The Chicago "L" (short for "elevated railroad") is the rapid transit system serving the City of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), the "L" is the fourth-largest in total route length and the third busiest rail mass transit system in the US, 102.8 miles (165.4 km) as of 2014.

Chicago, IL
April 2020

Chicago L Tracks by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The "L" reference has existed since the first lines opened in Chicago in 1882. The reasons for "L" rather than "el" have been lost to history, but theories point to "L" being another way for the Second City to differentiate from NYC that also had an "el" system in the late 1800s.

Chicago L Tracks by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The "L" system consists of eight rapid transit lines laid out in a spoke & hub distribution paradigm focusing transit towards the central Loop in downtown Chicago. The "L" gained its name because large parts of the system run on elevated track. The "L" system was entirely above ground until the first subway sections were added in 1943.

A French artist visiting the downtown Loop around 1900 commented that “The sky is made of iron, and perpetually growls a rolling thunder … below are wagons of every size and kind, whose approach cannot be heard in the midst of the noise; and the [street]cars, with jangling voice which never ceases, cross and recross.”

Chicago L Tracks by Paul Sager, on Flickr


Images shared in this post come from an EOS 1v, Ilford Delta 100 with a dark red filter, and EF 35mm f/1.4L USM. All images were shot from a tripod. Processing and scanning was performed by North Coast Photography Services of Carlsbad, CA, with the resulting JPEGs processed in Adobe Lightroom.

Chicago L Tracks by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The "L" provides 24-hour service on the Red and Blue Lines and is one of only five rapid transit systems in the United States to do so (the tracks shown here support the Red Line, near Wrigley Field and about 5-miles north of the Loop).

Chicago L Tracks by Paul Sager, on Flickr


Much of the system uses riveted steel-plate that resembles of the Eiffel Tower (1889) and the original Ferris Wheel (1893).

Chicago L Tracks by Paul Sager, on Flickr


Currently, there are 144 operating CTA stations, and 6 abandoned ones. The most stations there have ever been on the "L" system at one time is 227. Ridership peeked in the 1920s just before the automobile became widely affordable. Since 2005, yearly ridership has again started to increase, including several recent all-time ridership records.

Chicago L Tracks by Paul Sager, on Flickr


The "L" operated as a network of private businesses until 1947 when the City of Chicago purchased the majority of the private rapid transit operators and consolidated them under the newly-formed Chicago Transit Authority. The CTA was required to be financially self-sufficient. All maintenance and upgrades had to be paid for out of the fare box—out of the pockets of transit riders. This resulted in constantly increasing fares and some service cutbacks. Still, Loop commuters were using the CTA at rates near 80% as late as the mid-1950s.

Chicago L Tracks by Paul Sager, on Flickr


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