As with many large cities, a large number of Boston-area streetcar lines once existed. However, only a few remain, namely the four branches of the Green Line and the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, with only one (the Green Line "E" Branch) running regular service on an undivided street.
The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) was formed on August 3, 1964, taking over operations from the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA). The MTA itself was formed in 1947 to take over operations of the private Boston Elevated Railway (BERy), which ran rapid transit, streetcars and buses in the Boston area.
In 1936, the BERy assigned numbers to its routes for map use, but route numbers were not used on buses until the late 1960s (when the colors were assigned to the remaining rail lines). Additionally, the numbers were only kept the same on and after the 1942 revision of the map; before that they were changed with each new version. A few routes were renumbered around 1967, but most routes have kept their original numbers. Routes were numbered roughly clockwise from South Boston to East Boston.
This is a table of when each streetcar line was converted to trackless trolley or bus. Only information post-1940 is complete.
| Routes: | 4/Green Line "D" 7 9 10 11 15 16 17 19 20 22 23 25 26 27 28/Red Line Mattapan 29 30 30A/28 32 34 36 39/Green Line "E" (Arborway) 40 41 42 43 44 45 47/1 48 57/Green Line "E" (Heath) 58 60 61/Green Line "C" 62/Green Line "B" 65 66 69/Green Line "A"/57 70 71 72 73 76 77/69 79/77 80 82/77A 87 88 89 92 93 100 101 111 114 115 116 117 118 119 121 122 |
|---|
| Last day of streetcars | Route | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Still operational | 4 Riverside - Subway | Renamed Green Line "D" Branch ca. 1967 |
| 28 Mattapan - Ashmont High Speed Line | Number dropped and considered part of Red Line ca. 1967, still runs 1940s-era PCC streetcar. | |
| 57 Heath Street - Subway | Renamed Green Line "E" Branch (short-turn) ca. 1967 | |
| 61 Cleveland Circle - Subway | Renamed Green Line "C" Branch ca. 1967 | |
| 62 Boston College - Subway | Renamed Green Line "B" Branch ca. 1967 | |
| December 27, 1985 | 39 Arborway - Subway | Renamed Green Line "E" Branch ca. 1967, reverted to 39 |
| June 20, 1969 | 69 Watertown - Subway | Renamed Green Line "A" Branch ca. 1967, reverted to 57 |
| October 28, 1963 | New configuration of downtown subway opens | |
| April 5, 1962 | Shuttle Pleasant Street - Boylston | Last service to the Pleasant Street Incline |
| November 17, 1961 | 43 Lenox Street - Subway | Closed June 14, 1956 from Egleston to Lenox Street |
| July 4, 1959 | 4 Riverside - Subway (Highland Branch) opens | |
| September 4, 1958 | 71 Watertown - Harvard | Still trackless trolley |
| 73 Waverly - Harvard | Still trackless trolley | |
| 82 North Cambridge - Harvard | Renumbered 77A ca. 1967 Still trackless trolley |
|
| June 14, 1956 | 43 Egleston - Subway | Cut back to Lenox Street |
| December 16, 1955 | 40 Arborway - Egleston | |
| 100 Elm Street - Sullivan | truncated to Elm Street in 1946 | |
| November 18, 1955 | 79 Arlington Heights - Harvard | Renumbered 77 ca. 1967 |
| September 9, 1955 | 29 Mattapan - Egleston | |
| January 19, 1954 | Revere Extension opens to Wonderland | |
| December 4, 1953 | 10 City Point - Dudley | |
| September 12, 1953 | 47 Mass Station - Dudley | Renumbered 1 ca. 1967 |
| June 19, 1953 | 7 City Point - South Station | |
| April 24, 1953 | 30 Mattapan - Roslindale | |
| 30A Mattapan - Arborway | Renumbered 28 ca. 1967 | |
| 32 Cleary Square - Arborway | Trackless trolley until September 30, 1958 | |
| March 1, 1953 | 9 City Point - Subway | Bus connected to subway shuttle at Pleasant Street Incline through December 4, 1953 |
| November 21, 1952 | 34 Dedham Line - Arborway | Trackless trolley until September 5, 1958 |
| April 21, 1952 | Revere Extension opens to Suffolk Downs | |
