View source for Trolleybuses in Greater Boston

{{Short description|Electric powered public transportation}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2013}}
{{Infobox trolleybus system
| color                         =
| name                          = Boston-area trolleybus system
| system                        =
| logo                          =
| image                         = MBTA 71 trolleybus leaves Harvard.jpg
| caption                       = A trolleybus on route 71 leaving the Harvard bus tunnel in 2006
<!-- Operation -->
| locale                        = [[Greater Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], United States
| open = {{start date|1936|4|11|mf=yes}}
| close = {{end date|2023|6|30}}{{efn|name=last day|The last vehicle in service operating as a trolleybus made its final trip in the first hour of July 1, at the end of the June 30 service day.<ref name="tm371" />}}
| operator                 = 1936–47: [[Boston Elevated Railway]];<br> 1947–64: Metropolitan Transit Authority;<br>1964–2023: [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]] (MBTA)
| el                       = {{600 V DC|conductor=parallel overhead}}
| depot                    =
| stock                    =
| map                      = 
| website                  = 
}}

The Boston-area [[trolleybus]] (or, as known locally, trackless trolley) system formed part of the [[public transport]]ation network serving [[Greater Boston]] in the [[U.S. state]] of [[Massachusetts]]. It opened on April&nbsp;11, 1936,<ref name="murray">{{cite book|last=Murray|first=Alan|title=World Trolleybus Encyclopaedia|year=2000|page =79|publisher=Trolleybooks|location=Yateley, Hampshire, UK|isbn=0-904235-18-1}}</ref><ref name="TrolleyCoachNA">{{cite book | last1=Sebree | first1=Mac | last2=Ward | first2=Paul |author-link=Mac Sebree | title=The Trolley Coach in North America | year=1974 | pages =32–39 | publisher=[[Interurban Press|Interurbans]] | location=Los Angeles |lccn=74020367}}</ref> with a large network operating for the next quarter-century. Measured by fleet size, the Boston-area system was the second-largest trolleybus system in the United States at its peak (end of 1952), with only the [[Chicago]] system having more trolleybuses than Boston's 463 (with the [[Trolleybuses in Atlanta|Atlanta system]] being close behind Boston, with 453).<ref name="murray"/><ref name="mca-atlanta-1">Carson, O.E. Gene (January–March 1997). "Atlanta [Part 1]". ''[[Motor Coach Age]]'', pp. 3–29. {{issn|0739-117X}}</ref> After 1963, the only remaining portion was a four-route cluster operating from the Harvard bus tunnel at [[Harvard station]], running through Cambridge, [[Belmont, Massachusetts|Belmont]], and [[Watertown, Massachusetts|Watertown]]. The [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]] took over the routes in 1964. 

The system was expanded by the [[Silver Line (MBTA)#Waterfront: SL1, SL2, SL3|Silver Line (Waterfront)]], a 2004-opened [[bus rapid transit]] network using [[dual-mode bus]]es which ran as trolleybuses in a tunnel in the [[Seaport District]] of [[Boston]] before switching to diesel power to serve other destinations. The Harvard lines were converted to diesel hybrid buses in 2022, followed by the Silver Line in 2023.

==History==
[[File:MBTA North Cambridge Yard in 1967.jpg|thumb|right|[[Pullman-Standard]] trolleybuses at [[North Cambridge Carhouse]] in 1967]]
[[File:Boston-Area Trackless Trolleys 1960.svg|thumb|320px|right|Map showing the Greater Boston trolleybus network as of 1960 in black and dark red; lines in dark red survived until 2013. Segments abandoned before 1960 shown in yellow and subway lines as of 1960 shown in their modern colors.]]
The first trackless trolley line in the Boston transit system was opened by the [[Boston Elevated Railway]] (BERy) on April&nbsp;11, 1936.  Replacing a streetcar line over the same route, it was a crosstown line (later numbered 77, and today served by the {{MBTABus|69}} bus) running from [[Harvard (MBTA station)|Harvard station]] east to [[Lechmere (MBTA station)|Lechmere station]]. (Substitution of buses for streetcars on the route had been proposed as early as 1930.)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52224850/the-boston-globe/ |title=Council Can't Raise Salaries |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=February 26, 1930 |page=11 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> Additional lines were opened in 1937, and by 1942, the system had 14 lines, of which 10 were former streetcar lines and four were former [[motor bus]] lines.<ref name="TrolleyCoachNA"/>  In 1947, the BERy was succeeded by the public Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) as the operator of Boston's urban transit system,<ref name="TrolleyCoachNA"/> and in 1964, the MTA was replaced by the [[Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority]] (MBTA), which remains the system's operator today.<ref name=busworld-fall88>{{cite news|last1=Wolinksy|first1=Julian|title=Trackless But Loved in Boston|work=Bus World|publisher=Stauss Publications|date=Fall 1988|location=Woodland Hills, California|pages=6–10|issn=0162-9689}}</ref>

