Chicago Elevated Railway 4293



Facts and Figures


Current Number4293
Railway RepresentedChicago Elevated Railway
BuilderCincinnati Car Company
Built In1922
Builder's order id2660
Currently in (State)Indiana
--(Locality)Michigan City
Totally out of svc date1976
(Initial retirement date)1973
Car Typerapid transit car
-subtypeelevated car
-designation
Statusstored inoperable
More info
Gauge4'8.5"
Constructionsteel
Roof typeAR
EndedDE
Length48'6"
Width8'11"
Height13'3"
Weight76800
#Seats52
#Wheels/Conf.8
Total HP340
TrucksBaldwin 78-25A/72-22A
BrakesAMU (M23)
CompressorD3-F
ControlWH ABLFM (XM10)
MotorsWH 567R1 (2)
Voltage (if not 600DC)
NotesOwned by Chicago Transit Authority

Car 4293 in storage in Noblesville, Indiana, in 2015
Flickr
photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/n8myc/21080831090/

Car 4293 in storage in Noblesville, Indiana, in 2013
Flickr
photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/jimwallace/9617252836
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


OwnerCar NumFromToPreservation?Loan?
Chicago Elevated Railway (Illinois, Chicago)42931922 1924 NO NO
Chicago Rapid Transit (Illinois, Chicago)42931924 1947 NO NO
Chicago Transit Authority (Illinois, Chicago)42931947 1976 NO NO
Indiana Transportation Museum (Indiana, Noblesville)42931976 2018 YES NO
Private owner 42932018 2022 YES YES
South Shore Line Museum Project (Indiana, Michigan City)42932022 present YES YES

Additional Media