I always thought the funniest thing about Chicago is that it became one of the best cities in north america by simply not destroying all of its mass transit. So many cities fucked up by taking action to remove their trains / streetcars but all Chicago had to do was... not do that.

@eliahyo6551

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, like San Francisco removed everything like a year after they just finished a new line

@lukexu6400

Жыл бұрын

Chicago not only kept the basic framework of elevated railway intact, but also managed to secure funds for slow but steady service expansion, something that NYC failed to do

@thebravegallade731

Жыл бұрын

basically even through the budget cuts the system maintained most of the actually important trunk lines, so it could recover later.

@HRHolm-bi6zu

Жыл бұрын

Some fact-checking corrections here. Chicago closed down the last line of its once-extensive streetcar network in 1958, after the CTA honchos decided some years earlier they did not want to continue to pay upkeep and maintenance costs, and hence replace it with busses. A downtown circulator light rail line was proposed and funded through the engineering development stage in the early to mid-1990s, but was then literally thrown under the bus by mayor Richard Daley, (aka Mayor 'Goofy') in 1995 after the IL state legislature and Congress reacted negatively by cutting their funding segments after Daley (the same mayor who had initially pushed the project) made a sudden power-grab play for increased control over O'Hare airport. A subsequent LRT project between N. Riverside and Navy Pier was given some consideration, but eventually deep-sixed as well. Chicago also helped destroy one of the area's prime interurban railroads (Chicago, Aurora, & Elgin) by denying it continued access to the Loop over the newly-built Congress Expressway line in the late 1950s, which replaced the West 'L' Metropolitan line, over which the CA&E had long shared trackage. Then there were the prior plans for an extensive downtown 'distributor' subway and a Franklin Street deep subway in the 1970s, but they of course went nowhere. As have more recent 'plans' (i.e, just talk) for a north-south crosstown connector rapid transit or LRT line. Another renowned big interurban serving the Loop, the Chicago, North Shore, & Milwaukee line, shut down in 1963. A number of segments of the 'L' were abandoned from the 1940s thru the 1960s, including service out to the suburb of Westchester. True, service to the airports was built, as was a Red Line south extension, but there has been nothing else, unless one wants to also count the paltry, so-called Bus Rapid Transit downtown, with other outlying lines having been talked about, but no action taken. And should I even mention the once-touted Metra suburban rail commuter service outer STAR line, which also faded into the transit mist? The most recent apparent joke is LRT between the 'Lincoln Yards' (?) area on the north side and the Loop. Don't hold your breath waiting. Chicago has become a town of blowhard plans but little action.

@jarjarbinks6018

Жыл бұрын

They also improved their streetcars by elevating them around the city. This is why Chicago’s subway cars aren’t that big and long because they are actually an evolution of Chicago’s streetcar system I’m which the streetcars would come downtown and be grade separated from traffic

they need some serious outer circle/half-circle line. Also other althernative routes going through downtown.

@MetroLiner

Жыл бұрын

They had a proposal to extend the Paulina Connector (Pink Line) north and north-east to connect to the Blue and Red Line and south to the Orange Line and form a half-circle (rest of the circle using the existing Red and Orange Line tracks). Unfortunately the project has been shelved :(.

@TMD3453

Жыл бұрын

Sadly, we live in a city where North, West and South sides don’t interact as much as one might want. A lot of historical factors, including a strong neighborhood vs downtown tradition. As I look at the map, it’s a lot of going to and from downtown.

@cheeseebun

Жыл бұрын

i just want a line that goes from the north to south but on the west side of the city. it was such a pain having to take the orange to downtown to switch onto the blue line to go northwest

@snoofyair4744

Жыл бұрын

Whilst it may seem inconvenient most of us are fine with not having a circle line as it was called, of the many other projects that need to be done that’s least of our concerns. Better rails on Forest Park Branch of Blue, extending the red to 130th, orange to Ford City or yellow to Old Orchard. There are plenty of bus routes that serve the same job as what would be the circle line.

