Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway

Trying to fill in gaps in my Boston transit history knowledge, I was surprised to learn that ESRM wasn't acquired by MBTA until 1968. For some reason, I had always assumed Boston MTA had acquired both ESRM and BERy at the same time, but clearly I was wrong. I've searched and found not much about the history or when trolley lines were dropped and converted to bus. When did ESRM end trolley operations? What took so long for ESRM to be integrated into Boston's public transit?

-otto-

The final Eastern Mass streetcar lines were Quincy and Stoneham. Stoneham-Sullivan Square service ended on July 28, 1946, though the BERy continued to run the inner section of the line until 1955. Hough's Neck-Quincy Square ended June 30, 1946, Quincy Shipyard-Quincy Square on April 4, 1948, and Quincy Square-Fields Corner on May 1, 1948. (BERy Neponset-Fields Corner service continued until June 19, 1948).

When the MBTA was created in 1964 for the purpose of subsidizing suburban commuter rail service, the Eastern Mass fought it tooth and nail. They actually delayed the June 1965 introduction of B&M subsidies by a month by a lawsuit. Not until around 1966, when the South Shore Line was under construction (and thus the financial core of the Eastern Mass system was about to collapse) did the company begin negotiations to be acquired by the MBTA.

Most of the Eastern Mass. operations were conducted outside the BE or MTA zone and the most of the ones in the zone were bought out. For a capsule history of bus operations which has most of the rail conversion dates, find a Motor Coach Age, August-September 1982. Also earlier the Connecticut Valley Chapter NRHS Transportation Bulletins from about 1958 through the late 1960s had issues dealing mostly with car types, but there's quite a bit of information on routes and operations. Also, some issues of BRSA Roll Sign have EMSR articles. When EMSR emerged from the bankrupt Bay State Street Railway, it had just under 1,000 closed cars, about 1,100 open cars and 270 snow plows; there was a lot of track.

Building on the above comment, check out Connecticut Transportation Bulletin, #82, Jan/Dec 1975, by Roger Borrow & Carl smith; also, ‘From Boston to the Berkshires’, by Stephen Carlson & Thomas Harding.

[OT] There was also the Middlesex & Boston Street Railway, which according to Wikipedia last ran trolleys in 1930, finally absorbed into the MBTA in 1972. Several of their trolley routes still exist as bus routes.

Yeah, I remember seeing Middlesex & Boston buses in Medford Square and Arlington Center back in the 1960's when I was a teenager.

Correction: It was Eastern Mass Street Railway busses I used to see in Medford Square back in the early 1960's, not Middlesex and Boston.

I remember another bus line in Medford Square. I think it was called Hudson Bus Lines. They used a very small bus (half the size of MBTA buses) and I can't remember where the bus went to. But it was a regular service: we'd be waiting for the bus back to our neighborhood and several Hudson buses would stop for passengers while we waited.

Hudson Bus Lines had a route from Lawrence, MA up to Canobie Lake Park.

Hudson also had a route that went past the house I grew up in Arlington Heights, I think it went from Arlington Center to the Arlmont area. I think it was stopped in the late 60's early 70's.

Aerie wrote: ↑Mon Dec 21, 2020 1:35 pm I remember another bus line in Medford Square. I think it was called Hudson Bus Lines. They used a very small bus (half the size of MBTA buses) and I can't remember where the bus went to. But it was a regular service: we'd be waiting for the bus back to our neighborhood and several Hudson buses would stop for passengers while we waited.

Yes, Hudson’s garage was outside Medford Square, on Riverside Avenue I think? They shut down around 1994. They ran what is now the 710 as a local route in Medford. I remember visiting the garage/headquarters as a kid around 1990 or so. I recall them being pretty nice folk.