The Tufts Daily

The Mattapan trolley, known to its friends as the M Line and to its mother as the Ashmont-Mattapan High Speed Line, is quite the quirky (insert sparkle emoji) little line. Shuttling between Ashmont and Mattapan, it’s part of the Red Line, but runs streetcars (trolleys) instead of subway trains. And these aren’t the Green Line’s modern streetcars, but PCC streetcars, a revolutionary 1930s-era model whose innovative, reliable engineering made it a mainstay on streetcar lines across the globe. 

What do CharlieCards, burlesque and the second coming of Christ have in common? In this week’s column: Government Center station, Charlie's backstory and the monstrosity that is Boston City Hall.

Part of the Orange Line until 1987, the Washington Street Elevated was then demolished, ostensibly due to its noise and age. The Orange Line was then rerouted westward to its current route, in a trench alongside commuter and intercity trains. If postwar planners had their way, the line would also have run alongside an eight-lane expressway. What happened?

Last week, we discussed the inconvenient transfers between North Station and South Station. But it hasn’t always been this way — at one point there were two railroads connecting them. What happened to them? Why do Boston’s streets allegedly smell like molasses in the summer? Why do I always push away the people I love most? We’ll answer two of these questions this week, with our story starting back in 1872. 

In last week’s column we discussed the history of the Lowell Line that runs by Tufts, so perhaps it’s fitting to now discuss a plan proposed for its future. It’s a plan that could bring modern electric commuter trains from Tufts through downtown Boston to Allston, Wellesley and even Providence, via a true regional transportation […]

It wasn’t until 1889 that College Hill Station opened where the Joyce Cummings Center will stand. This was replaced in 1900 with Tufts College station, roughly where Bacon Hall stands. The Boston and Lowell Railroad’s passenger traffic, however, plummeted after streetcar lines started popping up (including two along College Ave and Broadway by 1925).

Welcome to Tales from the T! Each week we’ll be diving into a story about the “T” and other components of Boston’s transit system. Hopefully you’ll learn something interesting!

On behalf of The Tufts Daily, welcome back to the Hill. We know this is a time of unique challenges, but we know this semester will undoubtedly yield meaningful experiences as well. As journalists, we are inspired by the advocacy and strength of our community. We watched and reported as you provided resources for those […]