On Friday, May 15th, IRM received four pieces of historic transit equipment donated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). Two of these were ‘L’ cars recently retired from service and the other two were historically significant motor buses.

The ‘L’ cars, CTA 2871 and 2872, were built in 1984 by the Budd Company of Philadelphia and were part of the 2600 series of rapid transit cars. The last car of this 600-car order was also the final car ever built by Budd. Cars 2871 and 2872, a “married pair” that are semi-permanently coupled, were originally assigned to service on the West-Northwest/Blue Line. They were transferred to the Purple Line in 1996, to the Red Line in 2000, and to the Orange Line in 2014. Both cars were rebuilt and modernized in 2000 by Alstom, which replaced their original SCM-II control and motor-alternator sets with CCM control and solid-state auxiliary inverters. The cars were retired in late 2025 and represent the first 2600-series cars preserved in a museum.

CTA 6163 is a Flxible Metro E diesel bus constructed in 1995. It was built in one of the final orders produced by Flxible, which had begun building buses nearly 80 years earlier under the name Fageol-Twin Coach. This was also the final CTA order for new high-floor buses. Originally assigned to Kedzie Garage, CTA 6163 was retired in 2010 following assignment to the Forest Glen Garage. It was then sent to the Chicago Fire Department, which numbered it 2-9-2 and used it for functions at the Fire Academy and at city events. In 2023, the bus was returned to the CTA, which stored it at South Shops until now.

The final acquisition, CTA 6770, is a model LFS diesel bus built in 2002 by Nova Bus. This manufacturer, owned by Volvo and Prevost Car, was the successor to General Motors’s Canadian bus operation and owned plants in both the US and Canada. The 2002 order was the CTA’s first large order for low-floor buses, after a small 1995 experimental order, and 6770 was assigned to Forest Glen Garage for its entire career. It was retired from regular service in 2021, after which it became the base of operations for the garage’s mobile mechanics. It was typically parked at the yard exit during early morning put-out and was used for storing supplies that mechanics could use to quickly solve small problems on buses going into service. CTA 6770 was retired from this use in late 2025.

IRM thanks the CTA for its generous donation of these historic pieces. The Museum intends to preserve and operate all four of the CTA ‘L’ cars and buses that have just joined the IRM collection. To support restoration and ongoing maintenance work, donations to the Electric Car and Motor Bus Department equipment restoration funds at this link are greatly appreciated.