You can ride some of the oldest L cars in the CTA’s “Heritage Fleet” around the Loop on Saturday.
From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., the CTA is running historic 4000-series cars in celebration of its 100th service anniversary.
L railcars weren’t always made of stainless steel and plastic. The two cars being run Saturday — cars Nos. 4271 and 4272 — feature the same burnt-orange-and-brown paint scheme they had in the 1940s.
The 4000-series cars, built by the Cincinnati Car Company between 1914-15 and 1922-24, were Chicago’s first steel-body L cars.
The cars were taken out of service about 50 years ago and preserved as part of the CTA’s effort to maintain historic buses and railcars after they’ve been retired.
The last of the 4000-series trains stopped running on what’s now the L’s Purple Line in October 1973.
The two cars, which were relatively unmodified and had recently been overhauled when they were taken out of service, have been restored to mimic what it would’ve been like to ride the L in the early 20th century — including reproductions of vintage advertisements.
Regular fares will apply to rides on Saturday. The CTA is also handing out a limited number of commemorative posters on the platform at the Washington/Wabash Station.