The BERy was owned by private investors, but came under public control from 1918.  It served 13 municipalities of [[Greater Boston]], including [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] proper.  The MTA's service area was limited to these municipalities (with the addition of [[Revere, Massachusetts|Revere]]).  Following a change of management, the MTA began replacing trolleybuses with motorbuses, starting in 1958.  Only four trolleybus lines remained after 1963, all based in Cambridge.  Four decades later, the MTA's successor, the MBTA, built the [[Silver Line (MBTA)#Waterfront: SL1, SL2, SL3|Silver Line (Waterfront)]], and that line's opening in late 2004 reintroduced trolleybus service in Boston proper.

At the trolleybus system's peak, the maximum number of trolleybus routes in operation was 37, with most routes running in the near north suburbs of Boston.  In addition, there were the disconnected Dorchester and Arborway networks.

Prior to the opening of the Silver Line, a total of 43 trolleybus lines had historically existed, but not all concurrently,<ref name=busworld-fall88/> making the all-time total 44 (counting the Silver Line trunk as one route) {{asof|2022|lc=y}}.
===Table of former trolleybus routes===
{|class="wikitable sortable"
!Number<ref name=1952map>{{cite web|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1952_M.T.A._Boston_map.png|title=System Route Map|publisher=Boston Metropolitan Transit Authority|date=1952|access-date=December 1, 2022}}</ref><ref name=1956map>{{cite web|url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1956_M.T.A._Boston_map.png|title=System Route Map|publisher=Boston Metropolitan Transit Authority|date=1956|access-date=December 1, 2022}}</ref>
!colspan=2 |Termini<ref name=1952map/><ref name=1956map/>
!Major streets served<ref name=1952map/><ref name=1956map/><ref name=mbtabusdev/>
!Date begun<ref name=mbtabusdev>{{cite web|first=Thomas|last=Humphrey|url=http://roster.transithistory.org/MBTABUSDEV.pdf|title=Origin and Development of the Fixed-Route Local Bus Transportation Network in the Cities and Towns of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority District|access-date=December 1, 2022}}</ref>
!Date ended<ref name=mbtabusdev/><ref name=netransit />
|-
|{{MBTABus|15}}
|Kane Square
|[[Nubian station|Dudley station]]
|Hancock St, Dudley St
|{{Date table sorting|1948-12-25}}
|{{Date table sorting|1962-04-05}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|16}}
|[[Franklin Park, Boston|Franklin Park]]
|[[Andrew station]]
|Columbia Rd
|{{Date table sorting|1949-12-10}}
|{{Date table sorting|1962-04-05}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|17}}
|[[Fields Corner station]]
|[[Andrew station]]
|Geneva Ave, Bowdoin St, Hancock St, Columbia Rd
|{{Date table sorting|1949-02-12}}
|{{Date table sorting|1962-04-05}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|19}}
|[[Fields Corner station]]
|[[Nubian station|Dudley station]]
|Geneva Ave, Warren St
|{{Date table sorting|1949-01-08}}
|{{Date table sorting|1962-04-05}}
|-
|20
|[[Fields Corner station]]
|[[Neponset, Boston|Neponset]]
|Neponset Ave
|{{Date table sorting|1949-01-08}}
|{{Date table sorting|1962-04-05}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|22}}
|[[Ashmont station]]
|[[Nubian station|Dudley station]]
|Talbot Ave, Blue Hill Ave, Warren St
|{{Date table sorting|1949-01-08}}
|{{Date table sorting|1962-04-05}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|23}}
|[[Ashmont station]]
|[[Nubian station|Dudley station]]
|Talbot Ave, Washington St (Dorchester), Warren St
|{{Date table sorting|1949-01-08}}
|{{Date table sorting|1962-04-05}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|32}}
|Cleary Square
|[[Forest Hills station (MBTA)|Forest Hills station]]
|Hyde Park Ave
|{{Date table sorting|1953-04-25}}
|{{Date table sorting|1958-09-30}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|34}}
|[[Dedham, Massachusetts|Dedham]] line
|[[Forest Hills station (MBTA)|Forest Hills station]]
|Washington St
|{{Date table sorting|1952-11-22}}
|{{Date table sorting|1958-09-05}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|36}}
|Charles River Loop, [[West Roxbury]]
|[[Forest Hills station (MBTA)|Forest Hills station]]
|Spring St, Centre St, Belgrade Ave, Washington St
|{{Date table sorting|1952-11-22}}
|{{Date table sorting|1958-09-05}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|44}}
|Seaver St
|[[Nubian station|Dudley station]]
|Humboldt Ave
|{{Date table sorting|1949-01-29}}
|{{Date table sorting|1961-03-31}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|45}}
|Grove Hall
|[[Nubian station|Dudley station]]
|Blue Hill Ave, Dudley St
|{{Date table sorting|1948-12-25}}
|{{Date table sorting|1962-04-05}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|70}}
|[[Watertown Square station|Watertown Square]]
|[[Central Square, Cambridge]]
|Arsenal St, Western Ave
|{{Date table sorting|1950-06-17}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|71}}
|[[Watertown Square station|Watertown Square]]
|[[Harvard station]]
|Mount Auburn St
|{{Date table sorting|1958-09-06}}
|{{Date table sorting|2022-03-12}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|72}}
|Aberdeen Ave & Mount Auburn St
|[[Harvard station]]
|Aberdeen Ave, Huron Ave, Concord Ave
|{{Date table sorting|1938-04-02}}
|{{Date table sorting|March 2013}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|73}}
|[[Waverley station (MBTA)|Waverley station]]
|[[Harvard station]]
