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The only real problem with the Silver line is that if the Ted Williams Tunnel has a traffic jam, your bus is stuck in it.
I only took the SL2 route, from Boston’s Black Falcon cruise terminal to South Station, and that branch doesn’t use the Ted Williams tunnel, and only makes a few stops on surface streets.
I found its operation fascinating. The Neoplan Dual Mode articulated bus ran like any other bus on the street, with the operator collecting fares as passengers all boarded thru the front door.
When the bus pulled into the”Silver Line Way”, the HVAC blowers shut off, then the engine shut down, then the blowers started back up, and the bus quietly started forward, now powered by its trolley poles which had raised at the stop.
It then entered a gate-protected ramp down into a tunnel, and then made its remaining stops in subway-like stations . The driver opened all three doors for passenger entry and exit, as the stations used fare control access to the platforms.
Arriving at South Station gave free access to all connecting subway lined.😎
 
They have now phased out the SL operation via overhead wire. MBTA seems to have an aversion to trolley buses. They are instead going with the current fad of battery electric. How this will work out we will see. I think they are using CNG buses in the meantime.
 
There's a reason I take the blue line to/from Logan....

Dumb question, but can you actually walk to the station? I.e. is there a pathway to the rental car center (which is walkable to two blue line stations)?
 
There's a reason I take the blue line to/from Logan....

Dumb question, but can you actually walk to the station? I.e. is there a pathway to the rental car center (which is walkable to two blue line stations)?
There is a pathway from the Airport MBTA Station to East Boston Stadium. You stay on that path past the tennis courts and parking lot under the highway ramp and then to the rental car center. It's a 5 to 10 minute walk.
 
There's a reason I take the blue line to/from Logan....

Dumb question, but can you actually walk to the station? I.e. is there a pathway to the rental car center (which is walkable to two blue line stations)?
I always take the free shuttle bus from the Airport MBTA station to the Airport terminals. There is a sidewalk on the service road across from the station that you can walk to Terminal E.
 
There is a pathway from the Airport MBTA Station to East Boston Stadium. You stay on that path past the tennis courts and parking lot under the highway ramp and then to the rental car center. It's a 5 to 10 minute walk.
That's what I did - I discovered that last time I (well, time before last) was in Boston - had to rent a car for work portion of trip and then had time to go into town. Nice walk. I gather it's also easy to Maverick.

I see that walkway - doesn't look very pleasant.
 
That's what I did - I discovered that last time I (well, time before last) was in Boston - had to rent a car for work portion of trip and then had time to go into town. Nice walk. I gather it's also easy to Maverick.

I see that walkway - doesn't look very pleasant.
I have walked from the Airport T station to a terminal, but many years ago and I'm pretty sure they've changed everything. It was possible, but not very pleasant or direct and I think I had to use a cross-walk across the main airport loop road that the car drivers basically ignored. I would use the shuttle bus if at all possible.

Few if any airports are well-designed for pedestrians. I was once on a red-eye from LAX to JFK with a connection to a commuter plane to BOS, and they didn't tell me the type of plane on the commuter flight had been grounded due to a crash in the midwest. (Later determined to be due to failure to de-ice.) They didn't tell me until after I had arrived at JFK and transferred to the commuter terminal. Long line at check-in, got to the front and they told me my flight and virtually every other commuter flight was cancelled, and I had two choices, a bus or a packed (pre-Christmas) full-sized plane. Both options would arrive about the same time. (The bus would leave soon, the other plane left about noon.) I opted for the plane, was told I needed to retrieve my luggage, take it to a different terminal, and check in. My bag had already been transferred from the LAX terminal to the commuter terminal. I had no breakfast and about 4 hours to kill. All the restaurants in the terminal had closed due to lack of flights, and it turned out none of the airport shuttle buses were stopping there and about half way to the other terminal, I reached the end of the sidewalk and had to descend an icy 10-foot slope and cross another access road to get to my new terminal. (There might have been a better route, but it wasn't clearly marked and they didn't give me a map or directions.) Made it alive across the road, checked in, and caught the connecting flight to Boston, took a cab directly to the company Christmas party in Porter Square. It was directly across the street from the Porter Square T station, but I don't think the Alewife T extension had opened yet.) I slept through the Christmas party.
 
