Railroad Crossings on the Skokie Swift | CTA Yellow Line
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- Опубликовано: 27 июл 2024
- North of Chicago lies the town of Skokie. This city is accessible by Chicago’s rapid transit system, the ‘L.’ But the line that runs here, the Yellow Line, is a very interesting one. The tracks have many at-grade railroad crossings and until 2004, there were even overhead wires supplying the trains with electricity. Why is the “Skokie Swift” so strangely built? It has to do with everyone’s favorite subject in school: history…
Trains Are Awesome!
Chapters
0:00 South Shore Line
0:17 Greetings from the Magnificent Mile
1:05 Riding the CTA Red Line north to Howard
2:42 Howard Station
3:57 Riding the Yellow Line "Skokie Swift"
5:52 Dempster-Skokie Station
6:57 Skokie Swift History Explained
9:09 Railroad Crossing action!
10:24 Oakton-Skokie Station
11:15 Riding a Yellow Line train back to Howard
12:33 Riding the Purple Line
15:11 Spotting a Metra train 
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As always Thom a very informative & interesting train journey upload. The Skokie Swift looks like a cute 2 carriage train, I especially like the information screen on the train telling passengers that the train was stopped awaiting a signal change. I have never experienced that sort of customer information on board a train before - well done CTA. I'm not used to electric passenger trains operating on 3 tracks & not overhead wires, I suppose it discourages people trespassing across the tracks.
It’s a very fun route! The CTA, together with the MTA, are probably my favorite system. I like how loud they are, it’s like they’re saying, I’m here, you can’t ignore me!
_"... I suppose it discourages people trespassing across the tracks..."_
Nope. Not at all. 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪
The pink line also has grade crossings near its west end in Cicero. At least there the third rail ends a few feet before the crossings, and the trains just coast through the intersections. The lights will sometimes flicker when you're between third rail sections. At some of the busier crossings they also have movable barricades that block access to the tracks for pedestrians so kids can't just go wandering onto the 'L' tracks.
I wish they never got rid of the North Shore Line 😪
Me too, it makes me so sad. That would have definitely been my favorite train in Chicago if it still existed.
It could’ve ran along side the Metra Line towards Kenosha.
I’ve never taken the Skokie Swift, but I saw it in action during the 1980s. Can’t recall whether it collected power through a pantograph or trolley pole, but it definitely used overhead wire. I was surprised when they converted it to third rail because of the possible dangers posed at street crossings. At one time there was talk of extending it past Dempster to the Old Orchard Shopping Center, but that didn’t happen.
My father worked for the
Cta. Love watching this
You went old school calling that line the "Skokie Swift", now referred to as the "Yellow Line"! I've only rode that line once. It was many moons ago as I was surprised that at the time, the Skokie Swift utilized catenary lines and pantographs. Also, back then, there were only two stations; Howard and Dempster.
I think Skokie Swift sounds cooler than Yellow Line haha. I appreciate that CTA still ads the little bird on all the signage. Yeah, from what I can tell the line has changed a lot over the past years.
Glad to see that a stop at Oakton was added especially with the amount of shopping that's there
Davis St has a station right next to the Metra station
If I remember right, it was only 2004 when the overhead wires came down on the Skokie/Niles Center line.
The UP Metra line was formerly the Chicago and Northwestern RR. Some of the original CNW 1958 Pullman bilevel cars are still in service on this line
The Brown Line has some good railroad crossing action, I know for sure at Francisco and Kedzie.
I live not too far from that section of the brown line now, and I’ve been up there a few times. A very fun section.
I used to go to high school in Rotterdam, another city where the metros have railroad crossings. Never thought it was unusual, until I found out it’s super rare.
The other ground crossing I believe is at Rockwell. Western Ave. Is the last station when the line is elevated. So Rockwell, Francisco and Kedzie are the only ground level crossings. The Brown Line continues west from Kedzie, terminating shortly at Kimball, which is the end of the line. The train storage line is there next to the Kimball Ave. station.
I haven't been on a Brown Line train in years (decades) but I do remember the blinding flashes of light from the third rail, on cold icy evenings, as the train would literally burn the ice off the third rail. It was quite a spactular sight, indeed!
