- 43 (MBTA bus)
The 43 Ruggles Station - Park and Tremont Streets is a
bus route inBoston, Massachusetts run by theMassachusetts Bay Transportation Authority . The route runs southwest from downtown Boston along Tremont Street, ending at the Ruggles bus terminal and Orange Line transfer point. It is notable as the laststreetcar service to use the since-covered overPleasant Street Portal before itsbustitution ; until the newSouthwest Corridor relocation of the Orange Line opened, the route continued down Tremont Street and Columbus Avenue to Egleston (at the oldWashington Street Elevated ).History
Originally, trackage along Tremont Street and Columbus Avenue was built in
1857 by theWest Roxbury Railroad to provide service to Jamaica Plain (seeGreen Line "E" Branch for more about that line). It used Tremont Street and Columbus Avenue from downtown to Centre Street. Soon after, in1859 , a branch of this line was built west along Tremont Street to Brookline (this later became part of the MBTABus|66).The
Tremont Street Subway opened to the four-trackPleasant Street Portal onOctober 1 ,1897 , and the west two tracks were connected to Tremont Street. However, fromJune 10 ,1901 toNovember 29 ,1908 , theWashington Street Elevated was connected into the portal, and Tremont Street streetcars again ran along the surface. At some time around then (after1888 ), the tracks were extended the rest of the way to Egleston (and beyond on Seaver Street).After
March 1 ,1953 , the last day the MBTABus|9 ran, the 43 was shifted to the two east tracks to allow a bus transfer facility to be built where the west tracks had been. By this time, service ran to North Station, turning around on the lower level loop. Streetcars last reached Egleston onJune 14 ,1956 , after which they were cut back to Lenox Street, with a new bus route (also 43) running from Lenox to Egleston. The Lenox Street service last ranNovember 19 ,1961 , and the bus was extended north past the Pleasant Street Portal to Boylston. A shuttle service was kept between the portal and Boylston, with one double-endedPCC car on each track. This shuttle last ranApril 5 ,1962 .On
February 26 ,1966 , the bus was cut back to Stuart Street due to the temporary closure of Tremont Street. This terminus was kept until June1972 , when service was extended north around the Boston Common to Park Street. With the opening of the new Orange Line in May1987 , the south end of the 43 was truncated to Ruggles, with extensions of the MBTABus|22 and MBTABus|29 providing service between Ruggles and Egleston.External links
* [http://www.mbta.com/schedules_and_maps/bus/routes/?route=43 MBTA - Route 43 Ruggles Station - Park & Tremont Sts.]
References
* [http://members.aol.com/eddanamta/busfiles/contents.pdf Changes to Transit Service in the MBTA District 1964-Present] (
PDF )
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