Green Line A branch
The "A" Branch or Watertown Branch was a streetcar line in the Boston, Massachusetts area, operating as a branch of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line. Since 1969, it has been replaced by the 57 bus, though the tracks remained continuous until March 1994.
History
The line started as a horse car street railway, as a branch of the Cambridge Horse Railroad. The branch split at Central Square, Cambridge, and crossed the Charles River on the River Street Bridge into Allston. It continued on through Union Square, and in 1858 was opened to Oak Square in the center of Brighton. The part east of Union Square later became part of the 64 bus route.
The first electric trolleys in Boston ran between the Allston Carhouse northeast of Union Square and Park Square downtown, on tracks running south on Harvard Street, east on Beacon Street, south on Massachusetts Avenue and east on Boylston Street. These first ran on January 1, 1889, on tracks that had been built for horse cars.
On June 13, 1896, tracks opened from Union Square east along North Beacon Street and Commonwealth Avenue to Kenmore Square, merging with the existing tracks on Beacon Street. That year, the western terminal was also extended to just shy of Newton Corner, with Newton Corner service beginning May 21, 1898. On December 9, 1912, the route was extended north to Watertown on tracks that had been used by routes from Cambridge to Newton Corner since 1900.
Cars on the line began using the Tremont Street Subway to turn around at Park Street November 8, 1897, via the Boylston Street Incline at the Public Garden. The Boylston Street Subway was opened to an incline in Kenmore Square on October 3, 1914, and the jog on Massachusetts Avenue was eliminated. The Blandford Street Portal, on Commonwealth Avenue west of Kenmore, opened October 23, 1932, marking the last change in the route of the service.
Prior to 1967, when the current letters were assigned to the Green Line's branches, the Watertown Line was the 69 Watertown-Park Street route. The 57, the line's current number, was actually assigned to Heath Street short-turn trips on the "E" Branch. The line was assigned the letter "A" because it was the northernmost branch. Turnback loops existed at Union Square and Oak Square, as well as the Watertown terminal. Additionally, from 1915 to January 15, 1962, a loop existed at Boston University for special events, along the part of the line concurrent with the "B" Branch.
The opening of the Riverside Branch in 1959 caused streetcar lines in Cambridge running out of Harvard Square to be converted to trackless trolley, and the PCC streetcars were reassigned to the Riverside Branch. A decade later, however, wear and tear and a lack of replacements caused a shortage of Green Line streetcars, and the MBTA announced the closure of the A branch on a "trial" basis.[1]
Streetcars last ran on June 20, 1969, with the 57 Watertown-Kenmore via Newton and Brighton bus route beginning the next day. As free transfers were eliminated in October 1961, Watertown riders now had to pay a double fare to continue downtown. However, large portions of the line are served by the 501, 502, 503 and 504 express routes to downtown via the Mass Pike; and, beginning on January 1, 2007, riders using a CharlieCard are charged one subway fare for a combined local bus and subway trip.
The tracks were finally paved over in March 1994, after being used for a while to access the Watertown Carhouse.