T System in Boston Mass USA

[STEVIEBOY1]

Good morning, I just wondered why the Underground and suburban/commuter network, in and around Boston Mass USA, is called the T?

Thanks Steve.

 

[gnolife]

Good morning, I just wondered why the Underground and suburban/commuter network, in and around Boston Mass USA, is called the T?

Thanks Steve.

I think it's because the logo for MBTA is just a T in a circle

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think it's because the logo for MBTA is just a T in a circle

Anyone got the impression someone from Transport for Wales went on holiday there and said "I want one like that"?

 

[dutchflyer]

No-its the other way around. Its nickname was T (like the real Cockney Londoner talks about the tube) and they took this when the system became in public hands to save it from bankruptcy (as is common in all US transitsystems in its large towns). Its officially MBTA (Mass. Bay Transit Authority). It also has a single remaining TRAM line (Ashmont Mattapan, I believe still with old style renovated PCC, its a feeder into the T) and HAD also trolleybuses (In the famous Cambridge UNI area) which were sneakily withdrawn recently-first as due to road or tunnelwroks, and then it suddenly became permanent with the promise to buy a few dozen more of new-style electric buses to compensate for the environmental damages.
What the real origin of the nickname is we need to wait for a knowledgeable forumuser from Mass (or else) USA.
Comparable to the people from Chicago (known for their oversupply of polish sausages also, I believe) who call their metro (mostly a skytrain in the air) El (for Elevated).

 

[Taunton]

It came in the 1960s. One of the directors liked the equivalent logo that the Stockholm Tunnelbana T-Bana already had (it's the same, T in a circle) and adopted it, also taking a cue from the Chicago Elevated, known in the city there as the "L" (note, not the "El" there). It was done at the same time that the four Boston rapid transit lines were rebranded from their end terminal names to four key colours, with the trains for each line painted the relevant colour.

Both were notably accepted by the public. And both Boston and Stockholm still have the same logo.

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Ok, thanks for that.

 

[Taunton]

It also has a single remaining TRAM line (Ashmont Mattapan, I believe still with old style renovated PCC, its a feeder into the T)

The Mattapan Trolley is the only tram line retaining PCC cars, although run on private track - the mainstream Green Line, also run with modern articulated tram vehicles, has quite extensive street running at points on its four outer branches, which feed into the central tunnel section.

 

[gnolife]

The Mattapan Trolley is the only tram line retaining PCC cars, although run on private track - the mainstream Green Line, also run with modern articulated tram vehicles, has quite extensive street running at points on its four outer branches, which feed into the central tunnel section.

3 of the 4 IIRC - I didn't think the D branch to Riverside doesn't have street running.

 

[Shinkansenfan]

Cambridge Seven Associates developed the current T lollipop logo, graphic image, branding, system (spider) map and station design standards.

Just as the venerable London tube/underground map has been cluttered with accretions bolted on over the years, alas, so too has the original T map.

Some sources:
https://www.culturenow.org/index.php?page=entry&permalink=12383
https://www.cambridgeseven.com/project/mbta-design-guidelines/



The blue and green square at the bottom left is a directional aid! It would be interesting to see how many T riders know about this.

And here's a look at the logos that could have been selected instead:
https://www.universalhub.com/2018/alterna-t-public-transit-logos-werent

 

[FormerBritInMe]

No-its the other way around. Its nickname was T (like the real Cockney Londoner talks about the tube) and they took this when the system became in public hands to save it from bankruptcy (as is common in all US transitsystems in its large towns). Its officially MBTA (Mass. Bay Transit Authority). It also has a single remaining TRAM line (Ashmont Mattapan, I believe still with old style renovated PCC, its a feeder into the T) and HAD also trolleybuses (In the famous Cambridge UNI area) which were sneakily withdrawn recently-first as due to road or tunnelwroks, and then it suddenly became permanent with the promise to buy a few dozen more of new-style electric buses to compensate for the environmental damages.
What the real origin of the nickname is we need to wait for a knowledgeable forum user from Mass (or else) USA.
Comparable to the people from Chicago (known for their oversupply of polish sausages also, I believe) who call their metro (mostly a skytrain in the air) El (for Elevated).

Just to clarify a few things. The system started out as the Boston Elevated Railway to operate the Tremont Street subway an underground system to relieve congestion in the city and only the third underground railway in the world after London and Budapest. The Boston Elevated then built and operated other lines. While it was a private company, many of the facilities were built with public funds but operated by the BERy. In 1947 with the drop in ridership postwar as people began to drive more, a public organization the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) was formed to buy out the BERy and take over operation. By the 1960s it was felt that more transit was needed in the metro area and the MTA was too limited in scope to deal with it, so a new state agency was formed in 1964 including a larger number of cities and towns in the Boston Metro area. This was the MBTA (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority).

