Table of Contents
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Archives and Special Collections Finding Aids
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| Collection |
| Title: | Boston Elevated Railway Company. Library records |
| Dates: | 1884-1967 [bulk 1921-1950] |
| Call Number: | M150 |
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Historical Note
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On July 2, 1894 the Massachusetts Legislature authorized the incorporation of the Boston Elevated Railway Company, a private company formed to build elevated railway lines to the suburbs of Greater Boston. At the same time, the Legislature created the Boston Transit Commission, which was a government agency designed to develop and execute a subway system in parts of downtown Boston. Both of the actions were in response to dissatisfaction with the electric streetcar system run by the West End Railway Company. In November 1896, after a proxy battle with the West End Railway Company, all surface and rapid transit were unified under the Boston Elevated Railway Company. On December 9, 1897 the Transit Commission supervised an agreement that stated that the Boston Elevated Railway Company would lease all property belonging to the West End Railway Company for 24 years, eight months and nine days from October 1, 1897. The Boston Elevated Railway Company took possession of the property on December 30. The elevated lines were combined with the subway (which had provided its first ride earlier that year) under one coordinated management.
Under Boston Elevated Railway management, transportation in the Boston area grew, including an expansion of subway routes and elevated railways. In 1922, the Boston Elevated Railway Company established bus routes to replace some rail vehicles. In 1936, other rail vehicles were replaced with trackless trolleys. In 1916, the Boston Elevated Railway Company established the Boston Elevated Railway Library at its general offices. The library housed material relating to the company, new technology, safety, and materials about other transportation systems around New England, the United States, Canada, Europe, and South Africa. In 1919, the Public Control Act was enacted which imposed a flat five-cent fare, guaranteeing the community public transportation and providing stockholders protection from financial loss. The Boston Elevated Railway Company continued to exist under this act, but could not keep up with its increasing costs given the five cent fare rate. The Boston Elevated Railway Company, consumed by financial problems, was subsumed by the Metropolitan Transit Authority to become a government entity on August 29, 1947.
In 1892, the newly formed General Electric named Charles A. Coffin as its first chief executive officer. Coffin himself was not originally an electrical engineer or in the electric services field but a successful independent business owner manufacturing shoes. He retired from General Electric in 1922 as the chairman of the board having successfully negotiated the company through its first thirty years. The Charles A. Coffin Foundation was created in 1922. The Foundation named after the first head of General Electric sought to “encourage and reward service in the electrical field” and gave prizes to General Electric employees. Prizes and fellowships were also awarded to lighting, power, and railway companies and graduate students involved either in delivering electrical services to the public or in studying ways to improve electrical services generally. The Foundation gave its first award to a public electrical railway system in 1923 to the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee Railroad. |
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| Chronology |
| 1891 | In July, Governor William E. Russell appoints a special commission to investigate the public transportation needs of Greater Boston and to make recommendations about the existing system. The Rapid Transit Commission defines the applicable territory as land that falls within ten miles of the State House. |
| 1892 | In April, the Rapid Transit Commission recommends construction of four elevated railway lines and a subway route underneath Tremont Street; Charles A. Coffin named first chief executive officer of newly formed General Electric. |
| 1894 | On July 2, the Massachusetts Legislature authorizes the incorporation of the Boston Elevated Railway Company and creation of the Boston Transit Commission. |
| 1896 | On November 24, all existing and future surface, subway, elevated lines are combined under one unified management. |
| 1897 | On December 9, an agreement is made to lease all the property of the West End Street Railway Company for a period of 24 years, 8 months, and 9 days from October 1, 1897. On September 1, the first subway in America runs underneath Tremont Street. On December 30, the Boston Elevated Railway Company takes possession of the land. |
| 1901 | The first elevated train runs. |
| 1904 | East Boston Tunnel, the nation's first underwater mass transit tunnel, is built underneath the Boston Harbor. |
| 1912-1913 | Articulated streetcars are invented in Boston. |
| 1919 | On July 1, the Public Control Act is enacted, which imposes a flat five-cent fare, guarantees the community public transportation, and provides Boston Elevated Railway Company stockholders protection from financial loss. |
| 1922 | First Bus Routes are established in Boston. |
| 1922 | Charles A. Coffin Foundation established. |
| 1923 | Charles A. Coffin Foundation grants first $1,000 prize. |
| 1936 | Boston opens its first trackless trolley line. |
| 1947 | On August 29, the Boston Elevated Company is bought by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and comes under the authority of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. |
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| Bibliography |
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Massachusetts Bay Transportation Association History,
“The Chronicle
of the Boston Transit System.” Massachusetts Bay Transportation.
Ralph L. Power, Boston's Special Libraries (New York City: Prentice-Hall
Inc., 1917), pp.21-24. (Z732.M5 B7 1917).
Ralph L. Power, Boston's Special Libraries (New York City: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1917), pp.21-24. (Z732.M5 B7 1917).
“GE
Past Leaders: Charles A. Coffin, Biography” accessed March 2009.
“Charles A. Coffin Awards Scrapbook,” M150, Box 3.
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