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75-year-old Mattapan Line trolleys replaced by buses today due to high winds
By adamg on Tue, 03/14/2023 - 12:02am
The MBTA reports it will be keeping the old trolleys snug in their yard during the nor'easter. Also being kept off their routes: ferry boats.
Riders of other public-transit lins should consider extra time even aside from the extra time they should consider because of the slow-zone issues on the subway, the T says.
The MBTA will operate non-passenger trains to assist in keeping tracks clear and to look for any trees or branches that pose a threat to overhead wires. MBTA emergency crews are on standby throughout the storm to respond to rail issues, issues affecting power systems, potential switch problems, and any flooding issues that may occur. Power crews will be on hand to inspect overhead wires on the Blue and Green lines for ice buildup on catenary wires. Crews will use ice cutters, installed on vehicles, to safely remove ice from impacting power lines. Increased staffing will be on-site throughout the duration of the weather event to respond to weather-related issues, and rail-borne snow-fighting equipment will be pre-deployed at key locations around the rapid transit network. The T also has contractors at the ready for snow clearing along key bus routes and T facility/employee parking, freeing up T personnel to concentrate on core system functions.
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Comments
MBTA to residents of Milton
You had the nerve to bitch about stairs, we'll give you something to bitch about, take a bus in a monsoon.
Why only the High Speed Line?
What makes it apparently more vulnerable to high winds than the various Green Line branches ?
I think they consider the
I think they consider the Mattapan trolleys to be more vulnerable to snow damage.
I'm not sure why, since these cars used to be the workhorses of trolley systems in many American cities, and must have handled the snow somehow.
It's not a Green Line branch
It's an isolated light rail line that is branded as part of the Red Line.
It still runs old Presidents' Conference Committee (PCC) cars that were designed in the 1930s. When similar cars ran on the Green Line, up to the 1970s, they ran in this weather, so I'm not sure why the T prefers to run buses. But the T is less functional today than it was in the 1970s, when, for instance, signs at the Harvard Square station said "8 minutes to Park Street". Blame idiots in the legislature and idiots who voted for them.
Yeah, I know what it is and where it is, and the history
I've travelled on the High Speed Line. Have you?
The question is why is this line apparently susceptible to high winds, as the various Green Lines are not running busses.
It's interesting that they
It's interesting that they specifically mentioned wind, since (as you say) they ran for years on many routes and systems without that trouble. (note to self - have the Johnny "Auntie Em!" Gif from Airplane cued up and ready to go).
Perhaps it is, as one of the others said, concern about trees along that right-of-way.
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I'm also wondering about that open section of the run next to the tidal marsh of the Neponset. Do winds get unusually high there in the right type of storm?
For that matter, the high tides this week have been pretty high. Might a storm push the tides up to the trail and the railroad, as happened a few weeks ago?
Just a guess, but...
It runs through Cedar Grove Cemetery and along the Neponset, there are lots of trees along the route so branches and actual fallen trees could take out the overhead wires, trapping commuters.
There's lots and lots of trees on parts of the Green LIne too
So why is the High Speed Line special?
That said
The Riverside Line runs through conservation land and along the Muddy River.
Of course, running buses for the Mattapan Line is easier, if only because by and large there is already a bus line (the 27) that parallels it.
And the Riverside Line is often suspended during large storms
for that reason, usually after a tree falls onto the wires or the tracks.
Will they keep at least one
Will they keep at least one line open for publicity rides?
Nope
Wu got her publicity selfie yesterday.
Snow on the tracks in the
Snow on the tracks in the winter.
Ice on the tracks in the winter.
Wet leaves on the tracks in the fall.
Tracks warping when it's hot.
Tracks cracking when it's cold.
Now... too much wind on the tracks?
Are there any weather conditions it does function in?