Documentary/History: The MBTA Red Line 

Very nice job with the video! Those of us at a certain age remember the "old" cars from 1928 that originally served what was then known as the Cambridge-Dorchester line. They ran until 1963 when the 01400s were introduced. In 1948, four of the Osgoods were repainted in blue and orange and got fluorescent lighting and cushioned seats. We used to like to ride in them since they were more comfortable and seemed newer. It's possible I rode on the older Laconia and Pressed Steel cars; I just don't recall when they were withrawn from service. The 01400s were built solidly but many people didn't like them because of the hard plastic seats, harsh lighting and their loudness. But, like I said, they were solid and ran for 30+ years! When the 01500s/01600s were introduced in 1969, we thought we had journeyed directly into the future. I even remember the smell of those new trains and how much more quiet and comfortable they were. But at rush hour, they were slower to load and unload because they only have 3 sets of doors on each side (like the Osgoods) instead of the four that existed on the 01400s and the seating was transverse instead of longitudinal. Some of the newer units were built double-ended because there was some thought of running single cars during lightly-traveled times and collecting payment on board (the 01400s actually had a window pane and a lighted indicator for this purpose but it was never used as far as I know.) The 01800s, introduced in 1993 are a very nice set of trains and I think they've been fairly reliable. It remains to be seen whether the CRRC trains will be quite as good as past rolling stock. There was NO air conditioning on any MBTA vehicles until some of the GMC "new look" buses were purchased with that option in the 1960's or 70's and the 01500/01600 cars were introduced in 1969. Before that time, many of the older trains and PCC trolley cars had fans and windows that opened. It was, needless to say, quite hot in the summer riding almost any transit vehicle.

really liked hearing the history about why each line is called what it is, sounds like a really interesting and cool naming convention that MBTA has stuck to over the years. Love that the Blue Line is called Blue because it goes under the watery depths!!

Nick, this is a good documentary. As TheBobs noted, my father also remembered Stadium station. On Harvard football game days, passengers could ride the train to Eliot shops, where they disembarked on a cement platform at the station’s perimeter, adjacent to Harvard Street. When the Alewife extension was underway, the MBTA demolished Eliot shops and built a temporary station where the Kennedy School of Government now sits. Prior to this point, passengers never got to see Eliot because Stadium was rarely used (closed in 1969?) and Harvard was the terminus. Eliot shops existed behind tall concrete barriers that were not inviting. As a kid, I recall the controversy behind the northwest expansion. Citizens of Cambridge were concerned about tearing up Mass. Ave. and creating traffic jams on side streets. The MBTA wanted to dig under Harvard Yard to avoid the sharp (and loud!) turn that Red Line trains now have to take when entering Harvard station. As legend has it, the MBTA took Harvard to court. Harvard’s lawyers provided the judge with a historical document, encased in glass. The judge took the document into his chambers, examined its contents, and came back to the courtroom only to dismiss the case in favor of the university. What was the document? It was a letter from George Washington, insisting that Harvard and the earth beneath its surface remain intact.

8:20 One thing that I learned about the Alewife extension was that they called it the Lexington Expansion at the time because they originally had plans to run the Red Line all the way to Lexington through Arlington. But due to strong opposition in Arlington, the project was shortened from the original Harvard to Lexington to just Harvard to Alewife.

Having grown up in Dorchester and Mattapan (50s-60s), I spent lots of time on the Red Line as well as the rest of the subway system. I enjoyed this video very much - you did a great job. Thanks,

As a kid I loved the old riveted body olive drab cars. The front facing doors slid open. In the summer you could stand behind the locked grate and let the air blow through the car and cool things off a bit. It was also cool the stand at the grate next to the train operator and get the same view he enjoyed.

I still miss the old elevated orange line

thank you so much for this video!! well done :) i'll be so sad when the older red line cars get fully replaced, they have so much personality to them!

Thank you for bringing back some great memories of my youth riding the Old MBTA. I enjoyed the history you presented and will be watching all your videos.

