Boston-area streetcar lines

Boston-area streetcar lines remaining in 1940 (in green), plotted against a map of the BERy's subway and elevated lines (in purple). The shade of green for each line denotes how long the line lasted after this; the lightest-green lines were abandoned in 1945 or earlier, the second-lightest lines were abandoned from 1946 to 1950, the second-darkest lines were abandoned from 1951 to 1969, and the darkest-green lines still existed in 1969.

As with many large cities, a large number of Boston-area streetcar lines once existed. However, only a few remain, namely the four branches of the Green Line and the Ashmont–Mattapan High-Speed Line, with only one (the Green Line E branch) running regular service on an undivided street.

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was formed on August 3, 1964, taking over operations from the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). The MTA itself was formed in 1947 to take over operations of the private Boston Elevated Railway (BERy), which ran rapid transit, streetcars, and buses in the Boston area.

In 1936, the BERy assigned numbers to its routes for map use, but route numbers were not used on buses until the late 1960s (when the colors were assigned to the remaining rail lines). [1] Additionally, the numbers were only kept the same on and after the 1942 revision of the map; before that they were changed with each new version. A few routes were renumbered around 1967, but most routes have kept their original numbers. Routes were numbered roughly clockwise from South Boston to East Boston.

Timeline of streetcar abandonments

This is a table of when each streetcar line was converted to trackless trolley or bus. Only information post-1940 is complete.