|Trapelo Rd, Belmont St, Mount Auburn St
|{{Date table sorting|1958-09-06}}
|{{Date table sorting|2022-03-12}}
|-
|76
|[[Harvard station]]
|[[Hynes Convention Center station|Massachusetts station]]
|Massachusetts Ave
|{{Date table sorting|1950-04-22}}
|{{Date table sorting|1961-03-31}}
|-
|77
|[[Harvard station]]
|[[Lechmere station]]
|Cambridge St (Cambridge)
|{{Date table sorting|1936-04-11}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|80}}
|[[Arlington, Massachusetts|Arlington]] Center
|[[Lechmere station]]
|Medford St (Arlington), Boston Ave, College Ave, Broadway (Somerville), Medford St (Somerville), McGrath Highway
|{{Date table sorting|1958-09-30}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|81
|[[Arlington, Massachusetts|Arlington]] Center
|[[Clarendon Hill]]
|Broadway (Arlington)
|{{Date table sorting|1953-09-12}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|82/{{MBTABus|77A}}
|[[North Cambridge carhouse]]
|[[Harvard station]]
|Massachusetts Ave
|{{Date table sorting|1958-09-06}}
|{{Date table sorting|2022-03-12}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|87}}
|[[Clarendon Hill]]
|[[Lechmere station]]
|Somerville Ave, McGrath Highway
|{{Date table sorting|1941-11-08}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|88}}
|[[Clarendon Hill]]
|[[Lechmere station]]
|Highland Ave, McGrath Highway
|{{Date table sorting|1941-11-08}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|89}}
|[[Arlington, Massachusetts|Arlington]] Center
|[[Sullivan Square station#Elevated station|Sullivan Square station]]
|Broadway (Arlington/Somerville)
|{{Date table sorting|1946-12-07}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|90}}
|[[Davis Square]]
|[[Sullivan Square station#Elevated station|Sullivan Square station]]
|Highland Ave, Cross St (Somerville), Broadway (Somerville)
|{{Date table sorting|1947-09-13}}
|{{Date table sorting|1956-12-14}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|101}}
|Salem St & Fellsway, [[Medford, Massachusetts|Medford]]
|[[Sullivan Square station#Elevated station|Sullivan Square station]]
|Salem St, Main St (Medford), Broadway (Somerville)
|{{Date table sorting|1947-04-19}}
|{{Date table sorting|1959-03-15}}
|-
|102
|Faulkner, Malden
|[[Malden, Massachusetts|Malden Square]]
|Cross St (Malden), Main St (Malden)
|{{Date table sorting|1939-06-17}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|103
|[[Malden, Massachusetts|Malden Square]]
|[[Everett station (MBTA)|Everett station]]
|Main St (Malden)
|{{Date table sorting|1937-09-11}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|104}}
|[[Malden, Massachusetts|Malden Square]]
|[[Everett station (MBTA)|Everett station]]
|Ferry St, Broadway (Everett)
|{{Date table sorting|1938-12-31}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|105}}
|Faulkner, Malden
|[[Everett station (MBTA)|Everett station]]
|Cross St (Malden), Main St (Malden)
|{{Date table sorting|1937-09-11}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|106}}
|Lebanon, Malden
|[[Everett station (MBTA)|Everett station]]
|Lebanon St, Salem St, Main St (Malden)
|{{Date table sorting|1938-12-31}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|109}}
|Linden, Malden
|[[Everett station (MBTA)|Everett station]]
|Eastern Ave, Broadway (Everett)
|{{Date table sorting|1936-11-28}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|110}}
|Broadway & Park Ave, [[Revere, Massachusetts|Revere]]<br>(Woodlawn before September 7, 1940)
|[[Everett station (MBTA)|Everett station]]
|Park Ave, Elm St, Ferry St, Chelsea St (Everett), Broadway (Everett)
|{{Date table sorting|1937-06-19}}
|{{Date table sorting|1963-03-30}}
|-
|112
|[[Malden, Massachusetts|Malden Square]]
|[[Chelsea, Massachusetts|Chelsea Square]]
|Ferry St, Broadway (Everett), Chelsea St (Everett), Everett Ave
|{{Date table sorting|1937-12-11}}
|{{Date table sorting|1961-06-23}}
|-
|113
|[[Malden, Massachusetts|Malden Square]]
|[[Chelsea, Massachusetts|Chelsea Square]]
|Ferry St, Chelsea St (Everett), Everett Ave
|{{Date table sorting|1937-12-11}}
|{{Date table sorting|1961-06-23}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|114}}
|Woodlawn
|[[Maverick station]]
|Washington Ave, Pearl St (Chelsea), Meridian St
|{{Date table sorting|1954}}
|{{Date table sorting|1961-03-31}}
|-
|115
|Woodlawn
|[[Wood Island station]]
|Central Ave (Chelsea, Chelsea St (East Boston)
|{{Date table sorting|1952-01-05}}
|{{Date table sorting|1954}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|116}}
|[[Wonderland station]]
|[[Wood Island station]]
|Ocean Ave, Revere St, Broadway (Revere), Central Ave (Chelsea), Chelsea St (East Boston)
|{{Date table sorting|1952-01-05}}
|{{Date table sorting|1961-03-31}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|117}}
|[[Wonderland station]]
|[[Wood Island station]]
|Ocean Ave, Beach St, Broadway (Revere), Central Ave (Chelsea), Chelsea St (East Boston)
|{{Date table sorting|1952-01-05}}
|{{Date table sorting|1961-03-31}}
|-
|118
|Revere carhouse
|[[Orient Heights station]]
|Broadway (Revere), Revere St, Ocean Ave, Bennington St
|{{Date table sorting|1952-01-05}}
|{{Date table sorting|1955-06-18}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|120}}
|[[Orient Heights station]]
|[[Maverick station]]
|Bennington St, Meridian St
|{{Date table sorting|1952-01-05}}
|{{Date table sorting|1961-09-08}}
|-
|{{MBTABus|121}}
|[[Wood Island station]]
|[[Maverick station]]
|Lexington St, Meridian St
|{{Date table sorting|1952-01-05}}
|{{Date table sorting|1961-09-08}}
|}