Finally he does another line other than the orange line

Air conditioning for trains (especially rapid transit/metro type trains) wasn’t widely adopted until the ‘60s. In New York the NYCTA (which became a part of the MTA in 1968) didn’t get trains with air conditioning from the factory until the R38 came out in 1966, and eventually retrofitted it to the older R33/36 for the IRT lines and the R32 for the IND/BMT lines. But some cars without air conditioning remained in service until the end of the ‘80s when the R27/R30 were retired and the R32 got their air conditioning installed.

Great video! One thing about the Harvard station(s) is that the original 1912 station was completely removed, and the abandoned station we see was the temporary station they set up while the whole old station area was open to air while they built the current station. The old train yard used to be where the current Kennedy School of Government is near Memorial Drive, and the trains connected from the yard. There was also an above ground temporary station where the School of Government is now. I’ve always wondered what happened to the old abandoned connection tunnel.

The Pullman 1400s were loud as hell!!! I'm still hearing their thunderous hum to this day!

Nice video! Until I moved to Lynn (about 4 years ago), I practically lived on the Red Line. First in Southie, right across from Andrew,; then (later) less than half-a-mile from Quincy Center (although the locals often refereed to it, simply as, "Quincy Station"). Also, if I remember correctly, the residents of Arlington opposed the northern extension (although Lexington was all for it) & successfully lobbied against it. So, it got cut back to Alewife & the rest was made into a bike trail.

Thanks for a nice history of the Red Line My grandfather help plan and design old Harvard Square and old Charles Street stations. He was a architect working out of Sullivan Station office.

19:17 This is it. This is the sound I remember when I think of the Red Line. For me, that sound is iconic.

Great job Nick! I’d like to have seen the intermediate Harvard stations like Harvard/Brattle and even Stadium get a mention, maybe that can be a video of its own.

I absolutely loved this Video! Nick, you look just like my Grandson Eean! Also, I knew that the trains were dark blue in the early days! Also, I do remember that on the off-peak hours, lunchtime, the 4 car trains were uncoupled and they were 2 cars for a few hours! Can you imagine seeing a 2 car train going by now!!!! Great job!

This was my childhood train. I used to take this train and jump back and forth from it to the Green Line constantly.

Lol 9:15 Thanks for the credit

Definitely enjoyed this video! I learned at least one new thing from watching this! Looking forward to seeing more like these! I think even a discussion on future potential projects would be really cool if not incorporated to a base documentary video.

This was really dope 👌🏿🙌🏿💯 I grew up in Boston and love the subway 👌🏿

This is great. This video is professional and you for sure put a lot of hard work!

Nice video, good work. You should do one on the MBTA buses, starting from the first set purchased when the MBTA formed from the MTA in the 60s..

16:50 It is 2022 and those old things are still in service!!! The grey-white-red livery is always welcoming in my book, but they are showing their age (although not as severely as the complete rust rot on a solid chunk of the orange line's 1200 series)

Great video, man, thank you! I've been riding the Red Line out of Alewife since the early 90s. Always wondered about many of the things that you covered. Great work! One critique, not a big deal, and likely will happen less over time, you use well, a lot ;) Keep up the great work!

I liked this video very much! I recently visited Boston and had an opportunity to ride the Blue Line (from Logon Airport) and Green Line. I think the Boston subway system is fascinating.

There is an portion of the original 1912 Harvard. When you ride Red Line from Harvard to Central, when look to your left after passing the tunnel curve. You literally see the outbound portion of the 1912 station.

Great video Nick, I lived in Dorchester for 14 years. Took the ashmont red line to downtown Washington station. I worked in Boston theater district for like 6 years. at that time they called it rapid transit and it did travel very fast. it used to say 18 minutes to Harvard station. I loved talking the train. Great video Nick thanks again for great memories.

The fact that the southern extension was built on the former New Haven railroad was mentioned, but the Alewife extension was not mentioned. It was part of the Boston and Maine Railroad freight cut off. The Fitchburg line comes in too close to the bottom of the Mystic terminal area, The cut off came in where freights could enter the receiving yard. When the extension was built, the state improved the Lowell (New Hampshire Route) so freights could run vial Ayer, N. Chelmsford, and Lowell.