| January 5, 1952 | Revere Extension opens to Orient Heights | |
| January 4, 1952 | 114 Meridian - Maverick | Turned around at the south end of the closed Meridian Street Bridge Trackless trolley until March 30, 1961 (Woodlawn - Maverick, via the Meridian Street Bridge, reopened ca. 1954) |
| 115 Gladstone - Maverick | Short-turn of 118 | |
| 116 Revere Beach Loop - Maverick via Revere Street | Trackless trolley until September 8, 1961 (Wonderland - Wood Island) | |
| 117 Revere Beach Loop - Maverick via Beach Street | Trackless trolley until September 8, 1961 (Wonderland - Wood Island) | |
| 118 Revere Carhouse - Maverick via Ocean Avenue and Bennington Street | Trackless trolley until June 1955 (Wonderland - Orient Heights) | |
| 121 Eagle Carhouse - Maverick via Lexington | Trackless trolley until March 30, 1961 (Wood Island - Maverick) | |
| September 28, 1951 | 36 Charles River - Arborway | Trackless trolley until September 5, 1958 |
| June 16, 1950 | 70 Watertown - Central | Trackless trolley until March 30, 1963 |
| December 9, 1949 | 16 Franklin Park - Andrew | Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962 |
| September 18, 1949 | 76 Harvard - Mass Station | Trackless trolley until March 30, 1960 |
| September 16, 1949 | 42 Egleston - Dudley | |
| July 1, 1949 | 93 Sullivan - Subway via Bunker Hill Street | |
| June 7, 1949 | 41 Jamaica Plain - Dudley | |
| April 23, 1949 | 122 Jefferies Point - Maverick | |
| February 11, 1949 | 17 Fields Corner - Andrew via Meeting House Hill | Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962 |
| January 28, 1949 | 44 Seaver - Dudley | Trackless trolley until March 30, 1961 |
| January 7, 1949 | 19 Fields Corner - Dudley via Geneva Avenue | Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962 |
| 22 Ashmont-Dudley via Talbot Avenue | Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962 | |
| 23 Ashmont-Dudley via Washington Street, Dorchester | Trackless trolley until April 6, 1962 | |
| December 24, 1948 | 15 Uphams Corner - Dudley | Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962 (Kane Square - Dudley) |
| 45 Grove Hall - Dudley via Blue Hill Avenue | Trackless trolley until April 5, 1962 | |
| June 18, 1948 | 20 Fields Corner - Neponset | Trackless trolley until March 30, 1961 |
| April 2, 1948 | 92 Sullivan - Subway via Main Street | |
| April 18, 1947 | 101 Salem Street - Sullivan via Winter Hill | Trackless trolley until March 13, 1959 |
| December 6, 1946 | 89 Clarendon Hill - Sullivan | Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963 |
| November 7, 1941 | 87 Clarendon Hill - Lechmere via Somerville Avenue | Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963 Ran into the Subway via Lechmere until July 9, 1922 |
| 88 Clarendon Hill - Lechmere via Highland Avenue | Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963 Ran into the Subway via Lechmere until July 9, 1922 |
|
| February 16, 1941 | Huntington Avenue Subway opens, ending 39 and 57 service on eastern Huntington Avenue and Boylston Street, and service through the Boylston Street Incline | |
| September 9, 1938 | 66 Allston - Dudley | |
| Brookline Village - Subway | Rush-hour only truncation of 58/60 (?) from 1932 Cut back to Brigham Circle short-turns |
|
| April 1, 1938 | 72 Huron Avenue - Harvard via Concord Avenue | Still trackless trolley |
| March 4, 1938 | 48 Dudley - Subway | Ran via Washington Street, Dover and Tremont Streets into the Subway Replaced by Dudley - Tremont & Dover Streets bus Bus service ended February 1942 |
| May 7, 1937 | 111 Woodlawn - Chelsea Square | Extended to City Square as a bus |
| October 9, 1936 | 119 Beachmont - Revere City Hall | |
| June 10, 1936 | Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Chelsea division (routes 111 - 119) bought by BERy; some of these had run into the subway until 1935 | |
