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State may try to save Mattapan trolleys after all
By adamg on Thu, 04/21/2016 - 4:46pm
Possible good news for fans of old trolleys: The Dorchester Reporter reports MassDOT has included $9 million in a five-year capital plan for rehabbing the Mattapan High-Speed Line's PCC trolleys, rather than replacing them with buses or something.
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Comments
Money well spent.
Money well spent.
So how're they coming on that $7B they need to actually keep the trains just running?
Tourist attraction?
Given the state of the T this is a foolish idea but I will throw it out anyway: turn the T itself into a tourist attraction. The subways of Boston reach a beautiful diversity of cultures and neighborhoods. The trains themselves are a rich mix of (very) old and (not so) new. The Mattapan line is intriguing: ancient cars that run through a cemetery.
The Boston area has a rich system of public transportation in spite of its...fragile state. Could the T subway system be marketed as a tourist attraction in its own right? Not to imitate San Francisco's but to rely upon the history and richness of use that that the T itself possesses.
Or is that just a Pollyannish dream that would be delayed, broken, suffer medical emergencies and police actions and finally a budget cut killing the notion in before it even got started?
I have had this idea for a while too
the Mattapan line is a pretty scenic ride. They could put a trolley museum at the end in Mattapan Sq. instead of whatever development is gonna take over that useless parking lot (or useful lot if they made the area more transit oriented, park and ride, etc). House some old trolleys there, instead of caging them at the Boylston st stop. Train enthusiasts could ride out to the Museum and spend their dough in the Square, at one of its many fine liquor stores, bodegas, or check cashing joints.
Happy to read this!
Happy to read this!
The only thing slower than
The only thing slower than the trolley from Ashmont is the bus from Ashmont. This is a good decision.