What Happened to the Arborway Line?
No, that old Green Line map you saw in the subway the other day wasn't lying: the E Line really did once run past Heath Street all the way to the Arborway in Jamaica Plain, where it connected with the Orange Line. The Arborway Line last operated on December 29th, 1985, when the Orange Line was still an elevated train over Washington Street and PCC cars still ran on the Green Line. Past Heath Street, the E Line continued to run in the street as it does from Brigham Circle to Heath Street, which is what ultimately contributed to its demise.
Initially when it was closed in 1985, the line was to be "Temporarily Suspended," meaning that shortly afterwards the line would reopen with improvements made to its tracks, stations and other infrastructure. Repairs to the E Line's street-running tracks between Brigham Circle and Arborway were particularly necessary to accommodate the T's new articulated 1987 Type 7 (36XX) Kinki-Sharyo streetcars, which would could have potentially derailed on the E Line's existing trackage. At the time, the E Line's tracks were falling apart and were built to handle older, non-articulated streetcars, with tight curves that articulated streetcars were known not to be able to handle. Because of such curves, Boeing LRVs (acquired by the T in 1976), which were also articulated and were plagued by derailment problems across the Green Line's system upon their delivery, did not see much service on the E Line prior to reconstruction and the E Line remained a primarily PCC-run line until 1985.
The entire E Line past Northeastern University Station was closed for a few months into 1986 so that track reconstruction could take place, but shortly afterwards the line was running again to Brigham Circle, where the line's private reservation ends and street-running operations begin. As you can imagine, it took a little longer to fix the street-running tracks past Brigham Circle, as cars still drove over them while the streetcar line was closed. It took until 1989 for service to the Heath Street Loop to resume; when service did resume, the tracks were in significantly better condition and had more gradual turns, allowing for operation of 36XX streetcars on the E Line. (When I get the chance, I will take some photos of the track curves before and after reconstruction to contrast the difference.)
One might have thought that the tracks to the Arborway would be fixed shortly afterwards, but the tracks remained unrepaired well into the 90s. For a while, it seemed as though the line would come back as planned; in 1991, the restoration of the line was included the resolutions for Boston's Big Dig highway project, and when the 37XX "Type 7.5" Green Line trolleys were procured in 1997 the Arborway Line was included as a destination on their rollsigns. However, in 2006, after much debate over whether or not to repair and restore the line, the Big Dig resolution to restore the line was dropped. By 2008, the Arborway Line's trolley tracks had been paved over completely.
While many Jamaica Plain residents wished and still wish for the trolleys to come back, and it is sad that a historic trolley line that reliably served the Jamaica Plain community for decades and happened to be the last street-running streetcar line in Boston was cut back, the decision to make the 39 bus, the replacement bus for the trolleys, a permanent solution is understandable. Much of the opposition, both by residents and officials, that ultimately resulted in the line's termination was based off of the fact that street-running streetcars tend to block the flow of traffic.
The terminated section of the Arborway Line ran along two-lane (one lane in each direction) roads, and whenever the streetcar would stop to let passengers off, everyone driving behind the streetcar would have to stop as well. Streetcars are also harder to maneuver through traffic than buses; they are confined to a track and cannot, as opposition pointed out, pull over to let emergency vehicles pass. By contrast, the buses can pull up right next to the curb to let passengers off, allowing all traffic to pass by.
If the Arborway Line would have run in its own right-of-way like earlier sections of the E Line, then if would have certainly been restored. However, since the Line ran in the street together with cars, it met a fate similar to the dozens of street-running streetcar lines that once ran through Boston and was suspended in favor of swifter traffic flow for drivers. Luckily, the 39 bus is one of the best bus lines in Boston—it makes frequent trips, and it is one of three bus lines (39, Silver and 28/Dudley-Mattapan via Blue Hill Avenue) that runs longer 60-foot articulated buses with padded seats and plenty of room to comfortably sit and stand.
