Holiday Train, Division Blue Line Station, Chicago
Holiday Train on the Blue Line, Chicago
Holiday Train on the Blue Line, Chicago
Last night we were waiting for the train on the Blue Line at Clark & Lake when what pulls in? The Holiday Train. Every year in December the CTA decorates a 6-car train with thousands of lights and features a flat car in the middle that carries Santa and his reindeer. The interiors of the cars are also decorated and loud Christmas music is pumped in so you can’t hear the conductor say the stops (not that we needed to hear that). There was even an elf, who looked pretty much the opposite of an elf except for her clothes, handing out candy to everyone onboard. I don’t know about you, but I think it must be hella scary for Santa to ride in on a flat bed through the dark subway tunnels!
The CTA has posted a schedule of when the holiday train will be on what line. It looks like your last chance is to catch it on the Red Line on Thursday.
See also:
» CTA Says Bye-Bye to Santa by Vouchey at Chicagoist
» The Holiday Train To Ride Again by Vouchey at Chicagoist
» Santa Train by Aaron Bailey (he says he saw it on the Belmont Red Line stop, but if you want to be nitpicky, the schedule says it was the Brown Line)
10 responses so far ↓
1 Aaron Bailey // Dec 21, 2004 at 8:15 am
Jeesh!! I just moved here! Give a man a break! *grin* Thanks for the heads up. I just corrected my post.
2 tien // Dec 21, 2004 at 8:25 am
that could never work in new york, the rats would totally eat santa alive.
3 Chris // Dec 21, 2004 at 10:54 am
haha, I think it could work in new york - they would just have to push the fare up another 25 cents
4 Rachelle // Dec 21, 2004 at 10:56 am
yeh, there was controversy about it this year because of the costs and the CTA’s budget deficit.. see the Chicagoist links for more info.
Tien - that’s a disturbing mental picture.
Aaron - As a SEASONED chicago vetran it will be my job to point out all of your mistakes.
5 Kevin Walsh // Dec 21, 2004 at 12:38 pm
In NYC they have been doing a holiday thing by running vintage trains from the Transit Museum. They should do that every year.
Of course if they ban photography in the subways no one who wasn’t there will know the trains were there…
http://www.forgotten-ny.com
6 Kevin Walsh // Dec 21, 2004 at 12:53 pm
Guest comment from a Forgotten Fan:
>>Lovely. All that electric would mimimize the chance of public urination.
7 Willy // Dec 21, 2004 at 1:43 pm
“Holiday Train?” “Happy Holidays” painted on the front car?
C’mon folks. Let’s not kid ourselves. It’s a Christmas train. Santa Claus comes on Christmas, not some generic, unnamed “holiday.” Has Chicago become that P.C. since I left in 1994?
Somewhere, the real Santa is crying because nobody wants to utter the word “Christmas” anymore.
Even the tech support guy in some town in India who I talked to last night when my SBC modem stopped working said “Merry Christmas” to me.
What a country this has become, when you can’t even utter the true name of a holiday for fear of offending someone.
Does anyone hide the fact that Ramadan is a religious holiday or say “Happy Holidays” instead of… well, whatever you say on Ramadan?
8 dc // Dec 21, 2004 at 4:16 pm
To be fair to Santa, while the actual subway train said “Happy Holidays”. Santa said screw PC and put Merry Christmas on the side of his pimped out sleigh. You cant see it in the pictures because the PC police arrived and confiscated any secular holiday eveidence.
9 dad // Dec 22, 2004 at 6:21 pm
nice photos,I do like Tien”s Remark of the rats
It made me laugh for a while. Just watched a show which was based in New York City it was all about rats in apartmen(home) were they could not get rid of them because they multiplyed to fast.
Kevin remarks were interesting about puplic urination.Every one have a Happy Holiday
Be safe
Dad Bowden
10 r. // Dec 22, 2004 at 8:20 pm
Whoa. I lived on the Red line for a year and on the Blue for 4… and I *never* saw this.
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