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Everything about Boston-area Streetcar Lines totally explained

.]] As with many large cities, a large number of Boston-area streetcar lines once existed. However, only a few remain, namely the four branches of the Green Line and the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, with only one (the Green Line "E" Branch) running regular service on an undivided street.
   The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was formed on August 3, 1964, taking over operations from the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). The MTA itself was formed in 1947 to take over operations of the private Boston Elevated Railway (BERy), which ran rapid transit, streetcars and buses in the Boston area.
   In 1936, the BERy assigned numbers to its routes for map use, but route numbers were not used on buses until the late 1960s (when the colors were assigned to the remaining rail lines). (External Link) Additionally, the numbers were only kept the same on and after the 1942 revision of the map; before that they were changed with each new version. A few routes were renumbered around 1967, but most routes have kept their original numbers. Routes were numbered roughly clockwise from South Boston to East Boston.
   This is a table of when each streetcar line was converted to trackless trolley or bus. Only information post-1940 is complete.
Routes:
4/Green Line "D" 7 9 10 11 15 16 17 19 20 22 23 25 26 27 28/Red Line Mattapan 29 30 30A/28 32 34 36 39/Green Line "E" (Arborway) 40 41 42 43 44 45 47/1 48 57/Green Line "E" (Heath) 58 60 61/Green Line "C" 62/Green Line "B" 65 66 69/Green Line "A"/57 70 71 72 73 76 77/69 79/77 80 82/77A 87 88 89 92 93 100 101 111 114 115 116 117 118 119 121 122

