# Chicago El & Subway Ride



## MrFSS (May 23, 2005)

Some friends of ours had never been to Chicago. She is a painter and wanted to go to the Art Insitute so we made a four day weekend trip this last weekend and I was able to ride quite a bit on the El's and subways.

We tired to catch an Amtrack to Milwaukee to just ride up and back, but the only combination we could fit in the schedule was sold out. So, I settled for the El and subway.

We were staying in a hotel near O'Hare and took the blue line in to downtown each day.







This was an outboud I saw as we waitied for our train.






One shot from Union Station. Lots going on there on a Saturday afternoon. Place was packed. The Great Hall was setting up for the "Make A Wish" awards.






This in the Clinton Street Station, a few blocks from CUS. I actually had a security guard try to tell me I couldn't take pictures. I whipped out a set of regulations I had downloaded and printed from another newsgroup and showed it to the guard. He backed off real quick and left the platform. I continued taking pictures.






Blue line coming out of the Subway heading toward O'Hare. I was lucky to get the front seat opposite the engineer. Windows were dirty, but a bad picture is better than no picture.

It has also become a very rough ride. We were really rocking around when the speeds increased.

The next pictures are a few from the ride out toward O'Hare. There is another subway section and it is interesting to see the entrance and exit from the front window.





















This is why you take the train in Chicago. Bumper to bumper traffic both ways on a Saturday afternoon. Note the brake lights on the cars. Weekdays are worse.






As we neared our stop at Cumberland I saw one last inbound train for the day.






I have been riding in Chicago for almost 60 years now. Quite a few changes. It was fun and our friends couldn't get enough of being on the train.

Tom


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## Trogdor (May 23, 2005)

MrFSS said:


> We tired to catch an Amtrack to Milwaukee to just ride up and back, but the only combination we could fit in the schedule was sold out.  So, I settled for the El and subway.


Hmm, interesting. Hiawatha trains (Chicago to Milwaukee) are unreserved. They can't sell out.

But, nice pictures though.


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## MrFSS (May 23, 2005)

> Hmm, interesting. Hiawatha trains (Chicago to Milwaukee) are unreserved. They can't sell out.


We were trying to catch the 3:15 leaving CUS. The line at the ticket counter would never have let us get a ticket in time. I tried the machine and it simply wouldn't let me purchase that train on the day we were trying. I guess only having 15 minutes is too close. Can you buy them on board?


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## Trogdor (May 23, 2005)

You can buy them on board with a $9 penalty. It probably wouldn't have been worth the penalty (times how many people in your group?) just for that short of a trip.

It's too late now, but what you could have done was bought a ticket for the 5:08 pm train (which, if "too close to departure time" was the actual reason the machine wouldn't sell it to you, would have been a workaround), then used the ticket on the 3:15.

However, if you had 15 minutes until departure, I would assume that the ticket machine should sell it to you. It's not like it takes 15 minutes to get from the machine to the boarding gate.


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## AlanB (May 23, 2005)

I know that online sales get cut off 1 hour before departure, it's possible that the same rule applies to Quik-Trak machines. Especially since it would be too hard to program the machine to decide if it's in the right station, such that you can walk to the tracks in 15 minutes.


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## MrFSS (May 23, 2005)

Thanks, Robert & Alan. Maybe I can ride next time. Is there any place to eat a meal in the Milw Station?


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## AlanB (May 23, 2005)

Not unless you bring the meal with you. :lol:

There's plenty of places to sit, but only vending machines the last time I was there. A short walk however, opens up a world of possiblities.


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## engine999 (May 23, 2005)

Great Pictures and report.


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## Trogdor (May 23, 2005)

Alan is correct that, currently, there are only vending machines at MKE. Supposedly, once this renovation is completed (if it ever is), there will be some sort of food inside the station.

Nevertheless, three blocks north of the station is a shopping mall with a food court, a bit further walk yields even more choices.

Some Hiawatha trains also offer cart service, though there isn't really much in the way of "food" offered for sale.

As of a while ago, the following trains offered cart service Monday-Friday: 334, 335, 338, and 339. Trains 333, 336, 337, and 340 offered the service daily. I'm not sure whether that schedule has changed, but I can verify that it was offered on train 337 yesterday (Sunday).

If you were to go wandering through downtown Milwaukee to find food, I would allow at least an hour (in other words, the 23-minute 335-338 turn isn't enough).


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