Boston-area streetcar lines

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.

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

Routes: 4/Green Line "D" 7 9 10 11 15 16 17 19 20 22 23 25 26 27 28/Red Line Mattapan 29 30 30A/28 32 34 36 39/Green Line "E" (Arborway) 40 41 42 43 44 45 47/1 48 57/Green Line "E" (Heath) 58 60 61/Green Line "C" 62/Green Line "B" 65 66 69/Green Line "A"/57 70 71 72 73 76 77/69 79/77 80 82/77A 87 88 89 92 93 100 101 111 114 115 116 117 118 119 121 122


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 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 Still trackless trolley
73 Waverly - Harvard Still trackless trolley
82 North Cambridge - Harvard Renumbered 77A ca. 1967
Still trackless trolley
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
January 19, 1954 Revere Extension opens to Wonderland
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
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
April 21, 1952 Revere Extension opens to Suffolk Downs
January 5, 1952 Revere Extension opens to Orient Heights
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)
115 Gladstone - Maverick Short-turn of 118
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)
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
December 9, 1949 16 Franklin Park - Andrew Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962
September 18, 1949 76 Harvard - Mass Station Trackless trolley until March 30, 1960
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
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 9, 1938 66 Allston - Dudley [4]
Brookline Village - Subway 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 Still trackless trolley
March 4, 1938 48 Dudley - Subway Ran via Washington Street, Dover and Tremont Streets into the Subway
Replaced by Dudley - Tremont & Dover Streets bus
Bus service ended February 1942 [5]
May 7, 1937 111 Woodlawn - Chelsea Square [6] [7] Extended to City Square as a bus
October 9, 1936 119 Beachmont - Revere City Hall [8]
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 [9]
April 10, 1936 77 Harvard - Lechmere via Cambridge Street [10] Renumbered 69 ca. 1967
Trackless trolley until March 30, 1963 (first trackless trolley route)
Ran into the Subway via Lechmere until July 9, 1922
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 [11] Replaced with Arlington Center - Lechmere bus, later trackless trolley until March 28, 1963 [12]
Streetcar line opened August 31, 1901
1932 58 Cypress Street - Mass Station or Subway? [13] Replaced with Cypress Street - Kenmore bus
Brookline Village - Subway kept rush hours only
60 Chestnut Hill - Mass Station or Subway? [14] Replaced with Chestnut Hill - Kenmore bus
Brookline Village - Subway kept rush hours only
1930 Dorchester Avenue [15]
ca. 1930 Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Hyde Park and Chelsea/Everett divisions sold to BERy [16]
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 [17]
late 1928 or early 1929 26 Dudley - Nelson & Norfolk Streets [18] Replaced with Ashmont - Morton & Corbett Streets bus
late 1928 25 Andrew - Washington & Fairmount Streets [19] Replaced with Ashmont - Washington Street & Gallivan Boulevard bus
September 1, 1928 Dorchester Extension opens to Ashmont
November 5, 1927 Dorchester Extension opens to Fields Corner
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 65 Boston College - Brookline Village [20]
1920s Sullivan - Dudley via Subway [21]
March 15, 1919 Charlestown Elevated opens to Everett
ca. 1919 Harvard Square - Jeffries Point via East Boston Tunnel [22]
unknown 21 Fields Corner - Adams Street Merged with 20 September 1962
Was trackless trolley?
81 Arlington Center - Clarendon Hill Merged with 89 October 1961
Split off into 81 Arlington Center - Lechmere April 1953
Renumbered 87A ca. 1967
Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
90 Davis Square - Sullivan via Highland Avenue Trackless trolley until November 14, 1956
102 Malden - Faulkner via Main Street and Cross Street Trackless trolley until March 28, 1963
103 Malden - Everett via Main Street Discontinued April 1962
Was trackless trolley
104 Malden - Everett via Ferry Street and Broadway Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
105 Faulkner - Everett via Cross Street and Main Street Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
106 Lebanon Street - Everett via Salem Street, Malden Square and Main Street Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
109 Linden - Everett via Broadway Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
110 Wonderland or Broadway and Park Avenue - Everett via Everett Square Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
111 Eagle Carhouse - City Square via Chelsea Square Was trackless trolley?
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 December 8, 1960; the route was discontinued
113 Wonderland - Malden via Ferry Street Unnumbered until ca. 1962
Trackless trolley summers 1954-1956
120 Orient Heights - Maverick via Bennington Street Trackless trolley until September 8, 1961

References

See also

Subway lines
(List of stations)
     Blue Line •      Green Line ("B" Branch · "C" Branch · "D" Branch · "E" Branch) •      Orange Line •      Red Line (Ashmont–Mattapan High Speed Line)




     Commuter
Rail lines
(List of stations)
Bus routes
(List of routes)
Under construction
Proposed lines
Former lines
Other
Accessibility • Arts on the Line • Boat • Boston-area streetcar lines • "Charlie on the M.T.A." • CharlieCard • History • Police • Nomenclature • Newton rail accident • The Ride