One of the Association’s most popular activities is our monthly meetings, which are held at the Midtown Hotel, 220 Huntington Avenue in Boston. They are always open to all and free of charge.

Meetings begin at 7:30PM, typically on the first Saturday of every month. A short business meeting (including a detailed current events segment on MBTA news and transit happenings near and far) is followed by an entertainment program, consisting of film and digital slideshows, videos and films of past and present transit operations from around the Northeast, the nation, and the world. Entertainment begins at aproximately 8:15PM and generally lasts about two hours.

In the event of severe weather, we may be forced to cancel a meeting. A notice will be posted on the home page of this website, and on our Facebook and Twitter feeds, by 4PM the day of the meeting in the rare event of a cancellation.

We are always looking for presenters at future meetings! If you are interested, please contact us. We generally seek presentations of historic or recent-event subjects, especially those involving cities in the Northeast.

Upcoming Meetings

January 5, 2019
The History of Transit in Dorchester
Stuart Spina will trace the history of transportation in Dorchester from the Dunmore Brothers and their stagecoach to Boston in the 1830s, to the contentious horsecar rivalries of the 1860s, to the arrival of rapid transit in the late 1920s and more; from its days as an idyllic country town to streetcar suburb and up to the modern era. Rare scenes of the many modes that have served what is now Boston’s largest neighborhood will be presented along with a whirlwind tour of current operations. From steam railroad, both mainline and street, to the latest in hybrid bus technology: join us on an adventure across the ages, from Savin Hill to Milton Lower Mills to Mattapan Square!

February 2, 2019
Electrics of Portugal
Nick Tomkavage will present a photo and video tour of electric traction in Portugal, one of Europe’s richest streetcar countries. We’ll see scenes of Lisbon’s famous yellow cars moving the masses through narrow streets; Porto’s historic streetcar lines and contemporary light rail system will also be featured. We will also visit the comprehensive tramway museums of Lisbon and Porto, plus a few surprises along the way!

March 2, 2019
Pennsylvania Traction Museums
George Chiasson will show us photos he took in 2015 and 2016 of traction museums and museum lines in Pennsylvania. This will include Electric City Trolley Museum; the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania; Steamtown National Historic Park; the Strasburg Railroad; and a couple of photos of current service in the area, winding up with a fan trip on SEPTA’s PCC IIs in May 2015. If time permits, we’ll also see bonus views of modern service run by the Maryland Transit Administration. This show has been rescheduled from March, 2018.

April 6, 2019
Vintage Worcester Area Transit
Worcester once operated over 300 miles of track and had 550 streetcars. Leo Sullivan will show vintage photographs of through service to Springfield, Fitchburg, Spencer and Webster, and extensive freight, winding up with a sampling of buses.

May 4, 2019
Donald Nevin’s Canadian Travels, Part 2
Donald Nevin will give a slide show of his Canadian travels in March 1988, starting on the Adirondack from Albany-Rensselaer (NY) to Montreal. He’ll show his trip across Canada to Vancouver on the Canadian and the Supercontinental, with scenes of light rail and trackless trolley operation (including GMC Fishbowl trolley coaches) in Edmonton. He’ll show the SkyTrain in Vancouver, and finish up with a combination bus and ferry ride to the city of Victoria on Vancouver Island.

Additional Meeting Dates (Entertainment TBD):
June 1, July 13, August 3, September 7, October 5, November 2, and December 7, 2019.

Past Meeting Entertainment Reports

We have offered a wide variety of entertainment through the years, and provide detailed reports of past meetings at the link below.
View Entertainment Reports

Items for Sale at Our Meetings

We typically offer a selection of books and other items for sale as part of our effort to offset the cost of room rent and meeting expenses. As such, we typically do not permit outside vendors to sell items at our meetings.