Very nice job with the video! Those of us at a certain age remember the "old" cars from 1928 that originally served what was then known as the Cambridge-Dorchester line. They ran until 1963 when the 01400s were introduced. In 1948, four of the Osgoods were repainted in blue and orange and got fluorescent lighting and cushioned seats. We used to like to ride in them since they were more comfortable and seemed newer. It's possible I rode on the older Laconia and Pressed Steel cars; I just don't recall when they were withrawn from service. The 01400s were built solidly but many people didn't like them because of the hard plastic seats, harsh lighting and their loudness. But, like I said, they were solid and ran for 30+ years! When the 01500s/01600s were introduced in 1969, we thought we had journeyed directly into the future. I even remember the smell of those new trains and how much more quiet and comfortable they were. But at rush hour, they were slower to load and unload because they only have 3 sets of doors on each side (like the Osgoods) instead of the four that existed on the 01400s and the seating was transverse instead of longitudinal. Some of the newer units were built double-ended because there was some thought of running single cars during lightly-traveled times and collecting payment on board (the 01400s actually had a window pane and a lighted indicator for this purpose but it was never used as far as I know.) The 01800s, introduced in 1993 are a very nice set of trains and I think they've been fairly reliable. It remains to be seen whether the CRRC trains will be quite as good as past rolling stock. There was NO air conditioning on any MBTA vehicles until some of the GMC "new look" buses were purchased with that option in the 1960's or 70's and the 01500/01600 cars were introduced in 1969. Before that time, many of the older trains and PCC trolley cars had fans and windows that opened. It was, needless to say, quite hot in the summer riding almost any transit vehicle.
@@NickDaltonYT You're quite welcome! I should have also mentioned that I remember Stadium Station as well. My father used to take me to football games over at Harvard Stadium and that was where fans got on and off the train - it was a little closer to the stadium than Harvard Station itself. The Red Line used to have a large shop and storage yard where the Kennedy School of Government is now located, on JFK Street. As I recall, the train exited the portal south of Harvard Station, looped around the yard and stopped at the train platform, adjacent to the street. MTA (the MBTA's predecessor agency) workers manually collected fares (10 cents!) at the wide doors to the street!
Oh yeah! There were these stations before actual harvard. They were Harvard-Holyoke, Harvard-Brattle, and Stadium. Wow so cool. WHY DIDN’T THEY HAVE MINDS AND REFURBISH ANYTHING ON THE MBTA THAT WAS OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had to say GOODBYE to the rts buses I grew up with. Why just why!!!!!
really liked hearing the history about why each line is called what it is, sounds like a really interesting and cool naming convention that MBTA has stuck to over the years. Love that the Blue Line is called Blue because it goes under the watery depths!!
8:20 One thing that I learned about the Alewife extension was that they called it the Lexington Expansion at the time because they originally had plans to run the Red Line all the way to Lexington through Arlington. But due to strong opposition in Arlington, the project was shortened from the original Harvard to Lexington to just Harvard to Alewife.
This is true. I grew up in Arlington in the ‘70’s, I clearly remember certain people were vehemently opposed to the Red Line going through “their” town and bringing (what they thought) was Boston’s problems to them.
Yep, using the old Lexington Branch right of way from the Boston and Maine; now The Minuteman Commuter Bikeway. There’s a reason it’s called “commuter”… it’s literally a bikepath replacement, connecting Bedford (and route 128) with Alewife and the Red Line. You can still see signs of the old railway, and a preserved BUDD RDC at Bedford Station.
Nick, this is a good documentary. As TheBobs noted, my father also remembered Stadium station. On Harvard football game days, passengers could ride the train to Eliot shops, where they disembarked on a cement platform at the station’s perimeter, adjacent to Harvard Street. When the Alewife extension was underway, the MBTA demolished Eliot shops and built a temporary station where the Kennedy School of Government now sits. Prior to this point, passengers never got to see Eliot because Stadium was rarely used (closed in 1969?) and Harvard was the terminus. Eliot shops existed behind tall concrete barriers that were not inviting. As a kid, I recall the controversy behind the northwest expansion. Citizens of Cambridge were concerned about tearing up Mass. Ave. and creating traffic jams on side streets. The MBTA wanted to dig under Harvard Yard to avoid the sharp (and loud!) turn that Red Line trains now have to take when entering Harvard station. As legend has it, the MBTA took Harvard to court. Harvard’s lawyers provided the judge with a historical document, encased in glass. The judge took the document into his chambers, examined its contents, and came back to the courtroom only to dismiss the case in favor of the university. What was the document? It was a letter from George Washington, insisting that Harvard and the earth beneath its surface remain intact.
