cta6021_19540825.jpg (212k) First-generation 6000-series car 6021 is assigned to the Douglas-Loop service in this August 25, 1954 view at Paulina Junction, and is displaying a Train Identification Coil on the front corner of the train under the motorcab. The Train Identification Coil, or "identra coil", was an electronic device carried by the lead car of a train for automatic operation at an interlocked junction, to detect the type (route) of train approaching and set the switches automatically, negating the need to staff a tower at that location to sort trains. They were first used for Douglas trains at Paulina Junction in 1954, and later at Loomis Junction starting in 1958. The train also carries a sign on its front chains identifying it as stopping at Wood Street station--amidst a series of changes to economize and speed up Douglas service in 1951, several stations were closed while a few others, like Wood, became "partial service stations", which were unstaffed and served only by a limited number of trains that also skipped the adjacent stop (in the case of Wood, 18th station). Wood closed in 1957. (Photo courtesy of the Krambles-Peterson Archive)