User:N. Paul Inast
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Wikipedia projects and goals
- copyediting
- improving English WP articles on French subjects and French WP articles on American subjects, with transwiki translation as appropriate
current projects
- Sylvie Germain
- Cinémathèque Française
personal sandbox
(where I might place not-ready-for-prime-time articles or sections...)
- The Weeping Woman on the Streets of Prague (Dedalus, 1998)
- Invitation to a Journey (Dedalus, 2003)
- The Song of False Lovers (Dedalus, 2005)
- The Book of Tobias (Dedalus, 2000)
- The Medusa Child (Dedalus, 1998)
- Infinite Possibilities (Dedalus, 1998)
- Night of Amber (David R. Godine, 2000)
- The Book of Nights (David R. Godine, 1993)
- Days of Anger (Buccaneer Books, 1993)
Main article:
Currently, there are eight rail lines of the Chicago 'L' system. Since 1993 under Richard M. Daley, Mayor of Chicago, each rail line is classified by color and destination name:
- Red Line(Howard-95/Dan Ryan)
- Orange Line(Loop-Midway)
- Yellow Line(Skokie-Howard) (the "Skokie Swift")
- Green Line(Harlem/Lake–Ashland/63 or East 63rd)
- Blue Line(O'Hare–Forest Park or 54/Cermak)
- Purple Line(Linden-Howard or Loop)
- Brown Line(Kimball-Loop)
- Pink Line(Loop-54/Cermak) (see below)
"Loop" as a train destination means that the train enters the Loop elevated structure in downtown Chicago, does a complete circle, and then returns the way it came. Red Line and Blue Line trains serve the Loop area of Chicago through subway tunnels, while the Green Line enters the Loop elevated structure from the northwest and leaves toward the southeast (and vice versa).
Previously, the rail lines were given route names based on
Branch names that were once used as destinations are as follows, with their replacement:
- "Douglas" is now "54/Cermak" (Blue/Pink lines).
- "Congress" is now "Forest Park" (Blue line).
- "Ravenswood" is now "Kimball" (Brown line).
- "Lake" is now "Harlem/Lake" (Green line).
- "Englewood" is now "Ashland/63" (Green line).
- "Jackson Park" is now "East 63rd" and no longer goes as far as Jackson Park (Green line).
- "Evanston" is now "Linden" (Purple line).
The Yellow Line ("Skokie Swift") is an exception, as destination signs still read "Skokie." Since there is only one station on this line, however, and it is called "Skokie," no confusion is possible. If the Yellow Line is extended to Old Orchard shopping center or if other stations are opened, the Skokie station will presumably be renamed.
Almost all 'L' stations are named for a street, usually the one perpendicular to the rail line. As such, some confusion can arise, because there are, for example, four stations named Pulaski and five named Kedzie. It should also be noted that none of the three stations named Chicago lie within the official definition of the Chicago Loop, the area visitors often assume 'Chicago' refers to. These stations, in fact, refer to Chicago Avenue, which lies six city blocks (3/4 mile) north of the northern boundary of the Loop. Recently (July 2006), automated train announcements on the Red Line subway have announced Chicago station as "Chicago and State," perhaps as a clarification of this problem, or to avoid the giggly issue of saying "This is Chicago" when the rider has been within the municipal boundaries for his/her entire ride.
Five Chicago 'L' lines (Brown, Green, Orange, Pink, and Purple) converge in Chicago's central business district to form a small rectangular nexus around the district referred to as the "Loop", roughly 0.4 miles (650m long) east-to-west and 0.6 miles (960m) long north-to-south. These lines parallel Lake Street on the north, Wabash on the east, Van Buren on the south, and Wells on the west. While many believe that the city's center earned the name "Loop" from this very conspicuous section of the "L", the term actually predates the "L" and refers to a now-retired circular routing of streetcars through downtown.
The Red and Blue lines serve the heart of Chicago via subways under State and Dearborn streets, respectively. These are the only 24-hour lines in the system, but having them makes it distinctive, along with the
Pink Line
The CTA began a new route on
The new routing has enabled the CTA to provide more frequent service to both of the former Blue Line branches (one train every 7.5 minutes during rush hours instead of one every 15 minutes) as well as providing a faster trip downtown for 54/Cermak users. On the other hand, Pink Line riders now have to transfer to access O'Hare airport and the Northwest side outside of rush hours, and have a less convenient transfer to the Red Line. The inauguration of the Pink Line required little infrastructure investment on the part of the CTA, as the Paulina connector has long been used as a service track. It has been rehabilitated in recent years.
Interestingly, the Pink Line routing was used between