Having grown up in Dorchester and Mattapan (50s-60s), I spent lots of time on the Red Line as well as the rest of the subway system. I enjoyed this video very much - you did a great job. Thanks,
Thanks for doing this video. I'm 47, born and raised in Boston,but reside in Houston,TX now. The 1400s with the blue paint i remember riding in the early 80s. I miss Voston so much. You NEED a car in Houston. Public transit pales in comparison to Houston. I know the T has its issues,but I'd take over anything here innTexas infrastructure wise. Such good memories. I tell people the T can literally get all over Boston if youre a visitor. Never waste money onba rental car unless you're really getting beyond the Boston suburbs.
As a kid I loved the old riveted body olive drab cars. The front facing doors slid open. In the summer you could stand behind the locked grate and let the air blow through the car and cool things off a bit. It was also cool the stand at the grate next to the train operator and get the same view he enjoyed.
Thank you for bringing back some great memories of my youth riding the Old MBTA. I enjoyed the history you presented and will be watching all your videos.
Great video! One thing about the Harvard station(s) is that the original 1912 station was completely removed, and the abandoned station we see was the temporary station they set up while the whole old station area was open to air while they built the current station. The old train yard used to be where the current Kennedy School of Government is near Memorial Drive, and the trains connected from the yard. There was also an above ground temporary station where the School of Government is now. I’ve always wondered what happened to the old abandoned connection tunnel.
The tunnel connection is still there. When you ride the Red Line from Central to Harvard on the upper track. Just look to the left and you will see a passage with some outside light
Great video Nick, I lived in Dorchester for 14 years. Took the ashmont red line to downtown Washington station. I worked in Boston theater district for like 6 years. at that time they called it rapid transit and it did travel very fast. it used to say 18 minutes to Harvard station. I loved talking the train. Great video Nick thanks again for great memories.
16:50 It is 2022 and those old things are still in service!!! The grey-white-red livery is always welcoming in my book, but they are showing their age (although not as severely as the complete rust rot on a solid chunk of the orange line's 1200 series)
Air conditioning for trains (especially rapid transit/metro type trains) wasn’t widely adopted until the ‘60s. In New York the NYCTA (which became a part of the MTA in 1968) didn’t get trains with air conditioning from the factory until the R38 came out in 1966, and eventually retrofitted it to the older R33/36 for the IRT lines and the R32 for the IND/BMT lines. But some cars without air conditioning remained in service until the end of the ‘80s when the R27/R30 were retired and the R32 got their air conditioning installed.
I absolutely loved this Video! Nick, you look just like my Grandson Eean! Also, I knew that the trains were dark blue in the early days! Also, I do remember that on the off-peak hours, lunchtime, the 4 car trains were uncoupled and they were 2 cars for a few hours! Can you imagine seeing a 2 car train going by now!!!! Great job!
Thanks for a nice history of the Red Line My grandfather help plan and design old Harvard Square and old Charles Street stations. He was a architect working out of Sullivan Station office.
The RedLine subway cars were the last PCC subway trains built after Chicago and NYC had theirs built .NYC had the first PCC subway train in 1938 via BMT .
The South shore extension opened up in 1971, being North Quincy, Wollaston, and Quincy Center. The cement pilings in the Neponset River were set there in 1965. The T had to see how they settled in the river. The Braintree Station opened up before Quincy Adams Station due to unfinished work. In 1974 you had to pay $1.25 to exit the Quincy Center Station.
Great video, man, thank you! I've been riding the Red Line out of Alewife since the early 90s. Always wondered about many of the things that you covered. Great work! One critique, not a big deal, and likely will happen less over time, you use well, a lot ;) Keep up the great work!
Nice video! Until I moved to Lynn (about 4 years ago), I practically lived on the Red Line. First in Southie, right across from Andrew,; then (later) less than half-a-mile from Quincy Center (although the locals often refereed to it, simply as, "Quincy Station"). Also, if I remember correctly, the residents of Arlington opposed the northern extension (although Lexington was all for it) & successfully lobbied against it. So, it got cut back to Alewife & the rest was made into a bike trail.
I liked this video very much! I recently visited Boston and had an opportunity to ride the Blue Line (from Logon Airport) and Green Line. I think the Boston subway system is fascinating.
Great job Nick! I’d like to have seen the intermediate Harvard stations like Harvard/Brattle and even Stadium get a mention, maybe that can be a video of its own.
