Railroad Forums 

  • Boylston Street Graffiti

  • Discussion relating to commuter rail, light rail, and subway operations of the MBTA.
Discussion relating to commuter rail, light rail, and subway operations of the MBTA.

Moderators: sery2831, CRail

 #1244492  by MACTRAXX
 
Everyone: I was also disappointed to see these vintage cars tagged and it looks like the MBTA's cleaning crew did a good job
removing the paint and the other accumulated dirt - it definitely paid to use heavy-duty graffiti resistant paint and as now
mentioned the MBTA will keep added eyes on them with more vigilance and security cameras...

This incident reminded me of what happened with retired NYC Transit mid 60s vintage R32 car 9075 - which was placed back
about ten or so years ago at the corner of Queens Boulevard and 82nd Avenue adjacent to Borough Hall: Within weeks of this
car being placed at this location to serve as a Queens tourist information center this car was tagged - and even the Queens
Borough President (the equivalent of a County Executive) Claire Shulman was angered by this act of vandalism.

Car 9075 is painted in the 90s vintage "Redbird" color scheme which was concieved by David Gunn first for SEPTA's older
Broad Street Line cars when he was SEPTA GM and later used on painted NYC Subway cars during his "war on graffiti"...
Some subway buffs would have liked to see this car in the turquoise and white World's Fair color scheme with the 50th
Anniversary of the 1964-1965 World's Fair opening this coming Spring - but this Redbird looks fine to me...

After this incident there were cameras installed to watch this car - a sign in front reads "This area under video
surveillance by the NYPD" and thankfully there have been no more instances of graffiti or vandalism since...

I will also suggest that those interested should search and check YouTube to see if the culprits in this act of
vandalism posted videos of their tagging these vintage cars - I have noticed that taggers have posted these
videos showing them "in the act" of defacing property...

In closing let's all hope that this does not happen again and those involved are caught and prosecuted...

MACTRAXX
 #1249322  by ted_roy
 
The same tagger also seems to have hit the NYC baggage car out by the Alston/Brighton tolls. It seemed that a lot of the buildings there got tagged...
 #1281265  by nomis
 
Graffiti Vandal Identified:arrest warrant issued
http://www.tpdnews411.com/2014/07/graff ... t.html?m=1
Transit Police announce today; Subsequent to an investigation an arrest warrant has been issued for Daniel Nelligan, 25, last known address in Allston for (Felony)Vandalism and Trespassing relative to the incident on 01/14/2014. The warrant was issued out of the Boston Municipal Court-Central Division after Nelligan failed to appear for his arraignment. Lieutenant Detective Richard Sullivan of the Transit Police Special Crimes Unit stated, " The identification of Nelligan was the culmination of a joint investigation with our partners of the Boston Police and Boston University Police Department.
 #1281300  by highgreen215
 
A huge shout-out to the Transit Police for identifying the perp. Congratulations! Now apprehend him and make him do plenty of community service plus a hefty fine to offset the clean-up cost.
 #1281838  by Adams_Umass_Boston
 
theseaandalifesaver wrote:I wasn't aware that those cars were owned by the Seashore. Any chance of them every leaving the track they're currently on?
Only one car is owned by Seashore. The Type 5. 5734

The MBTA owns the PCC.
 #1281880  by theseaandalifesaver
 
[quote="BandA"]Did they figure out how he got access to the locked area?[/quote]
Have you ever been to Boylston? Gaining access to the display cars from the Green Line platform isn't the most difficult thing to do. There's plenty of ways. It's probably even easier late at night when there's nobody else around.
 #1282029  by BandA
 
theseaandalifesaver wrote:Have you ever been to Boylston? Gaining access to the display cars from the Green Line platform isn't the most difficult...
Very infrequently, so I assumed it was caged off effectively.
 #1282130  by Rbts Stn
 
BandA wrote:
theseaandalifesaver wrote:Have you ever been to Boylston? Gaining access to the display cars from the Green Line platform isn't the most difficult...
Very infrequently, so I assumed it was caged off effectively.
As an 8 year old we were surprised at how easy it would be to access the historic trollies kept at Boylston station.
 #1285694  by AutisticPsycho
 
theseaandalifesaver wrote:I wasn't aware that those cars were owned by the Seashore. Any chance of them every leaving the track they're currently on?
To quote from another thread:
Diverging Route wrote:The MBTA owns the PCC (#3255, a 1951-vintage Pullman Standard). The Type-5 (#5734) is owned by Seashore, and leased to the MBTA for $1/year.

I believe they last ran in "passenger service" during the 100th anniversary trolley parade in 1997 (as I recall, also running were an LRV and two Type-7s).

The Type-5 has only trolley poles, and so in order to run in the subway, it needs a pole-tender to navigate the shoe over the wire frogs and cut-outs. I also understand that it has structural issues, such as "weak knees," requiring much work if it is to run again.

I recall the PCC has a pantograph, but I don't know its mechanical and structual condition.

A number of the Inspectors who formerly paid attention to them (with links to Seashore) have retired from the MBTA. In any event, there are no plans for these cars, other than to let them sit and deteriorate, which is a shame.
And from another thread, more on 5734's issues:
MBTA3247 wrote:As I understand it, besides the vestibules needing to be reinforced, 5734 also has a severed kingpin, so one of the trucks is held on only by the power cables to the motors. I've been told that the last time it was at Park St, they applied power and the truck moved without the car. This was followed by very gingerly moving it back into the siding at Boylston.
As for the PCC, considering it hasn't run in almost 20 years I don't believe it's in operable condition without doing some repair work/overhauling.
 #1321066  by Watchman318
 
^^^ Good!
And now watch someone be quoted on TV or in a newspaper article as saying "tagging" is "art." No; art is done on something the painter owns, or paints on with the owner's permission. Anything else is just vandalism.
 #1384004  by BostonUrbEx
 
He's not even any good. If he's going to continue putting his garbage everywhere, he should probably reinvent his name. Having several warrants out for you when your works are completely garbage is pathetic.