Last day of streetcars	Route	Notes
Still operational	4 Riverside–subway	Renamed Green Line D branch ca. 1967
	28 Mattapan–Ashmont High Speed Line	Number dropped and considered part of Red Line ca. 1967, still runs 1940s-era PCC streetcar.
	57 Heath Street–subway	Renamed Green Line E branch (short-turn) ca. 1967
	61 Cleveland Circle–subway	Renamed Green Line C branch ca. 1967
	62 Boston College–subway	Renamed Green Line B branch ca. 1967
December 27, 1985	39 Arborway–subway	Renamed Green Line E branch ca. 1967, reverted to 39
June 20, 1969	69 Watertown–subway	Renamed Green Line A branch ca. 1967, reverted to 57
October 28, 1963	New configuration of downtown subway between Government Center and Haymarket opens
April 5, 1962	Shuttle Pleasant Street–Boylston	Last service to the Pleasant Street incline
November 17, 1961	43 Lenox Street–subway	Closed June 14, 1956 from Egleston to Lenox Street
July 4, 1959	4 Riverside–subway (Highland branch) opens
September 4, 1958	71 Watertown–Harvard	Trackless trolley until March 13, 2022
	73 Waverly–Harvard	Trackless trolley until March 13, 2022
	82 North Cambridge–Harvard	Renumbered 77A ca. 1967 Trackless trolley until March 13, 2022 (after January 2005 ran only to move trackless trolleys between routes 71/72/73 and North Cambridge carhouse)
June 14, 1956	43 Egleston–subway	Cut back to Lenox Street
December 16, 1955	40 Arborway–Egleston
	100 Elm Street–Sullivan	truncated to Elm Street in 1946 [2]
November 18, 1955	79 Arlington Heights–Harvard	Renumbered 77 ca. 1967
September 9, 1955	29 Mattapan–Egleston
December 4, 1953	10 City Point–Dudley
September 12, 1953	47 Mass station–Dudley	Renumbered 1 ca. 1967
June 19, 1953	7 City Point–South Station via Summer Street
April 24, 1953	30 Mattapan–Roslindale
	30A Mattapan–Arborway	Renumbered 28 ca. 1967
	32 Cleary Square–Arborway	Trackless trolley until September 30, 1958
March 1, 1953	9 City Point–subway	Bus connected to subway shuttle at Pleasant Street incline through December 4, 1953 [3]
November 21, 1952	34 Dedham Line–Arborway	Trackless trolley until September 5, 1958
January 4, 1952	114 Meridian–Maverick	Turned around at the south end of the closed Meridian Street Bridge Trackless trolley until March 30, 1961 (Woodlawn–Maverick, via the Meridian Street Bridge, reopened ca. 1954)
	116 Revere Beach Loop–Maverick via Revere Street	Trackless trolley until September 8, 1961 (Wonderland–Wood Island)
	117 Revere Beach Loop–Maverick via Beach Street	Trackless trolley until September 8, 1961 (Wonderland–Wood Island)
	118 Revere Carhouse–Maverick via Ocean Avenue and Bennington Street	Trackless trolley until June 1955 (Wonderland–Orient Heights)
	120 Gladstone–Maverick	Short-turn of 118 Trackless trolley until September 8, 1961 (Orient Heights-Maverick)
	121 Eagle Carhouse–Maverick via Lexington	Trackless trolley until March 30, 1961 (Wood Island–Maverick)
September 28, 1951	36 Charles River–Arborway	Trackless trolley until September 5, 1958
June 16, 1950	70 Watertown–Central	Trackless trolley until March 30, 1963
June 12, 1950	Meridian Street Bridge closed for construction; 114 cut back to south end of bridge, 116 rerouted via Chelsea Street.
December 9, 1949	16 Franklin Park–Andrew	Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962
September 18, 1949	76 Harvard–Mass station	Streetcars only ran from Harvard Square to MIT from September 12 to 18, after which the Central Square-MIT section was added to the Watertown-Central Square line. Trackless trolley from April 22, 1950 until March 30, 1961.
September 16, 1949	42 Egleston–Dudley
July 1, 1949	93 Sullivan–subway via Bunker Hill Street
June 7, 1949	41 Jamaica Plain–Dudley
April 23, 1949	122 Jefferies Point–Maverick
February 11, 1949	17 Fields Corner–Andrew via Meeting House Hill	Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962
January 28, 1949	44 Seaver–Dudley	Trackless trolley until March 30, 1961
January 7, 1949	19 Fields Corner–Dudley via Geneva Avenue	Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962
	22 Ashmont-Dudley via Talbot Avenue	Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962
	23 Ashmont-Dudley via Washington Street, Dorchester	Trackless trolley until April 6, 1962
December 24, 1948	15 Uphams Corner–Dudley	Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962 (Kane Square–Dudley)
	45 Grove Hall–Dudley via Blue Hill Avenue	Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962
June 18, 1948	20 Fields Corner–Neponset	Trackless trolley until March 30, 1961
April 2, 1948	92 Sullivan–subway via Main Street
April 18, 1947	101 Salem Street–Sullivan via Winter Hill	Trackless trolley until March 13, 1959
April 3, 1947	8 City Point–South Station via Dorchester Avenue	Had been split into two segments since the Dorchester Avenue Bridge closed for reconstruction on December 2, 1946.
December 6, 1946	89 Clarendon Hill–Sullivan	Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
November 7, 1941	87 Clarendon Hill–Lechmere via Somerville Avenue	Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963 Ran into the Subway via Lechmere until July 9, 1922
	88 Clarendon Hill–Lechmere via Highland Avenue	Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963 Ran into the Subway via Lechmere until July 9, 1922
February 16, 1941	Huntington Avenue subway opens, ending 39 and 57 service on eastern Huntington Avenue and Boylston Street, and service through the Boylston Street incline
September 1939	90 Davis Square–Sullivan via Highland Avenue	Trackless trolley until November 14, 1956
December 1938?	106 Lebanon Street–Everett via Salem Street, Malden Square and Main Street	Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
	103 Malden–Everett via Main Street	Was trackless trolley until discontinued April 1962
September 9, 1938	66 Allston–Dudley [4]
	Brookline Village–subway via Huntington Ave [5]	Rush-hour only truncation of 58/60 (?) from 1932 Cut back to Brigham Circle short-turns
April 1, 1938	72 Huron Avenue–Harvard via Concord Avenue	Trackless trolley until March 2013
March 4, 1938	48 Dudley–subway	Replaced by Dudley–Tremont & Dover Streets bus Bus service ended February 1942 [6]
December 1937	104 Malden–Everett via Ferry Street and Broadway	Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
June 1937	110 Woodlawn–Everett Station via Everett Square	Extended to Revere as trackless trolley in September 1940; trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
May 7, 1937	111 Woodlawn–Chelsea Square [7] [8]	Extended to City Square as a bus
January 1937	109 Linden–Everett via Broadway	Section in Malden was bus Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
ca. 1936	112 Malden Square–Chelsea Square via Everett Square	Trackless trolley until June 23, 1961
	113 Malden Square–Chelsea Square via Ferry Street	Trackless trolley until discontinued December 8, 1960, with unnumbered summer trackless trolley extensions to Wonderland 1954-1956.
October 9, 1936	119 Beachmont–Revere City Hall [9]
June 10, 1936	Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Chelsea division (routes 111–119) bought by BERy; some of these had run into the subway until 1935 [10]
April 10, 1936	77 Harvard–Lechmere via Cambridge Street [11]	Renumbered 69 ca. 1967 Trackless trolley until March 30, 1963 (first trackless trolley route) Ran into the Subway via Lechmere until July 9, 1922
August 9, 1935	Last day of Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway service from Chelsea, Revere, Lynn and Salem into Tremont Street subway via Mystic River Bridge
1933	27 Ashmont–Milton?	Replaced with Ashmont–Mattapan bus?
October 23, 1932	Kenmore station opens, with a dual-pronged extension of the Boylston Street subway
July 8, 1932	80 Arlington Center–Sullivan via Medford Hillside [12]	Replaced with Arlington Center–Lechmere bus, later trackless trolley until March 28, 1963 [13] Streetcar line opened August 31, 1901
1932	58 Cypress Street–subway via Brookline Ave or Huntington Ave [14]	Replaced with Cypress Street–Kenmore bus Brookline Village–subway kept rush hours only
	60 Chestnut Hill–subway via Brookline Ave or Huntington Ave [15]	Replaced with Chestnut Hill–Kenmore bus Brookline Village–subway kept rush hours only
1930	Middlesex and Boston Street Railway substitutes buses for its streetcars
1930	Dorchester Avenue [16]
ca. 1930	Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Hyde Park and Chelsea/Everett divisions sold to BERy [17]
December 21, 1929	28 (Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line) opens to Mattapan
August 26, 1929	28 (Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line) opens to Milton
January 18, 1929	11 Broadway?–Bay View [18]
late 1928 or early 1929	26 Dudley–Nelson & Norfolk Streets [19]	Replaced with Ashmont–Morton & Corbett Streets bus
late 1928	25 Andrew–Washington & Fairmount Streets [20]	Replaced with Ashmont–Washington Street & Gallivan Boulevard bus
April 17, 1924	Last day of streetcars through the East Boston Tunnel
July 9, 1922	Last day of lines (77, 87, 88) entering the subway via Lechmere
1920s	21 Fields Corner–Adams Street	Merged with 20 September 1962 Was trackless trolley?
	65 Boston College–Brookline Village [21]
	81 Arlington Center–Clarendon Hill	Later trackless trolley until March 29, 1963 Merged with 89 October 1961 Split off into 81 Arlington Center–Lechmere April 1963 Renumbered as rush-hour extension of 87 ca. 1967.
	Sullivan–Dudley via Subway [22]
	102 Malden–Faulkner via Main Street and Cross Street	Trackless trolley until March 28, 1963
	105 Faulkner–Everett via Cross Street and Main Street	Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
March 15, 1919	Charlestown Elevated opens to Everett, many streetcar lines cut back from Sullivan to Everett
ca. 1919	Harvard Square–Jeffries Point via East Boston Tunnel [23]

