Riverside questions

[The EGE]

Some historical questions about Riverside...

Are trains regularly turned on the platform, or is this only done if something is wrong in the yard? They were doing this when I was there around 11:30 on Monday morning, and I've never seen it before.

What is the purpose of these giant concrete buttresses on the south side of the platforms? They seem massively overbuilt for a simple retaining wall. Were they built to support a future third track?


What was the old low platform next to the trolley in this picture used for? The current accessible platforms were built in 1995, so I assume this would have preceded that. Or was it the temporary platform used in 1996 for commuter rail shuttles when the Green Line flooded? If that's not it, where was the 1996 boarding area?

[Type 7 3684]

They usually switch trains back at the platform. I still see them using the yard when I go there, though.

[MBTA3247]

Trains changing ends at the platform as a regular thing would be news to me. I've almost always seen them loop through the yard.

I think all the concrete work alongside the platform was just decorative (for some definitions of decorative, anyway).

[Type 7 3684]

Often when I'm on the Riverside Line I see it happen. I find it odd that other people see it less often.

[The EGE]

I wonder if it's a midday versus rush hour thing - you can plausibly do it with 10-minute headways, but not easily with 5.5 minute headways. This was the first time I'd been to Riverside outside rush hour.

[dbperry]

What was the old low platform next to the trolley in this picture used for? The current accessible platforms were built in 1995, so I assume this would have preceded that. Or was it the temporary platform used in 1996 for commuter rail shuttles when the Green Line flooded? If that's not it, where was the 1996 boarding area?

IIRC, prior to the new station location, outbound trolleys were sometimes unloaded before looping around the building. So the location of the traffic cone in the picture above would align with where I remember an unloading location. Maybe that's where they would unload if they were coming out of service? But I can also distinctly remember riding around the loop back to the platform at the location of the current bus station.

I highly doubt the platform with the traffic cone was used for heavy rail. That would have required moving the commuter rail trains into the 'really' shared trackage with green line trains.

I found this picture http://photos.nerail.org/showpic/?20001 ... 365043.jpg" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and linked to it from my "Riverside" 'definition' on the glossary page on my blog. It suggests the temporary platform was well west of any of the 'really' shared green line trackage, which seems logical and plausible.

[Type 7 3684]

I wonder if it's a midday versus rush hour thing - you can plausibly do it with 10-minute headways, but not easily with 5.5 minute headways. This was the first time I'd been to Riverside outside rush hour.

They do it on weekends too.