On Twitter, when scrolling through the list of @streetcartracks‘ followers, one will come across what could be described as a haphazard mix of the occasional Boston social media influencers, stray city journos, the Boston 2024 Olympics organizing committee, and a few scattered MBTA enthusiasts.
Gil Propp, the Brookline native who tweets from the @streetcartracks handle, would likely include himself in the list of transit enthusiasts. Producer of the documentary Streetcar Tracks (see: above), Propp studies Civil Engineering at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He also runs Bostonstreetcars.com, a supplement to his YouTube film, Streetcar Tracks, which examines “why the majority of [the MBTA] system has been replaced by buses and what remnants of the former system are visible around Boston.”
Propp’s level of engagement in T-related banter on Twitter, caught my eye – like @milesonthembta did. So, in a brief email exchange, Propp was kind enough to take part in a Q and A and explain why streetcar tracks, of all things, are so interesting.
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Nate: In short, what is Bostonstreetcars.com?
Propp: In short, bostonstreetcars.com is my project to make the history of Boston’s transit and urban development accessible to people who pass through the city every day and, though they may not realize at first, are walking through a rich and unique history.
Nate: Why are streetcar tracks so interesting?
Propp: Because they are effectively what developed Boston as we know it—when trolley lines were extended, real estate immediately sprung up around them. The “streetcar suburbs” many of us live in today—Dorchester, JP, Brookline, Somerville, to name a few— would have still been farmland were it not for trolleys.
Nate: Where are the tracks located in Boston?
Propp: Everywhere—tracks are paved underneath many streets around the city. Tracks were recently removed from under Huron Ave in Cambridge when street work was done. As for tracks that can be seen with the naked eye, the most original track remnants are the Gladstone Loop tracks in the busway by Suffolk Downs Station in East Boston, which are still embedded in genuine cobblestones! Old unused tracks can also be found in Watertown Yard and in Packard’s Corner, both from the old A Line. There are also tracks by Forest Hills Station, but don’t be fooled—these were meant to be for the Arborway Line but were never used. Genuine track remnants are nearby, though, in Arborway Yard.
Nate: Have you ever worked with the MBTA on any projects or been asked for any input?
Propp: No, I haven’t, though I did speak about Boston transit history at the Transit Library in 10 Park Plaza to transit workers and the general public in a public showing of my documentary there last summer.
Nate: What’s one thing T-riders don’t know but should?
Propp: That just about every MBTA bus route that operates today has its origins in a trolley route—originally a streetcar, in many cases a trackless trolley in between—and that, if they look out the window, it is likely they will find a genuine Boston Elevated Railway trolley pole that was never removed that may even still have trolley wire hanging from it!
Nate: On Twitter, who is your go-to when you want to talk about the T or transportation in general?
Propp: @BostonUrbEx has an amazing knowledge of the history of the city and is always available and does a great job responding to my #mysteryphotos and #triviaquestions.
Nate: As a system, do you believe the T is good or bad? Why?
Propp: As a system, the T has done a very good job of serving the city and keeping the infrastructure original and intact. There may be issues sometimes, but hey, it’s a citywide transit system—there are bound to be disabled trains sometimes. Considering the age of the infrastructure, it’s amazing how the T has kept everything running and in good shape—the Mattapan Line, the only continuous PCC streetcar (cars that date back to the mid-40s) operation in the US, is a prime example of that.
