New Blue line cars.

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End of the line for T pioneers

Once considered cutting-edge, an aging part of the authority's trolley fleet is being retired

March 16, 2007

NEWTON -- To the riders waiting at Riverside station yesterday morning, the old rusting trolley that squealed to a stop was just another old, rusting Green Line trolley. But to the MBTA and a handful of rail enthusiasts snapping away with digital cameras, it was much more: one of the last runs of the 32-year-old Boeing-Vertol light rail vehicles, a rail pioneer to which they are bidding a fond good riddance.

"They're worn out," said Bradley H. Clarke, president of the Boston Street Railway Association. "They've done their job, and they should be retired with dignity."

They were the first Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority trolleys with air conditioning, but the units failed in the 1980s, prompting one scribe to label the trolleys "a streetcar named perspire."

They were also the first T trolleys with large picture windows and the first with newfangled doors, but they also routinely failed. They were intended to mark the renaissance of streetcar building in the United States, but they derailed so much that a multimillion dollar legal settlement with Boeing made them free to the T.

The 29 remaining Boeing trolleys are distinguished from newer models by their single row of four headlights, traditional windshield wipers, and a train number in the 3400s. They are also some of the last Green Line trolleys with hand-cranked destination signs, which were often wrong.

Now, after years of being cannibalized for spare parts, the Boeings -- which first hit the rails on Dec. 29, 1976 -- are making just one trip a day on the D branch of the Green Line. Only two are used on any given day.

"If we get one good trip out of it, we feel good," said Peter Messina, chief inspector at Riverside. "It's like having an old person around, you know? They can only walk so much. They can only go so far. I came on the job before they were here, and they're going to retire before me."

The last trips were scheduled for today, but snow could cancel them.

Most of the remaining trolleys will be disassembled by backhoe for scrap metal. One car may go to a trolley museum in Maine, and about six could find new life scraping slush off overhead trolley lines.

MAC DANIEL
? Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
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I saw these trains being tested at Sullivan Station on Friday. Looks very sleek.
 
Went to a neighborhood meeting in Orient Heights tonight...A flyer that was distributed prior to the meeting suggests that the deliveries of the new cars will begin taking place in the next few weeks (continuing into 2009)...The access point to the yard is through the T parking lot about 100 yards from my front door (at the end of St. Edwards Road)...I'll try and get some shots of the truck if I'm home...

As a side-note, the entire proposed process of delivery sounds like a...wait for it...train-wreck!
 
I believe as of now, a total of four cars have been delivered and are undergoing testing.
 
Boston Metro said:
New Blue Line cars closer to up and running

BOSTON. You may have already seen them idling at Wellngton Station.

The long-awaited Blue Line cars have started to arrive and have already undergone considerable testing, according to MBTA General Manager Daniel Grabauskas.

After years of glitches and holdups by the manufacturer, Siemans Transportation System, there seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.

?The good news is we are on schedule and, so far, they are performing very, very well,? Grabauskas said. ?Our customers have been waiting a long time, but from all our initial testing ... it?s going to be well worth the wait.?

The MBTA entered into a contract with Siemans six years ago and were expecting the delivery of the vehicles in 2004. Three years later, the T is finally beginning to pay out the $174 million contract in anticipation of the cars going into regular service in early winter.

Testing began in the spring. Each of the 94 cars needs to travel 500 miles before they are deployed into the regular schedule. The first few cars have already gone through the bulk of testing and the glitches officials discovered years ago ? including air conditioning defaults and door leaks ? have been rectified, said Grabauskas.

Right now there are 68 Blue Line cars on the system. When all 94 of the new cars are in service by the summer of 2008, T officials are expecting congestion on the line to ease up considerably.
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To me, these cars look very similar to the current ones. I feel like if I were the administrator of the MBTA, I would want progress to be very noticeable and impressive. I would want to bring the t into a modern era. The Breads, for all their faults, accomplished this. These don't.
 
DudeUrSistersHot said:
To me, these cars look very similar to the current ones. I feel like if I were the administrator of the MBTA, I would want progress to be very noticeable and impressive. I would want to bring the t into a modern era. The Breads, for all their faults, accomplished this. These don't.
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Function over form.
 
So ... if they looked sleeker, they wouldn't work as well?
 
How much sleeker do you want them to look? They look pretty sleek in this gallery.

http://sery2831.smugmug.com/gallery/2777896#P-1-15

Mind you they have to have equipment for both third rails and pantographs. Also the stainless steel is to stop the saltwater corrosion as seen in the older cars.

These cars also come equiped with door buttons so you have to press a button to open the door.
 
What about them makes them sleek? A curved front? I prefer the siemens blue line cars to those.

Personal opinion of course. :)
 
Curved front, much more glass, bigger doors, great seating arrangement (which you can't see from the pictures). The BL cars essentially have the same design as before, with a metallic rather than white top, In any case, not guilty of excess inventiveness.

justin
 
Fair enough. I just like the blue line cars (old and new) because to me they scream "GET THE FUCK OUT MY WAY!" :twisted:
 
They're nothing special. Could look more modern but...... oh well
 
The Globe said:
MBTA unveils new Blue Line cars

By AP | February 20, 2008
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BOSTON (AP) -- The MBTA is making a ride on the Blue Line safer and more comfortable.

The transit agency on Wednesday unveiled the first of 94 new subway cars that will replace the current fleet of 70 cars that are nearly three decades old.

The new cars will come into service over the next 18 months.

State Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen, MBTA general manager Dan Grabauskas and other dignitaries took the inaugural ride between the Aquarium and Government Center stops.

The new cars feature redesigned compartments with wider seating and hand grips for standing passengers as well as two locations for wheelchairs.

They also have passenger emergency intercoms, smoke detectors and noise absorbers on the wheels to reduce screeching.
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Link
 
And no luggage racks. Doesn't this seem sensible for trains that go to Logan? At a meeting almost 2 years ago, I asked about this, and they said that people with suitcases "can just stand in the handicapped seating area." They're always thinking at the T...
 
Do people even take the Blue Line to the airport anymore now that the Silver Line circles the terminals directly?

Not that the Silver Line trolleyvan is the most comfortable conveyance for people with large pieces of luggage...
 
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