Remembering the 01400s

The 01400 Bluebirds when new did resemble the NYCT IRT R33/R36 "Blue Arrows" built for #7 World's Fair service, which had a striking turquoise two-tone exterior (my handle namesake and can be seen in my avatar).

I totally agree on your take on the preservation of the Blue Line Pullman 0500's, my favorite rides when I was a "Teenage Bowdoin Station". I do hope there are plans to at restore at least a pair of them, sitting at Seashore.. I know it has been a very long 'sit' for them, there.

Perhaps the 01400's can be taken care of by a newly created 'outside non-profit group' on MBTA property and maintained in operating condition. Always good to think positive, though seeing the two relics at Boylston rotting away, is a reality check.

The EBT #1 or 2 cars did originaly ran when they arrived at Seashore. They are now a bit more rusted than before.

Hello... What is the status of the four surviving '1400' series work cars on the Red Line ? Have not heard much chatter about these antiques in some time.. Thanks.

BowdoinStation wrote:Hello... What is the status of the four surviving '1400' series work cars on the Red Line ? Have not heard much chatter about these antiques in some time.. Thanks.

At this point they are awaiting a date with the scrapper, all four cars have been out-of-service for over two years and there is no interest in repairing them. There has been some interest in cosmetic work on 01450-55 at Seashore. If someone adds poles and a 600 volt jumper, they could run. (They have on the "bug")

Do either of the 14's pairs get hauled out as dead trailers by a 15/16/17 or 18 consist like the 2 remaining functional Green Line Boeing work cars with shot propulsion get dragged out by a Type 7, or is the night shift strictly bumming off the revenue fleet for trash pickup and misc. work?

F-line to Dudley via Park wrote:Do either of the 14's pairs get hauled out as dead trailers by a 15/16/17 or 18 consist like the 2 remaining functional Green Line Boeing work cars with shot propulsion get dragged out by a Type 7, or is the night shift strictly bumming off the revenue fleet for trash pickup and misc. work?

As far as I know, they are a safe haven for birds seeking shelter - they don't move at all.

They are stored out of service but are not slated for scrap at this point. They're pretty much out of sight, out of mind. As I understand it, they became semi-permanently disabled when they donated their air compressors to the active fleet.

The 01400 work train that has been sitting since 2008 unused at Cabot Yard has been moved to Codman Yard(Ashmont). I updated my photo site with some pictures of the cars making their way to Codman after service Monday night.

This move was 01477/01480. The pair 01469/01470 was moved late last week. The cars are not scheduled for scrap but it is clear the days are numbered for them.

https://sery2831.smugmug.com/Transit/01 ... ork-Train/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

sery2831 wrote:I updated my photo site with some pictures of the cars making their way to Codman after service Monday night.

This move was 01477/01480. The pair 01469/01470 was moved late last week.

https://sery2831.smugmug.com/Transit/01 ... ork-Train/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thank you so much John for taking & sharing those pictures...they are fantastic.

Do you happen to know how these cars got to Codman? I was under the impression they can't move under their own power, so I'm assuming they were hitched onto something transporting them there. Thanks.

djimpact1 wrote:

sery2831 wrote:I updated my photo site with some pictures of the cars making their way to Codman after service Monday night.

This move was 01477/01480. The pair 01469/01470 was moved late last week.

https://sery2831.smugmug.com/Transit/01 ... ork-Train/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thank you so much John for taking & sharing those pictures...they are fantastic.

Do you happen to know how these cars got to Codman? I was under the impression they can't move under their own power, so I'm assuming they were hitched onto something transporting them there. Thanks.

They can't move on their own power because propulsion is shot, but they are fully capable of moving. It just has to be as dead-tow trailers.

One-off tows are no problem. The 14's just aren't useful for nightly work duty if the only way to move them is by tow. It puts too much additional strain on the propulsion of the 15/16/17 or 18 set that has to lug them out to make common practice out of using dead trailers every night. It's one thing if the trailer is a special-purpose flatcar, crane car, etc. But the only advantage the 14's offer the work shift is a generic interior space they can can make a big mess out of without having to worry about cleaning it back up for next morning. Convenient when they could move themselves, but not enough of a value-added to risk overstraining a revenue set's propulsion every night bringing them out in-tow. Easier and less costly to just yank a revenue set for a week or two's duration assigned to the work shift, then clean it back up the way they found it when work assignment's over and it's ready to rotate back into the revenue pool.

sery2831 wrote:The 01400 work train that has been sitting since 2008 unused at Cabot Yard has been moved to Codman Yard(Ashmont). I updated my photo site with some pictures of the cars making their way to Codman after service Monday night.

This move was 01477/01480. The pair 01469/01470 was moved late last week. The cars are not scheduled for scrap but it is clear the days are numbered for them.

https://sery2831.smugmug.com/Transit/01 ... ork-Train/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I'm not even that old, but man, does that seeing that interior again bring back some memories.

As a kid, they were always my favorites. It's too bad the T doesn't want to pull an MTA and restore them as an excursion/heritage set.

djimpact1 wrote:

sery2831 wrote:I updated my photo site with some pictures of the cars making their way to Codman after service Monday night.

This move was 01477/01480. The pair 01469/01470 was moved late last week.

https://sery2831.smugmug.com/Transit/01 ... ork-Train/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thank you so much John for taking & sharing those pictures...they are fantastic.

Do you happen to know how these cars got to Codman? I was under the impression they can't move under their own power, so I'm assuming they were hitched onto something transporting them there. Thanks.

A couple of the shots later in the album show what appear to be revenue cars pushing. The bright green light on the side/bottom of the pusher car is a telltale sign that it was an overhauled 1700 car.

Something I've been wondering for a while...

The 01400s had illuminated system maps on either side of the doors. When I first started riding them in 1977, they were still showing the original MBTA single branch Red Line diagram from Harvard to Ashmont on one side, and the original version of the MBTA spider map including the A Branch to Watertown and a single branch of the Red Line. These maps didn't get upgraded to include the Quincy/Braintree branch until the Alewife extension.

But these cars were bought before the line became the Red Line. Anyone know what the original maps looked like? Have any of you seen them?

Tobin Dax wrote:But these cars were bought before the line became the Red Line. Anyone know what the original maps looked like? Have any of you seen them?

I used to wonder this as well. Turns out they had "order of station" listings similar to what was on earlier rapid transit cars, but a bit more modern looking. I have seen a picture in a Facebook post before but of course I can't find it now.