A drone view of MBTA Boston Engine Terminal and Readville

[JCitron]

The views are interesting and I hope this is helpful when creating engine terminals and small yards. For the most part, there is very little freight now in Boston except for a bit in Charlestown on the northside and Boston Sand and Gravel. The NIMBYs and real estate developers took care of that and drove the business out of the city. Where there was once an extensive yard on the northside, is now an industrial park and condominiums. Much of this occurred in the 1980s when Guilford took over and discouraged freight service in the area, closed the hump yard, and sold off the land for condos. Today, what little freight is brought to yards and facilities outside the city and trucked in.

Located near the BET, is the large carbarn and storage yard for the MBTA Green line light rail. The recent extension to Somerville and Medford starts here and this replaces the loop at Lechmere Square. A new concrete viaduct crosses between some old warehouses and continues on to the old Boston and Lowell ROW and runs along the commuter line to Lowell before it terminates in Somerville and Medford.

The Grand Junction Branch was once an extensive and busy branch that handled freight to various factories and warehouses in Cambridge. The line runs between Beacon Yard, or where it used to be located, on the former Boston and Albany (CSX Buffalo Line). With MIT taking over most of the area, the branch has been reduced to a single track and is used only to move equipment between North Station and South Station. In the drone view, we can see where there were once sidings and industrial leads that go nowhere.

Readville was once the New Haven's engine shops and today is used for repairs and storage for equipment on the southside. There are some commuter branches that radiate out of here including the Needham Branch and Fairmont Branch which runs out to Franklin, MA. This line used to continue to Hartford, CT as New Haven's Air Line. The line was torn up by the Penn Central in the early 1970s and is now a recreational trail. The Needham Branch was once part of the old Boston and Albany loop that ran through Newton. Today, the northern portion of the loop is the Riverside Line of the MBTA Green Line. This was done in the 1950s when the B&A sold the tracks and ROW to the MTA and the was known as the "High Speed Line" because new PCC trolleys ran at 45 mph on this stretch of track to Riverside.

 

[blueodessey]

The views are interesting and I hope this is helpful when creating engine terminals and small yards. For the most part, there is very little freight now in Boston except for a bit in Charlestown on the northside and Boston Sand and Gravel. The NIMBYs and real estate developers took care of that and drove the business out of the city. Where there was once an extensive yard on the northside, is now an industrial park and condominiums. Much of this occurred in the 1980s when Guilford took over and discouraged freight service in the area, closed the hump yard, and sold off the land for condos. Today, what little freight is brought to yards and facilities outside the city and trucked in.

Located near the BET, is the large carbarn and storage yard for the MBTA Green line light rail. The recent extension to Somerville and Medford starts here and this replaces the loop at Lechmere Square. A new concrete viaduct crosses between some old warehouses and continues on to the old Boston and Lowell ROW and runs along the commuter line to Lowell before it terminates in Somerville and Medford.

The Grand Junction Branch was once an extensive and busy branch that handled freight to various factories and warehouses in Cambridge. The line runs between Beacon Yard, or where it used to be located, on the former Boston and Albany (CSX Buffalo Line). With MIT taking over most of the area, the branch has been reduced to a single track and is used only to move equipment between North Station and South Station. In the drone view, we can see where there were once sidings and industrial leads that go nowhere.

Readville was once the New Haven's engine shops and today is used for repairs and storage for equipment on the southside. There are some commuter branches that radiate out of here including the Needham Branch and Fairmont Branch which runs out to Franklin, MA. This line used to continue to Hartford, CT as New Haven's Air Line. The line was torn up by the Penn Central in the early 1970s and is now a recreational trail. The Needham Branch was once part of the old Boston and Albany loop that ran through Newton. Today, the northern portion of the loop is the Riverside Line of the MBTA Green Line. This was done in the 1950s when the B&A sold the tracks and ROW to the MTA and the was known as the "High Speed Line" because new PCC trolleys ran at 45 mph on this stretch of track to Riverside.

Great Video Big John, I would say in California, I see the ill effects of Nimby's. To the detriment of our freeways with Semis Truck and trailers taking not two lanes, but 4 lanes of Traffic either way. oh and did I tell you, we have the worst traffic in the nation. And Oh this is good one, we also sport a High Speed train corridor from Somewhere to no where, infrastructure just about complete, hee hee, except not one set of Tracks or Running Trains installed. Yup we are doing great in California!

California High-Speed Rail Progress After 10 Years: Green Sections Are Open For Passengers - Brilliant Maps

The map above shows the progress on California's High-Speed rail project after nearly a decade of construction. At the time of writing only the green sections are ready for passenger use (as of June 2024).

brilliantmaps.com

Oh I am sorry John, we call this progress here in the West Coast.

Breaks my heart and really hurts my Taxes too.