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The Middlesex and Boston Street Railway (M&B) was a
streetcar A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
and later
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
company in the area west of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. Streetcars last ran in 1930, and in 1972 the company's operations were merged into the
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
(MBTA).


History

The company was first chartered as the Natick Electric Street Railway on August 10, 1891. The name was changed to the South Middlesex Street Railway in 1893. That company went
bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...
and a receiver was appointed May 6, 1903; the property was sold on August 15, 1907, to the newly formed Middlesex and Boston Street Railway. By 1910,
Boston Suburban Electric Companies Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- most ...
, a
holding company A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
, had bought the M&B. In September 1964 the MBTA began subsidizing the M&B, and route numbers were given to its buses. (According to "A Chronicle of the Boston Transit System" (April 16, 1981) the subsidy agreement was signed on December 23, 1964.) The M&B was taken over by the MBTA on July 5, 1972, after a financial dispute over subsidies stopped service on June 30. The routes taken over were renumbered by adding a 5 to the beginning and were renumbered in September 1982 and some in 1996. There is one streetcar and one bus preserved from this railway, trolley # 41, a former Lexington car, and bus # 192, a 1948 ACF Brill bus. They are both located at the
Seashore Trolley Museum Seashore Trolley Museum, located in Kennebunkport, Maine, United States, is the world's first and largest museum of mass transit vehicles. While the main focus of the collection is trolley cars (trams), it also includes rapid transit trains, ...
in
Kennebunkport, Maine Kennebunkport is a resort town in York County, Maine, York County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,629 people at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Portland, Maine, Portland–South Portland, Maine, Sout ...
.


Auburndale–Lake Street via Commonwealth Avenue

The Commonwealth Avenue Street Railway was opened on March 26, 1896. The line ran down the
median In statistics and probability theory, the median is the value separating the higher half from the lower half of a data sample, a population, or a probability distribution. For a data set, it may be thought of as "the middle" value. The basic fe ...
the entire length of Commonwealth Avenue in
Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...
from Auburndale to , where it connected with the Commonwealth Avenue line of the
Boston Elevated Railway The Boston Elevated Railway (BERy) was a streetcar and rapid transit railroad operated on, above, and below, the streets of Boston, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. Founded in 1894, it eventually acquired the West End Street Railwa ...
. The latter line did not opened until August 15, 1896; omnibuses were temporarily run between
Reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
and Lake Street. The company opened
Norumbega Park Norumbega Park was a recreation area and amusement park located in "Auburndale, Massachusetts, Auburndale-on-the-Charles" near Boston, Massachusetts. The associated Totem Pole Ballroom became a well-known dancing and entertainment venue for big ...
on June 17, 1897, as an
amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, as well as other events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central ...
to increase traffic on the line. Through service between Norumbega Park and was run from January 17, 1903, to November 1, 1914. In December 1895, the company was denied rights to construct a branch over Center Street from its not-yet-complete Commonwealth Avenue line to Newton Center because of its refusal to pay for street widening. However, the branch was later approved and constructed, allowing the line to complete with the
Newton and Boston Street Railway The Newton and Boston Street Railway was a streetcar company in the Boston, Massachusetts area, eventually bought by the Middlesex and Boston Street Railway. Its line is now the 59 Needham Junction – Watertown Square via Newtonville bus. Hist ...
's Newton Center branch. An extension from Newton Center to Newton Highlands via Cypress, Paul, and Center opened on June 15, 1899. The line was consolidated into the
Newton Street Railway The Middlesex and Boston Street Railway (M&B) was a streetcar and later bus company in the area west of Boston. Streetcars last ran in 1930, and in 1972 the company's operations were merged into the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA ...
on January 1, 1904; the Newton Street Railway was merged with the M&B on July 1, 1909. The Commonwealth Avenue line was the last of the M&B streetcar routes to be converted to buses; this occurred in April 1930. The park closed in 1964. Route 35 Auburndale–Lake Street was not initially operated by the
MBTA The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (abbreviated MBTA and known colloquially as "the T") is the public agency responsible for operating most public transportation services in Greater Boston, Massachusetts. The MBTA transit network in ...
upon the July 1972 takeover. The MBTA resumed service in January 1973 as rush hour-only route 535 Auburndale–Boston College via Commonwealth Avenue. Largely used by
domestic worker A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
s commuting to wealthy neighborhoods in Newton, it was dropped in June 1976.


Bedford–Lowell

From Bedford, cars left every 15 minutes in the summer, and every half-hour in the winter, for * Boston via Lexington with a change at Arlington Heights * Maynard and Hudson with a change at Concord * Lowell with a change at Billerica Fare limits were at the town lines of Bedford with Lexington, Concord, and Billerica. The line from Lexington ran down Bedford Street and the Great Road, diverting along Loomis Street and South Road to connect with the
Boston and Maine Railroad The Boston and Maine Railroad was a U.S. Class I railroad in northern New England. Originally chartered in 1835, it became part of what was the Pan Am Railways network in 1983 (most of which was purchased by CSX in 2022). At the end of 1970, B ...
station. A passing track was located on the north side of Bedford Common. As at Norumbega, an amusement park was built in Lexington near the Bedford town line, to attract riders from the city. The Bedford–Arlington Heights bus, today's 62 was M&B route 29 and MBTA route 529. The car-barn and electricity generator were located in North Lexington north of Bedford Street and just west of the corner of what is now Worthen Road. The complex was composed of at least a long wooden building (the carbarn) and a squat brick structure with a short smokestack (the generating plant); that complex was a lumberyard for many years and was redeveloped in the late 1980s.


Waltham–Newton

The Waltham and Newton Street Railway was chartered on July 13, 1866, and began service on August 31, 1868. Its tracks ran from the split between Pleasant Street and Main Street, west of Waltham center, via Main Street, Moody Street, Crescent Street and Moody Street to the
Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...
line, then via Lexington Street, River Street, Elm Street and Washington Street to end at Highland Street in West Newton. In 1889 the Newton Street Railway bought the line, and the Newton Street Railway was merged with the M&B July 1, 1909. It later (by 1964) became much of the 20 Newton Corner–Riverside via Roberts and Central Square Waltham bus line, with the 27 Newton Corner–Riverside via Auburndale and Central Square Waltham using much of Crescent Street (the 20 went straight through on Moody Street). This is now the 553 Roberts–Downtown Boston via Newton Corner and Central Square Waltham, with Crescent Street served by the 558 Riverside–Downtown Boston via Auburndale, Central Square Waltham and Newton Corner.


Other routes

*23: Watertown Square – Stow & Main Street Waltham *25: Waltham Center–Lexington Center via Lexington Street *32: Needham-Watertown (ex-
Newton and Boston Street Railway The Newton and Boston Street Railway was a streetcar company in the Boston, Massachusetts area, eventually bought by the Middlesex and Boston Street Railway. Its line is now the 59 Needham Junction – Watertown Square via Newtonville bus. Hist ...
) *36: Wayland–South Natick


References


Railroad History DatabaseChanges to Transit Service in the MBTA district
(
PDF Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
)
Transit Systems in Massachusetts
*Kenneth W. Newcomb
Seashore Trolley Museum
Kennebunkport, ME
Boston Street Railway Company (railroad.net)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Middlesex Boston Street Railway Streetcars in the Boston area Interurban railways in Massachusetts Defunct Massachusetts railroads Bus transportation in the Boston area MBTA bus