ID: Silverbird vs 01400 yard collision image, 1970s

I saw this image months ago and just now found it again. Can anyone tell me anything about it? The website it's posted on reveals nothing about it really.

The photo also appeared in BSRA's publication Boston Rapid Transit Album. I don't have my copy handy (it's still packed up somewhere from my move six months ago!) but the incident was a yard oopsie -- one or both trains were backing up without a person on the leading end of the movement, and they ended up trying to occupy the same space at the same time. As I recall, the photo caption noted that the trains carefully reversed direction and both plunked back onto the rail neat as can be!

Best guess of the date is sometime in the 1970s.

I know those cars, the 01400, it's an unknown number, but the Silverbird, it was 01604/05 (unless it was the one at South Station) but I know that was around 1975 or so. That yard mishap was repeated a few Years later on September 11, 1977 at WMATA METRO's Brentwood Yards between Union Station and Rhode Island Avenue involving two similar trainsets of Rohrs (no Bredas yet, till 5 years later). But the photos of this MBTA mishap and WMATA's are similar, ironically.

By the way, the WMATA Yard mishap story here came from a WMATA book I have called "The Story of Metro" by Ronald H Deiter.

Thanks guys!

Your welcome, no problem......

Robert Paniagua wrote:I know those cars, the 01400, it's an unknown number, but the Silverbird, it was 01604/05 (unless it was the one at South Station) but I know that was around 1975 or so.

How do you come to the conclusion that the Silverbird set pictured here was 01604/05? Those cars were wrecked in a serious rear-end collision between Charles and Park Street on August 1, 1975, not in this minor yard mishap.

How do you come to the conclusion that the Silverbird set pictured here was 01604/05?

I got confused by the image date, which was also in the mid 70s, but as you said it was other unit numbers, so those in that picture are still on the road.

Looks like a low MPH impact. Here's your cup, you know what to do....

Yeah, I'd say no more than 20 km/h (12.4 mph)

Robert Paniagua wrote:I know those cars, the 01400, it's an unknown number, but the Silverbird, it was 01604/05 (unless it was the one at South Station) but I know that was around 1975 or so. That yard mishap was repeated a few Years later on September 11, 1977 at WMATA METRO's Brentwood Yards between Union Station and Rhode Island Avenue involving two similar trainsets of Rohrs (no Bredas yet, till 5 years later). But the photos of this MBTA mishap and WMATA's are similar, ironically.

By the way, the WMATA Yard mishap story here came from a WMATA book I have called "The Story of Metro" by Ronald H Deiter.

You use to be able to see 01604 or 01605 as you were driving over one of the bridges near the yard. I remember looking at it and wondering what the heck happened as I was not around during the time. I also could of sworn that I saw one in the yard after ashmont ( codman or cabot?) It was compleltely stripped!

After Ashmont is Codman.

BTW in Cabot there is a set of 1400's. I went by the other day and noticed that the windows are covered in what appear to be stickers... although they look like parking stickers for South Boston.

MBTA1 wrote:After Ashmont is Codman.

BTW in Cabot there is a set of 1400's. I went by the other day and noticed that the windows are covered in what appear to be stickers... although they look like parking stickers for South Boston.

Thanks for the clarification.

You use to be able to see 01604 or 01605 as you were driving over one of the bridges near the yard. I remember looking at it and wondering what the heck happened as I was not around during the time. I also could of sworn that I saw one in the yard after ashmont ( codman or cabot?) It was compleltely stripped!

For a number of years, there were four wrecked cars at the north end of Cabot Yard right near the Fort Point Channel, within the turnaround loop there. They were easily visible from the Broadway Bridge (the old one, that is) and even better seen from a commuter train. Two of the cars were 01604/01605, and the other two were 01400s still in blue, gold and white. When the Big Dig project started working around the Fort Point Channel area, the 01400s were scrapped and the hulks of 01604/01605 were moved to Codman Yard. The cars that you saw at Cabot and Codman are the same ones!

jwhite07 wrote:For a number of years, there were four wrecked cars at the north end of Cabot Yard right near the Fort Point Channel, within the turnaround loop there. They were easily visible from the Broadway Bridge (the old one, that is) and even better seen from a commuter train. Two of the cars were 01604/01605, and the other two were 01400s still in blue, gold and white. When the Big Dig project started working around the Fort Point Channel area, the 01400s were scrapped and the hulks of 01604/01605 were moved to Codman Yard. The cars that you saw at Cabot and Codman are the same ones!

The Bluebirds were 01440 and 01487. They were the only two cars not rebuilt, because 01440 had GE equipment and 01487 was Westinghouse-equipped. This was due to the fact that of the four 01400's scrapped after fires/wrecks in the 1970's, three were GE cars and only one was a Westinghouse. The MBTA planned to rebuild 01440 as a Westinghouse car to be mated with 01487, but this was never done. To be honest, I don't know why the MBTA was being so anal about this - there were a number of mismatched GE/Westinghouse pairs running in service until the early 1980's.

JD

The Bluebirds were 01440 and 01487.

Oh, thank you, now I know the two 1400s. Now were these two in service all the way till 1993 when the 01800s came?