==Harvard-based routes==
===History===
[[File:HarvardSquareTrolleyTunnel.agr.jpg|thumb|A [[Flyer Industries|Flyer]] trolleybus in the upper level of the Harvard bus tunnel in 2003]]
What became the Harvard-based trolleybus system began as branches of the [[Cambridge Railroad]], a [[horsecar]] [[street railway]] that opened in 1856. Lines from Harvard Square to Mount Auburn via Brattle Street and Porter Square opened soon after the Harvard Square–Bowdoin Square route.<ref name=row /><ref name=barns>{{cite web |url=https://www.cambridgema.gov/~/media/Files/historicalcommission/pdf/markers_NC_streetcarbarns.pdf?la=en |title=Streetcar Barns |publisher=Cambridge Historical Commission |date=2000}}</ref> The connecting Watertown Horse Railroad opened on April 27, 1857.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/52617211/new-england-farmer/ |title=Miscellaneous Items |newspaper=New England Farmer |date=May 2, 1857 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> The Porter Square branch was extended to the border of West Cambridge (now Arlington); there it met the West Cambridge Horse Railroad, which opened on June 13, 1859.<ref name=barns /><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rsNmDcQTqqMC&pg=PA17 |title=Arlington |page=17 |first=Richard A. |last=Duffy |publisher=Arcadia |year=1997 |isbn=9780738590431 |via=Google Books}}</ref> In 1880, the Watertown line was extended south on Galen Street to [[Newton Corner, Massachusetts|Nonantum Square]].<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8BdbAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA3-PA96 |title=Eighteenth Annual Report of the City Engineer for the Year Ending December 31, 1898 |chapter=Street Railways |page=96 |year=1899 |publisher=Graphic Press |via=Google Books}}</ref>

