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Every year “Your CTA” spends our tax dollars on a Holiday Train. After living here for seven years, and because it was important to a certain someone, I finally rode it this past Friday evening. The CTA runs the train on weekends along different “L” lines throughout the Holiday Season. On Friday, it was on the outside tracks of the Loop, circling around several times. Riders could get on, and ride around the Loop, and then get off where they started. As corny as it was, I had fun. This first shot is the train leaving the Madison/Wabash station in a blur.
The CTA takes six rail cars, decorates them for the holidays, and provides a fun family experience for the cost of a train ride.. In the middle, they add a flatbed car to feature Santa and his sleigh. Here you can see Santa with a microphone.
On the interior, they go wild with cheezy decor, and colored lighting.
This shot down the rail car with a few of the riders.
It was the custom seats that made me smile the most. They were so awful, yet so wild, I couldn’t help but like them. There are a few more images on my Flickr.
In retrospect, I had thought the Holiday Train was stupid, and a waste of money, but now I would hate to see it go away.
EDIT: Thanks Gapers Block for the mention in Merge!
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