Historic Context Report for Transit Rail System Development Nationwide, with localized contexts for the Boston, Chicago, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. metropolitan areas June 2017 Prepared for: The Federal Transit Administration Headquarters Washington, D.C. Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for the contents or use thereof. The United States Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the objective of this report. i Table of Contents 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 Objectives ............................................................................................................................................ 1 Methodology ....................................................................................................................................... 1 Organization of the Report ................................................................................................................. 2 2. National Context .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 3 Early Period (Nineteenth Century through early Twentieth Century) .............................................. 3 2.2.1 First Telegraph Line ......................................................................................................................... 4 2.2.2 Civil War Period ............................................................................................................................... 4 2.2.3 Early Forms of “Mass Transit”......................................................................................................... 4 2.2.4 Animal Traction – The Horsecar Era ............................................................................................... 5 2.2.5 Trolley Parks .................................................................................................................................... 6 2.2.6 Atmospheric (Pneumatic) Railway.................................................................................................. 7 2.2.7 Steam Dummies .............................................................................................................................. 8 2.2.8 Cable Car Railways .......................................................................................................................... 8 2.2.9 Cable Railways ................................................................................................................................. 9 2.2.10 Incline Railways ........................................................................................................................... 9 2.2.11 Cog Railway ............................................................................................................................... 11 2.2.12 Gravity Railroad ......................................................................................................................... 12 2.2.13 Electric Traction ......................................................................................................................... 12 2.2.14 Frank J. Sprague – Street Railway Pioneer ............................................................................... 13 2.2.15 Electric Streetcars ..................................................................................................................... 13 2.2.16 Counterbalance ......................................................................................................................... 14 Expansion, 1910s-ca. 1930 ................................................................................................................ 14 2.3.1 Trolleybus (Trackless Trolley) ........................................................................................................ 15 2.3.2 The Birney Safety Car .................................................................................................................... 17 Depression Era until World War II, 1929-1941 ................................................................................ 17 2.4.1 One-Man, Two-Man Operation .................................................................................................... 18 2.4.2 Bus Substitution ............................................................................................................................ 18 2.4.3 President’s Conference Car (PCC) ................................................................................................. 19 ii 2.4.4 Aerial Tramways ............................................................................................................................ 20 World War II, 1941-1946 ................................................................................................................... 21 Post World War II Period, Late 1940s-1970s .................................................................................... 22 2.6.1 The Interstate Highway System .................................................................................................... 22 2.6.2 Shopping Centers .......................................................................................................................... 22 2.6.3 Urban Transit in the Automobile Age ........................................................................................... 23 2.6.4 AMTRAK ......................................................................................................................................... 23 UMTA and the Heavy Rail/Light Rail Era, 1960s-1980s .................................................................... 25 2.7.1 Reinvestment in Light and Heavy Rail .......................................................................................... 25 2.7.2 People Mover ................................................................................................................................ 26 2.7.3 Monorail ........................................................................................................................................ 26 Discretionary Funding Program, 1990s-Present .............................................................................. 27 Major Metropolitan Areas – Local Contexts .................................................................................... 27 3. Boston-Localized Context .......................................................................................................................... 29 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 29 Associated Historic Contexts ............................................................................................................. 29 Boston’s Street Railways ................................................................................................................... 29 Early Period: the Horsecar Era, 1856-1900 ...................................................................................... 30 Expansion: the Electric Streetcar Era, 1889-Present ........................................................................ 31 The Heavy Rail Era, 1912-Present ..................................................................................................... 32 The Light Rail Era, 1979-Present ....................................................................................................... 34 Historic Properties ............................................................................................................................. 36 3.8.1 Charles/MGH Station .................................................................................................................... 36 3.8.2 Copley Station ............................................................................................................................... 37 3.8.3 West Concord Station ................................................................................................................... 38 3.8.4 Swampscott Railroad Depot ......................................................................................................... 38 3.8.5 Beverly Depot ................................................................................................................................ 39 3.8.6 Old Colony Railroad Station .......................................................................................................... 39 3.8.7 Allston Railroad Station ................................................................................................................. 39 3.8.8 Walden Street Cattle Pass ............................................................................................................. 40 3.8.9 South Station ................................................................................................................................. 41 3.8.10 Tremont Street Subway ...........................................................................................................