"To El and Back" - hitting all the El stations in a weekend
Andy Seifert over at NewCity Chicago writes about his weekend where he visited all 144 train stations on the CTA system. (Well, he didn't get to visit Washington on the Red.)
Along the way of course, he saw lots of strange sights and much mundane -- just as we often report here.
He even takes some time to interview CTA Tattler, so check it out.
And speaking of interviews of CTA Tattler, you can download an interview with the Tattler over at Smart City Radio here.
My favorite part was the highlighted quote in the print edition...
"Depending on the CTA to get you somewhere on time is sort of like cheering for a racehorse that's guaranteed to lose"
KevinB
Posted by: KevinB | July 08, 2008 at 09:47 AM
I liked this one the best; it shows the viewpoint of someone who just happened across this station:
"Belmont – Brown: Construction city! There are at least forty CTA employees waiting upon arrival and—no offense to these fine workers—it appears their main duties are smoking and staring at us passengers." ...
Definitely worth the read.
Posted by: John T | July 08, 2008 at 10:51 AM
I like the way he managed to hit the far south side branch of the red line early in the morning... LOL. Not too obvious. the REAL story would have been if he had taken it at night.
Posted by: Dude | July 08, 2008 at 11:03 AM
I saw a guy smoking something on the Red yesterday during the eve rush, right before Fullerton. I'm not sure what it was, but it definitely *wasn't* tobacco or weed. No one, including me, said anything because he appeared to be a tad crazy. Gotta love being stuck on the Red with the dregs of society.
Posted by: mike | July 08, 2008 at 11:36 AM
all 144 stations? Looks like he missed a bunch in his writeup
Posted by: lkashfoishf | July 08, 2008 at 12:23 PM
the REAL story would have been if he had taken it at night.
uh - have you taken the red line south of 35th at night?
it's really not that exciting. thousands of people do it every day.
Posted by: steven crane | July 10, 2008 at 12:51 AM
well steven, it depends. i live on the south side and take the red line on occasion and have to say, it can be a bit "interesting", even downright dangerous, depending on the time of night and the day of the week.
Posted by: Tim | July 10, 2008 at 05:14 PM