@jdredwine7224

Жыл бұрын

Too me that is the missing piece. Historically speaking these lines do well. NY is finally doing it. Sadly the cut out the Bronx.

Its crazy to think that Chicago manged to keep its Elevated Lines from the 1892 to present

Puts the CTA's service cuts in the 40's and 50's into perspective. Absolutely butchered the system. Combined with the demolition of the Metropolitan to make way for I-290 and the loss of all but one of the express services, and it really makes me wonder how far ahead the city's transit could be. How much bigger would the 'L' be if the CTA had expanded, instead of cutting back in the hopeless aim of "profitability"

@armorpro573

Жыл бұрын

Probably bigger than it is now

Riding the elevated lines chugging four dozen mini stations to the Loop back then must have been excruciating 😅

@MetroLiner

Жыл бұрын

Haha, yes! They really had a station almost every other block.

@Acela2163

Жыл бұрын

It wasn't really that bad since all of the mainlines had extra tracks for express service. All of them except the ones used by the purple line were ripped out during the CTA's massive cuts.

@maxpowr90

Жыл бұрын

Yeah, as public transit became less of a novelty, I imagine having stops

@jbran7817

Жыл бұрын

It was annoying, but the trains were shorter and they came WAY more often, sometimes dangerously close together, and often had complicated service patterns that skipped stops or ran express in sections, so people dealt with it

I'm very thankful for living in Chicago where I don't have to drive anywhere. But, how amazing it would've been to have the now decommissioned lines part of the current system. So many people want a circle line and it has been studied and proposed. Just too many obstacles

@michaelthompson679

Жыл бұрын

Most of the city isn’t covered lmao

@David-dvr

9 күн бұрын

​@@michaelthompson679True. However, I think he may be referring to using a combination of trains and buses. Most of the major streets do have buses. Unfortunately given the current state of the CTA ("ghost" buses and trains that are scheduled to arrive, but never do, for example), it may take 3 to 6 times as long to get to your destination than driving.

Wow, so back in 1947, there were 100 more stations than there are now.

@MetroLiner

Жыл бұрын

Yup! Closing down the stations did speed up the service significantly though.

@deepinthecoats1432

Жыл бұрын

All of those intermediate stops served a purpose before the streetcars and eventual buses. Once that alternative became available, taking out those stops serves to make the L a ‘rapid’ alternative for quicker service.

@P0w2you

Жыл бұрын

A cool thing! Despite closing some of those branch lines, and old terminus stations, the CTA today still has more trackage now (15mi~) more then they did back then! :) That's something we're doing better!

@Smittel

Жыл бұрын

@@P0w2you 15 miles is absolutely nothing especially when only a small portion of neighbourhoods now have access to it because all the branches closed

@ddurlon

Жыл бұрын

@@P0w2you 15 miles???? That’s less then half the length of the A train in NYC by itself jesus

The 40s & 50s were brutal, lots of closures (though the State Street & Dearborn/Milwaukee subways opened)... quite possibly the worst being the loss of the Humboldt Park branch. Cutting the Douglas branch (now pink line) service through Berwyn was also unfortunate (the right of way still exists for the most part). The Kenwood Branch would be nice to still have as well, especially as the south lakefront neighborhoods continue to see gradual reinvestment. Now an elevated trail is planned for the Kenwood Branch embankment almost to the lakefront, though unfortunately a residential development was allowed to build through the right-of-way a few blocks from the lake meaning the trail won't connect all the way to Lake Michigan. Also wish the green line still extended to Jackson Park where the Obama Presidential Center is under construction. And considering the oft mentioned idea of a north-south line further west of downtown, usually either along Western or Ashland, having the full Paulina connector still in place might have been useful today to allow movement via rail without having to go through downtown.

