Talk:Tremont Street subway

Which parts of the tunnel are still original?
There are some substantial omissions in this article and also, I think, misinformation. Chiefly, the tunnel was originally opened between Boylston and Park, yet the article does not mention Boylston at all. A year later, Adams and Scollay were opened and became part of the system. In the '60s both Adams and Scollay were destroyed to build Government Center, and I wouldn't be surprised if most of the tunnel in this area was also destroy or heavily modified. Based on that, I would say that the Tremont Street Subway today exists between Boylston and Park only, with possibly some parts running toward Government Center. If anyone knows better, please let me know. I'll do a bit more research on this and if no one has objections, I'll rewrite the article to be more accurate. Lux 21:00, 8 September 2006 (UTC)


 * A very belated response: I don't think the Boylston street station was part of the original line. It may have gone under that location, but with no stop there, it would not be a very accurate way to describe where the line ran. Sources about the original line do not mention a stop at Boylston. rspεεr (talk) 11:05, 24 January 2009 (UTC)


 * I don't see any contradiction in the sources we currently have. The article doesn't mention Boylston at all, and the map we have shows it as one of the endpoints. If anyone wants to introduce a reference that 'does' contradict what we have, we can restore it, but for now I'm going to eliminate the template as unnecessary. Chromancer (talk) 21:45, 29 August 2010 (UTC)

Both the text and the map are somewhat misleading relative to the westerly subway route. In 1914, the "Boylston Street Subway" opened, traveling from "the junction of Kenmore st. and commonwealth avenue and joining the present Tremont Street Subway at a point midway between the Boylston-st station and the Public Garden entrance." Both in the passage regarding the "portals" and the title of the map imply that this entire line was part of the Tremont Street Subway, which is incorrect. Source: "Open Boylston-St Subway Saturday, Boston Daily Globe, September 27, 1914, page 13. Thanks.  — Preceding unsigned comment added by Billski (talk • contribs) 01:31, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

Regarding the issue of when the Boylston Station was opened, according to the Daily Globe, it was opened as part of section one, but scarcely used.

Section 1 opens, no formalities

”The first car will enter the subway Sept 1 at 6am from Boylston Street down the public garden gradient, passing under Boylston and Tremont sts. And around the loop at Park st. for the return trip.”

"Subway Still Popular", Boston Daily Globe, Sept 4, 1897, "The Boylston Street Station continues practically deserted, much to the disappointment of the road officials, who profess not to understand it, though it would seem to be very natural that they are not sure of a seat,rather than take a car at Boylston St. where they are almost as sure of not getting one"

Section 2 opens informally – Boylston St. to Pleasant St.

…every two to three minutes during the hours of the day when travel is heaviest, which will undoubtedly bring the Boylston St. station into much more general use than before

Billski (talk) 18:26, 21 May 2013 (UTC)

Incorrect information about ownership
"The original owner of the Tremont Street Subway was the private West End Street Railway, later the Boston Elevated Railway. Public ownership began in 1947 with the Metropolitan Transit Authority, now the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority."

This is not correct. The Tremont Street Subway was built by the Boston Transit Commission, a public agency created by the state legislature in 1894. The subway was leased to the private company for operation.

See: Cheney, Frank, and Anthony M. Sammarco. 1997. "Trolleys Under the Hub." Mt. Pleasant, SC: Arcadia Publishing. P. 7. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 31.65.202.215 (talk) 07:13, 22 September 2017 (UTC)

Move discussion in progress
There is a move discussion in progress on Talk:Boylston Street Subway which affects this page. Please participate on that page and not in this talk page section. Thank you. —RMCD bot 04:03, 14 December 2018 (UTC)

Not the oldest?
As per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_Pneumatic_Transit, the Beach Pneumatic Transit holds that honor. It opened in 1870, admittedly it only traveled a block, but that was a block further than the Tremont Street subway was traveling at the time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Trollboy665 (talk • contribs) 16:24, 30 August 2022 (UTC)