The Harvard–Arlington line was electrified on July 1, 1889 – one of the first lines converted by the [[West End Street Railway]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54610902/the-boston-globe/ |title=Increase of $4,500,000 |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=July 26, 1889 |page=8 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> Electric service between Watertown and Mount Auburn began on December 12, 1893; the line was double-tracked later in the decade.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54606875/the-boston-globe/ |title=Joined By Electric Bands |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=December 12, 1893 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54611055/the-boston-globe/ |title=To Widen Mt Auburn Street |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=December 10, 1894 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> Residents of Brattle Street objected to the construction of electric lines; in October 1893, the Board of Railway Commissioners denied the West End permission to run electric streetcars on Brattle Street.<ref name=row>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54611530/the-boston-globe/ |title=Cambridge Row |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=September 15, 1893 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54611582/the-boston-globe/ |title=Cambridge |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=June 22, 1893 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54611140/the-boston-globe/ |title=Objectors Win |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=October 31, 1893 |page=12 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> That November, a compromise was worked out where the West End would instead build on Mount Auburn Street (which had been considered in 1891<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54611228/the-boston-globe/ |title=Electrical Road Extension |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=July 22, 1891 |page=10 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref>); a parallel line on Concord Avenue and Huron Avenue (ending at Aberdeen Avenue and Mount Auburn Street) would be opened within eight months, and the Brattle Street horsecar tracks removed in the same time frame.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54611102/the-boston-globe/ |title=Granted Mt Auburn St |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=November 29, 1893 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> The Mount Auburn line opened in April or May 1894, with the Concord/Huron line opening later in the year.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54611360/the-boston-globe/ |title=All Unruffled |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=March 31, 1894 |page=7 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54610921/the-boston-globe/ |title=Settled the Controversy |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=May 23, 1894 |page=4 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54611423/the-boston-globe/ |title=Squirmed and Twisted |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=May 19, 1894 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref>

A branch from Mount Auburn Street to [[Waverley station (MBTA)|Waverley Square]] in Belmont opened on October 1, 1898, despite Watertown's opposition earlier than year to widening Belmont Street.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54625043/the-boston-globe/ |title=Waverley Celebrates |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=October 2, 1898 |page=17 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/54625064/the-boston-globe/ |title=Watertown Indignant |newspaper=Boston Globe |date=June 20, 1898 |page=3 |via=Newspapers.com}} {{open access}}</ref> A branch to Belmont Center opened on June 30, 1906; it was replaced by buses in August 1928 and was never a trackless trolley route.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://cambridge.dlconsulting.com/?a=d&d=Chronicle19060630-01.2.126 |title=Belmont Electrics |newspaper=Cambridge Chronicle |date=June 30, 1906 |page=14 |via=Cambridge Public Library}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://cambridge.dlconsulting.com/?a=d&d=Tribune19280825-01.2.28 |title=Belmont Bus Service to be Continued |newspaper=Cambridge Chronicle |date=August 25, 1928 |page=2 |via=Cambridge Public Library}} {{open access}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://cambridge.dlconsulting.com/?a=d&d=Chronicle19280810-01.2.54 |title=Buses Take Place of Belmont Car Line |newspaper=Cambridge Chronicle |date=August 10, 1928 |page=7 |via=Cambridge Public Library}}</ref>

On April 1, 1938, trackless trolleys replaced streetcars on the Harvard–Aberdeen Avenue line (72). In 1955 the Harvard–Arlington Heights line was converted from streetcars to diesel buses, but streetcars continued to provide short-turn service between Harvard and North Cambridge.<ref name=mbtabusdev/> Starting in 1957, trackless trolleys provided short-turn service from Harvard to Benton Square on the route to Waverley.<ref name="clarke1970"/> The Harvard–Watertown Square (71), Harvard–Waverley (73), and Harvard–North Cambridge (82, renumbered 77A c. 1967<ref name=netransit/>) lines were all converted from streetcars to trackless trolleys on September 6, 1958.<ref name=mbtabusdev/>{{Rp|220}}

These four Harvard-based trackless trolley routes remained long after the rest of the bus system had converted to diesel and existed, in part, because of a desire to limit the number of diesel buses in the [[Harvard bus tunnel]]. Inside the portals, the tunnel splits into two one-way tunnels, upper and lower.  The tunnel for eastbound-northbound vehicles is placed on top of the tunnel for southbound-westbound vehicles.<ref name="tm160">Priestley, John (July–August 1988). "North American Safari: Part 3". ''Trolleybus Magazine'', pp. 83–88. National Trolleybus Association (UK). {{ISSN|0266-7452}}.</ref>  The tunnels first opened for streetcars in 1912, and trolleybuses began using them in 1938.<ref name=busworld-fall88/>  Streetcar service using the tunnel was abandoned in 1958.  In a six-year project lasting from 1979 to 1985 (coinciding with the reconstruction of [[Harvard station]] during the Northwest Extension of the [[MBTA Red Line]]), the tunnel was closed for an extensive rebuilding, which included new platforms and a new northern portal ramp.<ref name=busworld-fall88/>  (The preservation of these lines has also been attributed to the [[environmentalist movement]] of the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rafter|first=David O.|date=1995-03-31|title=The Electric Trolley Bus: A Neglected Mode in U.S. Transit Planning|journal=Journal of the American Planning Association|volume=61|issue=1|pages=57–64|doi=10.1080/01944369508975619|issn=0194-4363}}</ref>)