Initially when it was closed in 1985, the line was to be "Temporarily Suspended," meaning that shortly afterwards the line would reopen with improvements made to its tracks, stations and other infrastructure. Repairs to the E Line's street-running tracks between Brigham Circle and Arborway were particularly necessary to accommodate the T's new articulated 1987 Type 7 (36XX) Kinki-Sharyo streetcars, which would could have potentially derailed on the E Line's existing trackage. At the time, the E Line's tracks were falling apart and were built to handle older, non-articulated streetcars, with tight curves that articulated streetcars were known not to be able to handle. Because of such curves, Boeing LRVs (acquired by the T in 1976), which were also articulated and were plagued by derailment problems across the Green Line's system upon their delivery, did not see much service on the E Line prior to reconstruction and the E Line remained a primarily PCC-run line until 1985.
The entire E Line past Northeastern University Station was closed for a few months into 1986 so that track reconstruction could take place, but shortly afterwards the line was running again to Brigham Circle, where the line's private reservation ends and street-running operations begin. As you can imagine, it took a little longer to fix the street-running tracks past Brigham Circle, as cars still drove over them while the streetcar line was closed. It took until 1989 for service to the Heath Street Loop to resume; when service did resume, the tracks were in significantly better condition and had more gradual turns, allowing for operation of 36XX streetcars on the E Line. (When I get the chance, I will take some photos of the track curves before and after reconstruction to contrast the difference.)
One might have thought that the tracks to the Arborway would be fixed shortly afterwards, but the tracks remained unrepaired well into the 90s. For a while, it seemed as though the line would come back as planned; in 1991, the restoration of the line was included the resolutions for Boston's Big Dig highway project, and when the 37XX "Type 7.5" Green Line trolleys were procured in 1997 the Arborway Line was included as a destination on their rollsigns. However, in 2006, after much debate over whether or not to repair and restore the line, the Big Dig resolution to restore the line was dropped. By 2008, the Arborway Line's trolley tracks had been paved over completely.
While many Jamaica Plain residents wished and still wish for the trolleys to come back, and it is sad that a historic trolley line that reliably served the Jamaica Plain community for decades and happened to be the last street-running streetcar line in Boston was cut back, the decision to make the 39 bus, the replacement bus for the trolleys, a permanent solution is understandable. Much of the opposition, both by residents and officials, that ultimately resulted in the line's termination was based off of the fact that street-running streetcars tend to block the flow of traffic.
The terminated section of the Arborway Line ran along two-lane (one lane in each direction) roads, and whenever the streetcar would stop to let passengers off, everyone driving behind the streetcar would have to stop as well. Streetcars are also harder to maneuver through traffic than buses; they are confined to a track and cannot, as opposition pointed out, pull over to let emergency vehicles pass. By contrast, the buses can pull up right next to the curb to let passengers off, allowing all traffic to pass by.
If the Arborway Line would have run in its own right-of-way like earlier sections of the E Line, then if would have certainly been restored. However, since the Line ran in the street together with cars, it met a fate similar to the dozens of street-running streetcar lines that once ran through Boston and was suspended in favor of swifter traffic flow for drivers. Luckily, the 39 bus is one of the best bus lines in Boston—it makes frequent trips, and it is one of three bus lines (39, Silver and 28/Dudley-Mattapan via Blue Hill Avenue) that runs longer 60-foot articulated buses with padded seats and plenty of room to comfortably sit and stand.
60-foot articulated bus on the 39 route in Mission Hill. Note the trolley poles and overhead wire; this portion of the 39 route runs parallel to the remaining E Line streetcar service.
Arborway-bound PCC in the mid-1980s on South Huntington Avenue right by the Heath Street Loop in Mission Hill—note the switch the PCC is passing over. Today, the curve off South Huntington is all that's left of the switch—the Arborway route has been paved over. Also note the poor condition of the roadway and tracks, which necessitated the track work that led to the Arborway line's termination.
Image copyright skyscraper.com user greg_christine.
Image copyright skyscraper.com user greg_christine.
