Seashore Trolley Museum Boston Day June 19, 2010 (Saturday)

[ck4049]

I think it is the older version, because those look like they were built yesterday. I do think having signage and shelters are a great thing to have.

[octr202]

Those also aren't MBTA property, they're Cemusa or Wall (the companies that sell the ad space), depending on the town they're in. Getting the old shelters would be a lot of work, and as John pointed out, are they something we want to start adding to the property permanently. If we could get some appropriate signage (bus stop signs, station signs, etc.) for some places that might be a start - a lot easier to transport and store than whole shelters, which, while certainly authentic to the transit industry, would look somewhat out of place at stops primarily served by trolleys that are 75-100 years old.

[octr202]

I am loving where this thread is going!

Adding temporary stops is definitely feasible, I also am somewhat interested in Derek's idea for photo op locations. Allowing people to travel the right of way by foot between locations poses a great potential for danger, but dropping off people at a fixed location shouldn't really be an issue so long as no person is ever alone out there. Perhaps the temporary stops idea can be blended with this. (Off topic, but that whistle post in the 6mph section near the end of the line is for the curve, not the ATV trail)

As far as Talbot park is concerned, people are allowed to disembark trains/cars there to transfer between cars or to enjoy the location so long as they are accompanied by 1 or more crew members with working communication devices (radios, cell phones...). To set up a transfer point there is definitely possible and most certainly worth discussing! Also, subway cars don't have to turn in the Biddeford lead, they can enter the loop track and change ends either at the platform or on the other side. Construction of a temporary high out there is kind of a stretch but not impossible, this should be considered before being tossed. Streetcars could be sent ahead of subway cars so by the time the subway cars got there the streetcars would have already looped. Either that or the streetcars can change ends at Talbot Park like the subway cars so long as only double ended cars are sent in that group.

IF (big if) we had the capability to board/detrain passengers from high floor rapid transit cars at TP, we could use a combination of streetcar - subway set - streetcar to make better use of the time on the railroad to do double duty with photo runbys and subway/rapid riding. If the rapid/subway cars could platform on the main past the Biddeford switch, the preceding streetcar could drop off photo seekers, who could photograph the runby, then get picked up by the following car and dropped at TP to ride the subway/rapid cars back, or vice versa. We might not need to save that much time, but then again, if the photo runby trip goes all the way to TP (versus the current end just past Meserves) we might want to.

[StevieC48]

Shoot if someone riggs it right the Pettibone could move it, if I am not mistaken wasn't it the Pettibone that moved the gazebo to talbot park> So a little shelter like that shold be no problem.

[danib62]

Are you talking about these ?:
http://www.ichizen.com/goat/goat_mbta/i ... _10_01.jpg
I think that the roof alone would over-load a pick-up. I'd say a flatbed or medium size van minimum would be needed. If they're available for the getting, pick a few up as I'm sure that they would be useful up there. Just don't get yourself a ticket and tow on 95 - or worse, into an accident coming up with one.

No I think we're talking about one of the old ones with a bubble top.

[sixflagscoasters]

^ Yes you are right.danib62...The older one with the bubble glass/plastic top is the ones I was referring to. The type in the picture are too new for the MBTA to give them away for free!

[RailBus63]

No I think we're talking about one of the old ones with a bubble top.

Those things are so tacky and ugly – I don’t ever seeing them having any retro charm or historical value worthy of saving in a museum. Plus, they don’t tend to age well – the white top tends to yellow and the window frames deteriorate. Even if the MBTA had some they were willing to give away for nothing, they’d probably be in terrible shape.

[sixflagscoasters]

^ If things were saved based on opinion only, then I don't think we would have many museums. How big do you think the MFA would be if that was the case? It might not even exist. Also I don't think Seashore would exist, or at least not to what it is today.

You cant say you should not save something because it is ugly, or you don't think it has any historical value.

I am not saying they are the best looking shelters ever designed, but they were all over the MBTA system, so you should save at least one just to show the public what the shelters of that time period looked and felt like to stand inside. I don't think I even stood inside one, if I did I don't remember it, and now I will never know what it would be like to stand inside one unless someone saves one.

Do you understand what I am trying to say?

[danib62]

Those things are so tacky and ugly – I don’t ever seeing them having any retro charm or historical value worthy of saving in a museum. Plus, they don’t tend to age well – the white top tends to yellow and the window frames deteriorate. Even if the MBTA had some they were willing to give away for nothing, they’d probably be in terrible shape.

We need to save them so future generations can see how tacky and ugly they were! If you don't save them now how will they ever know? Also how do you know what will or won't have historical value 100 years down the road?

[diburning]

one of these?

[CRail]

...back to Boston day! (Unfortunately, bus shelter day was canceled this year)

IF (big if) we had the capability to board/detrain passengers from high floor rapid transit cars at TP, we could use a combination of streetcar - subway set - streetcar to make better use of the time on the railroad to do double duty with photo runbys and subway/rapid riding. If the rapid/subway cars could platform on the main past the Biddeford switch, the preceding streetcar could drop off photo seekers, who could photograph the runby, then get picked up by the following car and dropped at TP to ride the subway/rapid cars back, or vice versa. We might not need to save that much time, but then again, if the photo runby trip goes all the way to TP (versus the current end just past Meserves) we might want to.

This is good, it also prevents people having to be out on the line for extended periods of time. Each trip starts and ends with different cars so that all cars in the mix can be photographed. Also, if you do your streetcar - subway - streetcar lineup, then you wouldn't really need the ability to disembark at Talbot from the subway car, so long as it was shoved aside in the lead. It would be nice to be able to do this, but not needed, as people on the high level cars could just wait on them. I think this is an excellent feature for a day like this, and one that I certainly would never have thought of. I really think this should be looked at further, and probably should be done! Kudos to Derek and Jeff for coming up with and fine tuning it!

[ck4049]

About Boston Day, I think we could put up old Boston ad cards in the trolleys, if we have em'. And maybe have a few Boston displays inside the VC and around the Museum!

[octr202]

We could certainly do the streetcar-subway-streetcar line up w/o the platform, even using the two sides of the loop to hold cars if the streetcars are double enders. The only advantage to some day having the TP high level or stairs is that if you only had time to make one run with a subway or rapid car, you can give people the chance to photograph and ride on that one trip, that's all. All this changing of order might cause the paddle system to overload and melt the LGP, though.

[CRail]

Ugh, the paddle system, lol. The only paddle which should be used in a situation like this is the LGP. Paddles 1 - 5 should be removed from the board. The last car out has the big green spanker (as instructed by the Dispatcher), and the last car in has it, these cars need not be the same! When you leave Talbot Park, if there is another car up there LEAVE IT! If there isn't another car with you, TAKE IT! This can be carried out under the direction of a Starter as well, which would simplify things for conductors.

Paddle swapping isn't unheard of, and it was the norm back in the pre-Talbot Park days (no loop on the other end). The paddle system can also be temporarily modified as I described above, so it need not be an issue.

[octr202]

^Always good to keep us in the Ops. Dept. on our toes with the paddles. You can get yourself into a single-car operation rut as a crewmember if you work a lot of quiet days. But I won't go on since that's outside the purview of this discussion on this forum.