Boston: The Green Line gone dark: Peek underground as the MBTA replaces wooden beams from the 1890s [View all]

The wooden beams that ran along the ceilings of the MBTA’s Green Line tunnels were installed when the line was built in the late 1890s, a decade before the Ford Model T was released and Oklahoma became the 46th state in the Union.

And for the next nearly 130 years, the beams capably served Boston’s transit system. Although most riders never noticed, the beams — known as “troughs” — provided a crucial barrier between electrified train wires and the tunnel ceiling overhead.

But the time has come for them to take a well-earned retirement.

Years and water damage left their mark on sections of the trough, and the wood posed a fire risk, MBTA officials said. Federal and state officials made clear last year that the troughs needed a modern replacement.

....(snip)....

The replacement project has been no small feat, as Green Line riders have surely realized. It required shutting down the line’s four branches across the entirety of Downtown Boston from Dec. 8–22 to give maintenance crews unencumbered access to the train tracks. ..................(more)

https://www.masstransitmag.com/rail/infrastructure/news/55339933/ma-the-green-line-gone-dark-peek-underground-as-the-mbta-replaces-wooden-beams-from-the-1890s