@mic1240

Жыл бұрын

Yes, transit everywhere with cars and expressways built. Chicago also had about a million more people in its city limits in 1950s. None of this map shows Metra and South Shore trains too which serve suburbs and about 1/3 stops in city

@isaacliu896

Жыл бұрын

Yeah tearing down the green line to Jackson Park has to be the most regretted transit decision the city has ever made

As a Chicagoan, I'm incredibly sadden to see how our system was gutted in the 1950s post-WW2 auto era. To think most of the circle line ROW already existed by the Paulina connector, and now all of that land is housing/buildings that can't be displaced.

@armorpro573

Жыл бұрын

At least you guys still HAVE a system to rely on. Other cities aren't so lucky

Post-war period is hard to watch, we lost so much. Some has been regained but there's a lot of work to go

I genuinely feel like a north-south line that would run on the outer perimeters of the city would completely revolutionize Chicago’s transit ridership.

@iwouldliketoorderanumber1b79

Жыл бұрын

Like a subway line down cicero.

I’ve been waiting for this video for years but you have finally delivered. I really couldn’t be happier and I believe such a video is too good to be watched for free. Thank you!

@MetroLiner

Жыл бұрын

Wow, thank you! I really appreciate it!! Chicago was always on top of my list but I couldn't dare to start because I knew it would take a lot of time. It was definitely one of the most time-consuming projects, comparable to NYC or London but I'm glad I finally delivered!

@JacobKlippenstein

Жыл бұрын

@@MetroLiner When you're ready for another challenge, try the Metra lines.

@ViktoriyaKuzina-rs9xu

11 ай бұрын

что?

This must have taken forever to research, insanely well made!

Worth mentioning that the Lawrence and Berwyn stations on the Red Line are currently closed until 2024 for reconstruction while they completely replace the section of track between Lawrence and Bryn Mawr on the Red/Purple Express Line

@KyStoffers

Жыл бұрын

Bless. Came to post this.

Possibly the greatest city in America. I love Chicago.

@armorpro573

Жыл бұрын

What else?

@damonomstead4765

3 ай бұрын

@@armorpro573 Chicago.

@armorpro573

3 ай бұрын

@@damonomstead4765 Didn’t know there was a twin city. LOL maybe I’ll go visit

Toronto >Has half the lines of Chicago >has half the station of Chicago >Has half yhe track length of Chicago >Has double the ridership >has a crosstown line north of downtown

Crazy to see that half of the video is about building and half of it about tearing things down

I live right behind where old Douglas Branch line used to run through. Right by the Austin station. Nowadays it’s called the EL Strip and is used as a parking lot that runs through where the old line once did. The Town of Cicero has started repairing and repaving the parking lot strip, and you could still see the old rails under the old asphalt they removed. Pretty cool piece of history there!

They really do need to add an outer loop line in my opinion. It would really help with travel time and convenience. Instead of having to go all the way through downtown and the loop. I also think that a dedicated express line from the loop near Union Station to O’Hare is needed. It’s absolutely ridiculous that you have to suffer through the agonizing ride of the blue line just to get to O’Hare if you don’t have any other transportation options.

@maas1208

Жыл бұрын

There's the Metra NCS line

Definitely my favorite video you've made to date. and I'm not just saying that cause I'm from Chicago. Outstanding work as always!

@MetroLiner

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

Only problem I noticed in the video was the lack of mentioning the two interurban lines that connected to the L, which was the Chicago Aurora & Elgin, and the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee.

@P0w2you

Жыл бұрын

I know the North Shore Traveled on the "L" and even rounded the loop, but did the Aurora & Elgin? Did CA&E run on what is today CTA lines? Which line would that be, The Blue line at Forrest park??? In some ways I'm glad he didn't mention them because that could've added way too many miles and stations to inflate the look of the system, but a mention of when they ended service, would've been extraordinary.

