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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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Looks better than the standard trains…maybe they should be PC and celebrate all holidays.
Comment by Anon — 27 November, 2006 @ 5:26 pm
I love these photos …. I wanna ride this train now!!!
I generally like the decorations and all the fuss over festival looks … Otherwise winter is such a gray -n depressing season … Its all this crazy stuff that keeps me going on … Or winters dont suit me … Its not the cold as such , But less daylight & no greenery … Makes me very depressed … I suffer from what is aptly called SAD … or Seasonal Affective Disorder …
Comment by Intern — 28 November, 2006 @ 9:59 pm
I’m going into my third winter here and I had no idea. I share your sentiments on it, but when I saw it for the first time last week end; looking up at the Damen and Miwaulkee station, it looked pretty charming. At the time my friends and I were doing a tour of Chicago, trying to convince my friend’s fiancee to move here. I think it helped.
btw, love the blog. my office overlooks Daley Plaza and a live in the South Loop.
Comment by ElamBend — 29 November, 2006 @ 10:58 am
Thanks for the comments all…
ElamBend, I am envious of your office view, I would love to overlook Daley Plaza, although I walk by it nearly every day.
Intern, I know the weather can suck in the winter, but I find it interesting that you experience SAD. I lived in the Northwest for about 13 years (Mostly in Seattle), and when I moved here I could not get over how many sunny days we had, especially in the winter. I spent the first year saying to myself all the time… “Damn, another sunny day!” (Not that I am complaining) I actually don’t mind winter here. It makes the explosion of growth each spring that much more enjoyable.
Comment by Devyn — 29 November, 2006 @ 12:35 pm