by trolleyguy
I am probably not the only one who is thinking that the impending one-year shutdown of the Mattapan-Ashmont line (for the rebuilding of Ashmont Station) at the conclusion of 2005 may well turn out to be its abandonment, at least as far as operation of PCCs is concerned.
Why am I saying this? Because, unless I am very much mistaken, beginning in January, 2006, the PCC cars stored at Mattapan will be sitting ducks, unprotected from the elements and, most significantly, open targets for vandals and thieves. Again, unless I am mistaken, there will be no MBTA personnel on hand to protect these cars.
Moisture, dust and dirt will accumulate, condense on and corrode the electrical equipment beneath and inside the cars, quickly rendering it inoperable. Because these cars are stored outdoors, they MUST be run regularly to keep the elements at bay and maintain them in running condition.
One need only visit the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine to see first-hand what happens to PCCs after they have stood outdoors, fully exposed to the elements, for long periods.
Unless the Mattapan yard area is completely fenced in, or posted with a 24-hour guard for the duration of the shutdown (how likely is the T to do either?), hooligans will have free access to the PCCs - and so what the weather doesn't destroy, vandals will.
For the above reasons, and more, the impending "one-year shutdown" of the Mattapan-Ashmont Line is likely to mark, instead, the end of the PCC era in Boston.
When the T's maintenance staff returns to Mattapan in a year (likely more than a year) from now and sees how badly deteriorated and vandalized their small fleet of PCCs has become, they will announce that the cars are beyond practical repair.
Therefore the T will have a ready excuse to continue their substitute bus service, which by then the public will have become fully accustomed to (think about what happened to the Arborway and Watertown lines).
This is my sober prediction. I very much hope that the "T" proves me wrong - but given the T's not-so-great track record with regard to its attitude toward rail service, and simply because I am looking at the hard realities, it is difficult for me to reach any other conclusion.
So, to one and all I say that it would be a very wise move indeed for you to get yourselves to Ashmont before the ringing-in of the New Year if you wish for one last time to savor the experience of riding a genuine Boston PCC on its home turf!
Why am I saying this? Because, unless I am very much mistaken, beginning in January, 2006, the PCC cars stored at Mattapan will be sitting ducks, unprotected from the elements and, most significantly, open targets for vandals and thieves. Again, unless I am mistaken, there will be no MBTA personnel on hand to protect these cars.
Moisture, dust and dirt will accumulate, condense on and corrode the electrical equipment beneath and inside the cars, quickly rendering it inoperable. Because these cars are stored outdoors, they MUST be run regularly to keep the elements at bay and maintain them in running condition.
One need only visit the Seashore Trolley Museum in Maine to see first-hand what happens to PCCs after they have stood outdoors, fully exposed to the elements, for long periods.
Unless the Mattapan yard area is completely fenced in, or posted with a 24-hour guard for the duration of the shutdown (how likely is the T to do either?), hooligans will have free access to the PCCs - and so what the weather doesn't destroy, vandals will.
For the above reasons, and more, the impending "one-year shutdown" of the Mattapan-Ashmont Line is likely to mark, instead, the end of the PCC era in Boston.
When the T's maintenance staff returns to Mattapan in a year (likely more than a year) from now and sees how badly deteriorated and vandalized their small fleet of PCCs has become, they will announce that the cars are beyond practical repair.
Therefore the T will have a ready excuse to continue their substitute bus service, which by then the public will have become fully accustomed to (think about what happened to the Arborway and Watertown lines).
This is my sober prediction. I very much hope that the "T" proves me wrong - but given the T's not-so-great track record with regard to its attitude toward rail service, and simply because I am looking at the hard realities, it is difficult for me to reach any other conclusion.
So, to one and all I say that it would be a very wise move indeed for you to get yourselves to Ashmont before the ringing-in of the New Year if you wish for one last time to savor the experience of riding a genuine Boston PCC on its home turf!
