. Cars 4251-4455 were nicknamed Plushies due to their plush seats and had standard wood-and-canvas roofs and trolley poles. These cars operated across the Chicago rapid transit system for fifty years with few modifications. Around 1948 the CTA combined all of the 4000's into semi-permanently coupled pairs and rebuilt them for multiple unit door control, but except for these and a few other minor changes the cars that closed out the 4000 era on CTA in the 1970's were largely the same cars that had come from the factory fifty years earlier. Car 4293 was one of several acquired by ITM (then called the Indiana Museum of Transportation and Communication) and was repainted in its original livery by that museum. By the late-1990's it was the only operational electric car at ITM, but around 1998 or 1999 it suffered a mechanical failure, thereby closing out the era of electric operation at Noblesville.
Ownership History:Chicago Elevated Railway #4293 1922-1924 / Chicago Rapid Transit #4293 1924-1947 / Chicago Transit Authority #4293 1947-1976 / Indiana Transportation Museum(Noblesville, Indiana) 1976-present
Facts and Figures
| Status:stored inoperable | Gauge:4'8.5" |
| Construction:steel | Roof type:AR | Ended:DE |
| Length:48'6" | Width:8'11" | Weight:76800# |
| #Seats:52 | #Wheels/Conf.:8 (B-2) | Total HP:340 |
| Trucks:Baldwin 78-25A/72-22A | Brakes:AMU (M23) | Compressor:D3-F |
| Motors:WH 567R1 (2) | Voltage (if not 600DC): |
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