As noted above there are 5 tram lines in the MBTA system. One is the Mattapan - Ashmont line which acts as a feeder to the heavy rail Red Line and still operates with PCC cars from the 1940s which are currently being rebuilt with new traction packages to last another decade or so. The other 4 lines are part of the Green Line which has 4 branches that extend to the West of downtown and either run on private right of way (the Riverside D branch) or on a separate reservation in the centre of the street. The only exception is the outer end of the E Heath St. line which runs in the street with traffic. The Green Line is currently being extended with 2 branches into the Northwestern suburb of Somerville, one of which opened recently. The extension is grade separated and is more of a Light Rail line than a tram line.

The official reason for the suspension of trolleybus operation in Cambridge is the need for road work that requires removal of the overhead wires. Since this overhead infrastructure was life expired replacing it would have required new construction and it was decided that converting to electric buses was more cost effective. Time will tell whether this was a wise decision given that electric buses are still a fairly new technology and one wonders how they will perform in a New England winter. Note that there is still trolleybus operation on the Silver Line that runs from South Station to the Airport using hybrid buses that run on overhead through the tunnel then on IC power to the airport. However that operation is supposed to go to electric buses also.

 

[MarcVD]

The Boston green line branches are lettered B, C, D, E, which leads me to believe that there once was a A. I visited some parts of the system and saw what looked like abandoned tunnels. May be, but not sure anymore because it was a long time ago, near a station named Boylton. Is that it ? Where did it go, and is it part of the current extension ?

 

[67thave]

The Boston green line branches are lettered B, C, D, E, which leads me to believe that there once was a A. I visited some parts of the system and saw what looked like abandoned tunnels. May be, but not sure anymore because it was a long time ago, near a station named Boylton. Is that it ? Where did it go, and is it part of the current extension ?

The A branch was eliminated all the way back in the late 1960s, shortly after the Green Line branches received their current letter designations. It split from the B at Packard's Corner and ran in mixed traffic to Watertown Yard. It was replaced with the 57 bus, which follows the exact same route.

 

[FormerBritInMe]

I visited some parts of the system and saw what looked like abandoned tunnels. May be, but not sure anymore because it was a long time ago, near a station named Boylton. Is that it ? Where did it go, and is it part of the current extension ?

I believe you are referring to the tunnels that branch off at Boylston St. station and head South. In the original 1897 subway design they were for lines to the South and Southeast to access the subway. Two of the lines, to Egleston Sq. via Tremont St. and to City Point in South Boston via Broadway lasted into the 1950s. The Egleston Sq. line was cut back to Lenox St. and lasted until 1962. This was the last line using these tunnels (except for a very short lived shuttle service from Boylston to the tunnel mouth). After this line was converted to buses the tunnels were sealed up and a park was built over the former tunnel mouths. For that reason it is unlikely they would be used again.

The tracks in Boylston station formerly used by the Tremont and Broadway lines are still in place and are currently used for 2 vintage cars on display, Type 5 #5734 on loan from the Seashore Trolley Museum, and PCC Car #3295, a car from the last batch of PCC cars bought for Boston, the "picture window" cars. The latter car is equipped with a pantograph and could be used for fan trips, although I do not believe that has happened since 1997, the 100th anniversary of the subway.

The A branch was eliminated all the way back in the late 1960s, shortly after the Green Line branches received their current letter designations. It split from the B at Packard's Corner and ran in mixed traffic to Watertown Yard. It was replaced with the 57 bus, which follows the exact same route.

67thave is correct. The Watertown "A" line was "temporarily" suspended and converted to bus in 1969 but the tracks were still retained and used to move cars to and from Watertown car house (depot) which was used to do repairs on the PCC cars. Allegedly the suspension was due to a shortage of cars. I don't know if things had turned out better with the Boeing LRV fiasco there might have been enough cars to restore service. As it was the order was truncated and many of the PCC's had to soldier on until around 1984 when the Kinki Sharyo Type 7 cars started to arrive. Generally the MBTA has not favored tram lines running in the streets with auto traffic and has tended to eliminate them where possible. The line was finally abandoned for good in 1996, overhead removed and the connection to the B line at Packard's Corner was severed.

 

[Beebman]

ABC News report of a fire on an Orange Line train yesterday on a bridge over the Mystic River:

NY Times report:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/21/us/boston-subway-fire-evacuation.html

It says that the fire was caused "when a metal strip similar to aluminum siding came loose from a train car and made contact with the third rail". Nobody was injured, however one person leapt into the river but did not require medical attention.

 

[FormerBritInMe]

Unfortunately the MBTA has had a number of incidents lately, the worst being a man who was caught in a door and killed as the train departed at Broadway station on the Red Line. Enough to trigger a Federal Transit Administration investigation which found out among other things that dispatchers were working shifts of up to 20 hours with 4 hours off, a definite safety issue. As a result services have been cut back in order to match the dispatching manpower available. Combined with ongoing issues with the new CRRC cars for the Orange and Red lines, yet another collision on the Green Line, and closures of critical tunnels due to building collapses on the surface (not the T's fault) it has not been a good year for them. Much of this can be laid at the feet of legislators who refuse to fund the system adequately.