They have now phased out the SL operation via overhead wire. MBTA seems to have an aversion to trolley buses. They are instead going with the current fad of battery electric. How this will work out we will see. I think they are using CNG buses in the meantime.
I didn't know they had dumped the articulated trolley buses on the Silver Line. It always seemed so stupid that they ran diesel through the Williams Tunnel. One of the drivers told me it was because they didn't want to get stuck in traffic jams in the tunnel, but that made no sense. They could have run off the overhead wires normally, and then if stuck, retracted the trolley poles, started the diesel engine and driven around any traffic jams or accidents on the rare occasions it was an issue. I suspect they didn't leave enough overhead clearance for the wires when they built the new tunnels, which would have been sheer stupidity.

(Long rant about stupid decisions by the MBTA)

I suspect there are some middle managers at the T who hate electric buses of any kind. 3 of the 4 nearest bus lines to me are (or were until 2 years ago) trackless trolleys. The nearest line (75) is diesel, but though it passes two blocks from my house, had no stops for half a mile in either direction. When all the other recent inept actions went down, they did add an inbound stop at the corner nearest me, which is great, and did increase the frequency during rush hours, but there is no outbound stop (you have to get off a half mile away.)

The next closest lines were all trackless trolleys (aka trolley buses.) About 6 years ago, they rebuilt the road used by the closest line (73). During construction, they took down the overhead wires and some of the poles, replacing the buses with diesels. When they finished, just before Covid, they had put the wires back up and seemed to have upgraded the wiring considerably, adding many more connections between the power supply wires (strung pole-to-pole along the route) to the cat wires. You can see the difference between the new section and the older sections that are still up.

At about the same time, they rebuilt the last section of the 72 line, taking down the wires and then putting them back up when done. This was the last section of the 72 line, which terminates at Mt Auburn St in Cambridge, where it joins the combined 71 and 73 lines. (The buses can loop around and return on their original route or turn left or right on the 71/73 routes.)

Also at about the same time, they rebuilt the bus tunnels at Harvard Sq, terminus of all 4 trackless trolley routes, replacing them with diesels but eventually restoring them.

Then when Covid started, the T drastically cut back the schedules and replaced ALL the trackless trolleys with diesels. They were supposed to return when they restored full pre-Covid service but never did. About 3 years ago, in the midst of Covid, Cambridge (not the T) rebuilt the western section of Mt Auburn St (route of the combined 71/73) and the western most part of Huron Ave (72). They took down most of the poles, apparently for road construction. Then about a year later, the MBTA announced that the trolleys would not be restored, instead they are buying plugin electric buses (none of which have been delivered and possibly not even ordered yet), and eventually the diesels would be replaced by the totally unproven battery buses, and our local lines would get them AFTER everyone else. They said the trolley buses would need replacement soon, which might have been true, but they weren't that old, and seemed to work fine.

Most of the trolley wires are still up, in disjoint sections, and in lots of places, the power wires are still up, strung from pole-to-pole along one side of the road, but the the cross-street wires, which support the trolley wires have been removed.

Trolley buses are less flexible than other buses, because they are restricted to running under wires, but they are by far the most efficient type of bus, since they don't need to haul extremely heavy batteries everywhere. They could be made even more efficient by adding a small (50-100 lb) modern battery and using it to bridge short gaps and to get around traffic jams and detours. They should be adding trolley buses and extending the trolley network, not removing it. (All these decisions were made before hiring Philip Eng as GM, but I haven't heard one word about revisiting those decisions.)
 
MBTA Green Line Update:

The MBTA is putting one of its future Type 10 Green Line "supercars" outside Boston City Hall today and tomorrow from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. WBUR's Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez reports you'll be able to go inside the sample trolley and tell MBTA staff what you think. "The feedback is going to be invaluable to make sure that these suit not only our operator needs, but the public needs," MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said during a meeting last week.