@doomsdayrabbit4398

Жыл бұрын

@@P0w2you Yes, CA&E ran on the Garfield Park branch until it closed to be replaced with the current Forest Park branch. Their insurance didn't allow them to run on the temporary tracks, cutting them back to Forest Park station, but space was made in the middle of the expressway for their tracks, possibly to connect to Union Station via subway. The portals are still there, but end a few feet in, just north of the Blue Line as it leaves UIC-Halsted, as the CA&E shut down before work on the expressway was completed.

@P0w2you

Жыл бұрын

@@doomsdayrabbit4398 I always wondered why the Forest Park line has so much space! I had thought to myself before if it was meant for quad tracks. thanks for the info!

@amfm889

Жыл бұрын

@@doomsdayrabbit4398 The portals at Halsted were for a potential re-routing of the Lake St. line down the Paulina Connector to the Congress Line and into a Clinton St. subway. They were never meant for the Chicago, Aurora and Elgin interurban. That's a common misconception. The CTA wanted the CA&E as well as the North Shore Line off of its tracks.

@doomsdayrabbit4398

Жыл бұрын

@@amfm889 The Lake Elevated was supposed to enter the Dearborn Subway from Lake Street itself, via a never constructed portal that would lead to the crossover just west of Clark/Lake.

Greatest city in the United States. Thanks for covering it!

@armorpro573

Жыл бұрын

Mine is Austin

@timmccarthy872

Жыл бұрын

Lol I actually live in Austin now. It's all right, but unfortunately it's in Texas.

@armorpro573

Жыл бұрын

@@timmccarthy872 What’s wrong with that?

@timmccarthy872

Жыл бұрын

@@armorpro573 What's wrong with it is that Texas suuuuuuuuuuuuucks

@armorpro573

Жыл бұрын

@@timmccarthy872 LOL ok then.

Still hoping you'll do Boston! The history of the MBTA (oldest subway system in the US) being formed from different transit agencies, extensive rebranding, expansion and getting redirected by the Big Dig would make for an interesting video.

Kinda sad that in the next decades all that's planned is one small extension.

@iwouldliketoorderanumber1b79

Жыл бұрын

Yea lost a lot of lines, and this small extension has been promised since the 60’s I believe.

Imagine buying a place closer to a subway station and they shut it down or even remove the line. Ooof that must suckkkk. And it is crazy how many times that happened in Chicago

This was definitely worth the wait! Bravo!

The attention to detail of your vid’s is insane man, kudos to you

The Chicago Loop could certainly use at least a couple streetcar/surface LRT lines; particularly around the Magnificent Mile, Grant Park, Lincoln Park, UIC, and the Adler Planetarium/Museum campus. The obvious benefits aside, many of the 60 foot buses I’ve seen operating within the Loop seemed quite worn physically.

@damonomstead4765

3 ай бұрын

Street car on MM would be amazing.

Awesome Video. Thanks for posting ⭐

Congrats! It must have been hard to research the multiple & constant line and station changes which have taken place on the Chicago subway system throughout its history and then, put them in this video in such a cool way.

You have gone so far… I Remember when I subbed when you did your second Video on New York. It’s amazing how you can grow so much, Good Job

yes, finally, i needed this in my life. Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for the nice Video 😁👍!

Cool video. As a Chicago resident, I used to ride the ‘L all of the time. The only current line I’ve never ridden was the Pink Line, though I did ride the Douglas Branch back in the day when it was part of the Blue Line.

I think the station names should be listed as the lines show up. It’s kinda messy for me to keep track of the lines 😵‍💫

This is so Cool thx for the effort and the upload!!! 🧠👌

Great Video but btw the CTA actually started operation in 1947 not 1943. It turned 75 this year (2022) and celebrated it with some vintage stock!

@MetroLiner

Жыл бұрын

You are right! I did have 1947 written in my notes but somehow it ended up as 1943 in the video :(

@ayindestevens6152

Жыл бұрын

@@MetroLiner hey look on the bright side it’s no where near a mistake as all the closed stations. I get CTA had to make choices but man they went overboard!

