2200 series (CTA)

2200 series
Retired 2200-series car 2346 in the Harlem Yard on August 24, 2013
In service	1969–2013
Manufacturer	Budd Company
Built at	Red Lion Plant, Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Family name	High Performance
Constructed	1969–1970
Entered service	1969
Refurbishment	1990–1992
Scrapped	2011–2014
Number built	150
Number preserved	2
Number scrapped	139
Formation	Married pair
Fleet numbers	2201–2350 2351 (renumbered from 2307) 2352 (renumbered from 2316)
Capacity	42 (seated-A car) 46 (seated-B car)
Operator(s)	Chicago Transit Authority
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless steel with fiberglass end window and headlight masks
Car length	48 feet (14.63 m)
Width	9 feet 4 inches (2.84 m)
Height	12 feet (3.66 m)
Doors	4 per car
Maximum speed	55 miles per hour (89 km/h)
Weight	47,400 pounds (21,500 kg)
Traction motors	(?)
Electric system(s)	600 V DC third rail
Current collection method	Contact shoe
Track gauge	4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

The 2200 series was a series of Chicago "L" cars built in 1969 and 1970 by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 150 cars were built. The last 8 2200-series cars were retired from service after their ceremonial last trips on the Blue Line on August 8, 2013. These cars were in service for 44 years. All cars were scrapped by October 2015.

The 2200 series was the second of five series of Chicago "L" cars known as the High Performance Family.

These cars were used for the Lake/Dan Ryan and West-Northwest routes.

In 1967, the City of Chicago began construction on two rapid transit projects, both in the median of two expressways, the Dan Ryan and the Kennedy. These two projects needed an order of new rail cars to supple the existing fleet, and the City of Chicago ordered 150 new rail cars from the Budd Company for the two projects. The city retained two important consultants on the projects, the Chicago Transit Authority (who would operate the cars) and the architectural firm of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), which was heavily involved in the architectural work of the new stations. The new cars were designed to complement the modernist approach that SOM was taking to the design of the new stations, and featured unpainted fluted sides, a first for the CTA that would later become the standard for its rail fleet.

The 2200-series cars (numbered 2201–2350) were manufactured by the Budd Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and first delivered to the CTA in 1969, before the Dan Ryan branch (now known as the south end of the Red Line) opened. 150 cars were ordered, and all delivered in 1969 and 1970. In the 2000s, they were the only "L" cars to still feature the blinker door configuration, in which the doors to the train open inward into the car rather than slide horizontally. These doors, which had a much narrower opening than sliding doors, were unable to accommodate a wheelchair. Because of this, all 2200-series cars that ran in regular service on the Blue Line had to be coupled with a married pair of 2600-series cars in order to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. In addition, during eight car operation on the Blue Line, the 2200-series cars were usually referred to as belly car service (which means that they were not at either end of the train), with 2600-series cars on the ends of the train.