Middlesex and Boston Street Railway
Encyclopedia
The Middlesex and Boston Street Railway (M&B) was a streetcar
and later bus
company in the area west of Boston, Massachusetts. Streetcars last ran in 1930, and in 1972 the company's operations were merged into the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority
(MBTA).
, had bought the M&B.
In September 1964 the MBTA began subsidizing the M&B, and route numbers were given to its buses. (According to "A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System" (April 16, 1981) the subsidy agreement was signed on December 23, 1964.) The M&B was taken over by the MBTA on July 5, 1972, after a financial dispute over subsidies stopped service on June 30. The routes taken over were renumbered by adding a 5 to the beginning and were renumbered in September 1982 and some in 1996.
There is one streetcar and one bus preserved from this railway, trolley # 41, a former Lexington car, and bus # 192, a 1948 ACF Brill bus. They are both located at the Seashore Trolley Museum
in Kennebunkport, Maine
.
, from Norumbega Park
at the western end (on the banks of the Charles River
) to a connection with the Boston Elevated Railway
's Commonwealth Avenue line at Lake Street at the eastern end (now Boston College
, at the end of the Green Line "B" branch).
Norumbega Park, opened on June 17, 1897, was an amusement park
built by the street railway company to increase traffic on the line. The park closed in 1964, long after the streetcar line, M&B's last one, was bustituted
in 1930.http://greisnet.com/needhist.nsf/VikingsontheCharles?OpenPage
In its final days, this was the 35 Auburndale-Lake Street bus route, until taken over by the MBTA, when it became the 535 Auburndale-Boston College via Commonwealth Avenue. It was not actually picked up by the MBTA in July 1972, when they took over the M&B, but was restarted as a rush-hour only service in January 1973, and discontinued in June 1976.
Fare limits were at the town lines of Bedford with Lexington, Concord, and Billerica.
The line from Lexington ran down Bedford Street and the Great Road, diverting along Loomis Street and South Road to connect with the Boston and Maine Railroad
station. A passing track was located on the north side of Bedford Common.
As at Norumbega, an amusement park was built in Lexington near the Bedford town line, to attract riders from the city.
The Bedford-Arlington Heights bus, today's 62 (and 62/76) was M&B route 29 and MBTA route 529.
The car-barn and electricity generator were located in North Lexington north of Bedford Street and just west of the corner of what is now Worthen Road. The complex was composed of at least a long wooden building (the carbarn) and a squat brick structure with a short smokestack (the generating plant); that complex was a lumberyard for many years and was redeveloped in the late 1980s.
A brief history of car lines in Bedford may be found in "Wilderness Town," a book printed for the 1976 Bicentennial (copies at the Bedford Free Public Library).
A photograph dated 1910 of a trolley car passing the Lexington Minuteman statue is on page 104 of a photohistory in the Lexington Room of the Lexington Public Library. The photo is credited to the Lexington Historical Society.
The Lexington-Woburn line ran from Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington via Woburn Street and Lexington Street to the Woburn B & M station.
center, via Main Street, Moody Street, Crescent Street and Moody Street to the Newton
line, then via Lexington Street, River Street, Elm Street and Washington Street to end at Highland Street in West Newton
.
In 1889 the Newton Street Railway bought the line, and the Newton Street Railway was merged with the M&B July 1, 1909. It later (by 1964) became much of the 20 Newton Corner-Riverside via Roberts and Central Square Waltham bus line, with the 27 Newton Corner-Riverside via Auburndale and Central Square Waltham using much of Crescent Street (the 20 went straight through on Moody Street). This is now the 553 Roberts-Downtown Boston via Newton Corner and Central Square Waltham, with Crescent Street served by the 558 Riverside-Downtown Boston via Auburndale, Central Square Waltham and Newton Corner.
Tram
A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...
and later 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...
company in the area west of Boston, Massachusetts. Streetcars last ran in 1930, and in 1972 the company's operations were merged into 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).
History
The company was first chartered as the Natick Electric Street Railway on August 10, 1891. The name was changed to the South Middlesex Street Railway in 1893. That company went bankrupt and a receiver was appointed May 6, 1903; the property was sold on August 15, 1907 to the newly-formed Middlesex and Boston Street Railway. By 1910, Boston Suburban Electric Companies, a holding companyHolding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
, had bought the M&B.
In September 1964 the MBTA began subsidizing the M&B, and route numbers were given to its buses. (According to "A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System" (April 16, 1981) the subsidy agreement was signed on December 23, 1964.) The M&B was taken over by the MBTA on July 5, 1972, after a financial dispute over subsidies stopped service on June 30. The routes taken over were renumbered by adding a 5 to the beginning and were renumbered in September 1982 and some in 1996.
There is one streetcar and one bus preserved from this railway, trolley # 41, a former Lexington car, and bus # 192, a 1948 ACF Brill bus. They are both located at the Seashore Trolley Museum
Seashore Trolley Museum
The Seashore Trolley Museum, located in Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, is the world's oldest and largest museum of mass transit vehicles....
in Kennebunkport, Maine
Kennebunkport, Maine
Kennebunkport is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,720 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Portland–South Portland–Biddeford metropolitan statistical area....
.