Great job! I road on the Red Line about 1.5 years ago from MGH to U/Mass. I don’t know what series train it was but I remember that it was in need of an exterior paint job, lots of rust. The ride was very noisy and rough and I was told to avoid sitting on the cloth seats! Hope things have gotten better since then. Anyway, I’m glad that you are giving such a detailed and down to earth commentary on these icons of Boston. (Love Boston!)
@@NickDaltonYT Thanks for your response! What is scary is how close the wall appears to the windows when they’re barreling through the tunnels. Still, all the trains add to the unique flavor of Boston.
11:10 I believe it was in 2017-2020 period that Wollaston station received its accessibility redesign, making it the last station on the red line to be ADA compliant (by the time I began regularly using the red line, the station had already finished renovations)
The fact that the southern extension was built on the former New Haven railroad was mentioned, but the Alewife extension was not mentioned. It was part of the Boston and Maine Railroad freight cut off. The Fitchburg line comes in too close to the bottom of the Mystic terminal area, The cut off came in where freights could enter the receiving yard. When the extension was built, the state improved the Lowell (New Hampshire Route) so freights could run vial Ayer, N. Chelmsford, and Lowell.
Definitely enjoyed this video! I learned at least one new thing from watching this! Looking forward to seeing more like these! I think even a discussion on future potential projects would be really cool if not incorporated to a base documentary video.
17:32 The worst decision of the T on the rebuilt seating layout was their material choice in seat padding. They should have used the same cushioning that the green line's Type 7s have employed. Orange line too
It’s like that time I went to DC where the older cars had 6 cars and the newer ones had 8 so the WMATA had the arrival signs say 6 in orange and say 8 in green
There is an portion of the original 1912 Harvard. When you ride Red Line from Harvard to Central, when look to your left after passing the tunnel curve. You literally see the outbound portion of the 1912 station.
Hey Nick, just stumbled across this video and your channel and I am glad I did. Awesome video on the Red Line. I love Boston and have a soft spot for the 'T'.
I can vouch for those Pullman cars not being fun to be in during the summer. "Do we have to take the train? Let's take the car!" Yeah, that never worked. They did have heat though for the winter. Never new why those "blue/gold/white' Red line cars were there...but the explanation makes sense. You know the other three lines are just waiting....four if you want to go crazy and do the Commuter rail (Purple line?). Nice job!
Interesting video on the red line. Something that wasn't discussed in the video was the Wollaston T station. That station had a major upgrade and from my understanding it's ADA compliant. Other than that great video. You deserve my thumbs up. 👍👍👍
Thanks for sharing... 👍 Public transport is super important and though I can be pretty satisfied with the Berliner public transport I like to find out about other networks and I already found out that what I use myself is average in contrast to other cities around the globe
Before they extended the other side of the Red Line to Alewife, there was another station after Harvard called Harvard/Brattle, which was right next to the Charles Hotel.
19:56 From what i know, on the NYC Subway the R46 cars also have that type of exterior LED destination signs seen on the video, by the way, the cars i mentioned on this comment were built by Pullman. Please correct me if i'm wrong.
Please explore what is the difference between the even-numbered car from the odd-numbered car? Which one has the airbrake equipment, mainly the compressor, main reservoir, and which car has the converter or inverter, whatever the battery charger and ceiling lights may be, and battery pack? You may explore the railcars made by Pullman. I thank you in advance.
Each car is the same. The only thing different about them are the numbers other than that the individual cars themselves have all the equipment necessary to function properly there is no difference between even and odd numbered cars.
Nick, you did a wonderful job on the history of the red line. I think it would be nice if maybe you did the history of the blue line. If and when you decide to do this project, I will definitely be looking forward to seeing it. Have a great day, Nick. I look forward to your next video. Take care my friend. Quick question, Nick. Do you think the MBTA will eventually extend the Blue Line all the way to Lynn, MA? I know they have been talking about this for years and have not heard anything one way or the other.
Update: 1900s are here! I've seen them around. I think we're at like two trainsets (12 cars) in usual service for the most part (sometimes only one). Hopefully we can get a third trainset soon!
great video. I am surprised that you did not mention the depth of Porter Sq station. some of the things you said about train length Make sense for Kendal. the lights on the train would go out. There was a powerhouse at Kendal. and they used giant rotators to match the frequency and power needed. you could hear them. when they redid the Kendal roundabout they upgraded this setup. thus becoming rotary eliminators en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendall/MIT_station.
Hmm you left out the part how they wanted to expand the red line to Lexington but Arlington residents threw a big NIMBY fit about being the temporary end of the red line. Without Arlington there wasn't much point in going past Alewife. And I think the MBTA ran out of money anyway by that point, same reason the Orange Line was never fully expanded to Reading. Cool video though, learned a bunch of new stuff about the red line!
