MBTA LRV Rollsign

Scrolling through a Boston Green Line rollsign. While the sign box comes from the end of an LRV, the curtain is actually from a Type 7. It has a few splices as you can see. This type of sign is manual with a crank to change destinations, and has since been replaced with digital LCD signs. Note that this sign has the rare destination B Naples Rd, which never actually became a stop.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• mbta
• green
• line
• lrv
• rollsign
• sign
• subway
• streetcar
• boston
• jdgator95

[ryan81986]

What voltage do you use for the lights on the side?

[jdgator95]

@ryan81986 32 volts DC is the official voltage, but I'm using 30v which seems to work fine.

[teletubetodd]

Boy, do I remember this! As a kid I loved watching the LRV signs roll, and learning all the places a trolley could stop. This appears to be a later version; the earlier signs had a red diagonal line through the big letter when a train made only part of that branch's run, e.g., Blandford St. instead of Boston College. They also had "A" for the old A Line to Watertown (there was talk of bringing it back then), and "M" for the Mattapan-Ashmont Red Line trolley (though LRVs never made it there).

[jdgator95]

@teletubetodd Thanks! You are correct about this being a later version.

[ryan81986]

@jdgator95

Thanks, is it 32 for the fluorescent lights behind the sign as well?

[CaptainHollyShort]

I want one of these. Pretty jealous that you have a nice one.

[jdgator95]

@heylegare from an LRV being shipped out on a trailer

[cntygrlby2006]

They didn't call the Boeing LRV's "BOING" for nothing.

[teletubetodd]

Also: they don't make rollsigns like this anymore (not at all, really). Their electronic replacements are barely legible from a distance. Flawed as the LRVs and their successors were, their rollsigns were their greatest asset for being so clear and sharp (white translucent block lettering against an opaque black background), for letting you know exactly where and by way of what you were going, and for giving the trains such a wide range of termination points. Roll 'em, rollsigns!

[SuperMlea]

There's about 29 Greenn Line Rollsign. I just count it.