It’s like that time I went to DC where the older cars had 6 cars and the newer ones had 8 so the WMATA had the arrival signs say 6 in orange and say 8 in green

Hey Nick, just stumbled across this video and your channel and I am glad I did. Awesome video on the Red Line. I love Boston and have a soft spot for the 'T'.

The South shore extension opened up in 1971, being North Quincy, Wollaston, and Quincy Center. The cement pilings in the Neponset River were set there in 1965. The T had to see how they settled in the river. The Braintree Station opened up before Quincy Adams Station due to unfinished work. In 1974 you had to pay $1.25 to exit the Quincy Center Station.

20:12 Frank Oglesby's voice is amazing!

I can’t wait to watch this!

Love it man. Great job!

Just watched the orange line video, getting ready to watch this one now.

17:32 The worst decision of the T on the rebuilt seating layout was their material choice in seat padding. They should have used the same cushioning that the green line's Type 7s have employed. Orange line too

born and raised fairmont commuter rail an O line. very nice video thank you

The #3 01800 cars are some of my favorite heavy rail cars. [SF]

8:40-8:50 the neatest bit in the whole video

I can vouch for those Pullman cars not being fun to be in during the summer. "Do we have to take the train? Let's take the car!" Yeah, that never worked. They did have heat though for the winter. Never new why those "blue/gold/white' Red line cars were there...but the explanation makes sense. You know the other three lines are just waiting....four if you want to go crazy and do the Commuter rail (Purple line?). Nice job!

Great job! I road on the Red Line about 1.5 years ago from MGH to U/Mass. I don’t know what series train it was but I remember that it was in need of an exterior paint job, lots of rust. The ride was very noisy and rough and I was told to avoid sitting on the cloth seats! Hope things have gotten better since then. Anyway, I’m glad that you are giving such a detailed and down to earth commentary on these icons of Boston. (Love Boston!)

11:10 I believe it was in 2017-2020 period that Wollaston station received its accessibility redesign, making it the last station on the red line to be ADA compliant (by the time I began regularly using the red line, the station had already finished renovations)

Interesting video on the red line. Something that wasn't discussed in the video was the Wollaston T station. That station had a major upgrade and from my understanding it's ADA compliant. Other than that great video. You deserve my thumbs up. 👍👍👍

Thanks for sharing... 👍 Public transport is super important and though I can be pretty satisfied with the Berliner public transport I like to find out about other networks and I already found out that what I use myself is average in contrast to other cities around the globe

This was very interesting video nick

Nice video. In my opinion the doors on the new cars with no paint on the bottom look great. They add a new dimension to the overall scheme.

Nick,you are the best.Keep up the good work...b

Nice job. It's great to learn about the history of our public transit system.

Nick. Great video and your commentary was excellent. Yours, Nick

Thanks, Nick❤

Love these videos! I'm autistic and the MBTA is one of my special interests!!!

Excellent!

hey nick i loved your video! i think you should do one on the blue line

This is excellent

NICK MAURICE VERY EDUCATED VIDEOS EVEN THOUGH I OWNED THREE CARS 1990 BUICK CENTURY 1996 TOYOTA CAMRY 2009 CAMRY I STILL USE MBTA

This video was really good.

Before they extended the other side of the Red Line to Alewife, there was another station after Harvard called Harvard/Brattle, which was right next to the Charles Hotel.

The issue with the doors not having the red stripe is due to accessibility limitations I think. It’s the same with UK mainline stock.

19:56 From what i know, on the NYC Subway the R46 cars also have that type of exterior LED destination signs seen on the video, by the way, the cars i mentioned on this comment were built by Pullman. Please correct me if i'm wrong.

I saw your video was actually very awesome can you do the Blue Line next

Hmm you left out the part how they wanted to expand the red line to Lexington but Arlington residents threw a big NIMBY fit about being the temporary end of the red line. Without Arlington there wasn't much point in going past Alewife. And I think the MBTA ran out of money anyway by that point, same reason the Orange Line was never fully expanded to Reading. Cool video though, learned a bunch of new stuff about the red line!