I enjoyed the video! When I visited Boston in 2007 I rode all of the T's lines except the High Speed Line which was out of service for rebuilding. Do you know why MBTA Red Line trains do NOT run white headlights?
19:24 I jokingly call them "Bombarshittier" but those 1800s cars are leagues better than the 1700 series. Sleeker look (although the 1700s had a nicer retro feel from the livery), smoother sound, and generally look better (probably because they are like 6 to 10 years younger)
I love the undercarriage and bogie design too. Nice spotting options right along Burgin Pkwy near BJ's as the trains pass either immediately leaving Quincy Adams northbound or en route to arriving a Quincy Adams southbound. Amazing commuter rail shots opportunities there too. Same with the commuter rail as it rolls by Wollaston station.
Nice Video! Recently they have decided to replace the whole Red Line fleet (including the 1800s) which is a good thing because of their age, etc, But why not use the announcements from the 1800s? Their so nostalgic
Do you know why the 1500 and 1600s were built in the same years like why did they just not do one (I mean like just single units or just married pairs) the line was still 1 Branch
Man I hope the mbta will extended the red line to Lexington or even Burlington in the future if its possible to extended to Burlington I dont know what do you think nick
The detail was nice as far as it went. Since you wanted to include original names, I wish you had.... Winter, (Summer,) Park St Under. Discussion of the of the Brattle St car yard, now the JFK School of Gov't All that said, still a commendable effort, grammar, wording, and syntax notwithstanding. B+
Very nice job with the video!
Those of us at a certain age remember the "old" cars from 1928 that originally served what was then known as the Cambridge-Dorchester line. They ran until 1963 when the 01400s were introduced. In 1948, four of the Osgoods were repainted in blue and orange and got fluorescent lighting and cushioned seats. We used to like to ride in them since they were more comfortable and seemed newer. It's possible I rode on the older Laconia and Pressed Steel cars; I just don't recall when they were withrawn from service.
The 01400s were built solidly but many people didn't like them because of the hard plastic seats, harsh lighting and their loudness. But, like I said, they were solid and ran for 30+ years!
When the 01500s/01600s were introduced in 1969, we thought we had journeyed directly into the future. I even remember the smell of those new trains and how much more quiet and comfortable they were. But at rush hour, they were slower to load and unload because they only have 3 sets of doors on each side (like the Osgoods) instead of the four that existed on the 01400s and the seating was transverse instead of longitudinal. Some of the newer units were built double-ended because there was some thought of running single cars during lightly-traveled times and collecting payment on board (the 01400s actually had a window pane and a lighted indicator for this purpose but it was never used as far as I know.)
The 01800s, introduced in 1993 are a very nice set of trains and I think they've been fairly reliable. It remains to be seen whether the CRRC trains will be quite as good as past rolling stock.
There was NO air conditioning on any MBTA vehicles until some of the GMC "new look" buses were purchased with that option in the 1960's or 70's and the 01500/01600 cars were introduced in 1969. Before that time, many of the older trains and PCC trolley cars had fans and windows that opened. It was, needless to say, quite hot in the summer riding almost any transit vehicle.
That is so cool!!! Thank you for sharing!!!
@@NickDaltonYT You're quite welcome! I should have also mentioned that I remember Stadium Station as well. My father used to take me to football games over at Harvard Stadium and that was where fans got on and off the train - it was a little closer to the stadium than Harvard Station itself. The Red Line used to have a large shop and storage yard where the Kennedy School of Government is now located, on JFK Street. As I recall, the train exited the portal south of Harvard Station, looped around the yard and stopped at the train platform, adjacent to the street. MTA (the MBTA's predecessor agency) workers manually collected fares (10 cents!) at the wide doors to the street!
@@thebobs7385 that is awesome!!!
Oh yeah! There were these stations before actual harvard. They were Harvard-Holyoke, Harvard-Brattle, and Stadium. Wow so cool. WHY DIDN’T THEY HAVE MINDS AND REFURBISH ANYTHING ON THE MBTA THAT WAS OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I had to say GOODBYE to the rts buses I grew up with. Why just why!!!!!
Corey 11 Lewis Boston
really liked hearing the history about why each line is called what it is, sounds like a really interesting and cool naming convention that MBTA has stuck to over the years. Love that the Blue Line is called Blue because it goes under the watery depths!!
8:20
One thing that I learned about the Alewife extension was that they called it the Lexington Expansion at the time because they originally had plans to run the Red Line all the way to Lexington through Arlington. But due to strong opposition in Arlington, the project was shortened from the original Harvard to Lexington to just Harvard to Alewife.
