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Green Line plows itself out
By adamg on Tue, 02/17/2015 - 10:59pm
Trolley plowing the tracks in Coolidge Corner! Thanks @MBTA !! @TownofBrookline @universalhub pic.twitter.com/KrLfRoP0MN
— Mike Sanders (@msanders14) February 18, 2015
Mike Sanders watched a plow-equipped trolley move through Coolidge Corner tonight.
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Comments
Adam, turn off whatever makes
Adam, turn off whatever makes your videos autoplay on iPhones. It's wicked annoying.
Autoplay
Videos don't autoplay on my iphone. But I don't update my software like I should, so.
The Lechmere yard was devoid
The Lechmere yard was devoid of trains this morning, it was very odd-looking. Did they keep them overnight inside near North Station to keep them warm? Train arrived after a few minutes wait, not bad at all.
How nice for the C Line.
As I understand it, the C Line has already got Shuttle Bus "service" from Kenmore to Cleveland Circle. Hope the B Line is getting some attention, since there's literally NOTHING between Packard's Corner and Chestnut Hill Avenue, as far as I can tell. It's amazing to me that the MBTA has been writing off this huge chunk of the population, and that the city is letting them get away with it. I mean, it's Commonwealth-freakin'-Avenue. for Pete's sake!
Abandoned customers
Seriously, where is the outrage??
According to their own numbers, over 16,000 customers get on the B line prior to Packard's Corner every morning. Do they think 16,000 people will fit on a 57 bus??
Thanks for throwing in shuttle service today.. NOT. Shuttling people to Packard's Corner is a slap in the face. Yet another pat on the back and a "you're on your own, pal" from the inept MBTA. Just finish the job and drop your customers off at Kenmore!
And where is BU and BC in all of this? Their silence makes them complicit in abandoning their students.
It almost seems like the MBTA is doing this on purpose in order to drum up a public fervor that will demand more funding from the local and state governments. If that's true, you cannot use the public and your customers as bait in a political threat. Why are we just now seeing a plow on Tuesday night?? Really, was it being fixed? Did they run out of staff? Why?
The press is rolling over on this, shame on all of them!
I don't know about BU, but BC
I don't know about BU, but BC has their own shuttle buses.
I'm just thankful I live close enough to Cleveland Circle to take the C line. I really did not want to deal with shuttle buses or the D line.
Where is the outrage?
See my comment below regarding the lack of voting in A-B for your answer. In summary, college kids (many of whom retain all of their out-of-state ties) and 20 somethings that live in, but don't register to vote in A-B simply don't count. Period.
And ...
What about residents of the city who need that service to get to their jobs at the colleges? Don't their votes count?
Cool to watch...
...but I hope this spurs the T to look into modern versions of these:
http://trolleymuseum.org/collection/images/05106WMA-20020223.jpg
The beauty of dedicated snowplows is they can be designed to take the abuse of snow duty. The old Type 3 snowplows were beasts - super heavy duty traction motors and resistors which could handle slogging along at low speed for long periods of time. The one pictured is the only one that still works at the museum in Maine, and I've personally seen it used to push four unpowered work cars at one time. The Type 7's are great streetcars, but they're likely not designed for this type of abuse, so all the snowplow duty is just wearing out more of the revenue passenger fleet.
Thomas?
http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/ttte/images/c/c6/ThomasGetsaSnowplow...
Still think A-B doesn't get shafted?
Some knucklehead jumped all over me a couple of weeks ago for saying on UHub that one reason that A-B gets treated so crappy (at all levels of government) is because, rightly or wrongly, it has been and still is viewed as a holding pen for non-voting (at least in local elections) college kids and 20-somethings.
I'd say that my assessment, based on living there or very nearby there for the past 20 years is looking at least as good now as it did a couple of weeks ago.
All you have to do is have a look at Beacon St. from Cleveland Circle St. Mary's Street to see the difference that engaged voters can make (of course, the no overnight parking rule in Brookline does not hurt).
You've got a trifecta in Brookline
More permanent resident voters, smaller city (less territory to cover), and a wealthier tax base to support town services. In addition to the no overnight parking.
I recall living in Watertown, being amazed both at the frequency of snowplowing in big storms, but also how the town came back after the storm and cleared out the bus stops on Mt Auburn St - well before any concerted efforts to improve bus stop conditions. The kind of services you can sometimes get in the smaller towns.
Plus ca change ...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/cityofbostonarchives/16085951980
Adding to my increasing conviction that there is absolutely nothing the MBTA does that is both original and well done. It's one or the other, at best.
Better Late Than Never??
Why are they just doing this now? Also don't the have a mountable plow for the commuter rail so they don't have to shovel by hand??