In January 2005 most route 77A (Harvard–North Cambridge) service was eliminated; the only remaining trips were pull-ins and pull-outs to take 71 and 73 buses to or from the carhouse.<ref name=netransit>{{NETransit}}</ref> In March 2013, route 72 trackless trolleys were replaced with diesel buses to permit roadwork on Huron Avenue and reconstruction of the [[Conductor's Building]] in Bennett Alley.<ref name=netransit /> It was planned that route 72 would return to electric operation when construction was complete, but service was reduced to peak-only in December 2019 (in conjunction with improvements to routes 74 and 75 which also run on Concord Avenue),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.mbta.com/projects/better-bus-project/72 |title=Changes to Bus Route 72 |date=December 2, 2019 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref> and all route 72 service was suspended indefinitely in December 2020.<ref name="tm355"/><ref name="MBTA alerts 2020 Dec">{{cite web |title=Alerts – bus |url=https://www.mbta.com/alerts/bus |publisher=MBTA |access-date=2021-12-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221090958/https://www.mbta.com/alerts/bus |archive-date=December 21, 2020}}</ref>

In 2021 the MBTA announced plans to renovate the [[North Cambridge Carhouse]] facility by 2023 to accommodate [[Battery electric bus|battery electric buses]], eliminating trolleybus operations on all Harvard-based routes.<ref name=2023_BEB>{{cite web |title=T lays out bus electrification plan |date=April 27, 2021 |url=https://commonwealthmagazine.org/transportation/t-lays-out-bus-electrification-plan/ |publisher=CommonWealth Magazine |accessdate=2021-08-26}}</ref><ref name=MBTA_2023_BEB>{{cite web |title=Bus Electrification |url=https://www.mbta.com/projects/bus-electrification |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority |accessdate=2021-08-26}}</ref> This included shifting the North Cambridge routes to another, unelectrified garage in 2022 to permit rebuilding of North Cambridge to begin unimpeded by active operations.<ref name="tm357">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=May–June 2021 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=57 |issue=357 |publisher=|location= |page=118|issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref>  Trolleybus service on the last two surviving routes, 71 and 73, ended on March 12, 2022.<ref name="Seay 2022">{{cite web | last=Seay | first=Bob | title=Cambridge trackless trolleys to retire this weekend as the technology nears extinction | website=News | date=March 11, 2022 | url=https://www.wgbh.org/news/local-news/2022/03/11/cambridge-trackless-trolleys-to-retire-this-weekend-as-the-technology-nears-extinction | access-date=March 13, 2022}}</ref><ref name="Barnacle 2022">{{cite web | last=Barnacle | first=Sarah | title=MBTA Trolley Buses Take Their Last Ride This Weekend | website=WBZ NewsRadio 1030 | date=March 11, 2022 | url=https://wbznewsradio.iheart.com/content/2022-03-11-mbta-trolley-buses-take-their-last-ride-this-weekend/ | access-date=March 13, 2022}}</ref> Multiple utility and road-rebuilding projects beginning in early 2022 led MBTA to decide to substitute diesel hybrid buses for trolleybuses at that time.<ref name="mbta news 2022-1-27">{{cite press release |url=https://www.mbta.com/news/2022-01-27/beginning-march-2022-mbta-routes-71-and-73-trolley-buses-be-replaced-diesel-hybrid |title=Beginning March 2022, MBTA Routes 71 and 73 Trolley Buses To Be Replaced with Diesel-Hybrid Buses due to Roadway Projects on Mt. Auburn Street, Belmont Street, and Huron Avenue in Cambridge and Watertown |date=January 27, 2022 |publisher=Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority}}</ref>

===Vehicles===
[[File:MBTA Flyer E800 4029.jpg|thumb|1976 [[Flyer Industries|Flyer]] E800 trolleybus at [[Cambridge Common]], followed by the newer Neoplan AN-440LF trolleybus]]
In the lower/westbound tunnel, the loading platforms are located on the left side of the roadway, and for this reason the trolleybuses serving this station were equipped with left-side doors, in addition to the normal righthand doors, to avoid the need to board passengers from doors facing the wall rather than the platform. Diesel buses serving the tunnel are not equipped with left-side doors, and passengers boarding or deboarding at the westbound stop must cross the roadway to reach the buses' doors.<ref name="tm160"/>  In 2004, the MBTA began receiving a fleet of new trolleybuses from [[Neoplan USA]], to replace [[Flyer E800]] trolleybuses dating from 1976. The newer vehicles were [[low-floor]] vehicles and met [[Americans with Disabilities Act]] standards (see [[MBTA accessibility]]).

