Metropolitan Transit Authority 8490

The Boston Elevated Railway began supplementing streetcars with trolley buses in the 1930s. (Bostonians usually called these vehicles “trackless trolleys,” although “trolley bus” or “trolley coach” were more common terms elsewhere.) In 1947, the Metropolitan Transit Authority took over transit operation from the Boston Elevated Ry. The MTA soon began ordering trolley buses from Pullman-Standard. In the period before and after World War II, Pullman-Standard was the largest American manufacturer of trolley buses. With its plant in nearby Worcester, MA, Pullman produced almost all of Boston’s trolley buses. At the peak of Boston’s trolley bus operation in 1952, the MTA had 463 of the vehicles, making it the third largest trolley bus system in the U.S., after Chicago and Atlanta. After several buying several batches of Pullman-Standard trackless trolleys in 1947 and 1948, the MTA ordered another 90 trackless trolleys from Pullman-Standard in 1951. Numbered 8483 – 8572, they equipped two major conversions from streetcars. Thirty coaches (Nos. 8483 – 8512) with left hand doors were ordered for service on three lines radiating from Forest Hills station and were assigned to Arborway carhouse. The sixty coaches (Nos. 8513 – 8572) without the left hand entrance were assigned to Eagle Street to serve East Boston and Revere. In May 1952, No. 8490 was part of the MTA exhibit at the Union Industries show held in the Mechanics Building on Huntington Avenue. Various changes in assignments were made in the late 1950s, with the 30 left hand door coaches reassigned to Cambridge, where they replaced streetcars on routes 71, 73 and 82. The MTA shopped 30 of the coaches from Eagle Street and added left hand doors. These coaches augmented the fleet serving Cambridge. The Pullman trackless trolleys continued in service when the MTA reorganized as the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority in 1964. The Pullman coaches were replaced by Flyer coaches in 1976 after 25 years of service. On April 11, 1976, the Boston Street Railway Association used No. 8490 on a farewell fan trip for the Pullman trackless trolleys. In October 1976, the Electric Railroaders Association also used No. 8490 on a fan trip. The need for left hand doors and operation in the Harvard Square tunnel made it impractical for the MBTA to convert the Cambridge lines to buses. They remained as the last remnant of the once vast trackless trolley network until 2022 when the MBTA replaced the Flyer trackless trolleys with diesel hybrid buses. In 1963, Seashore had acquired Boston trackless trolley No. 8361, becoming the first trolley bus at the museum. Then, in 1976, Seashore also acquired Boston trolley bus No. 8490 upon its retirement. These are the only surviving pre-1976 Boston trolley buses. The museum also owns three of the 1976 Boston trolley buses built by Flyer Industries that replaced No. 8490 and its sister Pullman coaches. In 1978, Seashore made various repairs, and an effort to replace a badly damaged dash on No. 8490 was begun but has never been completed.