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Notice: You Are Leaving TheBSRA.org
You have clicked on a link that will take you outside of the official website of the Boston Street Railway Association.
We are not responsible for links, photos, posts, videos, or other content outside of TheBSRA.org. Please browse carefully.
Notice: You Are Leaving TheBSRA.org
You have clicked on a link that will take you outside of the official website of the Boston Street Railway Association.
We are not responsible for links, photos, posts, videos, or other content outside of TheBSRA.org. Please browse carefully.
Notice: You Are Leaving TheBSRA.org
You have clicked on a link that will take you outside of the official website of the Boston Street Railway Association.
We are not responsible for links, photos, posts, videos, or other content outside of TheBSRA.org. Please browse carefully.
Directions to Our Meetings
The Grand Lodge is located near the MBTA's Boylston Station on the Green and Silver Lines, and Chinatown Station on the Orange Line.
HOME / WHAT WE DO
Monthly Meetings
One of the Association's most popular and most visible activities are out monthly meetings, which are held at the Grand Lodge of Masons' Paul Revere Room, 186 Tremont Street, in downtown Boston, MA (See map on right). They are always open to all and free of charge.
Meetings begin at 7:30PM, typically on the first Saturday of every month. A short business meeting (including a detailed current events segment on MBTA news and transit happenings near and far) is followed by an entertainment program, consisting of film and digital slideshows, videos and films of past and present transit operations form around the nation and the world. Entertainment begins at aproximately 8:15PM and generally lasts about two hours.
In the event of severe weather, we may be forced to cancel a meeting. A notice will be posted on the home page of this website, and on our Facebook and Twitter feeds, by 4PM the day of the meeting in the rare event of a cancellation.
Upcoming Meetings
April 7, 2012
A Pennsylvania Double Feature
Tadd Anderson presents Philadelphia Trolleys II, a Ray Nielsen Production, showing scenes of the Philadelphia Transportation Company and the transition to SEPTA, from PCCs to the Kawasaki streetcars still running today. Then Donald Nevin presents Traction in Pennsylvania, Volume 1, from Herron Rail Video, which shows Pennsylvania cities from Philadelphia through Pittsburg, with several stops in between, featuring streetcars, interurban service, and elevated trains.
May 5, 2012
From India to New York
Eric Oszustowicz shows us his trip to India in January and February 2011: passenger rail and buses, both urban and long-distance, in Kolkata (Calcutta, also showing tramways), Mumbai (Bombay), and Bengaluru (Bangalore). Then he continues with last year's New York historical perspective: New York City buses acquired from 1956 into the '60s, and the New York City subway (R-10s to R-30s). We'll also see some current events photos.
June 2, 2012
Brazil, Part 1
Donald Nevin will show us his travels to South America in 1962-1964, with some bonus photos from 1984. We'll start with a steamboat trip from Buenos Aires (Argentina), and a brief rail rail trip from Uruguay to Brazil. In Brazil we'll visit Porto Alegre (with its ex-US streetcar fleet, including cars from Worcester, MA), Santos, and Sao Paulo. Donald will also show scenes of Brazilian trams and intercity rail, including wood-burning steam locomotives, and 3 incarnations of the impressive Serra (the inclined section of the Sao Paulo Railway). As an added treat we'll get to see the unique Sailway of the city of Rio Grande do Sul.
July 14, 2012
The East Coaster
Christopher Kelliher takes us on a tour of the East Coast of the United States, from north to south. We'll start with the Seashore Trolley Museum, and then make stops in Boston, Providence, New Haven, New York, Steamtown, Strasburg, Baltimore, Washington, and Orlando. We'll also take some excursions to suburban towns in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, upstate New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. If time permits, Chris will show some bonus photos from the West Coast.
August 4, 2012
Bradley Clarke's Boston Underground Travels, Revisited
BSRA President Brad Clarke will present photos of a film crew in action in the abandoned Tremont Street Subway south of Boylston Street in May and July 2011, as they made videos of underground Boston for the Travel Channel. He'll also show scenes of Harvard/Holyoke station and the abandoned ramp to the streetcar tunnel across from it, plus some scouting trips to other hidden transit nooks and crannies. As a special bonus, we'll see a local film not shown in many years.
September 8, 2012
Boston Transit Scenes: 2002-2012
Nick Tomkavage will present a wide variety of MBTA scenes taken in the last decade, including views of maintenance vehicles, carhouses, BSRA fan trips, and a few curiosities. Also featured will be Boeing LRVs, Flyer trackless trolleys, No. 3 East Boston cars and the North Station Elevated. Some of the material Nick will present was photographed by others, who will be appropriately credited for their efforts.
October 13, 2012
From Boston to New Bedford, 100 Years Back
Leo Sullivan will take us on a historic tour along the south coast and back to Boston from Fall River. We'll see plenty of trolley scenes from Southern Massachusetts before World War I, featuring the Bay State Street Railway and the New Bedford & Onset.
November 3, 2012
Rapid Transit Chicago
Nick Tomkavage will present a review of the Chicago Transit Authority in recent years, featuring Chicago's extensive elevated rapid transit system in images dating from 2002-2009. We'll see the Loop, the North Side Main Line, the Ravenswood Line, and the Skokie Swift, among many others.
Additional Meeting Dates (Entertainment TBD):
December 1, 2012 and January 5, 2013.
