The B Line has a similar history to the "A" Line up to Packard's Corner. At that point the B Line swings to the left to follow Commonwealth Avenue where it runs either in the median of the street. Its western terminal is at Lake Street in Newton. Just east of that terminal are tracks that have not been used for revenue along Chestnut Hill Avenue since the 1920's. Those tracks connect to the Reservoir Car house at Cleveland Circle on the "C" line and also offer a physical connection to the Riverside Yard where cars can be ferried to the main shops at Riverside. From 1942 until the lettering system in 1967 the line was known as the 62.

Its eastern terminal has fluctuated over the years to Lechmere and then back to Park Street. Since 30 July 1983 the "B" Line has terminated at the Government Center Station Loop. Because of the close proximity of stops the "B" Line has often been criticized as having slow service taking as much as 45 minutes from the Government Center to its western terminal. In late 2003 MBTA proposed to close five stops on the western end of the branch. Some riders felt that the savings in time would be minimal and questioned why the MBTA did propose to close some of the stops east of Packard's Corner as several of the stops were but a few hundred feet apart. In early 2004 four of the five stops were closed in a pilot stop elimination program. By 2005 a survey showed a large majority of riders approved the closures at which point MBTA announced that the four stops would be closed permanently.

Babcock Avenue is the first top east of Packard's Corner. It is, at best, not more than a block and a half east of that location where there is a station. Because the B branch serves Boston University it has heavy traffic on it as the pictures will show. Even on that cloudy Sunday afternoon trains ran often and patronage at that stop was constant. The weather was typical Boston: cloudy most of the time but after the photo shoot it became sunny again. The pictures show the trains typically had one class 7 and one class 8 car.

To view each picture click on the thumbnail which will blow it up to full size. Simply use the back arrow to return to this page.

Class 8 car 3877 has stopped at Babcock Ave. waiting for the traffic signal.                                  

A wide angle view of the front of Green Line class 7 car at Babcock Street loading a passenger.  

A westbound "B" branch train pulls into the Babcock Street stop.                                                  

The rear of the same train with Class 7 car 3601 at Babcock showing a passenger leaving train. 

Class 8 car 3877 getting ready to cross Babcock Street along Commonwealth Ave.                      

Class 8 car 3812 brings up the rear of a "B" Branch train heading towards downtown Boston.     

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last update 17 Feb 2008 21:44

Information obtained in part from Wikipedia