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'MBTA # 3149'

 
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Mr. Linsky
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 5071
Location: BRENTWOOD, CA. - WOODMERE, N.Y.

PostPosted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 5:12 pm    Post subject: 'MBTA # 3149' Reply with quote

Seen in a warmer part of 1970 in the Chestnut Hill suburb of Boston and about to complete another trip between 'Beantown' and nearby Newton is fleet # 3149 - a 1957 GM Model TDH 4512 and one of fifty one numbered from 3102 to 3152 purchased originally by the Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway Company but shown under the flag of its later successor Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA).

Of note is the lack of a ThermoMatic heating and ventilation system which was not uncommon among colder climate operators who opted for additional under seat and dashboard heaters that were far more effective (that need for added warmth can be seen with the corking around the floor vents under the windshield).

The pioneering Eastern Massachusetts Street Railway provided intercity, suburban and local transit in the Boston area dating back to the late 1800's.

BTW; at the time the shot was taken, the vacant billboard seen just above the rear of the bus was 'AWAILABLE'!

Photo courtesy of eBay.

Mr. Linsky - Green Bus Lines, Inc., Jamaica, New York

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RailBus63
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Joined: 16 Apr 2007
Posts: 1063

PostPosted: Sun Dec 18, 2011 8:44 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I can shed some light about this image. The bus was indeed owned at the time by the MBTA but was actually leased to the Middlesex & Boston Street Railway Company which was the long-time operator of transit services in Boston's western suburbs. The authority began providing subsidies to the M&B in 1964 and began leasing buses to the company a few years later. The earlier buses leased by the T included ten relatively new GM New Looks that were purchased surplus from the Connecticut Company, but by the end of the company's life the authority had resorted to leasing much older buses such as this venerable Old Look coach.

The location of the photo was the end of the MBTA's Boston College streetcar line at Lake Street and Commonwealth Avenue. Number 3149 is preparing to depart for a run on route 35 which continued down Commonwealth Ave. towards the Newton neighborhood of Auburndale. The route would be discontinued by the MBTA when the M&B finally folded and passed out of existence in July 1972, but service returned the next year as a rush-hour only route before being discontinued for good in 1976. Transit buses can still be seen on the inner portion of this route in 2011, but today these are maroon and gold shuttle buses operated for Boston College instead of MBTA vehicles.

Jim D.
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