I'm a train and I approve this message choo choo!

Hello MAN VERY EDUCATED ABOUT TRAINS THANKYOU 😮😮😮😮😮STAY SAFE GOD BLESS 😮😮😮😮😮

I also believe the overhaul of the Pullman Standards in the 80s gave them Door chimes and PA Systems.

He's a genius on Boston's transportation. I would love to go back to Boston some day.

Exellent video.

Hi great job thank you

There is still a 4 car set of 1400s in Ashmont yard. I originally saw them around 2014 in Cabot Yard

You should do the green line history next I would be fun to watch lol

Please explore what is the difference between the even-numbered car from the odd-numbered car? Which one has the airbrake equipment, mainly the compressor, main reservoir, and which car has the converter or inverter, whatever the battery charger and ceiling lights may be, and battery pack? You may explore the railcars made by Pullman. I thank you in advance.

Nick, you did a wonderful job on the history of the red line. I think it would be nice if maybe you did the history of the blue line. If and when you decide to do this project, I will definitely be looking forward to seeing it. Have a great day, Nick. I look forward to your next video. Take care my friend. Quick question, Nick. Do you think the MBTA will eventually extend the Blue Line all the way to Lynn, MA? I know they have been talking about this for years and have not heard anything one way or the other.

I missed the Dover Station near Checker Smoker.

Red Is My Favorite Line Of The MBTA.

I love the video it would just be better if you put in more detail on the original rolling stock for the red line

I think you should do a video on the Blue Line next.

make a blue line version of this

I enjoyed the video! When I visited Boston in 2007 I rode all of the T's lines except the High Speed Line which was out of service for rebuilding. Do you know why MBTA Red Line trains do NOT run white headlights?

Yeah nice video, you should do a video on the commuter rail the history of that train line

25:39 The 1900s got pulled off of service AGAIN now that the FTA is enforcing a service slashing for the orange line, blue line, and red line.

great video. I am surprised that you did not mention the depth of Porter Sq station. some of the things you said about train length Make sense for Kendal. the lights on the train would go out. There was a powerhouse at Kendal. and they used giant rotators to match the frequency and power needed. you could hear them. when they redid the Kendal roundabout they upgraded this setup. thus becoming rotary eliminators en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendall/MIT_station.

The 1500s were acually single units though were later converted into married pairs because they operated like a married pair.

nice vid

The 63 cars look like they had 4 sets of doors per side

The exterior signs on the 1800s are not LED, they are LCD like a calculator display

Good Video Nick Very Rducated God Bless Nick nice Person 😮😮😮😮😮😮😮

Can you please do a video about the green line, silver line, commuter rail, or buses.

Nice Video! Recently they have decided to replace the whole Red Line fleet (including the 1800s) which is a good thing because of their age, etc, But why not use the announcements from the 1800s? Their so nostalgic

THANK YOU, I ride the red line

Nicely done 👌🏼blue line next?

19:24 I jokingly call them "Bombarshittier" but those 1800s cars are leagues better than the 1700 series. Sleeker look (although the 1700s had a nicer retro feel from the livery), smoother sound, and generally look better (probably because they are like 6 to 10 years younger)

I like the vid can you do the green line next

The detail was nice as far as it went. Since you wanted to include original names, I wish you had.... Winter, (Summer,) Park St Under. Discussion of the of the Brattle St car yard, now the JFK School of Gov't All that said, still a commendable effort, grammar, wording, and syntax notwithstanding. B+

Do you know why the 1500 and 1600s were built in the same years like why did they just not do one (I mean like just single units or just married pairs) the line was still 1 Branch

19:52 destination sign looks like from r44, r46, r110a, and r110b

The Quincy Extension/South Shore Extension was opened on September 1, 1971, not 1975.

Great video! How about the Blue Line!

Can u do a blue line Documentary Idk if there’s anything interesting about it

Do you know if the 1800s will be kept along with the new trains if the orders ever completed?