ABBREVIATIONS ON THE MAP
Bw | Bowdoin | TSS | Tremont Street subway |
I created the above map by overlaying an OpenStreetMap (OSM) map with my own data. Copyright on the OSM map is © OpenStreetMap contributors, licensed under a CC-BY-SA (Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 licence).
Please note that the OSM map used as a template for this map corresponds to the situation at the time the map was downloaded and may show features that did not exist at the time the GS Tram Site is supposed to show. In particular, it may show bridges and highways that were built later.
DISCONTINUATION DATES OF STREETCAR TRACKS BETWEEN 1 JUNE 1956 AND 1985 (affected route designations in parantheses)
- 1956 June 14: Columbus Av. (between Egleston & Lenox St.) (43)
- 1958 Sept. 4: All lines leaving Harvard Sq. (to North Cambridge, Waverley, Watertown Sq.) (71, 73, 82)
- 1961 Nov. 17: Columbus Av. (between lenox St. & Subway) (43)
- 1962 Apr. 5: Pleasant Street - Boylston (Shuttle)
- 1969 June 20: Watertown - Subway (69)
- 1985 Dec. 27: Arborway Stn. - Subway (39)
ROUTES
Operator: Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA)
STREETCAR ROUTES
28 | Ashmont - Mattapan |
39 | Park St. Station - Tremont Street subway - Boylston St. subway - Huntington Av. - South St. - Arborway Station |
43 | North Station - Tremont Street subway - Columbus Av. – Egleston |
57 | North Station - Tremont Street subway - Boylston St. subway - Huntington Av. - Heath St. [On weekdays only] |
61 | Lechmere – North Station - Tremont Street subway - Boylston St. subway - Beacon St. - Cleveland Circle |
62 | Lechmere – North Station - Tremont Street subway - Boylston St. subway - Commonwealth Av. - Boston College |
69 | Park St. Station - Tremont Street subway - Boylston St. subway - Commonwealth Av. - Washington St. - Watertown Sq. |
71 | Harvard Stn. - Mt. Auburn St. - Watertown Sq. |
73 | Harvard Stn. - Mt. Auburn St. - Belmont St. - Waverley |
82 | Harvard Stn. - Massachusetts Av. - North Cambridge |
SUBWAY ROUTES
1 | Harvard Station - Kendall - Park St. Station - South Stn. - Columbia - Ashmont |
2 | Everett - Sullivan Sq. - North Station - Dover - Egleston - Forest Hills |
3 | Bowdoin - Atlantic Av. - Airport Stn. (Logan Int. Airport) - Wonderland |
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM
NETWORK LENGTH
- Streetcar lines: ? km.
- Subway lines: ? km.
HISTORY
- Streetcars: (horse-powered) 26 March 1856 - ca. 1900; (electric) 1 Jan. 1889 - today.
- Subway: 1 Sept. 1897 - today.
- Interurbans: 1892 - 1 May 1948
GAUGE
- Streetcars / Interurbans: 1435 mm.
- Subway: 1435 mm.
TRAM PRESERVATION
The Seashore Trolley Museum, in Kennebunkport (Maine), just NE of Boston, owns and operates historic Boston-area streetcars and subway vehicles, as well as many other vintage public transportation vehicles from around the world.
SOURCES
- "Boston Green line reaches Somerville" Tramways & Urban Transit, May 2022 (85: 1013), p.164.
- Buckley, R. "No tea party in Boston" Tramways & Urban Transit, Dec. 2012 (75: 900), p.459-461.
- Clarke, B.H. Streetcar Lines of the Hub, the 1940s Heyday of Electric Transit in Boston. Boston: Boston Street Railway Association, 2003.
- Demery, L.W. "US transit funding - Part 6: Elsewhere in the USA (East Coast) [Boston]" Modern Tramway & Light Rail Transit, July 1990 (53: 631), p. 219-222.
- Kyper, F. "Tramways in Boston today - Part 1" Modern Tramway & Light Railway Review, Jan. 1968 (31: 361), p.11-16.
- Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). System Route Map. 1956.
- Pence, H. "Blizzard buries Boston" Tramways & Urban Transit, June 2015 (78: 930), p.226-230.
- Simons, V. "Branching out in Boston", Tramways & Urban Transit, July 2022 (85: 1015), p.254-260.
- Simons, V. "Systems Factfile No.99: Boston, USA", Tramways & Urban Transit, Dec. 2015 (78: 936), p.488-492.
- Taplin, M.R. Tramways of North America, including rapid transit [Tramway Handbooks No.4] Hassocks (West Sussex, England): Light Rail Transit Association, 1981.
WIKIS
- Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line
- Blue Line (MBTA)
- Boston-area streetcar lines
- Boston Elevated Railway
- Boston Street Railway Association
- Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway
- Green Line (MBTA)
- History of the MBTA
- Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
- Orange Line (MBTA)
- Red Line (MBTA)
WEB SITES
- Boston (on UrbanRail.Net)
- Boston Street Railway Association
- Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)
Also, thanks to Jean Liou in France and Russell Powers from Denver CO for information on the history of the Boston system.
Copyright Gabor Sandi 1998-2024
Disclaimer: Everything on this site was written and/or prepared at the author's discretion. The author has tried to be accurate where facts are presented, but this does not mean that these facts are necessarily accurate. People needing more reliable information should refer to appropriate sources presented, on the Internet or elsewhere, by authoritative professional or academic bodies.
To get in touch with the webmaster, send an e-mail to g_sandi at hotmail.com.
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