Auburndale-Lake Street via Commonwealth Avenue
The Commonwealth Avenue Street Railway, opened in 1895, was consolidated into the Newton Street Railway on January 1, 1904; the Newton Street Railway was merged with the M&B July 1, 1909. This line ran down the median the entire length of Commonwealth Avenue in NewtonNewton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
, from Norumbega Park
Norumbega Park
Norumbega Park was a recreation area and amusement park located in "Auburndale-on-the-Charles" near Boston, Massachusetts. The associated Totem Pole Ballroom became a well-known dancing and entertainment venue for big bands touring during the 1940s....
at the western end (on the banks of the Charles River
Charles River
The Charles River is an long river that flows in an overall northeasterly direction in eastern Massachusetts, USA. From its source in Hopkinton, the river travels through 22 cities and towns until reaching the Atlantic Ocean at Boston...
) to a connection with the Boston Elevated Railway
Boston Elevated Railway
The Boston Elevated Railway was a precursor first to the Metropolitan Transit Authority in Massachusetts, now the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, operating rapid transit, streetcars and buses in the Boston, Massachusetts area. It was formerly known as the West End Street Railway.The...
's Commonwealth Avenue line at Lake Street at the eastern end (now Boston College
Boston College (MBTA station)
The Boston College station is the western terminus of the MBTA Green Line's B-branch . It is located at St Ignatius Square on the Boston College campus in Brighton, Massachusetts, near the intersection of Commonwealth Avenue and Lake Street.Originally called Lake Street, the station was once the...
, at the end of the Green Line "B" branch).
Norumbega Park, opened on June 17, 1897, was an amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
built by the street railway company to increase traffic on the line. The park closed in 1964, long after the streetcar line, M&B's last one, was bustituted
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"...
in 1930.http://greisnet.com/needhist.nsf/VikingsontheCharles?OpenPage
In its final days, this was the 35 Auburndale-Lake Street bus route, until taken over by the MBTA, when it became the 535 Auburndale-Boston College via Commonwealth Avenue. It was not actually picked up by the MBTA in July 1972, when they took over the M&B, but was restarted as a rush-hour only service in January 1973, and discontinued in June 1976.
Bedford-Lowell
From Bedford, cars left every 15 minutes in the summer, and every half-hour in the winter, for- Boston via Lexington with a change at Arlington Heights
- Maynard and Hudson with a change at Concord
- Lowell with a change at Billerica
Fare limits were at the town lines of Bedford with Lexington, Concord, and Billerica.
The line from Lexington ran down Bedford Street and the Great Road, diverting along Loomis Street and South Road to connect with the Boston and Maine Railroad
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
station. A passing track was located on the north side of Bedford Common.
As at Norumbega, an amusement park was built in Lexington near the Bedford town line, to attract riders from the city.
The Bedford-Arlington Heights bus, today's 62 (and 62/76) was M&B route 29 and MBTA route 529.
The car-barn and electricity generator were located in North Lexington north of Bedford Street and just west of the corner of what is now Worthen Road. The complex was composed of at least a long wooden building (the carbarn) and a squat brick structure with a short smokestack (the generating plant); that complex was a lumberyard for many years and was redeveloped in the late 1980s.
A brief history of car lines in Bedford may be found in "Wilderness Town," a book printed for the 1976 Bicentennial (copies at the Bedford Free Public Library).
Lexington-Woburn
http://home.gwi.net/trolley/collection/newengland/41.htmlA photograph dated 1910 of a trolley car passing the Lexington Minuteman statue is on page 104 of a photohistory in the Lexington Room of the Lexington Public Library. The photo is credited to the Lexington Historical Society.
The Lexington-Woburn line ran from Massachusetts Avenue in Lexington via Woburn Street and Lexington Street to the Woburn B & M station.
Newton Corner-Riverside
27 Newton Corner-Riverside via Auburndale and Central Square WalthamWaltham Center-Lexington Center
25 Waltham Center-Lexington Center via Lexington StreetWaltham-Newton
The Waltham and Newton Street Railway was chartered on July 13, 1866, and began service on August 31, 1868. Its tracks ran from the split between Pleasant Street and Main Street, west of WalthamWaltham, Massachusetts
Waltham is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, was an early center for the labor movement, and major contributor to the American Industrial Revolution. The original home of the Boston Manufacturing Company, the city was a prototype for 19th century industrial city planning,...
center, via Main Street, Moody Street, Crescent Street and Moody Street to the Newton
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
line, then via Lexington Street, River Street, Elm Street and Washington Street to end at Highland Street in West Newton
West Newton, Massachusetts
West Newton is a village of the City of Newton, Massachusetts and is one of the oldest of the thirteen Newton villages. The postal code 02465 roughly matches the village limits.-Location:...
.
In 1889 the Newton Street Railway bought the line, and the Newton Street Railway was merged with the M&B July 1, 1909. It later (by 1964) became much of the 20 Newton Corner-Riverside via Roberts and Central Square Waltham bus line, with the 27 Newton Corner-Riverside via Auburndale and Central Square Waltham using much of Crescent Street (the 20 went straight through on Moody Street). This is now the 553 Roberts-Downtown Boston via Newton Corner and Central Square Waltham, with Crescent Street served by the 558 Riverside-Downtown Boston via Auburndale, Central Square Waltham and Newton Corner.