MTA streetcar routes as of 1953

A map of the MTA's Boston-area trolley network in 1953, with streetcar lines in red and subway lines in blue.

As of 1953 the Metropolitan Transit Authority operated the following streetcar routes. All lines were connected via trackage to the Tremont Street subway (Green Line), but only the 9, 39, 43, 57, 61, 62 and 69 actually operated in the subway.

7

See 7.

9

See 9.

10

See 10.

28

See Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line.

29

The 29 Mattapan–Egleston via Blue Hill Avenue and Seaver Street ran from Mattapan north on Blue Hill Avenue and Seaver Street (both parts of Route 28) to Egleston. Streetcars last operated on September 9, 1955, and buses began the next day.

In May 1987, the Orange Line was relocated, and the 29 was extended from Egleston to Jackson Square; some off-peak service extends to Ruggles. The route is now the 29 Mattapan–Jackson Square via Blue Hill Avenue and Seaver Street, with extended service as the 29 Mattapan–Ruggles via Blue Hill Avenue, Seaver Street and Jackson Square.

30

The 30 Mattapan–Roslindale via Cummins Highway ran from Mattapan along Cummins Highway to Roslindale Square. Streetcars last operated on April 24, 1953, and buses began the next day.

Since 1995, the MBTA has been extending an increasing number of trips to Forest Hills; now only Sunday trips still end at Roslindale. Forest Hills trips are thus 30 Mattapan–Forest Hills via Roslindale Square and Cummins Highway.

39

See Green Line E branch.

40

The short 40 Arborway–Egleston via Washington Street ran under the Washington Street Elevated between Egleston and Forest Hills, with streetcars last running December 17, 1955 and buses beginning the next day. The route was discontinued in June 1971, and in April 1981 the 42 was extended to cover the former 40 route.

43

The 43 North Station–Egleston via Tremont Street was one of two routes to use the Pleasant Street incline. Before December 5, 1953, when the 9 operated into the same incline, the 43 used the two west tracks. Afterwards, it was realigned to use the two east tracks, allowing for a larger bus transfer area to the west.

The 43 came out of the portal and used Tremont Street and Columbus Avenue to Egleston. The tracks south of the loop at Lenox Street were last used on June 14, 1956, and the next day Route 43 buses started running from Lenox Street south to Egleston. The rest of the surface tracks were last used November 17, 1961, and the bus route was extended to the portal, where a short-lived subway shuttle connected to Boylston. At the same time, the route was extended on the surface to Boylston.

In February 1966, the buses were removed from Boylston Street, but they were extended around the Boston Common in June 1972. In May 1987, the south end was truncated from Egleston to the new Ruggles station, forming the current route 43.