At 114-feet long, the so-called supercars are 40 feet longer than the T's current Green Line trolleys. "As we rebuild our infrastructure, we want to also make sure that we can carry more and more people," Eng said. They also feature wider doors, 100% low floors for accessible boarding, digital screens and a fresh paint design.

The MBTA has ordered over 100 Type 10 cars to fully replace the current hodgepodge of old and new trolleys. But it will be a bit of a wait. While the first test cars are set to arrive in 2026, Eng says they won't start to be phased into service until spring 2027.

YouTube tour:

 
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I didn't know they had dumped the articulated trolley buses on the Silver Line. It always seemed so stupid that they ran diesel through the Williams Tunnel. One of the drivers told me it was because they didn't want to get stuck in traffic jams in the tunnel, but that made no sense. They could have run off the overhead wires normally, and then if stuck, retracted the trolley poles, started the diesel engine and driven around any traffic jams or accidents on the rare occasions it was an issue. I suspect they didn't leave enough overhead clearance for the wires when they built the new tunnels, which would have been sheer stupidity.

(Long rant about stupid decisions by the MBTA)

I suspect there are some middle managers at the T who hate electric buses of any kind. 3 of the 4 nearest bus lines to me are (or were until 2 years ago) trackless trolleys. The nearest line (75) is diesel, but though it passes two blocks from my house, had no stops for half a mile in either direction. When all the other recent inept actions went down, they did add an inbound stop at the corner nearest me, which is great, and did increase the frequency during rush hours, but there is no outbound stop (you have to get off a half mile away.)

The next closest lines were all trackless trolleys (aka trolley buses.) About 6 years ago, they rebuilt the road used by the closest line (73). During construction, they took down the overhead wires and some of the poles, replacing the buses with diesels. When they finished, just before Covid, they had put the wires back up and seemed to have upgraded the wiring considerably, adding many more connections between the power supply wires (strung pole-to-pole along the route) to the cat wires. You can see the difference between the new section and the older sections that are still up.

At about the same time, they rebuilt the last section of the 72 line, taking down the wires and then putting them back up when done. This was the last section of the 72 line, which terminates at Mt Auburn St in Cambridge, where it joins the combined 71 and 73 lines. (The buses can loop around and return on their original route or turn left or right on the 71/73 routes.)

Also at about the same time, they rebuilt the bus tunnels at Harvard Sq, terminus of all 4 trackless trolley routes, replacing them with diesels but eventually restoring them.

Then when Covid started, the T drastically cut back the schedules and replaced ALL the trackless trolleys with diesels. They were supposed to return when they restored full pre-Covid service but never did. About 3 years ago, in the midst of Covid, Cambridge (not the T) rebuilt the western section of Mt Auburn St (route of the combined 71/73) and the western most part of Huron Ave (72). They took down most of the poles, apparently for road construction. Then about a year later, the MBTA announced that the trolleys would not be restored, instead they are buying plugin electric buses (none of which have been delivered and possibly not even ordered yet), and eventually the diesels would be replaced by the totally unproven battery buses, and our local lines would get them AFTER everyone else. They said the trolley buses would need replacement soon, which might have been true, but they weren't that old, and seemed to work fine.

Most of the trolley wires are still up, in disjoint sections, and in lots of places, the power wires are still up, strung from pole-to-pole along one side of the road, but the the cross-street wires, which support the trolley wires have been removed.

Trolley buses are less flexible than other buses, because they are restricted to running under wires, but they are by far the most efficient type of bus, since they don't need to haul extremely heavy batteries everywhere. They could be made even more efficient by adding a small (50-100 lb) modern battery and using it to bridge short gaps and to get around traffic jams and detours. They should be adding trolley buses and extending the trolley network, not removing it. (All these decisions were made before hiring Philip Eng as GM, but I haven't heard one word about revisiting those decisions.)
I have similar thoughts to you that the MBTA hates electric buses but for different reasons. I think the MBTA fears that one day someone would make them install rails and convert those lines to trolleys. The MBTA removed all the overhead power cables and rails of the old A green line route back in the 90's. God forbid someone might try to reactivate that line. Same with the Arborway line. It was "temporarily" closed past Brigham Circle in 1985. The MBTA wanted to eliminate the entire E line with new orange line re-alignment but was forced to keep the E line to service Veterans Hospital in Jamaica Plain.
 
