Trolley Thursday 10/22/20 - The Mattapan-Ashmont High-Speed Line

As we've gone through the many avenues of streetcar history, we've seen lines that've never closed since their inception, lines that were returned from the dead with brand new technology, and many many many heritage streetcar lines. What we haven't talked about yet is such an outlier it seemingly only exists in Southern Boston. To my knowledge, and to my editor's, it's the only revenue (non-heritage) streetcar service in America that still runs with heritage equipment. Why is this "Hooterville" streetcar so unique a branchline, both on the MBTA and in America? Why hasn't it been closed? And more importantly, what makes it a "high speed line"? All of these questions and more will be answered in today's Trolley Thursday, all about the Mattapan-Ashmont High Speed Line!