This is true. I grew up in Arlington in the ‘70’s, I clearly remember certain people were vehemently opposed to the Red Line going through “their” town and bringing (what they thought) was Boston’s problems to them.
Yep, using the old Lexington Branch right of way from the Boston and Maine; now The Minuteman Commuter Bikeway. There’s a reason it’s called “commuter”… it’s literally a bikepath replacement, connecting Bedford (and route 128) with Alewife and the Red Line.
You can still see signs of the old railway, and a preserved BUDD RDC at Bedford Station.
Nick, this is a good documentary. As TheBobs noted, my father also remembered Stadium station. On Harvard football game days, passengers could ride the train to Eliot shops, where they disembarked on a cement platform at the station’s perimeter, adjacent to Harvard Street.
When the Alewife extension was underway, the MBTA demolished Eliot shops and built a temporary station where the Kennedy School of Government now sits. Prior to this point, passengers never got to see Eliot because Stadium was rarely used (closed in 1969?) and Harvard was the terminus. Eliot shops existed behind tall concrete barriers that were not inviting.
As a kid, I recall the controversy behind the northwest expansion. Citizens of Cambridge were concerned about tearing up Mass. Ave. and creating traffic jams on side streets. The MBTA wanted to dig under Harvard Yard to avoid the sharp (and loud!) turn that Red Line trains now have to take when entering Harvard station. As legend has it, the MBTA took Harvard to court. Harvard’s lawyers provided the judge with a historical document, encased in glass. The judge took the document into his chambers, examined its contents, and came back to the courtroom only to dismiss the case in favor of the university. What was the document? It was a letter from George Washington, insisting that Harvard and the earth beneath its surface remain intact.
I'm not gonna lie this is actually very cool to knoe
Having grown up in Dorchester and Mattapan (50s-60s), I spent lots of time on the Red Line as well as the rest of the subway system.
I enjoyed this video very much - you did a great job. Thanks,
thank you so much for this video!! well done :) i'll be so sad when the older red line cars get fully replaced, they have so much personality to them!
And they're better in many ways... Much less actually seating on the new cars 😢
Thanks for doing this video.
I'm 47, born and raised in Boston,but reside in Houston,TX now.
The 1400s with the blue paint i remember riding in the early 80s.
I miss Voston so much. You NEED a car in Houston. Public transit pales in comparison to Houston.
I know the T has its issues,but I'd take over anything here innTexas infrastructure wise.
Such good memories. I tell people the T can literally get all over Boston if youre a visitor. Never waste money onba rental car unless you're really getting beyond the Boston suburbs.
As a kid I loved the old riveted body olive drab cars. The front facing doors slid open. In the summer you could stand behind the locked grate and let the air blow through the car and cool things off a bit. It was also cool the stand at the grate next to the train operator and get the same view he enjoyed.
Thank you for bringing back some great memories of my youth riding the Old MBTA. I enjoyed the history you presented and will be watching all your videos.
Great video!
One thing about the Harvard station(s) is that the original 1912 station was completely removed, and the abandoned station we see was the temporary station they set up while the whole old station area was open to air while they built the current station. The old train yard used to be where the current Kennedy School of Government is near Memorial Drive, and the trains connected from the yard. There was also an above ground temporary station where the School of Government is now. I’ve always wondered what happened to the old abandoned connection tunnel.
The tunnel connection is still there. When you ride the Red Line from Central to Harvard on the upper track. Just look to the left and you will see a passage with some outside light
Great video Nick, I lived in Dorchester for 14 years. Took the ashmont red line to downtown
Washington station. I worked
in Boston theater district for
like 6 years. at that time they called it rapid transit and it did travel very fast. it used to say 18 minutes to
Harvard station. I loved talking the train. Great video Nick thanks again for great memories.
Thank you for watching. I’m glad you enjoyed!
16:50
It is 2022 and those old things are still in service!!! The grey-white-red livery is always welcoming in my book, but they are showing their age (although not as severely as the complete rust rot on a solid chunk of the orange line's 1200 series)
15:07 the way the music stopped when you said that the Pullman 1400s didn't come with AC is just hilarious.
@@Rabbitrails315 I did it for comedic effect
@@NickDaltonYT I can tell
19:17 This is it. This is the sound I remember when I think of the Red Line. For me, that sound is iconic.
Air conditioning for trains (especially rapid transit/metro type trains) wasn’t widely adopted until the ‘60s. In New York the NYCTA (which became a part of the MTA in 1968) didn’t get trains with air conditioning from the factory until the R38 came out in 1966, and eventually retrofitted it to the older R33/36 for the IRT lines and the R32 for the IND/BMT lines. But some cars without air conditioning remained in service until the end of the ‘80s when the R27/R30 were retired and the R32 got their air conditioning installed.