Last day of streetcars Route Notes
Still operational Riverside - Subway Renamed Green Line "D" Branch ca. 1967
Mattapan - Ashmont High Speed Line Number dropped and considered part of Red Line ca. 1967, still runs 1940s-era PCC streetcar.
Heath Street - Subway Renamed Green Line "E" Branch (short-turn) ca. 1967
Cleveland Circle - Subway Renamed Green Line "C" Branch ca. 1967
Boston College - Subway Renamed Green Line "B" Branch ca. 1967
December 27, 1985 Arborway - Subway Renamed Green Line "E" Branch ca. 1967, reverted to 39
June 20, 1969 Watertown - Subway Renamed Green Line "A" Branch ca. 1967, reverted to 57
October 28, 1963 New configuration of downtown subway opens
April 5, 1962 Shuttle Pleasant Street - Boylston Last service to the Pleasant Street Incline
November 17, 1961 Lenox Street - Subway Closed June 14, 1956 from Egleston to Lenox Street
July 4, 1959 Riverside - Subway (Highland Branch) opens
September 4, 1958 Watertown - Harvard Still trackless trolley
Waverly - Harvard Still trackless trolley
North Cambridge - Harvard Renumbered ca. 1967
Still trackless trolley
June 14, 1956 Egleston - Subway Cut back to Lenox Street
December 16, 1955 Arborway - Egleston
Elm Street - Sullivan truncated to Elm Street in 1946 (External Link)
November 18, 1955 Arlington Heights - Harvard Renumbered ca. 1967
September 9, 1955 Mattapan - Egleston
January 19, 1954 Revere Extension opens to Wonderland
December 4, 1953 City Point - Dudley
September 12, 1953 Mass Station - Dudley Renumbered ca. 1967
June 19, 1953 City Point - South Station
April 24, 1953 Mattapan - Roslindale
Mattapan - Arborway Renumbered ca. 1967
Cleary Square - Arborway Trackless trolley until September 30, 1958
March 1, 1953 City Point - Subway Bus connected to subway shuttle at Pleasant Street Incline through December 4, 1953 (External Link)
November 21, 1952 Dedham Line - Arborway Trackless trolley until September 5, 1958
April 21, 1952 Revere Extension opens to Suffolk Downs
January 5, 1952 Revere Extension opens to Orient Heights
January 4, 1952 Meridian - Maverick Turned around at the south end of the closed Meridian Street Bridge
Trackless trolley until March 30, 1961 (Woodlawn - Maverick, via the Meridian Street Bridge, reopened ca. 1954)
Gladstone - Maverick Short-turn of 118
Revere Beach Loop - Maverick via Revere Street Trackless trolley until September 8, 1961 (Wonderland - Wood Island)
Revere Beach Loop - Maverick via Beach Street Trackless trolley until September 8, 1961 (Wonderland - Wood Island)
Revere Carhouse - Maverick via Ocean Avenue and Bennington Street Trackless trolley until June 1955 (Wonderland - Orient Heights)
Eagle Carhouse - Maverick via Lexington Trackless trolley until March 30, 1961 (Wood Island - Maverick)
September 28, 1951 Charles River - Arborway Trackless trolley until September 5, 1958
June 16, 1950 Watertown - Central Trackless trolley until March 30, 1963
December 9, 1949 Franklin Park - Andrew Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962
September 18, 1949 Harvard - Mass Station Trackless trolley until March 30, 1960
September 16, 1949 Egleston - Dudley
July 1, 1949 Sullivan - Subway via Bunker Hill Street
June 7, 1949 Jamaica Plain - Dudley
April 23, 1949 Jefferies Point - Maverick
February 11, 1949 Fields Corner - Andrew via Meeting House Hill Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962
January 28, 1949 Seaver - Dudley Trackless trolley until March 30, 1961
January 7, 1949 Fields Corner - Dudley via Geneva Avenue Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962
Ashmont-Dudley via Talbot Avenue Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962
Ashmont-Dudley via Washington Street, Dorchester Trackless trolley until April 6, 1962
December 24, 1948 Uphams Corner - Dudley Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962 (Kane Square - Dudley)
Grove Hall - Dudley via Blue Hill Avenue Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962
June 18, 1948 Fields Corner - Neponset Trackless trolley until March 30, 1961
April 2, 1948 Sullivan - Subway via Main Street
April 18, 1947 Salem Street - Sullivan via Winter Hill Trackless trolley until March 13, 1959
December 6, 1946 Clarendon Hill - Sullivan Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
November 7, 1941 Clarendon Hill - Lechmere via Somerville Avenue Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
Ran into the Subway via Lechmere until July 9, 1922
Clarendon Hill - Lechmere via Highland Avenue Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
Ran into the Subway via Lechmere until July 9, 1922
February 16, 1941 Huntington Avenue Subway opens, ending and service on eastern Huntington Avenue and Boylston Street, and service through the Boylston Street Incline
September 9, 1938 Allston - Dudley (External Link)
Brookline Village - Subway Rush-hour only truncation of / (?) from 1932
Cut back to Brigham Circle short-turns
April 1, 1938 Huron Avenue - Harvard via Concord Avenue Still trackless trolley
March 4, 1938 Dudley - Subway Ran via Washington Street, Dover and Tremont Streets into the Subway
Replaced by Dudley - Tremont & Dover Streets bus
Bus service ended February 1942 (External Link)
May 7, 1937 Woodlawn - Chelsea Square (External Link) (External Link) Extended to City Square as a bus
October 9, 1936 Beachmont - Revere City Hall (External Link)
June 10, 1936 Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Chelsea division (routes - ) bought by BERy; some of these had run into the subway until 1935 (External Link)
April 10, 1936 Harvard - Lechmere via Cambridge Street (External Link) Renumbered ca. 1967
Trackless trolley until March 30, 1963 (first trackless trolley route)
Ran into the Subway via Lechmere until July 9, 1922
1933 Ashmont - Milton? Replaced with Ashmont - Mattapan bus?
October 23, 1932 Kenmore station opens, with a dual-pronged extension of the Boylston Street Subway
July 8, 1932 Arlington Center - Sullivan via Medford Hillside (External Link) Replaced with Arlington Center - Lechmere bus, later trackless trolley until March 28, 1963 (External Link)
Streetcar line opened August 31, 1901
1932 Cypress Street - Mass Station or Subway? (External Link) Replaced with Cypress Street - Kenmore bus
Brookline Village - Subway kept rush hours only
Chestnut Hill - Mass Station or Subway? (External Link) Replaced with Chestnut Hill - Kenmore bus
Brookline Village - Subway kept rush hours only
1930 Dorchester Avenue (External Link)
ca. 1930 Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Hyde Park and Chelsea/Everett divisions sold to BERy (External Link)
December 21, 1929 (Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line) opens to Mattapan
August 26, 1929 (Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line) opens to Milton
January 18, 1929 Broadway? - Bay View (External Link)
late 1928 or early 1929 Dudley - Nelson & Norfolk Streets (External Link) Replaced with Ashmont - Morton & Corbett Streets bus
late 1928 Andrew - Washington & Fairmount Streets (External Link) Replaced with Ashmont - Washington Street & Gallivan Boulevard bus
September 1, 1928 Dorchester Extension opens to Ashmont
November 5, 1927 Dorchester Extension opens to Fields Corner
April 17, 1924 Last day of streetcars through the East Boston Tunnel
July 9, 1922 Last day of lines ( ) entering the subway via Lechmere
1920s Boston College - Brookline Village (External Link)
1920s Sullivan - Dudley via Subway (External Link)
March 15, 1919 Charlestown Elevated opens to Everett
ca. 1919 Harvard Square - Jeffries Point via East Boston Tunnel (External Link)
unknown Fields Corner - Adams Street Merged with September 1962
Was trackless trolley?
Arlington Center - Clarendon Hill Merged with October 1961
Split off into 81 Arlington Center - Lechmere April 1953
Renumbered ca. 1967
Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
Davis Square - Sullivan via Highland Avenue Trackless trolley until November 14, 1956
Malden - Faulkner via Main Street and Cross Street Trackless trolley until March 28, 1963
Malden - Everett via Main Street Discontinued April 1962
Was trackless trolley
Malden - Everett via Ferry Street and Broadway Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
Faulkner - Everett via Cross Street and Main Street Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
Lebanon Street - Everett via Salem Street, Malden Square and Main Street Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
Linden - Everett via Broadway Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
Wonderland or Broadway and Park Avenue - Everett via Everett Square Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963
Eagle Carhouse - City Square via Chelsea Square Was trackless trolley?
Malden Square - Chelsea Square via Everett Square Trackless trolley until June 23, 1961
Malden Square - Chelsea Square via Ferry Street Trackless trolley until December 8, 1960; the route was discontinued
Wonderland - Malden via Ferry Street Unnumbered until ca. 1962
Trackless trolley summers 1954-1956
Orient Heights - Maverick via Bennington Street Trackless trolley until September 8, 1961

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