Railroad Forums 

Discussion related to commuter rail and rapid transit operations in the Chicago area including the South Shore Line, Metra Rail, and Chicago Transit Authority.

Moderators: metraRI, JamesT4

 #1095131  by Illinifan
 
metra209 wrote:8400 and 7400 rebuilds as of 10/17/12
8400's: 8400, 8401, 8402, 8403, 8405, 8406, 8407, 8408, 8409, 8410, 8411, 8413, 8414, 8415, 8417, 8418, 8420, 8421, 8423, 8424, 8428, 8431, 8443, 8444, 8446, 8448, 8449, 8453, 8457, 8458, 8460, 8467, 8471, 8475
7400's: 7401, 7402, 7404, 7408, 7438, 7440, 7443, 7444, 7447, 7448, 7449, 7452, 7459, 7478, 7490, 7495
I have one addition to the list. I recently rode on the 8416 and it had brand new seats, toilet, etc. I believe that car reentered service sometime this past August.
 #1116691  by Illinifan
 
Former Milwaukee Road Cab Car 8238 is now running as a trailer car on the UP lines, coming over from the BNSF/SWS pool. That's the first time I've ever seen a former MILW cab car on the UP liness. The other 8200 series cabs that have assigned been to the UP were built by the RTA in late 70s and early 80s.
 #1116781  by metra209
 
Illinifan wrote:Former Milwaukee Road Cab Car 8238 is now running as a trailer car on the UP lines, coming over from the BNSF/SWS pool. That's the first time I've ever seen a former MILW cab car on the UP liness. The other 8200 series cabs that have assigned been to the UP were built by the RTA in late 70s and early 80s.
Former BN trailer car 7112 is also assigned to UP and even had its BNSF logo removed.
 #1163246  by byte
 
Question for all:

Can anyone tell me what the heritage of this bilevel car is, based on the "fixed" type of seat frame with the stainless backing? - http://www.flickr.com/photos/benhusmann ... otostream/

In my adventures riding Metra, I've only encountered that type of seating arrangement once. For a while I thought it was an ex-Milwaukee car, but my understanding is that all the old MILW bilevels are outfitted with this type of seating: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwichary/2812463837/ (Brown, tall-backed reversible seats which are GREAT for sleeping in, because your head isn't flopping back into the lap of the person behind you.)
 #1163355  by MACTRAXX
 
byte wrote:Question for all:

Can anyone tell me what the heritage of this bilevel car is, based on the "fixed" type of seat frame with the stainless backing? - http://www.flickr.com/photos/benhusmann ... otostream/

In my adventures riding Metra, I've only encountered that type of seating arrangement once. For a while I thought it was an ex-Milwaukee car, but my understanding is that all the old MILW bilevels are outfitted with this type of seating: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwichary/2812463837/ (Brown, tall-backed reversible seats which are GREAT for sleeping in, because your head isn't flopping back into the lap of the person behind you.)
David (Byte): I believe that is one of the former Rock Island 60s era Budd bilevels...

I remember those seat backs because they stood out in comparison to other bilevel cars in Metra service
and I remember when the South Shore leased a Metra train set that it turned out to be a pure former Rock Island set...

MACTRAXX
 #1163416  by busfan2847
 
byte wrote:Question for all:

Can anyone tell me what the heritage of this bilevel car is, based on the "fixed" type of seat frame with the stainless backing? - http://www.flickr.com/photos/benhusmann ... otostream/

In my adventures riding Metra, I've only encountered that type of seating arrangement once. For a while I thought it was an ex-Milwaukee car, but my understanding is that all the old MILW bilevels are outfitted with this type of seating: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwichary/2812463837/ (Brown, tall-backed reversible seats which are GREAT for sleeping in, because your head isn't flopping back into the lap of the person behind you.)
This is one of the ex C&NW Pullman Standard cars built in the 1960s (7700-7866). The seat backs are not fixed they do flip over so that the metal backing faces the other way. Rock Island also had a few of this type of car (7870/1 and r/b 7880-5).
 #1163499  by byte
 
I think one of the C&NW bilevels at IRM has that sort of seating, yes. HOWEVER, the one time I did ride on a car like that on Metra, it was a stainless car. Based on MACTRAXX's description, I'm guessing it was one of the few ex-Rock Budd bilevels.