===Operations===
The vehicles for Harvard-based routes were all stored overnight and maintained at the [[North Cambridge Carhouse]], the northern terminus of the 77A route. Trackless trolleys did not run on Sundays; instead, diesel buses covered the routes.<ref name=clarke1970/>{{rp|18}} This was the case since 1963.<ref name="tm267"/>

To expedite passenger boarding through a left-side door in the southbound Harvard bus tunnel, the 71 and 73 trackless trolley routes allowed free entry for outbound trips, [[Exit fare|collecting fare upon later passenger exit]] from the vehicle.

==Silver Line==
{{main|Silver Line (MBTA)|}}
[[File:Dual-mode bus in electric mode at top of Silver Line Waterfront tunnel ramp in Boston (2007).jpg|thumb|right|Dual-mode bus in electric mode at the top of the Silver Line tunnel ramp]]
[[File:Outbound bus at Silver Line Way stop, January 2012.jpg|thumb|right|A Silver Line dual-mode bus changes from electric to diesel mode at Silver Line Way]]
The [[Silver Line (MBTA)|Silver Line]] is split into two sections; the diesel-powered Washington Street section runs entirely on the surface, but the Waterfront section runs through a dedicated tunnel under the [[South Boston Waterfront]], in which diesel emissions would be problematic. Several routes branch out from the tunnel along routings where installation of overhead trolley wire would have been impractical, especially through the [[Ted Williams Tunnel]] (as overhead wires are expressly prohibited on [[Interstate Highway System|interstate highways]]{{cn|date=May 2015}}), so the Waterfront section uses [[dual-mode bus]]es. The vehicles ran as trolleybuses within the {{convert|1.3|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}} tunnel and for about {{convert|900|ft|m}} on the surface, then changed to diesel power at the end of [[Silver Line Way (MBTA station)|Silver Line Way]], and reversed the transition when inbound.<ref name="tm260">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=March–April 2005 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=41 |issue=260 |publisher=National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |pages=46–47|issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> [[Motor bus]]es are not permitted to operate inside the South Boston Waterfront tunnel due to insufficient ventilation. Four routes ran in the electrified Silver Line tunnel: SL1 to Logan Airport, SL2 to Design Center, SL3 to Chelsea, and a shuttle route which [[short turn]]s at Silver Line Way.

Until February 2006, the Silver Line also used 12 of the then-new [[rigid bus|conventional-length]] Neoplan trackless trolleys until the entire [[articulated bus|articulated]], dual-mode fleet could be placed into service; they were temporarily "wrapped" in the Silver Line's silver paint scheme, covering the standard MBTA yellow-and-white.<ref name="tm260"/<ref name="tm267">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=May–June 2006 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=42 |issue=267 |publisher=National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |pages=67, 70–71 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> Only three of the 32 dual-mode buses on order had been accepted for service by the time the Silver Line opened,<ref name="tm261">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews |date=May–June 2005 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=41 |issue=261 |publisher=|location= |pages=70–71 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> but the number had increased to 28 by February 2006.<ref name="tm267"/> In fall 2005 (five vehicles)<ref name="tm266">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews |date=March–April 2006 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=42 |issue=266 |publisher= |location= |page=44 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> and the first half of 2006, the 12 Neoplan trackless trolleys were transferred to the Harvard-based routes to replace the then-remaining Flyer trolleybuses operating out of [[North Cambridge Carhouse]].<ref name="tm269">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=September–October 2006 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=42 |issue=269 |publisher=National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |pages=118–119 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref>

Following the testing of a small number of [[battery electric bus|battery buses]] on the line starting in July 2019,<ref name="tm348">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=November–December 2019 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=55 |issue=348 |publisher=National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |page=235 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> MBTA placed an order in November 2020 for 45 articulated "extended-range" diesel hybrid buses to replace the 32 dual-mode buses used on the Silver Line.<ref name="tm355">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=January–February 2021 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=57 |issue=355 |publisher=|location= |pages=37–38 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> Those new hybrid buses began to enter service in January 2023, and over the next several months they gradually replaced the dual-mode buses.<ref name="tm369">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews |date=May–June 2023 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=59 |issue=369 |publisher= National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |page=129 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> The last day of service for any dual-mode buses, and the last day of use of the overhead trolley wires, was June&nbsp;30, 2023 (with the only bus in service on that date making its last trip shortly after [[midnight]], in the first hour of July 1).<ref name="tm371">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=September–October 2023 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=59 |issue=371 |publisher= National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |page=218|issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> This development marked the permanent closure of the Boston trolleybus system and was the first abandonment of a U.S. trolleybus system in more than 50 years—since the closure of the [[Chicago]] system in March 1973.<ref name="tm371" />

