‘el’ ride
Welcome to the CTA
This is a Purple Line Express to downtown
Doors closing
Central is next
In the direction of travel doors open on the left at Central
the sound of the tracks, the vibration as we set off, the sound of air coming through vents, the train rocking as we hit speed
This is Central
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Noyes is next
Doors open on the left at Noyes
Smoking, littering, and the playing of radios or loud devices is prohibited
This is Noyes
Doors closing
Foster is next
Doors open on the left at Foster
Soliciting on CTA trains is prohibited, violators will be arrested
This is Foster
Doors closing
Davis is next
Doors open on the right at Davis
Priority seating is provided for the elderly or disabled passengers, your co-operation is requested
This is Davis
This is a Purple Line Express to downtown
Doors closing
Dempster is next
Doors open on the right at Dempster
Standing passengers please do not lean against the doors
This is Dempster
Doors closing
Main is next
Doors open on the right at Main
This is Main
Doors closing
South Boulevard is next
Doors open on the left at South Boulevard
This is South Boulevard
This is a Purple Line Express to downtown
Doors closing
Howard is next
Transfer to Red and Yellow Line trains at Howard
the trains move from a higher level to a lower level, cement-sided curves, other trains appear to be heading straight for this train; tracks, train, shifting and sliding like serpents, glimpse of the Hancock or the Sears Tower; bird of prey noises at Howard, to frighten the pigeons, at one of the loop stations too; people look up, the visitors; residents don’t even bother to listen
This is Howard
This is a Purple Line Express to downtown
Doors closing
Belmont is next
Doors open on the left at Belmont
we pick up speed and swing back and forth, Purple Line Express to downtown, starting with Linden, a tree, family—when, historically, did the train nearly fall off the tracks, and where — pass Graceland cemetery and then Addison at speed — flags fly at Wrigley Field after a Cubs game, away or home, Blue and White, W or L, Win or Lose — a triangle today, what does that mean?
This is Belmont
by next week we will live three blocks from Belmont, two from Wellington
Transfer to Red and Brown Line trains at Belmont
This is a Purple Line Express to downtown
Doors closing
Wellington is next
Doors open on the right at Wellington
Please familiarize yourself with the train evacuation procedures
This is Wellington
This is a Purple Line Express to downtown
Doors closing
Diversey is next
Doors open on the right at Diversey
This is Diversey
This is a Purple Line Express to downtown
Doors closing
haze hugs the ground, approaches the train
Fullerton is next
Doors open on the left at Fullerton
Transfer to Red and Blue Line trains at Fullerton
This is Fullerton
This is a Purple Line Express to downtown
Doors closing
Armitage is next
Smoking, littering, and playing radios or loud devices is prohibited
Soliciting on CTA trains is prohibited; violators will be arrested
This is a Purple Line Express
This is Armitage
Door closing
Sedgwick is next
Doors open on the right at Sedgwick
Priority seating is provided for elderly or disabled passengers, your co-operation is requested
Standing Passengers please stand clear of the doors
Sedgwick is next
a field of buildings stick through the haze like cornstalks, thick sticks in a garden
This is Sedgwick
This is a Purple Line Express
Doors closing
Chicago is Next
Doors open on the right at Chicago
burnt-out building to the right, red brick and boarded up windows, yellow-jacketed men, walking the tracks, working the tracks, in all weathers working the platforms, fence-like rails, weak white, weathered
This is Chicago
Thank you for riding the CTA Purple Line
Doors closing
Merchandise Mart is next
Doors open on the right at Merchandise Mart
Transfer to Brown Line trains at Merchandise Mart
This is Merchandise Mart
This is a Purple Line Express
Doors closing
Clark and Lake is next
Doors open on the left at Clark and Lake
Transfer to Green, Orange and Blue Line trains at Clark and Lake
City hall and the Thomson Centre….
This is Clark and Lake
walk up and down and along to transfer to a Blue Line train and there’s an empty cardboard box half-crumpled on the platform — people look, think, bomb? — walk by — a man kicks it, it’s empty, most notice this — not sure which direction on the Blue Line to take, so don’t get on the train that’s waiting at the platform — look at the map and when the next train arrives, take the Blue Line towards O’Hare
This is a Blue Line train to O’Hare
Grand is next
Doors open on the left at Grand
dada dada dada the sound in his blood — his urge to go; his need to leave — is this what he leaves for: the whistle of the air through a not quite sealed window at the front of the train: the buzz and turn of the electricity through the rails, through the wheels, overhead, the sound of air, past past — not just the thing he is seeking out but the journey — the city floats away behind us, gothic like batman, like Gotham, a fantasy city — dingdong, the bells before the doors — dingdong
This is Grand
The bells
Doors closing
Chicago is next
In the direction of travel doors open on the left at Chicago
This is Chicago
Doors closing
Division is next.
Doors open on the left at Division
This is Division
Thank you for riding the CTA Blue Line
Doors closing
Damen is next
Doors open on the left at Damen
Standing passengers please do not lean against the doors.
This is Damen
get off the train, go to Filter for coffee, then follow a walking tour of Wicker Park, guidebook in hand — walk down North Avenue to the Sedgwick Stop — Purple Line to the Loop
This is Chicago
This is Merchandise Mart
This is a Purple Line Express
State and Lake next stop.
