{"id":14116,"date":"2016-02-07T06:18:24","date_gmt":"2016-02-07T11:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/?p=14116"},"modified":"2016-02-07T08:51:00","modified_gmt":"2016-02-07T13:51:00","slug":"mbta-milton-massachusetts-now-and-then","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/mbta-milton-massachusetts-now-and-then\/","title":{"rendered":"MBTA\u2014Milton, Massachusetts, Now and Then."},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A few weeks ago I posted some vintage Ektachrome slides of MBTA\u2019s Mattapan-Ashmont trolley line that I made with my old Leica 3A when I was 12 years old.<\/p>\n<p>Among these was this\u00a0view at the Milton station that showed Conrail\u2019s former New Haven Railroad tracks in addition to MBTA\u2019s trolley line.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_13808\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13808\" style=\"width: 2465px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/2016\/01\/20\/pccs-on-mbtas-mattapan-ashmont-trolley-looking-back\/brian-solomon_581469\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-13808\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"13808\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/pccs-on-mbtas-mattapan-ashmont-trolley-looking-back\/brian-solomon_581469\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Brian-Solomon_581469.jpg?fit=2465%2C1621\" data-orig-size=\"2465,1621\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Brian Solomon_581469\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;I might not have known what I was doing, but I was visionary. I was fascinated by the &#8216;heavy rail&#8217; tracks on both sides of the trolley line. Here is evidence that Conrail was still serving the former New Haven branch as far as Milton. There&#8217;s virtually no evidence of the freight operation today, and it takes a bit of imagination to figure out where the tracks were. Notice that I didn&#8217;t allow a PCC to interfere with the scene: this was about the PFE refers!&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Brian-Solomon_581469.jpg?fit=709%2C466\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Brian-Solomon_581469.jpg?fit=474%2C312\" class=\"size-full wp-image-13808\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Brian-Solomon_581469.jpg?resize=474%2C312\" alt=\"I might not have known what I was doing, but I was visionary. I was fascinated by the 'heavy rail' tracks on both sides of the trolley line. Here is evidence that Conrail was still serving the former New Haven branch as far as Milton. There's virtually no evidence of the freight operation today, and it takes a bit of imagination to figure out where the tracks were. Notice that I didn't allow a PCC to interfere with the scene: this was about the PFE refers!\" width=\"474\" height=\"312\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Brian-Solomon_581469.jpg?w=2465 2465w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Brian-Solomon_581469.jpg?resize=205%2C135 205w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Brian-Solomon_581469.jpg?resize=709%2C466 709w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Brian-Solomon_581469.jpg?resize=1022%2C672 1022w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Brian-Solomon_581469.jpg?w=948 948w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Brian-Solomon_581469.jpg?w=1422 1422w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-13808\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">My 1979 Ektachrome view: \u00a0I was fascinated by the &#8216;heavy rail&#8217; tracks on both sides of the trolley line. Here is evidence that Conrail was still serving the former New Haven branch as far as Milton. There&#8217;s virtually no evidence of the freight operation today, and it takes a bit of imagination to figure out where the tracks were. Notice that I didn&#8217;t allow a PCC to interfere with the scene: this was about the PFE refers!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The trolley line had been adapted to use part of the railroad right of way, and yet it was still necessary to serve freight customers, so tracks from both operations had co-existed for decades.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14114\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14114\" style=\"width: 2449px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/mbta_mattapan-ashmont_line_milton_dscf0546\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14114\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"14114\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/mbta-milton-massachusetts-now-and-then\/mbta_mattapan-ashmont_line_milton_dscf0546\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0546.jpg?fit=2449%2C1633\" data-orig-size=\"2449,1633\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;6.4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;X-T1&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1454279088&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;18&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.002&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0546\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Milton from approximately the same angle as the 1979 view above. More than just the tracks have changed. I exposed this with my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera at the end of January 2016. &lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0546.jpg?fit=709%2C473\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0546.jpg?fit=474%2C316\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14114\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0546.jpg?resize=474%2C316\" alt=\"Milton from approximately the same angle as the 1979 view above. More than just the tracks have changed. I exposed this with my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera at the end of January 2016. \" width=\"474\" height=\"316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0546.jpg?w=2449 2449w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0546.jpg?resize=205%2C137 205w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0546.jpg?resize=709%2C473 709w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0546.jpg?resize=1022%2C681 1022w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0546.jpg?w=948 948w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0546.jpg?w=1422 1422w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14114\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Milton from approximately the same angle as the 1979 view above. More than just the tracks have changed. I exposed this with my FujiFilm X-T1 digital camera at the end of January 2016.