Posted Aug. 27, 2008 at 12:44 p.m.

It's the end of an era, folks.  Our CTA sibs, Metra riders, have swigged their last from the bar cars.  The cars are on last call in order to allow for more seating space on the increasingly crowded service. 

Here's some vid about this historic development:

As a high-schooler who rode Metra from Beverly to downtown, I used to dislike the liquor cars because (A) I wasn't old enough to imbibe at the time, and (B) Those who did drink up could get rowdier and raunchier than need be. 

But I think the cars, which apparently didn't bring in that much revenue, according to a Trib story were classics.  They were a sign of the times when you could kick back with a cold one during your commute.

Some RedEye staffers were joking about the CTA liquor cars, which technically don't exist, but certainly seem real when you have some off-the-chain riders sipping surreptitiously from brown bags.  So what do you think?  Did you ever take advantage of a Metra bar car?  Would such an offering ever be a good idea on the CTA?  (My take: hell to the naw.)