Up until 2004, the village of Skokie required the cta to maintain the overhead catenary and refused to allow 3rd rail. They signed a hold harmless clause protecting Skokie from any lawsuits incase of someone coming in contact with the 3rd rail. I do miss the overhead catenary but I understand why the cta was pushing for 3rd rail to Dempster for the flexibility of changing out equipment when needed.
I worked on the Howard yard for an entire summer, probably around 1991, we did all the new traction power for the tracks in the yard. Very cool experience.
Light rail is so cool
The Skokie Line runs mostly on the [street] surface. This line is parallel to the street. Do tell your audience that a subway structure is underground and below the street surface. The Brown Line runs on part of the surface, and has contact or third rail electric power to energize the railcars. Incidentally, the only rapid transit system that I know which uses both, contact rail and overhead wire is the Blue Line on the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority, also known as the "T." I have only seen the Chicago Transit Authority lines on RUclips, but never been there in person before.
There are some other lines that use dual electrification for through running elsewhere, including in London.
@@JohnGeorgeBauerBuis Thank you for typing to me. Happy Railroading!
Hey Thom - I just found your youtube site and love it. I live in Murrieta CA but grew up in Chicago and Winnetka - rode Chicago's red street cars when a teenager all over the city - rode the L all over the place and from Winnetka rode the north Shore to the loop and back and the Electroliner up to Milwaukee many times - and rode freight trains on the Monon because a best friend was president of the railroad. I paint in watercolor as a hobby and have painted lots of trains - including one of the Electroner - would love to show you but not sure how. Love your videos. I am 89 but still love trains.
Hi David! Thanks so much for your comment! I’m so glad it brought back fond memories.
I’d love to see your artwork, maybe you can email me.
I hope one day to be able to say I’m 89 and still love trains :) it warms my heart
Thanks for the tour. The North Shore Line was the fastest interurban in the US when the Skokie Valley Route opened. After abandonment, whole sections became bike and ped paths. One correction: Glenview was never on the original main line, the Shore Line Route; it is inland of the lakefront suburbs.
I am a Bulls fan, and am totally disappointed that the Pink line does not stop at United Center.
I didn't ride the Skokie Swift too often but it's good to have it especially when going west on Dempster
The end sequence is extremely cool with a Red (?) Line train looping around at Howard St terminus. I find this always very special, when there are loops on Subway systems - while the Chicago El / Subway for sure has some very "tramway-like" features like the narrow minimum radius and the comparable short cars mathing with this... or the 1950ies 6000 series El cars created reusing parts from the "Green Hornets" that fell into disgrace in a streetcar-unfriendly climate. Not to mention the famous crossing at Tower 18 which always reminds me to the Kassel Rathaus (City Hall) tramway junction - but on an elevated level. I am very fascinated by elevated rail systems anyway and the Chicago one is the most vast system in the US that not only still exists but there is also modernisation as the flyover shown in this video. Nevertheless I am sad about the loss of so many stations of the system, and many branches as well over the decades. Imo it is also a reason for crying how underdeveloped the Chicago suburban rail system is - compared to japanese or european systems that are as well integrated in the urban network and can cope with their service patterns to Subway systems, but offer higher capacity to carry as well urban as suburban passengers. Nevertheless I always love to see footage about the "El" and sometimes I would like to visit Chicago to take a ride.
Thank you for your footage - it's almost like experiencing the system by myself - but with a compreheinsive guide by my side.
I used to take the Yellow Line a few times when I worked in nearby Lincolnwood IL. Just a cool short line, would cross over its tracks many times driving or walking to lunch.
I’ve taken the Skokie swift several times when I was a kid to get to cubs games. Good memories.
They should try to Extend the Yellow line to Old Orchard or further.
@@blue9multimediagroup they should do a slightly different alignment
Cta been wanted to extend to old orchard but public officials don't want the train close to the high school out there
I've ridden the Skokie Swift (pardon me, the Yellow Line) several times over the years, especially enjoyed breezing by the old stations that were no longer in use, such as Oakton, Asbury, and Ridge. Oakton, of course, is back in business. Asbury and Ridge were grand affairs, with a lobby up on street level and two high platforms on the tracks, mostly under the street overpasses. All in an architecture that could only politely be described as Beaux Arts. They built two platforms for the eventual widening of the line to four tracks, which never happened.