I absolutely loved this Video! Nick, you look just like my Grandson Eean! Also, I knew that the trains were dark blue in the early days! Also, I do remember that on the off-peak hours, lunchtime, the 4 car trains were uncoupled and they were 2 cars for a few hours! Can you imagine seeing a 2 car train going by now!!!! Great job!
I still miss the old elevated orange line
Thanks for a nice history of the Red Line
My grandfather help plan and design old Harvard Square and old Charles Street stations. He was a architect working out of Sullivan Station office.
Wow interesting
Finally he does another line other than the orange line
The RedLine subway cars were the last PCC subway trains built after Chicago and NYC had theirs built .NYC had the first PCC subway train in 1938 via BMT .
He didn’t ask you that.....
Correct
Like I new the blue line was a streetcar in 1900s but I need the history of the line and rolling stock
The South shore extension opened up in 1971, being North Quincy, Wollaston, and Quincy Center. The cement pilings in the Neponset River were set there in 1965. The T had to see how they settled in the river. The Braintree Station opened up before Quincy Adams Station due to unfinished work. In 1974 you had to pay $1.25 to exit the Quincy Center Station.
Great video, man, thank you! I've been riding the Red Line out of Alewife since the early 90s. Always wondered about many of the things that you covered. Great work! One critique, not a big deal, and likely will happen less over time, you use well, a lot ;) Keep up the great work!
I'm a train and I approve this message choo choo!
Nice video! Until I moved to Lynn (about 4 years ago), I practically lived on the Red Line. First in Southie, right across from Andrew,; then (later) less than half-a-mile from Quincy Center (although the locals often refereed to it, simply as, "Quincy Station").
Also, if I remember correctly, the residents of Arlington opposed the northern extension (although Lexington was all for it) & successfully lobbied against it. So, it got cut back to Alewife & the rest was made into a bike trail.
Oh wow. Interesting I did not see that in my research thank you for telling me
This was really dope 👌🏿🙌🏿💯 I grew up in Boston and love the subway 👌🏿
Nice video. In my opinion the doors on the new cars with no paint on the bottom look great. They add a new dimension to the overall scheme.
Good point
This was my childhood train. I used to take this train and jump back and forth from it to the Green Line constantly.
I liked this video very much! I recently visited Boston and had an opportunity to ride the Blue Line (from Logon Airport) and Green Line. I think the Boston subway system is fascinating.
Nice video, good work. You should do one on the MBTA buses, starting from the first set purchased when the MBTA formed from the MTA in the 60s..
The Pullman 1400s were loud as hell!!! I'm still hearing their thunderous hum to this day!
Man I wish I could experience their magic
@@NickDaltonYT I was born in a late '70s grew up in the '80s to the late '90s so I got the experience. A lot of things MBTA
@@NickDaltonYT thank you for doing these epic Mbta documentary videos! I look forward to seeing more content from you when you can post them👍🏾
Great job Nick! I’d like to have seen the intermediate Harvard stations like Harvard/Brattle and even Stadium get a mention, maybe that can be a video of its own.
Great job! I road on the Red Line about 1.5 years ago from MGH to U/Mass. I don’t know what series train it was but I remember that it was in need of an exterior paint job, lots of rust. The ride was very noisy and rough and I was told to avoid sitting on the cloth seats! Hope things have gotten better since then. Anyway, I’m glad that you are giving such a detailed and down to earth commentary on these icons of Boston. (Love Boston!)
Ohhh those were the 1500-1700s yeah honestly those things scare me to ride in. They are scary when going fast
@@NickDaltonYT Thanks for your response! What is scary is how close the wall appears to the windows when they’re barreling through the tunnels. Still, all the trains add to the unique flavor of Boston.
11:10 I believe it was in 2017-2020 period that Wollaston station received its accessibility redesign, making it the last station on the red line to be ADA compliant (by the time I began regularly using the red line, the station had already finished renovations)
The fact that the southern extension was built on the former New Haven railroad was mentioned, but the Alewife extension was not mentioned. It was part of the Boston and Maine Railroad freight cut off. The Fitchburg line comes in too close to the bottom of the Mystic terminal area, The cut off came in where freights could enter the receiving yard. When the extension was built, the state improved the Lowell (New Hampshire Route) so freights could run vial Ayer, N. Chelmsford, and Lowell.