I have similar thoughts to you that the MBTA hates electric buses but for different reasons. I think the MBTA fears that one day someone would make them install rails and convert those lines to trolleys. The MBTA removed all the overhead power cables and rails of the old A green line route back in the 90's. God forbid someone might try to reactivate that line. Same with the Arborway line. It was "temporarily" closed past Brigham Circle in 1985. The MBTA wanted to eliminate the entire E line with new orange line re-alignment but was forced to keep the E line to service Veterans Hospital in Jamaica Plain.
I moved to Watertown Sq (on the river just downstream from the Galen St bridge), directly across from the trolley maintenance facility in Jan 1986. The A branch had long been closed, but the maintenance yard was still in use and I remember the banging going on all night, especially in the summer when my windows were open! I was just far enough away that it didn't keep me up all night. I think they shut it down about ten years later, and pulled up the tracks shortly after that. I think they did maintenance on the trackless trolleys in the same yard, but can't remember if the 71 (which turned around on the Watertown side of the bridge) was extended across to the yard. It would be complicated to run both traditional trolleys and trackless trolleys on the same street!

BTW, I spent a night at the JP VA in June when my brother was having eye surgery there and needed someone to stay with him. They have a building, sort of half-way between a hotel and a hostel, where families can stay to be with patients, or patients who don't need hospital care but live too far away to go home at night can stay. I thought it was a very nice feature, especially because staying there was free!
 
The Wikipedia page for the Silver Line claims that trolley wires aren't allowed over Interstate highways, but it's tagged citation needed.

I do wonder what the maximum speed is for a trolley pole. Although the TWT is usually pretty slow there are times when traffic is moving pretty fast.
 
MBTA Green Line Update:

The MBTA is putting one of its future Type 10 Green Line "supercars" outside Boston City Hall today and tomorrow from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. WBUR's Andrea Perdomo-Hernandez reports you'll be able to go inside the sample trolley and tell MBTA staff what you think. "The feedback is going to be invaluable to make sure that these suit not only our operator needs, but the public needs," MBTA General Manager Phil Eng said during a meeting last week.

At 114-feet long, the so-called supercars are 40 feet longer than the T's current Green Line trolleys. "As we rebuild our infrastructure, we want to also make sure that we can carry more and more people," Eng said. They also feature wider doors, 100% low floors for accessible boarding, digital screens and a fresh paint design.

The MBTA has ordered over 100 Type 10 cars to fully replace the current hodgepodge of old and new trolleys. But it will be a bit of a wait. While the first test cars are set to arrive in 2026, Eng says they won't start to be phased into service until spring 2027.

YouTube tour:




 
There are many interurban lines that operated with speeds up to 90 mph using trolley poles, such as the North Shore line.
You mean there WERE many interurban lines with speeds of up to 90 mph.... Whatever urban lines are left, like the South Shore Lines (which only runs at 70 mph max), use catenary and pantographs. Also, running at 90 mph on rails is different from a trackless trolley running at high speed on a public highway mixed with other traffic. At the very least, a pantograph would probably be preferable to a trolley pole.
 
You mean there WERE many interurban lines with speeds of up to 90 mph.... Whatever urban lines are left, like the South Shore Lines (which only runs at 70 mph max), use catenary and pantographs. Also, running at 90 mph on rails is different from a trackless trolley running at high speed on a public highway mixed with other traffic. At the very least, a pantograph would probably be preferable to a trolley pole.
Don't trolley buses need to use 2 poles so that they can have a feed and a return path for the electricity?
 
You mean there WERE many interurban lines with speeds of up to 90 mph.... Whatever urban lines are left, like the South Shore Lines (which only runs at 70 mph max), use catenary and pantographs.
Yes meant to say "were" - as you say, the only interurban left today, the South Shore Line, uses pantographs.

Of course a trolleybus would have other limiting factors but the poles should not be one of them.
 
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