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Here is what you have for tunnels surrounding South Station. Southbound I-93 Under Surface Artery and Rose Kennedy Greenway with its roadway at about -30 feet. Red Line Under Summer St. descending from about -40 feet at Chauncy St. to about -70 feet east of Dewey Sq. Descends to about -80 feet, then...

The distance from Atlantic Ave. to the I-90 tunnel is about 2000 feet. Since a shallow tunnel under the building and concourse isn't feasible, delete 150 feet. If you now allow for an 850 platform, you have 1000 feet left. A 20 foot rise to the surface on a 2% grade would consume another 1000 feet. ...

Dorchester Ave over the Fort Point Channel, in 1971: Looks like the retractile lasted longer than I thought. I remember driving (bouncing) over it with my dad, but I don't recall ever driving my own car over it. That nice looking pavement was a thin layer of asphalt over wood planks. Still that fou...

I updated Paul's signature in his profile to reflect his passing. It had not occurred to me before to do that. Paul was a significant contributor this forum, taking the time to research many obscure facts. He also researched the role the police played in dealing with many events where public safety...

The R-32 cars were built by Budd, the master of stainless steel construction throughout. All subsequent stainless steel cars used a hybrid of a stainless steel shell on a carbon steel frame. The bodies fail at the point where the two metals meet, a condition exacerbated by the chemicals used to remo...

If the North South Rail Link gets built you would have a station underground. Yes, very deep to get under the Red Line at about 80 feet below the surface. Assuming a 10 car platform, 850 feet, and a 2% maximum grade means the approach would start almost a mile away, 4850 feet to be exact. I wouldn'...

I'm going to have to guess Dorchester Ave for a second Fort Point crossing. You are indeed correct. Dorchester Avenue over the Fort Point Channel was a retractile bridge until it was replaced with a fixed bridge in the 1960s. Dorchester Ave. between Summer St. and Foundry St. was closed during the ...

The Green Line Central Subway now appears to be fully covered by the newest phase of MBTA live tracking. The MBTA hasn't made an official announcement about it yet, but I thought I'd mention it here since the data don't lie. :-) Yippee! All of the lines seem to have some digital black-holes, especi...

I saw the lower level of the old South Station as it was being demolished, so it could be done. But it would likely cost a lot more and be much more disruptive than moving the Post Office and converting that space back to a similar number of platform tracks. And we apparently can't afford to do tha...

One of EGE's wrong answers was oh so close, the other was a liftle further away.

I originally blamed vacation season, but I'm starting to think that Keolis is deliberately short-staffing to save money. Do they really save with all the lost fares? Or is such a large percentage of fares just monthly passes that they can swallow the lost on-board fares? No fare collection means in...

I rode the Pennsylvanian back in 1983 when it was still "second fiddle" to the Broadway Limited. I have also driven the PA-Turnpike many times. You have to realize that despite its power in the 19th century, the Pennsy did not have the resources to build through the Appalacians. They did t...

The platforms are located in an odd space where the subway moves from under Park Avenue to Lexington Ave. There is a fly-under for the 42nd St. shuttle access and the 7 line below that. Widening these platforms would be well nigh impossible, so every little bit helps. Unfortunately, the long awaited...

Summer Street over Fort Point Channel Summer Street over Reserved Channel Congress Street over Fort Point Channel? St. Marys Street Bridge over the Charles? Pretty sure you got the first three right. Don't know that the last one would have had tracks. Wasn't that a temporary floating bridge? The EG...

Going back to a past question, the name "ATLANTIC CHAMBERS" was used by the Elevated to identify the station on the 1908 track chart, Page 36. Although the page was redrawn and combined with page 35, the name persisted on these charts until the East Boston Tunnel was deleted after 1921. No...