| April 10, 1936 | 77 Harvard - Lechmere via Cambridge Street | Renumbered 69 ca. 1967 Trackless trolley until March 30, 1963 (first trackless trolley route) Ran into the Subway via Lechmere until July 9, 1922 |
| 1933 | 27 Ashmont - Milton? | Replaced with Ashmont - Mattapan bus? |
| October 23, 1932 | Kenmore station opens, with a dual-pronged extension of the Boylston Street Subway | |
| July 8, 1932 | 80 Arlington Center - Sullivan via Medford Hillside | Replaced with Arlington Center - Lechmere bus, later trackless trolley until March 28, 1963 Streetcar line opened August 31, 1901 |
| 1932 | 58 Cypress Street - Mass Station or Subway? | Replaced with Cypress Street - Kenmore bus Brookline Village - Subway kept rush hours only |
| 60 Chestnut Hill - Mass Station or Subway? | Replaced with Chestnut Hill - Kenmore bus Brookline Village - Subway kept rush hours only |
|
| 1930 | Dorchester Avenue | |
| ca. 1930 | Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Hyde Park and Chelsea/Everett divisions sold to BERy | |
| December 21, 1929 | 28 (Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line) opens to Mattapan | |
| August 26, 1929 | 28 (Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line) opens to Milton | |
| January 18, 1929 | 11 Broadway? - Bay View | |
| late 1928 or early 1929 | 26 Dudley - Nelson & Norfolk Streets | Replaced with Ashmont - Morton & Corbett Streets bus |
| late 1928 | 25 Andrew - Washington & Fairmount Streets | Replaced with Ashmont - Washington Street & Gallivan Boulevard bus |
| September 1, 1928 | Dorchester Extension opens to Ashmont | |
| November 5, 1927 | Dorchester Extension opens to Fields Corner | |
| April 17, 1924 | Last day of streetcars through the East Boston Tunnel | |
| July 9, 1922 | Last day of lines (77, 87, 88) entering the subway via Lechmere | |
| 1920s | 65 Boston College - Brookline Village | |
| 1920s | Sullivan - Dudley via Subway | |
| March 15, 1919 | Charlestown Elevated opens to Everett | |
| ca. 1919 | Harvard Square - Jeffries Point via East Boston Tunnel | |
| unknown | 21 Fields Corner - Adams Street | Merged with 20 September 1962 Was trackless trolley? |
| 81 Arlington Center - Clarendon Hill | Merged with 89 October 1961 Split off into 81 Arlington Center - Lechmere April 1953 Renumbered 87A ca. 1967 Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963 |
|
| 90 Davis Square - Sullivan via Highland Avenue | Trackless trolley until November 14, 1956 | |
| 102 Malden - Faulkner via Main Street and Cross Street | Trackless trolley until March 28, 1963 | |
| 103 Malden - Everett via Main Street | Discontinued April 1962 Was trackless trolley |
|
| 104 Malden - Everett via Ferry Street and Broadway | Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963 | |
| 105 Faulkner - Everett via Cross Street and Main Street | Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963 | |
| 106 Lebanon Street - Everett via Salem Street, Malden Square and Main Street | Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963 | |
| 109 Linden - Everett via Broadway | Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963 | |
| 110 Wonderland or Broadway and Park Avenue - Everett via Everett Square | Trackless trolley until March 29, 1963 | |
| 111 Eagle Carhouse - City Square via Chelsea Square | Was trackless trolley? | |
| 112 Malden Square - Chelsea Square via Everett Square | Trackless trolley until June 23, 1961 | |
| 113 Malden Square - Chelsea Square via Ferry Street | Trackless trolley until December 8, 1960; the route was discontinued | |
| 113 Wonderland - Malden via Ferry Street | Unnumbered until ca. 1962 Trackless trolley summers 1954-1956 |
|
| 120 Orient Heights - Maverick via Bennington Street | Trackless trolley until September 8, 1961 | |
Read more about Boston-area Streetcar Lines: Boston-area Streetcar Lines/old, Older Routes, Eastern Massachusetts Routes
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