Boston-area trackless trolleys - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

There are currently four trolleybus

Trolleybus

A trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...

routes in the Boston, Massachusetts area, all run by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, often referred to as the MBTA or simply The T, is the public operator of most bus, subway, commuter rail and ferry systems in the greater Boston, Massachusetts, area. Officially a "body politic and corporate, and a political subdivision" of the...

(MBTA) in the Harvard Square

Harvard Square

Harvard Square is a large triangular area in the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street, and John F. Kennedy Street. It is the historic center of Cambridge...

area, and all former streetcar lines (the last four not connected to the Tremont Street Subway

Tremont Street Subway

The Tremont Street Subway is a tunnel in Boston's subway system, and is the oldest subway tunnel in North America, opening on September 1, 1897. It was originally built as a tunnel to get streetcar lines off the streets, rather than a rapid transit line...

to survive). The MBTA and its predecessors once ran a large system of trackless trolleys, but most have been replaced by buses

Bustitution

The word bustitution is a neologism sometimes used to describe the practice of replacing a passenger train service with a bus service either on a temporary or permanent basis. The word is a portmanteau of the words "bus" and "substitution"...

; the four survived, in part, because of the necessity for left-hand doors in the Harvard Bus Tunnel. They are all stored overnight in the North Cambridge Carhouse, the northern terminus of the 77A. Trackless trolleys do not run on Saturday evenings and Sundays; instead conventional bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

es cover the routes.

In 2004, the MBTA began receiving a fleet of new trackless trolleys from Neoplan

Neoplan USA

Neoplan USA was a major transit bus manufacturing company based in Denver, Colorado, which was entirely separate from the German corporation, Neoplan, licensing its designs from the German company of the same name. The company was founded in 1981 and folded in 2006. It was originally a subsidiary...

, to replace older Flyer trolleybuses dating to the 1970s. The newer vehicles meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards (see MBTA accessibility

MBTA accessibility

Physical accessibility on the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority system is incomplete but improving, with accessibility on all buses , all Orange Line stations, all but 2 Red Line stations, and all but 2 Blue Line stations...

).

Additionally, the Silver Line

Silver Line (MBTA)

The Silver Line is the only bus rapid transit line currently operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . It operates in two sections; the first runs from Dudley Square in Roxbury to downtown Boston, Massachusetts and South Station, mostly via Washington Street, with buses...

Phase II uses dual-mode buses and until early 2006 also used some of the new Neoplan trackless trolleys pending the entry of the entire dual-mode fleet into service. As of July 2006, the Neoplan trackless trolleys have now all been transferred to the following routes, and most of the Flyer trolleybuses have been retired, with up to 10 (some sources say 12) being kept as spares.

71

The 71 Watertown Square - Harvard Station via Mt. Auburn St. begins at the Harvard Bus Tunnel lower level and leaves via the south exit onto Mount Auburn Street. It heads west into Watertown

Watertown, Massachusetts

The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...

, ending at Watertown Square

Watertown (MBTA station)

Watertown Square in Watertown, Massachusetts is the termination point of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's route 71 trackless trolley and the bus. Buses and pass through Watertown Square...

.

At the Harvard end, to turn around, the trolleybus exits the tunnel and makes a hard left onto Massachusetts Avenue and a right on Garden Street, and then turns right on Waterhouse Street and right on Massachusetts Avenue to return to the tunnel. The Watertown end has a loop on private right-of-way

Right-of-way (railroad)

A right-of-way is a strip of land that is granted, through an easement or other mechanism, for transportation purposes, such as for a trail, driveway, rail line or highway. A right-of-way is reserved for the purposes of maintenance or expansion of existing services with the right-of-way...

for turning around and picking up/dropping off passengers.

September 4, 1958 was the last day of streetcar service on the 71 (and 73 and 77A), after which trackless trolleys have run.

72

The 72 Huron Ave. Harvard Station via Concord Ave. starts on the upper level and comes out the north end of the tunnel, using the path that the 71 uses to turn around. However, at the intersection of Garden and Waterhouse Streets, the 72 heads west on Garden Street, Concord Avenue and Huron Avenue and south on Aberdeen Avenue to end at Mount Auburn Street, intersecting the 71 and 73.

To turn around, the 72 leaves the south portal of the tunnel and turns left on Mount Auburn Street. It turns right on Eliot Street, right on Bennett Street and right on private right-of-way

Right-of-way (railroad)

to go straight across Mount Auburn Street into the tunnel. At the west end, the 72 simply makes a U-turn

U-turn (maneuver)

A U-turn in driving refers to performing a 180 degree rotation to reverse the direction of travel. It is called a "U-turn" because the maneuver looks like the letter U. In some areas, the maneuver is illegal, while in others it is treated as a more ordinary turn, merely extended...

across the wide median of Aderdeen Avenue. On Saturday evenings and Sundays, the 72 is combined with the 75 bus and the route extends to Belmont center.

Streetcars last ran on the 72 on April 1, 1938, and trackless trolleys have been running since then.

73

The 73 Waverley Sq. Harvard Station via Trapelo Road follows the same route as the 71 in Cambridge

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...

. It leaves Mt. Auburn St. to follow Belmont Street, which forms a border between Belmont

Belmont, Massachusetts

Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census.- History :Belmont was founded on March 18, 1859 by former citizens of, and land from the bordering towns of Watertown, to the south; Waltham, to the west; and Arlington, then...

and Watertown

Watertown, Massachusetts

, then continues on Trapelo Road in Belmont to end at Waverley Square, with a loop at the Waverley commuter rail

MBTA Commuter Rail

The MBTA Commuter Rail serves as the regional rail arm of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, in the United States. It is operated under contract by the Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad Company a joint partnership of Veolia Transportation, Bombardier Transportation and Alternate...

station on the Fitchburg Line

Fitchburg Railroad

The Fitchburg Railroad is a former railroad company, which built a railroad line across northern Massachusetts, USA, leading to and through the Hoosac Tunnel. The Fitchburg was leased to the Boston and Maine Railroad in 1900...

. A short-turn loop exists at Benton Square, the intersection of Belmont Street and Trapelo Road. http://groups-beta.google.com/group/ne.transportation/browse_frm/thread/4fd85c1cf852ba2a/0ada1afb4350d150

September 4, 1958 was the last day of streetcar service on the 73 (and 71 and 77A), after which trackless trolleys have run. As a streetcar line, the turnback loop was further west along Trapelo Road at Cushing Square. Streetcars first ran to Waverley Square on October 1, 1898. http://groups-beta.google.com/group/ne.transportation/browse_frm/thread/4fd85c1cf852ba2a/0ada1afb4350d150
The old streetcar tracks can be seen at Waverley Square.

77A

The 77A is a short-turn trip of the 77 Arlington Heights - Harvard Station via Massachusetts Ave. bus. It simply exits the north end of the tunnel onto Massachusetts Avenue, which it uses to the loop at the North Cambridge Carhouse. At the Harvard end, it turns around in the same way as the 72. However, these loops are not normally made, as since January 2005, the only 77A trips are pull-ins and pull-outs to take 71 and 73 buses to or from the carhouse. They are listed in the 77 schedule.

September 4, 1958 was the last day of streetcar service on the 77A (and 71 and 73), after which trackless trolleys have run. Until around 1967, the route was numbered 82.

External links

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