that the T hailed as a temporary solution to the commuter rail's reliablity problems.

Well, I've learned from a reliable source (retired MBCR employee who's a friend of mine) that, at the direction of T management, the MBCR has taken all those locomotives out of service, and they will be heading back to Maryland early Saturday morning.

The reason for this - mechanical problems that made the locomotives too unreliable to operate.

Everyone can agree that the economy is rough. This holiday season, more than usual, is important to local retailers. Small businesses in Porter and Davis squares now have another hurdle to deal with starting November 5th, no red line service on the weekends. The residents probably aren't happy about it either.

The MBTA's annual Ridership and Service Statistics report, a.k.a., "the blue book" was released on May 10.

This report includes a true treasure-trove of statistics through which to pour - most popular / least popular lines and routes, including number of entries and exists, schedules' adherence, types of buses and subway cars in use, etc. This is for all bus, subway, trackless trolley, ferry, and THE RIDE routes.

Top 25 subway stations

Can't get to the MBTA website? Use the automatic Coral content delivery network. Simply append "nyud.net" to the real website hostname for any site, like so: http://mbta.com.nyud.net/. This works for almost any URL.

The information does seem to be up to date; at 5:07PM one page I pulled up showed an alert from less than ten minutes ago. It's also significantly faster, as the main MBTA page loads in about 3-4 seconds via Coral. By itself, it's over 30 seconds.

A head-on collision at rush hour on the Mass. Ave. Bridge left one dead and created massive traffic problems.

Boston traffic on Mass.. Ave towards Cambridge is being detoured down Beacon Street, with police saying the bridge will be shut for "the foreseeable future."

Other streets in the area are also congested and the BU bridge is also heavy traffic.

Boston police are being sent to key intersections to prevent drivers gridlocking the cross streets.

The MBTA had its grand-opening ceremony today to announce the completion of the Copley Square renovation project.

There are two entrances to this Green Line station - outbound is at the corners of Boylston and Dartmouth streets while inbound is near the corner across the street, next to the Boston Public Library, Central Branch.

All token gates are open, the escalator (up) on the outbound side works, and both inbound and outbound now have elevators.

In this Sunday's "Starts and Stops", the Boston Globe's Eric Moskowitz reports that the MBTA is collecting backpacks and school supplies for the Home for Little Wanderers.

Backpacks can be dropped off in boxes near commuter rail ticket booths at North Station, South Station, and Back Bay.

Or just leave on a bench on your way through the terminal; the helpful T police will take care of the rest.

The Central Burial Ground is located on the Boston Common. It is believed to be the fourth cemetery to be located in the city of Boston, after the Copps Hill, King's Chapel, and Granary burial grounds, dating back to 1750's.

According to the internet, this cemetery was "least desirable" due to its location furthest from the rest of the city (at least, at that time). The city of Boston's website states that those buried here include "British common soldiers who died in combat or of disease during the Revolution, foreigners who died while in Boston, American patriots from the battle of Bunker Hill and the Boston Tea Party; painter Gilbert Stuart, and composer William Billings".

The Central Burial Ground is mentioned in the recent book, A City So Grand: The Rise of an American Metropolis, Boston 1850-1900 by Stephen Puleo.

When the Boston Transit Commission began building the first subway, back in 1895, they dug up the land on the south end of the Boston Common bordering Boylston Street between Tremont and Charles Street South.

Well, at least when it comes to rail transportation. The T&G reports today that as CSX winds down operations in its Beacon Park yard in Allston, it's planning to shift its operations to the west. And according to Transportation Secretary Jeff Mullan, the new set-up promises to "make Worcester the freight rail hub for all six New England states with east-west and north-south rail connections with access to highways."