It took 65 years but the CTA finally got Wally Onak on the “L”.
After more than six decades of living near Midway Airport without ever getting on a train, Onak couldn’t resist trying out the new Orange Line Sunday and, like many others, found the sleek, quiet trains linking Midway to the Loop impressive.
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“It’s a real good ride,” Onak said. “I didn’t expect it’d be this good. Of course, I don’t know how it will be for rush hour.”
The trains were clean, the ride smooth and the customers courteous on the Orange Line’s unofficial Opening Day. The line officially opens Wednesday but the CTA began making public test runs Sunday so kinks can be worked out before opening ceremonies.
Until then, passengers boarding south of the Roosevelt Road station can ride for 25 cents. The fare is $1.50 for passengers boarding in the Loop, and that fare will go into effect throughout the line after Wednesday.
While the new orange signs that say “Midway” glistened on the front of the trains, and the stations along the way gleamed, some elements of riding the elevated train remained the same.
“Look at all the graffiti,” Onak’s buddy, Wally Stawiski, exclaimed while pointing at the passing warehouses and burned-out factories. “Some of those guys are really good artists.”
And on a sharp turn in the Loop: “Look at how close that building is.”
To the untrained eye, the trains look much the same as the older ones on the rest of the system, with the exception of the ribbed body designed to cut down on graffiti and three bungee-like, waist-high springs connecting each car.
“There’s a lot you don’t see with your eyes that make the cars run smoother and quieter,” said Frank Sirinek, a streetcar restorer with the Illinois Railway Museum in Union, Ill.
The springs are actually just new versions of metal springs used in the 1950s and 1960s to prevent passengers crossing between cars from falling from the train, Sirinek said.
And although the trains are the first to connect the Loop to Midway, streetcars used to run down Archer Avenue in a precursor to the line, Sirinek said.
But even one year late, after a decade of planning, the newest addition to the “L” legacy entered the history books with good reviews from passengers.
“It’s a great line. It’s fast, and no one complained,” said Ida Ferreri of the Bridgeport neighborhood.
“It’s one of the nicest I’ve seen,” said Paul Dimler, a rail buff from Baltimore visiting Sirinek.