MBTA Bus Fleet Electrification

One interesting minor tidbit I remembered by watching those videos is that trackless trolleys don't require license plates just like real trolleys and USPS trucks.

Apparently, the Trackless Trolley drivers are members of the Carmens Union like subway and trolley drivers. Are bus drivers a different union or a different classification? What are the Silver Line drivers considered to be?

Globe article on last running of trackless:\

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/03/09/ ... ast-trips/

bostontrainguy wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 8:04 pm One interesting minor tidbit I remembered by watching those videos is that trackless trolleys don't require license plates just like real trolleys and USPS trucks.

On a related note SEPTA vehicles (buses and trolley cars and even heavy rail cars) all are required to have a
PennDOT DMV sticker on windshield!

BandA wrote: ↑Wed Mar 09, 2022 9:56 pm Apparently, the Trackless Trolley drivers are members of the Carmens Union like subway and trolley drivers. Are bus drivers a different union or a different classification? What are the Silver Line drivers considered to be?

All vehicle operators are in the same 589 Carmen's Union.

Easy solution . . . . just run the diesel buses in the Harvard Square tunnel like they did in 1965:

https://www.thecrimson.com/article/1965 ... -buses-in/

So if they decided to bustitute the Trackless Trolleys, they used the same operators, or did they have to call up additional personnel?

There would be some familiarization training either way, but going from operating a trackless trolley to a diesel bus shouldn't be a big deal. Going the other way would be more involved.

Scenes along the trackless trolley routes

How much was a push truck needed during last month's fan trip? Southbound on Mass. Ave. past Cambridge Common we come to this switch. It is missing the sensors (upstream of the frogs) for in-motion switching and is set for left turn only, to the bus tunnel.

The fan trip was to go straight here and then make a right onto Garden St. Given the Saturday traffic it was more convenient for the single mode trackless trolley to be pushed onto Garden St. and then have its poles raised again.

On Aberdeen Ave (outerend of Route 72, Huron Ave.). Right: New utility pole with modern Light Emitting Diode streetlights. Center: Previous utility pole with MBTA trolley overhead bracket arms not moved over to new pole yet. Left: Somewhat new MBTA line pole with feeder wires, ready to receive (perhaps new, modernized) overhead bracket arms.

In recent months (and possibly longer) the T has really moved to straight-line much of the system, and cut out or bypass anything not used for regular operation. I think most if not all switches other than what are needed for daily operations are either cut out or locked at this point.

Just yesterday I passed through the Aberdeen/Mt Auburn intersection and while the overhead hasn't looked "good" in this area in a long time, it really looked miserable. The signs of "just barely enough" maintenance are apparent.

Further out in Belmont, back in late 2016/early 2017 the T did put in the special work (diverging switch and the crossing) for the Benton Square loop, but never completed wiring the loop. Recently I noticed that they pulled out the diverging switch - I suspect probably to use it somewhere else to band-aid a more critical section back together to keep it running through this week.

Disney Guy wrote: ↑Thu Mar 10, 2022 12:17 pm
On Aberdeen Ave (outerend of Route 72, Huron Ave.). Right: New utility pole with modern Light Emitting Diode streetlights. Center: Previous utility pole with MBTA trolley overhead bracket arms not moved over to new pole yet. Left: Somewhat new MBTA line pole with feeder wires, ready to receive (perhaps new, modernized) overhead bracket arms.

Why are the trolley bracket arms attached to the wooden pole instead of the steel trolley pole?

When a new utility pole is installed, I believe that each of the other utilities is responsible for moving their gear to the new pole. I don't know if this applies to all pole replacement including where it is done for the benefit of one company, for example, Edison needs a bigger heavier transformer, or they need more vertical space, etc.

How old is that trolley pole? What streetcar company installed it - Boston Elevated? Look how straight it is. I've seen two trolley poles in West Newton that are still being used but the trolley line was ripped out about 1930...

The green trolley line poles go all the way down Aberdeen, one per wood utility pole. I guess they are less than 5 years old.

I suppose that the T has a deadline to move the bracket arms to their new poles so the utility company can remove the old wood pole.

The bracket arms themselves may well date back to 1938 when trackless trolleys began running this route. There is a 1938 captioned picture of Aberdeen Ave. showing the same kind of bracket arms on wood utility poles in Trackless Trolleys of Boston by Bradley Clarke, pp 14. The book explains that streetcars ran the route earlier, and different shorter bracket arms for their overhead may have been there.

Just what the USA needs. More oil consumption (diesel) with the price of diesel going sky high.

I believe BERy replaced all of the infrastructure on Route 72 when it was converted to a trackless line. There was a brief period where it was operated with diesel buses during the conversion.

Does anyone know for sure if the wooden poles on Aberdeen are owned by the T or a utility company?

Google Street View indicates the green poles were installed in 2016.

MBTA3247 wrote: ↑Thu Mar 10, 2022 11:52 pm I believe BERy replaced all of the infrastructure on Route 72 when it was converted to a trackless line. There was a brief period where it was operated with diesel buses during the conversion.

Looks like it was a 6-month replacement - much speedier than the T's plans! Gasoline buses, incidentally - BERy had a few diesel buses as early as 1936, but no large orders until 1950.
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9737149 ... ton-globe/
https://www.newspapers.com/clip/9737151 ... ton-globe/