Earlier, I once rode the North Shore Line. I got on at Dempster St. Skokie, meaning to take the local up to the next station, Harmswoods (which was at Golf Road) where my dad would meet me. Well, it never occurred to me that two trains could be due at the same time on the same track! So I got on the first train, which was the express. Next stop: Lake Bluff, some 20 miles up the line! I took a taxi back to Harmswoods, blowing the money I had saved for my mother's birthday present. Dad, of course, was pissed and insisted I had done this boondoggle on purpose. I wish I had, because it was my only ride on the North Shore Line.
The village of Skokie is named for the Skokie Valley route of the North Shore Line. The trains rocked along at 70 miles per hour, passing up the cars on the adjacent Edens Expressway. They had leather seats and inlaid mahogany wood on the walls. The North Shore Line kept those cars in beautiful shape up to the day the line closed. What a ride!
Several museums nationwide have cars from the North Shore Line and Chicago, Aurora, and Elgin, including the Illinois Railway Museum, Fox River Trolley Museum (in South Elgin), and East Troy Electric Railway in Wisconsin.
When at Dempster Street, it would have been nice if you could have walked a few hundred feet east and give us a view of the original North Shore Line station that stood where the current CTA station is located. It was moved in 1993 because it was in danger of being demolished. It is in the National Register of Historic Places and is presently occupied by a Starbucks.
From someone who remembers the North Shore very well you did a good job on the quick review of its history/
A couple of notes on power and grade. The Purple, Brown, and Pink all have grade level sections. Until 1962 the outer part of the Lake Street line (now Green) was also at grade. The Purple (aka Evanston) used to have overheard trolley poles for most of its route. It ran 3rd rail from Howard to the fist stop (South St) where during the stop the conductor or motorman raised or lowered the pole depending upon direction. The grade sections of other lines were always 3rd rail--at least back into the 1950s.
You are 100% correct that the North Shore built the Skokie Valley line and that it was also used by what was then called the Chicago Rapid Transit Company. CRT built several intermediate stations between Howard and Dempster (by the way, the village was then called Niles Center---it changed to Skokie sometime in the 40s I believe.). The stations were still there after the CRT stopped running on the line. They were never used by the North Shore or the later Swift. There were all in the cut, with ornate brick buildings. They weren't torn down until at least the 1970s, mabe 80s. By then they were quite derelict.
If you think that the Swift is swift, you should have seen the North Shore. Their trains hit 90 mph on some stretches of that route. You could ride a comfortable electric train from Howard to downtown Milwaukee in about 2 hours. I was a kid when the line was shut down in 1963 but had ridden it with my dad many, many times. The biggest thrill was on the outbound run from Howard. It woukd pick up speed downhill and continue accelerating. Somewhere around Crawford Avenue was the handover from 3rd rail to overhead. The later Swift used a pantograph structure on the top of the cars against a heavy catenary that was automatically lowered or raised. However, the North Shore only had a single overhead wire touching a thin trolley pole.
The handover occurred at speed--about 60 mph. There was an overlap section of a few hundred feet where both sources of powere were present. As the train approached it the conductor would balance on the ledge between the cars, unspool the trolley cable and try to land the pole on the wire. It was always a show in the dark or in the sleet as there wold be huge arcs until the pole settled.
I am so sad that the North Shore Line is gone. It would have been everyone’s favorite transit line today, had it been able to survive the tough times of the second half of the last century.
I'm honestly really surprised nothing has really been done with the Slokie Swift. I mean it looks like it would be viable to extend it a few stops north to the likes of Northfield so that the line can get more utilisation and serve more people. Especially considering most of the right of way is completely intact, it should make it quite cheap to extend the line back north again.
The suburbanites fear "crime".
Yeah the brown line has really interesting street crossings and stations like Rockwell.
I like the brown line a lot
Thanks for another fine video. The walk into the station at Oakton was pretty long.