Definitely enjoyed this video! I learned at least one new thing from watching this! Looking forward to seeing more like these! I think even a discussion on future potential projects would be really cool if not incorporated to a base documentary video.
This is great. This video is professional and you for sure put a lot of hard work!
17:32 The worst decision of the T on the rebuilt seating layout was their material choice in seat padding. They should have used the same cushioning that the green line's Type 7s have employed. Orange line too
It’s like that time I went to DC where the older cars had 6 cars and the newer ones had 8 so the WMATA had the arrival signs say 6 in orange and say 8 in green
There is an portion of the original 1912 Harvard. When you ride Red Line from Harvard to Central, when look to your left after passing the tunnel curve. You literally see the outbound portion of the 1912 station.
Hey Nick, just stumbled across this video and your channel and I am glad I did. Awesome video on the Red Line. I love Boston and have a soft spot for the 'T'.
Hey thanks man. I appreciate it
You should do the green line history next I would be fun to watch lol
I can vouch for those Pullman cars not being fun to be in during the summer. "Do we have to take the train? Let's take the car!" Yeah, that never worked.
They did have heat though for the winter. Never new why those "blue/gold/white' Red line cars were there...but the explanation makes sense.
You know the other three lines are just waiting....four if you want to go crazy and do the Commuter rail (Purple line?). Nice job!
Lol 9:15 Thanks for the credit
born and raised fairmont commuter rail an O line. very nice video thank you
The #3 01800 cars are some of my favorite heavy rail cars.
[SF]
Interesting video on the red line. Something that wasn't discussed in the video was the Wollaston T station. That station had a major upgrade and from my understanding it's ADA compliant. Other than that great video. You deserve my thumbs up. 👍👍👍
Just watched the orange line video, getting ready to watch this one now.
Nice nice. The red line video will not disappoint you I guarantee it
20:12 Frank Oglesby's voice is amazing!
Thanks for sharing... 👍
Public transport is super important and though I can be pretty satisfied with the Berliner public transport I like to find out about other networks and I already found out that what I use myself is average in contrast to other cities around the globe
The issue with the doors not having the red stripe is due to accessibility limitations I think. It’s the same with UK mainline stock.
Ahhh interesting
There is still a 4 car set of 1400s in Ashmont yard. I originally saw them around 2014 in Cabot Yard
those 1400s aren't in too bad condition i snuck in their and checked them out
Wait what???
@@NickDaltonYT you should go check them out
Wait they are still there??? Contact me on discord. I want to chat about this.
@@NickDaltonYT i don’t have discord
This was very interesting video nick
Love these videos! I'm autistic and the MBTA is one of my special interests!!!
Before they extended the other side of the Red Line to Alewife, there was another station after Harvard called Harvard/Brattle, which was right next to the Charles Hotel.
NICK MAURICE VERY EDUCATED VIDEOS EVEN THOUGH I OWNED THREE CARS 1990 BUICK CENTURY 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY 2009 CAMRY I STILL USE MBTA
He's a genius on Boston's transportation. I would love to go back to Boston some day.
Hey yeah. I’d love to just say hi when u stop bye
8:40-8:50 the neatest bit in the whole video
19:56 From what i know, on the NYC Subway the R46 cars also have that type of exterior LED destination signs seen on the video, by the way, the cars i mentioned on this comment were built by Pullman. Please correct me if i'm wrong.
Please explore what is the difference between the even-numbered car from the odd-numbered car? Which one has the airbrake equipment, mainly the compressor, main reservoir, and which car has the converter or inverter, whatever the battery charger and ceiling lights may be, and battery pack? You may explore the railcars made by Pullman. I thank you in advance.
Each car is the same. The only thing different about them are the numbers other than that the individual cars themselves have all the equipment necessary to function properly there is no difference between even and odd numbered cars.
Nick, you did a wonderful job on the history of the red line. I think it would be nice if maybe you did the history of the blue line. If and when you decide to do this project, I will definitely be looking forward to seeing it. Have a great day, Nick. I look forward to your next video. Take care my friend. Quick question, Nick. Do you think the MBTA will eventually extend the Blue Line all the way to Lynn, MA? I know they have been talking about this for years and have not heard anything one way or the other.
The do plan on doing this yes btw if have any thing you wanna say about the blue line HMU on my email ill add to to the script
its going to be difficult due to the original row hs huge pt block built on it.
Red Is My Favorite Line Of The MBTA.
Nice job. It's great to learn about the history of our public transit system.
Yes indeed!
Nick,you are the best.Keep up the good work...b
Thank you!!!
Nick. Great video and your commentary was excellent. Yours, Nick
Thank you so much!!!
