General Discussion Forgotten Chicago Forum
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Read as You Ride
Posted by:
fleurblue
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Date: August 01, 2009 02:21AM
There was a small (about the size of a shirt pocket) flat container mounted on evey old subway car near the doors. Maybe they were on the buses too. A cut-out in the metal read "Read as you Ride." My friends and I always got a laugh at this because it was always empty and too small to hold much. Once in a while they would contain a religious tract that some evangelist placed there.
Re: Read as You Ride
Posted by:
Philomena
(---.frstil.dsl-w.verizon.net)
Date: August 05, 2009 02:42AM
I remember those empty containers & many times not understanding the conductors as they announced the stations. I learned at a young age to read the station signs.
Re: Read as You Ride
Posted by:
SuperCFL
(---.dsl.chcgil.sbcglobal.net)
Date: January 09, 2010 01:31AM
Those boxes dated back to the 1920s at least. Chicago Surface Lines published a series of flyers (memory escapes me now..."Surface Service"?) and the "L" company published "Elevated News" and "Rapid Transit News". They were promotional literature touting businesses along the lines, service improvements, and the inevitable invitation to buy stock in the companies. All were dropped with the onset of the Depression in the early 1930s.
Re: Read as You Ride
Posted by:
fleurblue
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Date: January 11, 2010 03:46AM
Thanks CFL, that explains the purpose of those little holders.
Re: Read as You Ride
Posted by:
Jeff_Weiner
(---.sub-70-194-104.myvzw.com)
Date: February 03, 2016 01:29AM
The CTA had something called the Rider's Reader. The Trolley Dodger is looking for some copies that are gaps in his series, to add to a DVD he sells with scans of them.