Some of the walks into Blue Line stations are even twice as long. If you’re on the walkway and you see your train, you’ve already missed it 😬
Cool there's a place to check out these cars at ground level. I had no reason to ride the Swift when I was living over der by Wrigley. None the less I rode up to Skokie a few times just to ride this unusual line. Once again, nice work!
The yellow line is one of my favorites!
From 1925-1848, the CRT ran trains to Dempster with stop in Evanston at Ridge, Asbury and Dodge. Skokie stops were at Crawford-East Prairie, Kostner, Oakton, Main and Niles Center Road
Oh the CTA uses Ubuntu as a operating system for the LCDs. It's clearly the old Unity Desktop Environment. The last Version of Ubuntu using Unity was 16.04 LTS. Meaning the OS was released in April 2016 (Long therm support).
I am amazed that the 2-car train has to coast over the long crossings. The entire train is off the third rail for a few yards!
They’re so short!
After watching this video it gave me a déjà vu and I recognize where this actual CTA Yellow Line of Chicago, I remember seeing this subway rail line from 80’s action and comedy movie called “Running Scared” (1986) actor Gregory Hines and Billy Crystal if watch the movie they leaving from Chicago O’Hare airport they were in high speed chase in taxi cab and limousine actually they hop on CTA yellow line I remember seeing those rail cable wires at first I thought it was Metra line since has electric train as well until I saw subway had electric cables. Now its in the ground. Watching this video I definitely learn.
Thanks for going out and beyond for these videos, much appreciated it! Keep it up 🤙🏼
Not sure who told you the 7000s were on the Skokie Swift back in November. They were on the Blue Line the whole time. But besides that, great video! Hope you have better luck next time you're in Chicago!
I had multiple people point towards Yellow/Red/Purple so I thought I’d give it a shot. I wanted to make a video about the Skokie Swift regardless, so I’m glad you enjoyed the video!
@@Thom-TRA they will be on the Green Line starting next week and stay there for a month. This is the last week on the Pink Line. If you want I'd like to invite you to join our discord server just to get a better grasp on CTA updates. Link is in my channel bio.
third rail at street crossings is only an issue if the train is going very slow. it can coast for a while without power. in the yard there are lots of gaps like that, and the speeds are lower, so we have essentially jumper cables on the end of a pole, so we can touch the trolley shoe on the stranded car, and then touch the nearest third rail to power that car.
The open arch under the line tower had a track for North Shore trains to park
Great video on a fascinating remnant line-- and one I still use often! I'm not much older than you I think but definitely still call it the Swift in my head :-)
Mid 20s gang haha
11:49 Heritage trains!
At least on Stokie they blow at Railroad Crossings in today unlike the Amtrak Metra UP & BNSF I wish I go here.
A rapid transition system isn't under the Federal Railroad Administration jurisdiction, an therefore whistle-blowing at grade crossing us not required.
Yes...The Skokie Swift.
It looks like the 3rd rail doesn't carry through the surface crossings (for obvious reasons). I figured they'd stay connected on one then the other end as they crossed, but are they just coasting across the crossing?
Yep! Some lights inside typically turn off when that happens
I think we all want to know what he got at the Lego store
Hi Thom, I recently found your channel and am catching up through your back catalogue! I love your channel. I have always loved the Chicago L from afar (I’m in Australia!)
Anyway I have a question you may be able to answer: does the Yellow line always use 2 car trains? Or does it sometimes run longer trains?
I’m so glad you found me! I love the L too (except on my morning commute lol).
Yes, the yellow line usually runs in 2-car sets. Especially since the pandemic. I know they do sometimes run in 4 car formations but I haven’t seen that personally yet.
The yellow line shall be Metra, a branch of the UPN line.
I grew up in Chicago, went to college in Chicago, and yet still learn something new about Chicago everytime I watch one of your CTA videos.
I love that
3:34 Finnaly a company that actually made a smart choice for the Operating System for displays like that based on that window alone that is a linux Distro I'm geussing some old version of debian or ubuntu
Hey Thom how is the double tracking coming on the South Shore?
Pretty good! Replacement bus service right now to get it all done
❤😊
Skokie Swift was opened in April 1964. Prior to that it was once the Chicago North Shore and Milwaukee interurban which shut down operations in Jan 1963