Why is the Chicago public train system called the "El" or "L" train?

Today, many of the trains do go underground, but it's best known for its elevated trains, featured in movies like "The Blues Brothers" and "Risky Business."

The first Chicago trains were operated by the Chicago South Side Rapid Transit Railroad and began service in 1892. The Green Line still uses some of the track, but (thankfully!) the trains have been replaced from the wooden coaches that carried a dozen people each.

The Chicago Transit Authority took over in 1947 and modernized service into the building blocks of what operates today, though trains and routes are continually being upgraded to reflect ridership needs. Today, the L runs over a total of 224.1 miles of track and boasts an average of almost 600,000 riders every weekday.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org

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35 Comments

RichardH64

Shibon Tembhekar, if you don't like the context of the questions input your own or leave the site or keep you damn mouth shut!!!!!

J. G. Campbell

Read a bunch of Andrew Greeley's Fr Blackie murder mysteries some years ago. Most were set in Chicago. What I learned of the joys of Irish Whiskey, I learned from those books. Slainte!

littledick

Trudy Berggren Rahm, Ya, I lived in the Windy City for 27 years and everyone I knew called it the "El". Spelled that way, they meant "elevated", not the Loop. This referred to a specific geographic area where a rather small but significant portion of the elevated system made a loop.

littledick

Having lived in Chicago for 27 years, this was super easy.

birthdayboy

Oh the memories. Before the C.T.A/ took over, the surface transportation system was called the C.S.L. The Chicago Surface Line. When I had the money, I used to take a bus from 106th and Ewing avenue to South Chicago to catch the L to Down Town Loop. and take in a show.

earlepg

George Oliver Prince - Right on!

marinaking

Got it.

docluci

To Maria- I rode the elevated, the “El” from the South side where I lived in Lithuanian neighborhood from the late 40’s to ‘59 when I graduated high school all the way to the loop at least once a week for art classes in grammar school and to work after high school on Monday and Thursday evenings and Saturdays, too.

docluci

I used to ride this train from the South side of Chicago to the loop when I was a kid starting in the late 40’s until I graduated high school in ‘59!!!!!

jack patti go

Wow! Thats pretty nifty!Thatsalotf riders,! Got itcorrect?

Leanna Greenbush

No idea.

Marla Wickstrom-brandt

Wrong. I'm from Chicago. Born and raised. It's loop!

Natalie Baxter

Got it right

barbrevis

Carol Reiter, it was doing that to me but it was my tablet...I did a maintenance on it, shut it down and rebooted it, then it started working right again.