Green Line "A" Branch
The Green Line "A" or Watertown Branch was a subway tram and a branch of the MBTA Green Line in the Boston area in the state of Massachusetts in the United States. In 1969 it was replaced by bus number 57. However, the railway track remained intact until March 1994.
History
Formation
The Green Line A began as a horse track as a branch of the Cambridge Horse Railroad. This split at Central Square in Cambridge from and crossed the Charles River on River Street Bridge towards Allston. From there the route went on over the Union Square and was extended in 1858 to Oak Square in the center of Brighton. The section east of Union Square was later part of the route of bus route 64
The first electric trams ran between the Depot in Allston northeast of Union Square and the Park Street Station in the city center. The tracks ran south on Harvard Street, Beacon Street, Massachusetts Avenue and Boylston Street. The new cars were put into operation on 1 January 1889.
On 13 June 1896, the tracks were extended from Union Square along North Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue to Kenmore Square, where they joined with the existing tracks on Beacon Street. In the same year, the western terminus was extended to Newton Corner and brought into service on May 21, 1898. On December 9, 1912, the route was extended north to Watertown, where the necessary tracks were already present since 1900 and had been used by regular services to Cambridge to Newton Corner. In the early 20th century, the route was also used to carry goods.
Since November 8, 1897 used the vehicles the Tremont Street Subway to contact the Park Street station on the rise Boylston Street Incline at the Boston Public Garden. On October 3, 1914, the access to the Kenmore Square to Boylston Street Subway was opened and the descent on Massachusetts Avenue closed. The Blandford Street Portal on Commonwealth Avenue opened on October 23, 1932, marking the last change of the route of the Green Line A. In 1941, the new PCC cars were first used on this line, which replaced the old material.
Before the Green Line today their letters were assigned in 1967, ran the Green Line A than 69 Watertown - Park Street. The letter " A" line was assigned because it has the most northerly route.
Closing the distance
The opening of the Green Line D in 1959 meant that the trams were in Cambridge from Harvard Square replaced by trolleybuses. The existing PCC cars were assigned to the Green Line D. However, these were from the 1940s, and the fleet consisted of five different types of PCC, so that the maintenance and repair works were very expensive. In the late 1960s, age-related failures and a lack of spare parts caused a shortage of vehicles for the Green Line, so that the MBTA the route of the Green Line A " tentative " closed down. The closure affected the Green Line A, but also because it was most of the time between Watertown and Packard 's Corner on the road and it was at that time anyway considerations about ending the line service at Packard 's Corner. The last trams operated on the track on June 20 in 1969 and was replaced the following day by the bus line 57 Watertown - Kenmore via Newton and Brighton.
The rails themselves remained also after 1969 for some in use for decades in order to continue to reach the depot in Watertown can. Only in March 1994, the top line was dismantled. Finally, the tracks were used in 1993 to overtake the PCC cars of the Ashmont - Mattapan High Speed Line in the depot in Watertown. The rest of the equipment was removed in 1996 as part of a resurfacing on North Beacon Street. Remains of tracks are still Watertown Yard bus terminal, and at the stop Packard 's Corner exists where branched off the Green Line A of the Green Line B. The currently stored stump was once much longer and was used as a siding for no longer suitable for driving cars.
There were also efforts to reactivate the Green Line A, to create a seamless connection of the north to the city center - so far to change trains at the station Kenmore is required. But this solution was judged to be too costly and less safe compared to bus line.