We could make a whole thread on its own about bilevel car interiors. What got me started on this was noticing a thread over in the Amtrak forum about dated 70s colors (orange and brown) on their cars. Unfortunately for them, Metra has already cornered the market on dated passenger car interiors.

Some years ago (maybe 5?) I heard from a Milwaukee district rider that there were some cars floating around with green seats. Confirm/deny?
 #1163842  by MetraPace
 
I worked in Chicago from 2008 - 2011 and rode the UP West Line everyday. I took great interest in the interiors of Metra cars during this time and many pictures as well. From prior to 2008, I mostly only have what I can remember from my occasional riding, but here is what I can share:

The first picture appears to be an ex-Milwaukee Road car. It definitely is what the interiors of cars 7201-7241 and 8200-8219 looked like prior to rebuilding during the 2000's. I however don't know what the Rock Island cars looked like inside prior to their rebuilding, so it is possible that they looked the same as well. And yes, the seats in these Milwaukee Road cars were green. I have a picture of the upper level sideways seating somewhere. If I can find it, I will post it.

The last of these cars with this interior that I saw was 8219 sometime in early 2009 I believe.

The second picture depicts what the interior currently looks like in ex-Milwaukee Road cars 7257-7283 and 8225-8238.

I wish I had taken more interior pictures back in the 90's, but at that time I didn't see the point of wasting money on processing film of those pictures. Thank God for digital today!

Brad
 #1164170  by c604.
 
When I used to take Metra downtown regularly around 2003-2005, there were quite a few of those cars with the green seats with the metal bar on top. I used to hate them; for a taller person they were shorter seatbacks to begin with, then to rest your head on the seatback? Nothing like just relaxing and tilting your head back with your eyes closed to only have your neck hit COLD steel to jolt you back up.

The Budd cars with the high seatbacks in Byte’s second picture were my favorite. The seatbacks were even taller than the older Pullman seats that were similar. The higher seats deadened noise (such as voices on phones), and were just all around very comfortable.

One seat type that that I remember is one that I saw only once and never again. It was 1996 and Budd cars were just starting to migrate over to the UP lines, this was on an 8200 cab car (that was leading, very different for the time) on the UP-NW line. I swear that it had something like brown and black seats that were fixed in position, no flipping or moving. Half the car was facing one way; the other half was facing the other way. Does anyone else remember something like this?
 #1164793  by Illinifan
 
c604. wrote:When I used to take Metra downtown regularly around 2003-2005, there were quite a few of those cars with the green seats with the metal bar on top. I used to hate them; for a taller person they were shorter seatbacks to begin with, then to rest your head on the seatback? Nothing like just relaxing and tilting your head back with your eyes closed to only have your neck hit COLD steel to jolt you back up.

The Budd cars with the high seatbacks in Byte’s second picture were my favorite. The seatbacks were even taller than the older Pullman seats that were similar. The higher seats deadened noise (such as voices on phones), and were just all around very comfortable.

One seat type that that I remember is one that I saw only once and never again. It was 1996 and Budd cars were just starting to migrate over to the UP lines, this was on an 8200 cab car (that was leading, very different for the time) on the UP-NW line. I swear that it had something like brown and black seats that were fixed in position, no flipping or moving. Half the car was facing one way; the other half was facing the other way. Does anyone else remember something like this?
I believe the fixed seats (brown seats with a black bar on top) were the original seats for the Budd Cars that were built for the RTA in the late 1970s and early 1980s (7284-7381, 8239-8275). While they mostly ran on SWS/HC/RI/Milwaukee District, a few did wander over to the UP. Living along the Milwaukee District, I rode on those cars several times.

Beginning in the 1990s, the fixed ones were replaced with the red/orange flip back seats. They were all replaced by either 2001 and 2002. I don't miss them! They were my least favorite seats.
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