Chicago Metra Rehab

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Everydaymatters

Engineer
Joined
May 15, 2006
Messages
3,406
Location
Just North of Normal, Illinois
As Metra rehabs its cars and acquires new cars, there will be arm rests on the aisle seats and cup holders which will be able to hold the large size drinks. Also better head, neck and lumbar support. The seats will not rotate and half will be facing forward.

Only seats that need to be replaced will get the new seats.
 
As Metra rehabs its cars and acquires new cars, there will be arm rests on the aisle seats and cup holders which will be able to hold the large size drinks. Also better head, neck and lumbar support. The seats will not rotate and half will be facing forward.

Only seats that need to be replaced will get the new seats.
I am happy about the change although I understand many are not. I am glad to trade the superior seats for the ability to rotate them. With this change and the fact that Metra has both double seats on the bottom and single seats on the top, I now think Metra gallery equipment is arguably the best commuter car variation in the country. Is the rate at which the cars are going to be converted known?
 
Not long ago, I finally rode in one of those rehabilitated Metra railcars with the newer non-flip seats. They were alright, but I have to say I narrowly prefer the traditional seats. They may not have cupholders, but they feel a little more comfortable to me. Not the end of the world, though.

Some of Metra's railcars are from the Burlington Northern era from the 1950s (I think? at least I've heard they're over 50 years old) that run on the BNSF (Aurora) and Southwest Service(Orland Park/Manhattan) routes, so I'm not surprised they'll finally retire those railcars. Their exterior is cool to photograph, so in that sense I'll miss them once they're retired in the next 1-2 years.
 
Not long ago, I finally rode in one of those rehabilitated Metra railcars with the newer non-flip seats. They were alright, but I have to say I narrowly prefer the traditional seats. They may not have cupholders, but they feel a little more comfortable to me. Not the end of the world, though.

Some of Metra's railcars are from the Burlington Northern era from the 1950s (I think? at least I've heard they're over 50 years old) that run on the BNSF (Aurora) and Southwest Service(Orland Park/Manhattan) routes, so I'm not surprised they'll finally retire those railcars. Their exterior is cool to photograph, so in that sense I'll miss them once they're retired in the next 1-2 years.
I believe Metra cars can generally be identified by appearance. The oldest are those with the smooth sides and blue and red stripes. The next era of cars are those that have rough sides and are without stripes, but have small windows. The newest cars are also smooth with no stripes, but have larger windows. I believe the newer cars are the only type currently used as cab cars.
 
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^ Generally, what you said is right. The very oldest railcars have that silver look, and usually say 'Burlington' or something else (I forget) in black capitol case lettering over the exterior doors.

On other lines, yep the older railcars do generally have smaller windows. On some of the older railcars (including ones Metra leased to VRE commuter rail in Virginia, then brought a few of those cars back into Metra service), yep they do have blue and red stripes on the side. Correct that newer railcars have bigger windows, and yep are usually the ones used as a cab car for inbound train service to downtown Chicago.
 
^ Generally, what you said is right. The very oldest railcars have that silver look, and usually say 'Burlington' or something else (I forget) in black capitol case lettering over the exterior doors.
Some say "BURLINGTON" and some say "BNSF RAILWAY" (the signs themselves are actually fairly new, just done in a retro style).
 
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