The Middlesex & Boston Street Railway Company

Thank you, Leo! That's a perfect confirmation because it not only tells the whole route, it mentions the very spot where I saw the rails dug up: the B&M crossing on Woburn Street, which is now the Minuteman Bikeway crossing.

As construction continues, excavated M&B rails are piling up at the corner of Woburn Street and Hayes Lane.

Nice photo, wish I was there to see that construction. The Lexington & Boston operated the short line from the north side of the B&M tracks on Woburn st to downtown Woburn where the cars meet the Bay State St Ry. The B&M did not want streetcars crossing at grade and the L&B never dug under at this location just off the Lexington Sq. They did dig under by the old car house on Bedford st and in Billlerica off Concord rd. You can still see this today.

Middlesex & Boston 41 is headed into the restoration shop this Sunday Nov 7 11-1pm

www.trolleymuseum.org

http://www.wickedlocal.com/lexington/ne ... e-restored

M&B 41 makes Lexington Minuteman paper.

Car 41 is now on four horses and hopefully will straighten herself out. The Birney truck has been removed and will most likely go to Birney 615 (Portland, ME)

How is a truck such as on 41 affixed to the car's body, Doug ? Is it as easy as having bolts on four corners ?

3rdrail wrote:How is a truck such as on 41 affixed to the car's body, Doug ? Is it as easy as having bolts on four corners ?

The old Birney truck (not correct for a 1901 built car) was attached by the museum back in the 70's. It was attached by using four large pieces of wood bolted at the four corners and on the side to the truck, but it was not attached to the actual body of the car, just resting on these pieces of wood, so that no metal from the truck was touching the wood body of 41.

Thanks, but I'm asking how a truck on a single-truck car is generally affixed.

3rdrail wrote:Thanks, but I'm asking how a truck on a single-truck car is generally affixed.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... 29,r:3,s:0

Its a 21e truck for 41 and this view shows that the entire body lays on the truck with the angle rods going up to the platforms for support.

This link shows a 21e truck without a car on it.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=htt ... 29,r:0,s:0

Interesting pic of the truck. I'm trying to figure how it gets connected though. I'm assuming that the body of the car gets tied in to the truck on those longitudinal side/upper truck frame bars, but I'm trying to figure out how. Are wooden bars spread accross the truck horizontally to which the truck is attached, and then the body gets attached to the bars/truck (or vice-versa) or does the truck go right on to the bottom wooden framework of the car ? In either case, say on the 41, where would the attachments be ?

The truck is attached from those two side metal sills. Single truck cars had no KING PIN like double truck cars had. Another connection would be to the platforms from those angle bars. All bolted into the wooden body. A 1901 car such as 41 was about 99.8 % wood, very little metal used on the actual body of the car.

Thank you.

I saw this image on Boston.com today:



The caption says "the specific location is unknown". Based on the signage I'm guessing Bedford, on the Middlesex (Lexington?) & Boston Street Railway. Does that make sense?

Leo Sullivan asked me to post this.

The photo is taken at Arlington Heights on the South Side of Massachusetts Av. The further building is the Elevated's South Car House, while the closer one is the Lexington and Boston's waiting room, probably brand new in the picture.

Here is another photo, taken in 1917, showing the Elevated's building and a corner of the waiting room

[attachment=0]New Car House May 31 1917 -.jpg[/attachment}