Metra, The Way To Really.... Advertise?

"Metra train car to be wrapped "

http://metrarail.com/Press_Releases/pre ... 06-09.html

Over the course of the four-week campaign, the wrapped car will be rotated among several Metra lines, including the Milwaukee North, Milwaukee West, UP Northwest and Rock Island. Metra’s advertising contractor, Clear Channel Metra LLC, is conducting the test to see how well the material holds up to Metra’s operations and Chicago’s weather. The wrap is a vinyl material with a removable adhesive that is made especially for bus and train cars. The material does not significantly block the view out of the windows.

The wrapped car will make its first appearance along the Milwaukee District North route between Chicago and Fox Lake on Monday, Feb. 9, departing Union Station at 5:12 p.m.

I wondered how long it would be before Metra followed the steps of Caltrain, which made a 5 car set a rolling Target ad.
http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/5 ... 991380.jpg

Strange that it's not going to be seen on BNSF, at least initially. I would think that would be a no-brainer, since that line carries the most daily riders, and would greatly benefit from the exposure. And even though mild weather is forecast for the next few days, I'll be interested to see how it holds up when the wintry weather returns...

Well, I'll be the first to say it: I think that's a terrible idea. It's made the CTA's fleet look disjointed and unstandardized, exactly the opposite of what they were going for when they removed all the paint from those cars.

byte wrote:Well, I'll be the first to say it: I think that's a terrible idea. It's made the CTA's fleet look disjointed and unstandardized, exactly the opposite of what they were going for when they removed all the paint from those cars.

That could be a problem if they decide to wrap an old Pullman car, but I don't think it's going to be a problem with the stainless steel cars. Besides, most trains operate with a mix of equipment with minor visual differences among them anyway; it's rare to solid sets of cars from the same builder on any given train. I just hope that if it's a hit, they'll stick to one car at a time, and not go the Caltrain route and wrap entire 5 or 6 car sets...

Fellas, with all due respect - Metra doesn't care if their fleet looks disjointed. It's another revenue stream to help pay to transport commuters downtown in an efficient and safe manner.

ABC7 showed the car on its 6pm news, the car being used is a 8527. Does not look that bad.

I saw it at Western Ave. out of the corner of my eye and for a second thought some graffiti artist tagged it. Very tacky.

So, here it is:

The car was on UP north line #365 to Kenosha tonight. It was the secon to last car in a four car set.

Ha, anybody who has driven I-55 knows it is definitely not "mile after magnificent mile". More like OH MY GOD I AM SO FREAKING BORED GET ME OFF THIS GOD FORSAKEN HIGHWAY. The highlight of the trip being a sighting of the Lincoln trains that run parallel. I've never had the luck to pace one, though.

On another note, the blue/red combination looks good.

Wow, didn't think it would be hitting UP this soon. So, if it's on a four-car set, guess I'd better get ready to see it on UP/W 50 or 47 sometime this week...

This coming week is already the 3rd week for the car, which Metra said would run on UP-NW... interesting that it ended up on UP-N, wonder if this set makes the rounds on all 3 UP lines?

I saw it two days in a row on the UP-NW, caught without a camera one day and getting a blurry picture the next day. Two more days I waited on the platform in freezing weather through the whole PM rush. I didn't see it. It traveling on the other UP lines seems like a good explanation to why it never came back.

trainnut1991 wrote:I saw it two days in a row on the UP-NW, caught without a camera one day and getting a blurry picture the next day. Two more days I waited on the platform in freezing weather through the whole PM rush. I didn't see it. It traveling on the other UP lines seems like a good explanation to why it never came back.

The car was on UP/W train 47 today (Monday). If all goes according to plan, here are it's upcoming assignments:

Tue 3/3: UP/W 18, arriving OTC @711am. Or if that's too early, it'll go to UP/NW 627, leaves OTC @4:05pm.

Wed 3/4: UP/NW 618, leaves Barrington @7:42am. It'll stay on this line for runs 625 and 658, leaving OTC@3:45pm, then leaving on its return trip downtown from Harvard at 5:35pm.

Want some night shots? Look for it on these trains Wed. nite 3/4:

UP/W 67, leaves OTC @8:40pm, equipment will return to OTC as 70 from Elburn, leaving at 10:25pm. Will then move to UP/N, becoming 301, leaving for Kenosha at 12:35am. It should return Thurs. morning 3/5 on UP/N 330 from Kenosha, but that's tentative right now. Also note that on its NW trips, it'll be on a nine-car set, third back from the locomotive. For the trips on the west & north lines, it'll be the third car on a four-car set. Happy hunting...

Last week was the 4th week for 8527, and still no sign of this car on RID... has the car remained on UP?