Boston Elevated Railway
System Route Map - 5th Edition

This map, from the early 1900's, shows the many routes of mass transporation in the city of Boston. Included are street cars, trackless trolleys, buses, and subways. Like many cities in America, Boston used to have an extensive network of elevated rail, street level rail, and subway rail systems.

This map shows the subway going from the Boylston Street under Tremont Street to the interseciton of Tremont and Broadway. Here the tracks surface and become street cars. The present day green line goes through Boylston Street station, but the tracks continueing under Tremont have been abondoned.

The East Boston Tunnel goes from Bowdoin to Maverick. This is the current day blue line which now extends beyond Maverick, past the airport, and terminates at Wonerland and the Revere Beach.

The Forest Hills-Everett Elevated railway goes from Forest Hills to Everett and was replaced by the current day orange line. The orange line is similar to this original elevated route, but was rebuilt on a ground level railroad right of way. This cut service to a good portion of the South End, the heart of Charlestown, and most notably Dudley Square. Today Boston's newest high speed bus, called the silver line, retraces the original elevated route through the South End and SOWA (South of Washington Street) areas. There is no rail service to Charlestown besides two stations, one at either far end of Charlestown. This elevated railway used to have three stops through Charlestown and continued over to the Everett terminal over the Mystic River.