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Today, the freight railroad at Milton is but a memory. (And, if news reports prove correct, the trolley may soon vanish too!). Take nothing for granted.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14113\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14113\" style=\"width: 2449px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/mbta_mattapan-ashmont_line_milton_dscf0547\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14113\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"14113\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/mbta-milton-massachusetts-now-and-then\/mbta_mattapan-ashmont_line_milton_dscf0547\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0547.jpg?fit=2449%2C1633\" data-orig-size=\"2449,1633\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;6.4&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;X-T1&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1454279091&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;32.6&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.002&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0547\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;This is a slight tighter view of Milton as it now looks. No PFE refers here, nor tracks for them to rest upon. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0547.jpg?fit=709%2C473\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0547.jpg?fit=474%2C316\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14113\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0547.jpg?resize=474%2C316\" alt=\"This is a slight tighter view of Milton as it now looks. No PFE refers here, nor tracks for them to rest upon. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.\" width=\"474\" height=\"316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0547.jpg?w=2449 2449w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0547.jpg?resize=205%2C137 205w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0547.jpg?resize=709%2C473 709w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0547.jpg?resize=1022%2C681 1022w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0547.jpg?w=948 948w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0547.jpg?w=1422 1422w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14113\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">This is a slightly tighter view of Milton as it now looks. No PFE refers here, nor tracks for them to rest upon. This focal length more closely mimics the 50mm Leica Sumitar lens that \u00a0I used in 1979.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I made these Now and Then views from approximately the same place looking in the same direction, but nearly 37 years apart.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_14112\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14112\" style=\"width: 2449px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/mbta_mattapan-ashmont_line_milton_dscf0641\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-14112\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"14112\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/mbta-milton-massachusetts-now-and-then\/mbta_mattapan-ashmont_line_milton_dscf0641\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0641.jpg?fit=2449%2C1633\" data-orig-size=\"2449,1633\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;5.6&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;X-T1&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1454280880&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;26.6&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.002&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0641\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;An of course, I waited for a PCC. On Sunday&#8217;s trolleys operate about every 8 minutes in both directions.  FujiFilm X-T1 photo.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0641.jpg?fit=709%2C473\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0641.jpg?fit=474%2C316\" class=\"size-full wp-image-14112\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0641.jpg?resize=474%2C316\" alt=\"An of course, I waited for a PCC. On Sunday's trolleys operate about every 8 minutes in both directions. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.\" width=\"474\" height=\"316\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0641.jpg?w=2449 2449w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0641.jpg?resize=205%2C137 205w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0641.jpg?resize=709%2C473 709w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0641.jpg?resize=1022%2C681 1022w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0641.jpg?w=948 948w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0641.jpg?w=1422 1422w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 474px) 100vw, 474px\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-14112\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An of course, I waited for a PCC. On Sunday&#8217;s trolleys operate about every 8 minutes in both directions. FujiFilm X-T1 photo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Tracking the Light Posts Daily!<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A few weeks ago I posted some vintage Ektachrome slides of MBTA\u2019s Mattapan-Ashmont trolley line that I made with my old Leica 3A when I was 12 years old. Among these was this\u00a0view at the Milton station that showed Conrail\u2019s former New Haven Railroad tracks in addition to MBTA\u2019s trolley line. The trolley line had &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/mbta-milton-massachusetts-now-and-then\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">MBTA\u2014Milton, Massachusetts, Now and Then.<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14112,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_s2mail":"yes","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[10,48],"tags":[3786,104,3255,790,3312,1631,1219],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/MBTA_Mattapan-Ashmont_Line_Milton_DSCF0641.jpg?fit=2449%2C1633","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2BVuC-3FG","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14116"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14116"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14128,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14116\/revisions\/14128"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14112"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/briansolomon.com\/trackingthelight\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}