@ayindestevens6152

Жыл бұрын

@@MetroLiner also you would’ve LOVED the 75 Celebration they brought out some of the old equipment.

@brunhildevalkyrie

Жыл бұрын

yeah

You missed the summer where the Red Line took over service to Ashland/63rd while the Dan Ryan branch closed for renovation.

Fascinating video. Thank you for putting this together. What a beautiful city.

Its crazy to see that in the span of 20 years The network just chopped off more than 30 KM worth of lines

Chicago either needs to reopen the Paulina Connector or build a new connecting line lol.

@largetman

Жыл бұрын

It is reopened. The Pink line uses it. Too bad there isn't a station at Madison-United Center.

This was great seeing a graphic timeline. So much easier to realize. Thanks! 😊😊

Wow, how many stations have been closed...

@Propapanda0213

Жыл бұрын

Two coworkers just appeared together lol

This is amazing

Great video! Interesting to see the closed sections, Chicago's economy has changed over the years

This is Awesome! Good history lesson. Luv cta

This was a monumental task.. glad this exists for us fans of trains. Thanks for history lesson.. truly enjoyed how this system changed with the times!

@MetroLiner

8 ай бұрын

Wow. Thank you so much!!

@Creeper7YT

8 ай бұрын

@@MetroLinerthere are still people here almost 1 year later :D

Grid cities are much easier to plan a metro line than other planned cities.

Also, just realized that Loomis/Ogden station's dot on the map stayed all the way to the end, despite the station closing in 1954.

i really hope you do dc metro. I would love that

Nicely done

Chicago L Red Line 1985 Orange Line 1993 Yellow Line 1993 Green Line 1985 Blue Line 1985 Purple Line 1985 Pink Line 2006 0:00 1890s 2:04 1900s 4:52 1910s 5:53 1920s 6:38 1930s 7:02 1940s 8:00 1950s 10:24 1960s 11:14 1970s 11:55 1980s 12:18 1990s 13:56 2000s 14:17 2010s 15:14 2020s

👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏! Excellent presentation! But, one that will have a sequel, as more information leaks out about the possible Orange Line Extension to Ford City (what should have been in the first place) the reimplementation of an extended Blue Line to Mannheim Road and the "Silver Line to Sch-" 😉!

Please do Hamburg U Bahn, S Bahn and Regionalbahn next! PLEASE

I had heard stories that an old L line used to run by my house. This video showed me it did thank you. Stock yards by the way.

This is so sad to watch. A city the size of Chicago should have like 20 Subway or elevated lines criss crossing the city, yet, many lines were closed over time. Just sad.

Loved the music

I would encourage you to do one on Chicago's Metra & South Shore systems (suburban commuter rail lines). Metra has been expanding and still has more plans for expansion.

I wanted so badly for this channel to exist

To be honest, I liked the previous format (ex. Santiago Metro video) more, the station transitions are much smoother and the lines seem more properly drawn. Don't pressure yourself to make too frequent uploads. Take your time and keep up with quality videos we enjoy!🥰🥰🥰

Excelente video

Used to live in Humboldt Park and it kills me to think there was dedicated L service there 😢

Please do a video on the DC Metro. Especially the new silver line

Again asking to make Evo. of Tbilisi Metro. Also I enjoy your content!

The 1940s and higher makes me sad with all the stations and rail lines closing. Some make sense, but others, just sad.

@armorpro573

Жыл бұрын

As a train enthusiast, pains to see my favorite mode of transport being taken by cars

Big fan of your animations, Which map are you using as base? Thank for sharing

@aapaavishu

Жыл бұрын

Is it geolayer3?

Awesome

That`s great! Also, central underground stations in Chicago are very interesting - they are giant long station halls common for 3-4 stops, without changinng to the "common" tunnels. Could you make Kyiv metro in some of your future videos, please?