==Fleet==
Boston's first trolleybuses were built by [[Pullman-Standard]] in 1936.  Boston Elevated continued to buy its trolleybuses almost exclusively from Pullman, and until 1950 Pullmans comprised the entire fleet with the exception of a small batch of five [[Twin Coach]] trolleybuses purchased in 1937.<ref name="TrolleyCoachNA"/><ref name=clarke1970>{{cite book|last1=Clarke|first1=Bradley H.|title=The Trackless Trolleys of Boston|date=1970|publisher=[[Boston Street Railway Association]]|lccn=74014950}}</ref>  In 1952, Boston had more Pullman-built trolleybuses than any other city, with 438.<ref name=clarke1970/>{{rp|7}}  Meanwhile, 25 [[American Car & Foundry|ACF]]-[[J. G. Brill Company|Brill]] trolleybuses built in 1950 were the only other purchase of non-Pullman trolleybuses until 1976.  With several route closures in 1964, the Twin Coaches and the oldest Pullmans were retired, leaving only Pullmans built in 1947–51 in service.

These were all replaced in 1976–77 by a fleet of 50 [[Flyer Industries|Flyer]] [[Flyer 700/800/900 series|E800s]] (4000–4049),<ref name="tm160"/> the first of which arrived in February 1976 and entered service in April.<ref name="tm89">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=July 1976 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=12 |issue=89 |publisher=National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |page=94 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> The last Pullman-Standard trolleybuses were retired in August 1977.<ref name="tm98">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=January 1978 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=14 |issue=98 |publisher=National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |page=24 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> The Flyers were, in turn, replaced by new trolleybuses over the period 2004–06. Regular use of Flyers ended in June 2006, but a small number remained active and used very sporadically until March 2007.<ref name="tm278">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=March–April 2008 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=44 |issue=278 |publisher=National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |page=47 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> The only subsequent – and the final – use occurred on December 21, 2007, when the last two active Flyers (4006 and 4016) entered service briefly after all-night sleet-cutting duty (scraping ice off of the overhead wires).<ref name="tm278"/>

In its final years the network that served Cambridge and vicinity used a fleet of 28 {{convert|40|ft|m|adj=on}} vehicles. The order for these was placed in December 2000, in a single contract with the vehicles for the Silver Line,<ref name="tm236">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=March–April 2001 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=37 |issue=236 |publisher=National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |page=48|issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> but the first vehicle (4101) was not completed and delivered until 2003.<ref name="tm250">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=July–August 2003 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=39 |issue=250 |publisher=National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |pages=92, 94 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332 |quote= The prototype Neoplan/Škoda two-axle trolleybus, the first new trolleybus for the system for 26 years and the first low-floor trolleybus for any North American system, was delivered on 23rd April.}}</ref> Except for the first unit, these trolleybuses (numbered 4101–4128) were delivered in 2004 and were the first low-floor trolleybuses in North America.<ref name="tm250"/><ref name="box-tm292">Box, Roland (July–August 2010). "More about the 2000s". ''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 292, pp. 78–82. National Trolleybus Association (UK). {{ISSN|0266-7452}}.</ref>  The first day of service for trolleybuses in this series was June&nbsp;4, 2004.<ref name="tm257">''Trolleybus Magazine'' No. 257 (September–October 2004), p. 123.</ref>  

The Silver Line fleet consisted of 32 {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on}} [[low-floor bus|low-floor]], [[articulated bus|articulated]] [[dual-mode bus]]es (numbered 1101–1132). These were built by [[Neoplan USA]] and fitted with [[Škoda Transportation|Škoda]] electrical equipment, and delivered in 2004–2005. Eight of the buses (1125–1132) were funded by Massport and came equipped with luggage racks for airport passengers (and fewer seats than the other buses, 38 instead of 47), for use on route SL1, which serves [[Logan International Airport]].<ref name="tm263">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=September–October 2005 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=41 |issue=263 |publisher=National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |pages=122–123 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref> In January 2011, four more buses (1121–1124) were also equipped with luggage racks in place of some seats.<ref name="tm298">{{cite magazine |title=Trolleynews [regular news section] |date=July–August 2011 |magazine=Trolleybus Magazine |volume=47 |issue=298 |publisher=National Trolleybus Association |location=UK |page=95 |issn=0266-7452 |oclc=62554332}}</ref>
<!--===Preserved trolleybuses===-->

==See also==
* [[List of trolleybus systems in the United States]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Trolleybuses in Greater Boston}}
{{Attached KML}}
*[http://world.nycsubway.org/us/boston/trolleybus.html nycsubway.org – Boston Transit: Trolleybuses]

{{MBTA}}

[[Category:MBTA bus]]
[[Category:Transportation in Cambridge, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Defunct trolleybus systems by city|Boston]]
[[Category:Trolleybus transport in the United States]]
[[Category:1936 establishments in Massachusetts]]