47

The 47 Massachusetts station–Dudley was a short route, beginning at Massachusetts Avenue station (now Hynes Convention Center) and running south along Massachusetts Avenue, southwest one block on Columbus Avenue, southeast on Northampton Street and southwest on Washington Street to Dudley Square. Streetcars last operated September 12, 1953, with buses running the next day.

In September 1962, the route was merged with the 76 Harvard–Massachusetts station to form the 1 Harvard–Dudley via Massachusetts Avenue. The old 47 service has since been slightly rerouted.

57

Short-turn of route 39, see Green Line E branch.

61

See Green Line C branch.

62

See Green Line B branch.

69

See Green Line A branch.

71

See 71.

72

See 72.

73

See 73.

79

The 79 Arlington Heights–Harvard via Massachusetts Avenue ran between Arlington Heights and the Harvard bus tunnel via Massachusetts Avenue. Streetcars last ran November 18, 1955, buses began running the next day, and it was renumbered to the 77 Arlington Heights-Harvard via Massachusetts Avenue in the late 1960s.

82

See 77A.

92

The 92 Sullivan–Scollay Square via Main line ran from Sullivan south on Main Street under the Charlestown Elevated (using Park Street and Warren Street northbound near City Square), then over the Charlestown Bridge, west on Causeway Street, and into the Tremont Street subway via the Causeway Street incline, turning around at the Brattle Loop at Scollay. Streetcars last ran on April 2, 1948, but the tracks were kept until 1962 to access the 100 tracks and Everett Shops.

Bus service on the 92 Sullivan–Haymarket via Main began April 3, 1948, and has changed very little. Aside from a few realignments near City Square in Charlestown, and an extension to Assembly Square Mall in June 1982, the only real change has been the extension of early morning weekday service to Downtown Crossing in December 2002, operating as 92 Assembly Square Mall–Downtown via Main (normal service is 92 Assembly Square Mall–Haymarket via Sullivan and Main).

93

The 93 Sullivan–Scollay Square via Bunker Hill Street line was a variant of the 92, using Bunker Hill Street and Chelsea Street in Charlestown. Streetcars last ran July 1, 1949, and the 93 Sullivan–Haymarket via Bunker Hill Street bus route began operation the next day, using Washington Street between the Charlestown Bridge and Haymarket. Due to the construction of the Tobin Bridge, which opened in 1950, the route in Charlestown was immediately realigned. Not much has changed since then, except in June 2004, when early morning weekday trips were extended to Downtown Crossing as the 93 Sullivan–Downtown via Bunker Hill Street.

100

The 100 Elm Street–Sullivan via Fellsway streetcar line last operated on December 16, 1955, running between Elm Street on Fellsway West in Medford and Sullivan, and was bustituted the next day. When the new Wellington station opened in September 1975, the route was rerouted east on Revere Beach Parkway to terminate there; the 100 now operates as Elm Street–Wellington via Fellsway.

The tracks used to continue north, owned by the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway, and later became the 100A bus.

Track connections to the rest of the system were provided by the otherwise unused streetcar tracks under the Charlestown Elevated from Sullivan south to the Causeway Street incline, once used by the 92.

Eastern Massachusetts routes

These routes were operated by the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway. They were only given numbers on March 30, 1968, when the MBTA took over, and long after buses replaced them. The numbers refer to the later bus routes.

Only two lines were left in 1937.

100A

This streetcar line ran between Stoneham and Sullivan Square, via the tracks of the 100. It ran from the north end of the 100 through the Middlesex Fells on a privateright-of-way west of Fellsway West, and then to Stoneham center. Until around 1940, it continued north to Farm Hill on the Stoneham Branch Railroad.

The line was bustituted in 1946. In 1968 the MBTA took it over as the 430, and from March 1969 to the end of its service in September 1971, it was the 100A Reading-Sullivan via Main Street and Fellsway.

Quincy routes

Two Quincy routes left Fields Corner on Adams Street and Neponset Avenue, running to Quincy center and then splitting. One line continued to Hough's Neck, and the other to Quincy Point and the Fore River Shipyard. The lines were bustituted in 1948.

See also

• Middlesex and Boston Street Railway
• Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway

References

• Carlson et al. (1986), The Colorful Streetcars We Rode, Bulletin 125 of the Central Electric Railfans' Association, Chicago, Il. ISBN 0-915348-25-X
• Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA District 1964-Present (PDF)
• m00209, MBTA Green Line -- unused tunnel at Boylston station, rec.railroad May 5, 1994
• RTSPCC, Boston Trolleys, misc.transport.urban-transit June 4, 1998
• TIMEPOINTS VOL 3 NO 2 August 1951
• Trackless Trolley Routes
• rtspcc, More Boston streetcar questions, ne.transportation May 20, 2005
• Boston Transit Routes, chicagorailfan.com
• Boston Elevated Railway system maps: 1930 1936 1937 1940 1943 1946