14 Things We’d Do with Those Vintage MBTA Cars if Someone Bought Them for Us
The possibilities are endless.
Photos courtesy of Auctions International
Have you ever sat in a Green Line trolley, looked around at the smudged windows and fake wood paneling, heard the squealing of the rails, and thought, I’d like to make one of these mine? Well, now’s your chance—several vintage trolleys from the MBTA’s 1978-1990 light rail fleet are now up for online auction.
Now, before you start imagining yourself taking your personal trolley out for a spin on the Green Line tracks, know that the auction website says that the vehicles are inoperable, and “have sat for at least three years.” However, we’re convinced that with a little paint, a lot of imagination, and $500 (the amount of the current highest bid), someone could turn these retired vehicles into something truly special. Below are our 14 best ideas for these rusty old trains’ glamorous second lives.
Escape Room
In case you want to turn your fears of bodily harm on the T into a fun game. (Plus, see above: New York already has a train-based version.)
Murder Mystery Train
Photo courtesy Auctions International
Splash of fake blood in this driver’s seat, and you got yourself a mystery.
A Superb Parklet
Imagine instead of a couple parking spaces, you had an authentic MBTA parklet stuffed full of shrubs and flowers—like Toronto’s Garden Car, but huge.
Tiny Homes
Photo courtesy Auctions International
They can clearly hold plenty of junk. They could totally fit an eat-in kitchen.
Viking Funeral
Photo via Getty Images
Goodnight, sweet prince.
Centerpiece of a Novelty Restaurant
Turning it into a diner car is the obvious choice here, but consider this: We’ve been eating cheeseburgers inside cathedrals of discarded music memorabilia for ages. Isn’t it time we had a Hard Rock Café for trains?
MBTA Merch Pop-Up
A holiday miracle: Boston’s Seaport finally gets a gondola @aspensnowmass #tbthttps://t.co/NSK3lVPx4X via @BosBizJournal pic.twitter.com/C6JczP0Qas
— The Little Nell (@TheLittleNell) December 26, 2019
Maybe MBTAGifts, the agency’s official distributor of merch, murals, and ephemera can take its show on the road. In the Seaport, naturally—the gondola could use some company.
Art Studios
It’s working pretty well for the artists at Village Underground, who pay to rent out workspaces inside decommissioned Tube cars atop a roof in London.
Flood Control
Join us Monday 11am for @BOSCityCouncil hearing on flooding in Boston: how the City is planning for more intense storms & sea level rise — infrastructure, financing & community https://t.co/Xn1QPcaVlV pic.twitter.com/PMYYtrtir3
— Michelle Wu 吳弭 (@wutrain) March 23, 2018
Honestly, we have no idea how this would work. But sea levels are rising and it’s freaking us out and you could probably build a dam out of these things somehow.
Repurposed Artisanal Furniture
Photos courtesy of John Dickey
After all, that’s what they did with that shipwreck in the Seaport. How much would you pay to have the comforts of the T in your living room?
Pole Fitness Studio
Subway Pole Dance
feat.
the nonchalance of the gentleman upstage of me. pic.twitter.com/BNBbbNHKvw— Zoe Oliver (@TheZoeOliver) May 24, 2019
You know what would have made Hustlers even better? If it had been set on a train.
Decorate a Laser Tag Arena
Photo via Naughty Dog
Shooter video games seem to like the T as a setting, so why not?
Some Sort of System to Transport the Public
MBTA Green Line / Photo by Olga Khvan
Just spitballing here, but what if we put some rails on these babies…laid out track routes for them…and used them to get around?