Doors open on the right at State & Lake
Transfer to Red Line trains at State & Lake
birds of prey, tourists look up
Randolf and Wacker is next
Transfer to Metra and South Shore trains at Randolf and Wacker
This is a Purple Line Express
This is Randolf and Wacker
Doors closing
Madison and Wabash is next
Doors open on the right at Madison and Wabash
This is Madison and Wabash (0 N/S, 45E)
This is a Purple Line Express
Doors closing
Adams and Wabash is next
Doors open on the right at Adams and Wabash
This is Adams and Wabash (200 S, 45E)
This is a Purple Line Express
Your attention please, we are being delayed waiting for signals ahead
We expect to be moving shortly
Library, State and VanBuren is next
Doors open on the right at Library, State and VanBuren
This is Library, State & VanBuren (1 W, 400 S)
to the left, a stark white (almost chalky) triangular building juts high, along the top of the skyscraper runs barbwire fence over three stories high: it’s a penitentiary, purpose-built with shorter hallways so the guards have shorter ‘rounds’
Doors closing
Lasalle and VanBuren is next
Doors open on the right at Lasalle and VanBuren
Transfer to Metra Trains at Lasalle and VanBuren
This is Lasalle and VanBuren (140W, 400S)
This is a Purple Line Express
Doors closing
Quincy is next
Transfer to Metra and Amtrak trains at Quincy
This is Quincy (220S, 220W)
This is a Purple Line Express
Doors closing
Washington & Wells is next
Doors open on the right at Washington & Wells
she is romanced by movement, always in movement
This is Washington & Wells
Transfer to Metra trains and City Hall at Wells.
This is a Purple Line Express
Doors closing
Merchandise Mart is next
In the direction of travel doors open on the right at Merchandise Mart
to the right sits the Chicago school, right on the river
This is Merchandise Mart (320N, 200W)
This is a Purple Line Express
Doors closing
Chicago is next
Doors open on the right at Chicago
Priority seating is intended for the elderly and disabled passengers, your co-operation is requested
Standing passengers please do not lean against the doors
This is Chicago (300W, 800 N)
This is a Purple Line Express
Doors closing
Sedgwick is next
Doors open on the right at Sedgwick
Smoking….
Soliciting…
This is Sedgwick (400 W, 1600N)
Welcome aboard Purple Line Run 512
Armitage is next
Doors open on the right at Armitage
This is Armitage (200 N, 1000W)
This is a Purple Line Express
Fullerton is next
Doors open on the left at Fullerton
Transfer to Red and Brown Line trains at Fullerton
black watertower on the top of a building just past Fullerton
This is Fullerton
Transfer to Red and Brown Line trains at Fullerton
This is a Purple Line Express
driver goes to window at the other side at the doors open on the left, window down, check the doors are clear, window up
Your attention please. We are being delayed waiting for signals ahead. We expect to be moving shortly
Diversey is next
Doors open on the right at Diversey
This is Diversey (28000N, 1000W)
watertower here to the left, full of phone aerials; why are roofs and watertowers black?
Doors closing
Wellington is next
Doors open on the right at Wellington
Please familiarize yourself with train communication and evacuation procedures posted in each carriage
This is Wellington (3000N, 1000W)
This is a Purple Line Express
at the front of the train platform narrows so it’s just wide enough for a single person to embark or disembark
Doors closing
Belmont is next
Doors open on the left at Belmont
Transfer to Red and Brown Line trains at Belmont
This is Belmont
This is a Purple Line Express
Howard is next
Transfer to Yellow Line trains at Howard
Doors closing
Apologies for the delay. We are waiting for signals ahead
we fly past Morse, a street in Rogers Park, of course: Old Mrs Morse’s house, of course, it’s Morse, of course
This is Howard
Doors closing
Welcome to Purple Line run 512
South Boulevard is next
Doors open on the left at South Boulevard
This is South Boulevard
Doors closing
all telephone wire poles at angles
Main is next
Doors open on the right at Main
This is Main (900N, 732S)
Dempster is next
Doors open on the right at Dempster
Standing passengers please do not lean against the doors
the precocious questioning, always asking questions, to herself
This is Dempster (1300N, 800W)
Doors closing
Davis is next
Doors open on the right at Davis
Priority seating…
This is Davis (1600N, 800W)
Doors closing
Foster is next
Doors open on the right at Foster
Soliciting is prohibited….
This is Foster (2000N, 900W)
Doors closing
Smoking…
This is Noyes
Doors closing
Central is next
Doors open on the left at Central
the station at has a purple roof the color of the hospital logo, and we stop south of Central Street, next to the Evanston Hospital Professional Building and car park; the familiar ER, ICU, CCC and the maternity ward sit a long block north of Central Street
Linden is next
we pass over a quaint bridge, so out of place on this trip and one of the only level crossings on the journey; there is a second level crossing just a few blocks on, at Maple Street
This is Linden, as far as this train goes
All passengers must leave the train
Thank you for riding the CTA Purple Line
Doors closing
Originally from Chicago, Elizabeth Reeder lives in Scotland and is a writer. She writes fiction, lyrical essays/crossover pieces, does some travel writing and writing for radio, and teaches Creative Writing at University of Glasgow.
Visit Elizabeth at: ekreeder.wordpress.com.
