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Delivery of Car #6719 to the Chicago Transit Authority
Not a part of the official Smithsonian Collection
#6719 was built in 1959 by the St. Louis Car, using salvaged street car parts. The 6000-series railcars have been called the “workhorses” of the Chicago Transit Authority; over 700, 6000-series cars were put into service by the CTA between 1950 and 1969. These cars ran throughout the elevated and subway system, serving Chicago commuters until 1992. |
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Physical Description |
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Photograph. Black and White photograph taken at delivery of CTA rapid transit car #6719 to the transit authority's rail yard on July 22, 1959.
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Details |
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Credit: | Courtesy of Chicago Transit Authority and William Wulfert |
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History |
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While Chicago has always relied heavily on mass transit to move workers and shoppers through the city, its transit system has constantly struggled to survive. Municiplized in 1947 to avoid bankruptcy, the transit system was not given public funding and was forced to reinvent itself throughout the 1950s–services were cut, fares were raised–to remain in operation. Except for a handful of prototype cars developed in the late 1940s, the CTA system was using cars built in the ‘teens and twenties until the first 6000-series cars were delivered in 1950.
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Related People, Places, and Events |
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Depicted
Chicago Transit Authority
Depicted
Chicago, Illinois
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