Outbound Boston Orange Line on the El

The second half of a charter trip for the NMRA is shown. The last years of operation of Boston's Orange line on the elevated.

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Boston
• El
• L
• Transportation
• Passenger
• Trains
• Rapid
• Transit

[filmsforfred]

Wow! This ride brings back memories . Thanks for uploading .

[anticrombieX]

The sad part is that those train cars shown in this video are still in use on the orange line today,  Most of them rotting from the bottom up.

[kirkreeves]

Also thanks. If you think it looks scary you would never do what I did. Joined a work crew and walked the track from NorthHampton to Dover station when I was 12. However I wasn't scared. Instead riding the orange line made me feel like I was flying. I got to know the train and work crews, was in the switching tower at Dudley and a lot more. I really missed the EL. Thank you for this. I also remember the NMRA convention there since the model railroad clubs I belong too was one of the hosts.

[3siadrak]

wish i could have rided on one

[purpleness64]

wow thanks for posting! Nostalgia I used to ride the EL but looking at it now how scary to be up that high and the rails look so rickety!

[2012alexg]

At 1:02 why didn't they stop?

[joelang6126]

2:19 The building on the left is the one used as the St Eligius hospital for the 80s series St Elsewhere.

[AutisticPsycho]

"What's the trolley line down below?"

"We don't have any trolleys down below there!"

Arborway service on the E branch was "temporarily suspended" beyond Heath Street in 1985. Arborway is name of the former Green Line stop there at Forest Hills which is now used for the 39 bus... the replacement for Green Line service beyond Heath Street.

[FomorViceroy]

Heading south, Essex (now Chinatown) emerged onto an elevated track. The stations were, in this order, Dover (now East Berkley Street), Northampton, Dudley, Egleston, Green Street, and Forest Hills.

[heels2479]

What were the names of the stations on the old El?

[mespada4940]

I really miss this elevated Orange Line station. But, I wish remodel it that will be nice.

[apodino]

I remember riding this alot until the Southwest Corridor opened up. It was either this or the Green Line from the Arborway yard. Sadly, both are gone today. Arborway has been tangled in bureacracy for way too long.

[NeutronDance]

wicked pissah

[RobertPaniagua]

Yeah, I know, just like the NYCT BMT Q Brighton Beach Line from Prospect Park thru Newkirk Ave, where unlike the Southwest Corridoe Orange line, it goes up to ground level, while the New Orange Line ROW always only stays in open cut

[RobertPaniagua]

Early 1987 or late '86, and to further exact the date the EL stopped running, it was on Friday, May 01, 1987 at 1:00 AM

[TNT314159]

is this referring to arborway service?

[honkyrink]

the line closed in 1987.

[jamin108]

what year is this?

[edisonoside]

It sure was a scenic ride..I miss it much...The newer line is boring with NOTHINg to see but cemented walls...

[strosa57]

At 8:58:

"What's the trolley line down below?"

"We don't have any trolleys down below there!"

Sadly, still true...

Excellent videos though, very well documented!

[fletchneck]

ahhhh. brings back memories of my youth. Did you know more than half of those building on Washington street are no longer there.

[62volvo1800]

Nostalgia is certainly tempting when screening these videos, but I remember this eyesore. The El was noisy, dirty, unreliable, and from what many motormen told me at the time, unsafe. Drivers used to complain about rivets, bolts, and other pieces of metal falling onto their cars. And those of us who remember the Charlestown El might recall just how ugly that was. Mayor Kevin White began regentrifying C-Town right after '75 when the El came down. Perhaps that's why property values shot up.

[ooxcfhxoo]

this is amazing video keep it coming

[FomorViceroy]

At 2:15, on the lefthand side, the train passes by the building that stood for St. Eligius hospital from the 1980s medical drama St. Elsewhere. If you listen, you can even hear someone whistling the theme tune!

[TheMarshall67]

Man this brought back so many memories. Getting the EL from Dudley to Esse(Chinatown) on towards Washington(Downtown Crossing)would get you there in less than 10 minutes. Again, Thanks for memories!