The LRV was arguably one of the more forgettable series of cars ever purchased by the MBTA that ran on the Green Line. These cars proved to be a very costly experience to both the MBTA and MUNI of San Fran. who were forced by the Federal Government to buy these cars from an unproven manufacturer that does a much better job with helicopters.These cars arrived on the Green Line in the late 1970's to replace an aging worn out fleet of PCC cars. The LRV's proved to be very unreliable, had many defects, prone to derailments, which forced the MBTA to quickly overhaul the PCC's for one more go-around at the time. Remember the first batch of door problems on LRV's?

The LRVs were so bad in the beginning that a bunch of them were stuffed in the unused tunnels south of Boylston until their discovery by a Boston Globe reporter. Eventually the flaws were corrected, lawsuits were settled, and these cars served out their time.

The PCC's were all done on the Green Line when the well built Kinki-Sharyo "Type 7" cars appeared, and the Type 7 fleet became the Green Line mainstays.

Several LRV's remain today as work cars on the Green Line, and most of the fleet has been scrapped.

Seashore has this clean LRV example, though not in service currently. The LRV was a good idea on paper, anyway. We found this LRV and many cars of the MBTA's past during a great Transit Weekend at Seashore Trolley Museum.

Photographed by Myles Gadon, October 12, 2013.
Added to the photo archive by Jay Gadon, October 14, 2013.
Railroad: Seashore Trolley Museum.

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