@doomsdayrabbit4398

Жыл бұрын

They were built that way to serve as fallout shelters - especially the Blue Line, which was completed after the war ended. No idea how well it'd work with the massive entrances to the surface, but I suppose they might have helped if a smaller device was used.

@Acela2163

Жыл бұрын

They were not built to be fallout shelters. They were built as part of Chicago's "Pedway" system of underground walkways. Back then there were no fare gates, so you could walk along the platform from one end of the loop to the other. Construction on the subways started in the 1930's, long before anyone would have been building fallout shelters.

They should make an L line above Ashland Avenue with a Track connection to the Blue line and Demolish the Ashland Green/Pink station and replace it with an Ogden Avenue station.

Great video! What is the music from 11:30? Thanks for your answers.

So much detailed history of the L compared to other channels who do it in like 60 seconds for the whole timeline. Also what’s the music in the video?

I was like: “No please stop closing stations ! Noooooo!!!!”

15 minutes long, wow

@MetroLiner

Жыл бұрын

The longest video so far!

Chicago was lucky that none of the large steam railroads purchased the elevated lines like SP did to my city, which closed all lines in 1927 and replaced them with gutter trolleys. I see that like Philadelphia, after being acquired by the City, there was a removal of lines, luckily someone figured out that extending the system was good.

It's Time for you to do a Train Map Evolution on Chicago's Metra System ( aka The Regional Transit Authority, or RTA).

11:34 the music pops right here.

I wonder if they're gonna reopen those three closed lines on the Blue line

2:43 - wait for it 2:48 - yeeeeeeeeeees

Can you please do Melbourne next?

Great presentation, however you should have inserted a token arrow to indicate the connection to the North Shore and the CA&E.

Big W

Can you do Warsaw metro?

this december i need to go to Rome, and use the metro, idk what are the lines, can you pls do a video on the Rome's Metro Line?

Can you do this but with the Gothenburg tram network?

Do Vancouver next.

@2002ChevyFan

Жыл бұрын

But Is fake details not real.

The vast majority of these lines originated 130 years ago and we have not been making progress til only recently. This is just frustrating but hopefully we r going in the right direction

I wish they would have put the interurban connection info on there for when they ran into the loop

From the city that was supposed to overtake NY as the economic hub of USA to a mid city with ok level subway.

@armorpro573

Жыл бұрын

At least they HAVE one to begin with

@jomaka

19 күн бұрын

They will. Keep in mind, Chicago is almost 200 years younger than New York City. Chicago is 50 years younger than Los Angeles.

Chicago has probably the best public transportation system in the united states next to NYC. NYC is an obvious #1.

Can you make one for Dallas-Fortworth?

@pieterwatson611

Жыл бұрын

It is on channel "DirectionNorth".

make one for boston mbta pls

Nice video. Much of Chicago and its suburbs (which are exponentially larger in population than city itself) also served by other trains too, heavy rail system with hundreds of miles of track and last interurban in America (from South Bend, Indiana to Chicago, bring expanded now in NW Indiana)

Pls do Perth and Sydney

Top

What is that dot next to the Green-Pink Lines Station of Ashland?

Whatever happened to the proposed Blue Line extension to Oak Brook? I really would like see the routing plan(s) for *that* one.

@angelm3670

Жыл бұрын

Probably no ridership, oak brookers love their cars and highways

@godozo

Жыл бұрын

The same place the Mid-City Transitway (Cicero/75th street) went - into the circular file when no one was looking.

@iwouldliketoorderanumber1b79

Жыл бұрын

I’m ready for Chicago to do a little annexation. Some of these burbs deserve to be eaten up.

@maas1208

Жыл бұрын

​@@iwouldliketoorderanumber1b79 Same especially Norridge and Harwood Heights

Next one can be Boston? The T have more story than you think >:³

The American train system is bad enough that this and New York are considered their crown jewels.

Hi, do Munich please

please do Boston!!!!!