After a crappy Red Sox game on Easter Sunday, (Spanked 11 to 3 by the Orioles) the opportunity presented itself to take a look at Bowdoin Station on the MBTA's Blue Line.

Bowdoin Station remains pretty constant in an ever changing world, with very few, if any, changes to the wedged shaped platform. With ridership remaining pretty soft, which includes a Red Sox game with very limited attendance, I could have been one of a handful of customers to ride west past Government Center that day. I gave the Bowdoin Station attendant something to do, as he was checking the train to make sure no one would dare take a spin around the famous loop. Some business is better than no business. As a kid, riding around the loop was OK to do. The story I have heard over the years, was that a train got in trouble in the loop, and the worst possible scenario occurred when there was absolutely no way to evacuate a handicapped rider from one of the middle cars at the time. True or false, I don't know. But that would make some sense, since the space through the loop is mighty tight, along with the very sharp curve.

How do you fit a six car train, on a platform good only for four cars? Riders can board on any of the last four cars, while the first two cars are past the platform, in the tunnel. Passengers press a button on the car to open the door. Since I was the only customer on the platform, I clearly had my choice of where to sit, and which car.

These East Boston Tunnel #5 cars have held up well with over 10 years of service. The paint on the inside harks back to the EBT-1 and 2 cars, that had dark blue paint on the wooden bench, and light blue on the walls and ceilings. Although the benches on the 1 & 2's offered more comfort, than the current Blue Line cars. These Siemens Cars seem to be built for the long haul.

We know the headlamps work well ;-) .

Photographed by Jay Gadon, April 4, 2021.
Added to the photo archive by Jay Gadon, April 6, 2021.
Railroad: MBTA.

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