The Loop is the 1.79-mile-long (2.88 km) circuit of elevated rail that forms the hub of the Chicago "L" system in the United States. As of 2022, the branch served 31,893 passengers every weekday. The Loop is so named because the elevated tracks loop around a rectangle formed by Lake Street, Wabash Avenue (east), Van Buren Street (south), and Wells Street (west). The railway loop has given its name to Chicago's downtown, which is also known as the Loop.
A Brown Line train passes through Tower 12 as it makes the turn from Van Buren onto Wabash, while an Orange Line train waits for it to clear
Chicago Transit Authority signal tower 18 controls traffic of Purple and Brown Line trains entering from and exiting to the north, Pink and Green Line trains entering and exiting to the west, and Orange Line trains remaining in the Loop above the Wells and Lake street intersection.
A Brown Line train departing from Madison/Wabash
Northward view from the Adams/Wabash station at night
The Chicago "L" is the rapid transit system serving the city of Chicago and some of its surrounding suburbs in the U.S. state of Illinois. Operated by the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA), it is the fourth-largest rapid transit system in the United States in terms of total route length, at 102.8 miles (165.4 km) long as of 2014, and the third-busiest rapid transit system in the United States. In 2016, the "L" had 1,492 rail cars, eight different routes, and 145 train stations. In 2023, the system had 117,447,000 rides, or about 373,800 per weekday in the fourth quarter of 2023.
A Pink Line train approaches Randolph/Wabash.
Intramural Railway 1893
1922 vintage Chicago Rapid Transit Company "L" cars. This car had a trolley pole in addition to contact shoes on the trucks.
A steam train on the Lake Street Elevated Railroad
