It’s hard to say whether the alleged Orange Line robbers are real smart, or just plain dumb. So smart to be scoping out the route for a couple of hours before the attack. Smart that they knew the stretch between Halsted and Roosevelt was the longest on the route – seven minutes from station to station. Or maybe kinda dumb to discount the ubiquitous security cameras.

Their photos are all over Chicago, so it’s probably just a matter of time before arrest.

They terrorized just one car so as not to draw too much attention to themselves. And their total take: $105. Some of the CTA’s 23,000 surveillance cameras showed that the men had been riding the Southwest Side line most of the day Wednesday before launching their attack around 4:15 p.m.

They announced a robbery as the doors of a Loop-bound train were closing at the Halsted stop, police said.

The robbers, neither of whom were in custody as of Thursday night, targeted a train heading downtown from Midway Airport, presumably filled with travelers carrying plenty of cash and unfamiliar with the CTA, authorities said.

After robbing at least four people and pistol-whipping a woman who wouldn’t part with her purse, they got away with a little more than $100, plus an assortment of electronic items, police said. It’s a good thing these crimes are fairly rare on the CTA.