MBTA Ashmont-Mattapan PCC's

Two of the MBTA's PCC cars on the refurbished "High Speed Line". These are the "Wartime" model PCC's; the MBTA's "Wartime" cars were built by Pullman-Standard in 1945-1946.The cars have all been upgraded with air conditioning (the white bulge on the roof), and were last rebuilt in 2005.

The PCC, or President's Conference Committee car was designed by a design committee in 1929, in which many major electric railways were represented. The PCC car was designed to provide fast, reliable, comfortable service to compete for business with the growing bus lines. Prior to the PCC, there was no real standard design for subway cars or streetcars, as companies built their own design to meet their individual requirements. The PCC provided a standard, modern design, which could easily be integtrated into existing subway and streetcar systems. PCC's featured noise-reducing tires, smooth acceleration and braking due to improved control systems, a modern, streamlined design, and a comfortable ride for the time, although compared to Boston's state-of-the-art Type 8's, they are noisy, rough-riding, jerky and dated in design and accomidations. Boston purchased its first PCC in 1937 and ordered 20 more in 1941. Through the 1940's, 50's, 60's and early 70's, the PCC provided the backbone of the trolley fleet in Boston. PCC's were not completley phased out on the Green Line until 1986, when the combined Boeing-Vertol (now out of service) and Kinki-Sharyo Type 7 fleet took full charge of Green Line service. Boston owned a grand total of 346 PCC's over the design's service. The "Wartime" or "Air-Electric" PCC design used air to operate the brakes, doors and windshield wipers. The "All-Electric" PCC had dynamic brakes and electric friction brakes for parking, as well as the sloped windshield seen on the PCC's on the High Speed Line. These PCC's have the distinctions of being the oldest equipment in continous revenue service in Boston, the only air-electric PCC's in revenue service in the country, and of being the only PCC's in the country to operate over a line which has seen continouos PCC service since their introduction to the system.
MBTA roster information and PCC build/rebuild dates:http://mysite.verizon.net/rtspcc/MBTAroster.html
PCC technical statistics, courtesy of Wikipedia.
Car length: 46-50.5 ft
Width: 100-108 in
Weight: 35,000-42,000 lb
Traction system: 4 x 55 HP motors, 43/6 (~7.17) gear ratio
Voltage: 600 V DC
Braking system(s): ("All-Electric")1)-Dynamic Service Braking; 2)-Friction for Final Stop, Park; 3)-Magnetic (in order of activation) OR Air Friction Braking ("Air-Electric")
Gauges Built: Wide, Standard, Narrow Gauges

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• boston
• massachusetts
• pcc
• trolley
• streetcar
• subway
• vintage
• art
• deco
• streamlined
• restored
• heritage
• MBTA
• ashmont
• mattapan
• high
• speed
• line
• 3234
• 3268
• air
• electric
• wartime

[UP4012]

These are original Boston PCC's, not like the MUNI which bought many of its PCC's from other lines. However, the cars were not built by the MTA, all of the MTA's PCC's were either Pullman-Standard or St. Louis. These cars do have HVAC. Transfer was not free from the Red Line, but you may be able to get a voucher at Ashmont.

[krizvasa]

Thank you for that long article about PCC. It is remarkable but we are still using similar type of PCC streetcar in Central Europe. We have more tram systems in more cities. I would like to ask about this Ashmont-Mattapan line... So it was reopened for streetcars recently? How large is Boston streetcar system and how many people ride it instead of cars?

[UP4012]

@krizvasa The Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line was closed for renovations a couple of years ago and reopened after about a year and a half. The cars run mostly on separate right-of-way, with occassional street crossings. Currently, the only MBTA line which offeres streetcar service with tracks in the street rather than the median is the "E" Heath Street (or to some, Arborway) branch of the Green Line. The Red, Orange and Blue Lines use heavy EMU-style cars rather than LRVs (trams to you)

[rail64]

Listen to the horible rumble! PCC's were designed with this to be gone by using a resilient wheel. BUT the MTA, Toronto and others in later years retroftted a solid wheel to save money. Ride is ok, but sound is awful. Ride a PCC in San Francisco or any museum and you will really hear the difference.

Sadly. the PCC's in Kenosha also have the solid wheels. They are just not fun to ride this way, with all the rumbling and racket they make.

[Cup12321]

Why is this considered the red line if it's some old school trolley thing?

[timosha21]

@UP4012 are these built in boston or are they from Philadelphia?

[2012alexg]

is it a free transfer from the red line at Ashmont? Or is it just free at ashmont in general?

[UP4012]

@gp40mc Right, the PCC fleet was upgraded with the infrastructure of the line. The cars would have originally had electric heat but the good old breeze-style AC. Modern AC was added in the upgrade.

[gp40mc]

they have heat and air conditioning.

[ReccaDreamer]

i like these old-fashioned looking trains. but don't they got heat or AC? if not, then it'd be pretty damn cold in the winter (boston winters can be pretty brutally cold at times *with wind chills it's worst*) and in the summer, it's be damn hot. (ok so it's not that brutal temp-wise but still, the humidity is killer.)