Chicago Transit Authority history

And after acquiring the Chicago Motor Coach Company in 1952, CTA became the sole operator of public transportation in Chicago, except for the commuter railroads which primarily serve the suburbs.

Inner Loop Station to Undergo Remodeling, 1954 From CTA Transit News, August 1954.

Mayor Richard J. Daley driving the first spike, Congress Expressway rapid transit line, Chicago, 1955

West Side Subway Dedication Plaque, 1957

From Chicago’s West Side Subway: First Rail-Transit Facility Constructed Within A Superhighway, June 1958

CTA Modernization brings noise reduction…aids paving and one-way street program, From a Chicago Transit Map issued by the Chicago Transit Authority in 1959.

In 1961, the CTA purchased its first “New Look” (or “Fishbowl”) buses from GM. The New Look buses were more efficient than previous motor buses and nearly all were powered by diesel fuel.

After this initial restoration, car 1 was displayed at a ceremony marking the opening a new repair facility at Des Plaines Yard on the Congress Line in 1962.

By 1963, it had begun a program of expansion that led to new lines to north suburban Skokie, O'Hare International Airport on the Northwest Side, and Midway Airport on the Southwest Side, and in the median strip of the Dan Ryan Expressway.

Quotes from Mayer, Harold M. and Richard C. Wade, Chicago: Growth of a Metropolis, 1969.

Area public transit was first subsidized in the 1970's, when the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) was created.

Chicago Goes Regional: (1974) The RTA is Created

The first of this series of railcars were introduced in 1976—a year where the nation was celebrating its 200th birthday.

A CTA train crosses over Sheridan Road on the North Side in 1978.

In 1979, the CTA put into service the first 55 foot “articulated” buses.

In 1984, rail service was extended to O’Hare in the median of the Kennedy Expressway so Chicago residents and visitors alike could travel all the way to the city’s largest and busiest airport.

The CTA Reinvents Itself: (1990-present) The "L" Heading Into the 21st Century

Cars 6101-6102 ran in service on the final run of the 6000-series on December 4, 1992, after which the last of the series was retired from passenger service.

The Orange Line opened on Halloween in 1993.

In 1994, they were sold to the Fox River Trolley Museum(Opens in a new window), who preserved the cars for 23 years.

In 1995, Chicago saw the introduction of the first low floor buses, which eliminate steps at the front of the bus in an effort to make the buses more accessible for wheelchairs and the elderly.

The elevated tracks, voted one of the seven wonders of Chicago by Tribune readers in 2005, have become a Chicago icon with worldwide recognition, with the downtown Loop at the center of it all.

The Pink Line, the CTA’s newest line, opened in June 2006, serving 54th Avenue and Cermak Road.

In 2017, the museums sold these two pairs of cars back to CTA to be added to the Authority’s Heritage Fleet program.