Chicago Express

The Chicago Express, produced by Daval Manufacturing Co. in January 1938, is an electromechanical (EM) pinball machine themed around Chicago's elevated train system. It features seven spring bumpers and an elevated track along which a marble travels, propelled by two Vertical UpKickers (VUKs), simulating the city's famous 'L' train.

The gameplay experience centers on this elevated track, which IPDB notes can be compared to the habitrails used on modern solid-state games. The seven spring bumpers add scoring opportunities and unpredictability to each round.

Little is documented about the machine's designer or artist. As a 1938 machine from Daval, one of the notable pinball manufacturers of the era, Chicago Express offers a look at how theming and mechanical novelty were used to differentiate games during pinball's early electromechanical period.