Universal Hub - Franklin

When did they move the Mason-Dixon line north?

adamg — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 14:21:54 +0000

Lyss photographed a Mass. redneck driving around Franklin the other day.

Commuter rail in the mist

adamg — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 14:10:50 +0000

Franklin station in the mist this morning.

Noteworthy event on the Franklin line this morning

adamg — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:44:46 +0000

Stephen Sherlock notes his train into Boston actually arrived at South Station on time. Of course, the T made up for that by replacing three "double" cars with single-level ones, which meant the train was so packed he couldn't do any work like he usually does.

Another train-track death

adamg — Mon, 27 Aug 2007 18:37:17 +0000

This time it was on commuter-rail tracks in Franklin this morning. Charlie on the Commuter Rail reports:

... The inbound #710 train which departs Franklin Forge Park at 7:45 AM stopped at Walpole and everyone had to get out. We all walked down to a secondary parking lot to a row of T buses. That was an improvement over the last time we'd been bused; that time we were put in school buses, and the drivers had gotten lost. ...

Brian on MyDedham was at Endicott waiting for a train and had a less satisfactory encounter with a T worker:

... When the train finally pulled into Endicott, all but one of the doors was shut and all of the platforms were raised, preventing those of us now waiting for two trains from boarding.

Like water, the crowds began flowing towards the open door on the very front car. Two cars down a conductor stuck his head out to let us know that there was no room on this train and that we would have to wait for the next one, which was 20 minutes behind.

We all knew this was false as we could see through the windows that there was plenty of standing room available in the aisles. The conductor insisted that standing wasn't allowed, despite what many commuters have to do every day. ...

Earlier:
The aftermath of the Orange Line electrocution.

When sardines get sick in the cans they call commuter trains

adamg — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 00:13:09 +0000

Invisible Man reports on a medical emergency on an overstuffed 715 train out of Franklin this past Friday:

... [T]here was a medical emergency in the coach next to mine; a woman had passed out. Passengers tried to notify a conductor, but there were none to be found. When a passenger tried to come into our coach looking for one, he was completely unable to pass through the aisle. I counted 33 people standing in that coach, including myself. We had to resort to trying to shout out a message to be passed down the line to the next coach. It took several minutes, perhaps longer, to finally get a conductor. ...

Commuter-rail dumb-assness

adamg — Fri, 16 Sep 2005 19:30:29 +0000

Suggestion 7,012 for how to increase T ridership by not pissing off existing riders so much they all go out and buy SUVs: If you need to have a train stop at the wrong platform, see if there are people in the station who are waiting for it where it normally stops:

... A few of the passengers went onboard and managed to find a conductor. They brought back bad news: it was the Needham Heights train, apparently six minutes late. I had a horrible suspicion, and looked at the opposite, inbound side of the tracks. Sure enough, another train had quietly pulled in on that side, and as we passengers headed towards it, it started up and pulled away.

William, the biggest bastard-conductor on the entire line, pointedly ignored the thirty or so passengers who called out to him, asking which train it was. Another conductor took pity on us and said "Franklin!". But despite the pleas of the passengers, the train didn't stop. To say that the thirty of us were angry would be a huge understatement. ...

Franklin speaking

adamg — Thu, 28 Jul 2005 23:24:32 +0000

Peter wonders: Does someone at the MBTA hate the Franklin commuter rail line?