I missed the Dover Station near Checker Smoker.
I also believe the overhaul of the Pullman Standards in the 80s gave them Door chimes and PA Systems.
4 sets of doors not 3 as mentiond
hey nick i loved your video! i think you should do one on the blue line
25:39
The 1900s got pulled off of service AGAIN now that the FTA is enforcing a service slashing for the orange line, blue line, and red line.
Update: 1900s are here! I've seen them around. I think we're at like two trainsets (12 cars) in usual service for the most part (sometimes only one). Hopefully we can get a third trainset soon!
Yeah nice video, you should do a video on the commuter rail the history of that train line
I will do that once the green line is finished
Ok Nick sounds good
Keep up the good work I enjoy your videos
Can you please do a video about the green line, silver line, commuter rail, or buses.
Love it man. Great job!
great video. I am surprised that you did not mention the depth of Porter Sq station. some of the things you said about train length Make sense for Kendal. the lights on the train would go out. There was a powerhouse at Kendal. and they used giant rotators to match the frequency and power needed. you could hear them. when they redid the Kendal roundabout they upgraded this setup. thus becoming rotary eliminators en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendall/MIT_station.
Hmm you left out the part how they wanted to expand the red line to Lexington but Arlington residents threw a big NIMBY fit about being the temporary end of the red line. Without Arlington there wasn't much point in going past Alewife. And I think the MBTA ran out of money anyway by that point, same reason the Orange Line was never fully expanded to Reading.
Cool video though, learned a bunch of new stuff about the red line!
Oops. Well thanks for the notice! I will be sure to make sure to include that in the remaster someday
The 1500s were acually single units though were later converted into married pairs because they operated like a married pair.
I love the video it would just be better if you put in more detail on the original rolling stock for the red line
make a blue line version of this
I enjoyed the video! When I visited Boston in 2007 I rode all of the T's lines except the High Speed Line which was out of service for rebuilding. Do you know why MBTA Red Line trains do NOT run white headlights?
I think you should do a video on the Blue Line next.
Hello MAN VERY EDUCATED ABOUT TRAINS THANKYOU 😮😮😮😮😮STAY SAFE GOD BLESS 😮😮😮😮😮
19:52 destination sign looks like from r44, r46, r110a, and r110b
The exterior signs on the 1800s are not LED, they are LCD like a calculator display
Thanks, Nick❤
Did I miss the part where you said you weren't covering the Ashmont/Mattapan portion of the red line?
I covered the line a smidge bit
19:24
I jokingly call them "Bombarshittier" but those 1800s cars are leagues better than the 1700 series. Sleeker look (although the 1700s had a nicer retro feel from the livery), smoother sound, and generally look better (probably because they are like 6 to 10 years younger)
I love the undercarriage and bogie design too. Nice spotting options right along Burgin Pkwy near BJ's as the trains pass either immediately leaving Quincy Adams northbound or en route to arriving a Quincy Adams southbound. Amazing commuter rail shots opportunities there too. Same with the commuter rail as it rolls by Wollaston station.
This video was really good.
Nice Video!
Recently they have decided to replace the whole Red Line fleet (including the 1800s) which is a good thing because of their age, etc, But why not use the announcements from the 1800s? Their so nostalgic
I saw your video was actually very awesome can you do the Blue Line next
I can’t wait to watch this!
The 63 cars look like they had 4 sets of doors per side
They used to do tours in the old tunnels
you might mention where they store the cars I think it is just beyond alewife.
How about a vid on the Green Line?
Workin on it
Good Video Nick Very Rducated God Bless Nick nice Person 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮
Do you know why the 1500 and 1600s were built in the same years like why did they just not do one (I mean like just single units or just married pairs) the line was still 1 Branch
The 01500 & 01600 series first came out, they were exclusively for the South Shore when the line opened in ‘71 while the Ashmont line had the 01400s
This is excellent
I’d like to see a silver line documentary🤔
the Harvard station upgrade in the 80ty had a cave in that killed a worker.
Man I hope the mbta will extended the red line to Lexington or even Burlington in the future if its possible to extended to Burlington I dont know what do you think nick
17:52 they should have kept this, looks sleek even in 2024
Do you think Arlington residences will allow the redline to go through their town this time
Unless it's underground the whole way, I can't see the red line getting extended. They love the minuteman rail trail way too much to let it go away.
The detail was nice as far as it went. Since you wanted to include original names, I wish you had....
Winter, (Summer,) Park St Under.
Discussion of the of the Brattle St car yard, now the JFK School of Gov't
All that said, still a commendable effort, grammar, wording, and syntax notwithstanding. B+