Monthly Meetings
Every month, we hold a meeting online via Zoom that is open to members and guests alike. These are usually held on the first weekend of the month, unless it is a holiday weekend. Each meeting begins with a brief business portion, which includes MBTA current events, followed by an entertainment presentation on a transit-related topic.
Virtual Meeting Link
Our April 2025 Meeting will be held on April 5 at 7:30PM EST.
BSRA Members and guests can access the meeting live via Zoom using the button below. Regular Members should also review full reports at this link before the meeting, as they will be voted on for approval.
Dial in by phone (audio only):
Call 1-646-558-8656 (Outside the US? Find your local number here) and enter the below details when prompted:
Meeting ID: 822 3821 3181
Passcode: 029405
Upcoming Meeting & Entertainment Schedule
Below you will find dates and scheduled entertainment programs for our next virtual meetings. Interested in being a presenter? Let us know!
MAY 3, 2025
Clark Frazier’s Pennsylvania Trolley Tour
The show will include vintage 1958 to 1962 era color slides of Pittsburgh, Johnstown, and Philadelphia with some more recent Pittsburgh light rail and Philadelphia slides including some views of the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum (Arden). The Pittsburgh slides will focus on the West End lines, closed in 1959 and other lines closed between 1958 and 1962 in addition to views at other important locations around the vast system. Johnstown views are from three visits including two charters before the system closed in 1960. Philadelphia will include views of the remaining 12-line streetcar system, extensive coverage of the remaining three suburban lines and the third-rail Norristown Line and a visit to the isolated Penn’s Landing trolley that ran between 1982 and 1995..
JUNE 7, 2025
Lesser trolley systems of Massachusetts
Leo SUllivan will present a potpourri of small street railways, in a journey traveling across New England. The places visited in this journey will be a surprise!
JULY 12, 2025
Douglas Kydd’s Transit Tour
Retired engineer Douglas Kydd presents a variety of public transportation. First will be Boston transit scenes in the 1970s, including such rare shots as Opening Day of the Quincy extension of the Red Line and the 0900s fan trip. He will also show Amtrak’s Rainbow Era, when Amtrak was still running an eclectic collection of hand-me-down equipment from the passenger operations of the private railroads. Next will be a trip around the world, railfanning aboard the Queen Elizabeth 2. After this will be more Boston area photos: Commuter Rail, then, now, and in between. Douglas will wind up the show with a tour of electric transit around the USA.
AUGUST 2, 2025
Nothing yet!
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SEPTEMBER 6, 2025
Clark Frazier’s California tour.
California Interurbans color slide show featuring the Key System suburban lines in Oakland, Sacramento Northern electric operations in Oakland, Contra Costa County, Yuba City-Marysville, and remaining Pacific Electric lines from Los Angeles to Watts, Bellflower, Long Beach, and San Pedro. Streetcar systems in San Francisco (Muni) and Los Angeles will also be shown along with s few black and white views of Oakland and Sacramento streetcars and Sacramento Northern, Northwestern Pacific, Interurban Electric, Napa Valley passenger operations and Central California Traction streetcars and freight box motors..
oCTOBER 4, 2025
Derek Carter presents contemporary light rail in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Buffalo
This program will cover most of the light rail, subway, and interurban lines currently operating in those respective cities, using photos taken in August 2023.
NOVEMBER 4, 2025
Franklyn Salimbene presents congestion pricing and transit
During the 20th Century the automobile rose to dominate the urban landscape. It conquered public transit and dictated urban growth patterns resulting in the creation of the autocentric city. As the challenge of autocentric gridlock crystallized, London and now New York City have implemented “congestion pricing” schemes to raise money for public transit and improve urban quality of life. How does congestion pricing work? How much money does it raise? Can it improve public transit?
DECEMBER 6, 2025
Clark Frazier presents the MBTA in the early 1990s
This is part III of Clark Frazier’s MTA and MBTA trilogy, following in the footsteps of his previous shows of April 4, 2015 (The MTA, 1958 – 1963) and January 9, 2016 (Vintage Boston: Green Line and Beyond, late 1970s – early 1980s). In addition to images taken after the end of part II some images looking back into the past will also be shown, with MTA scenes not included in part I and additional CLRV episode slides.
BSRA Zoom Meeting Guidelines & Tips
We use the Zoom platform to conduct our virtual monthly meetings. At 7:30PM on the day of the meeting, you can join by clicking the link posted on this page, or by dialing in using your phone to the number listed on this page. Please note a few basic rules:
- All attendees will enter a “waiting room” before being admitted into the meeting by the host
- All attendees will be muted on entry, and are asked to keep themselves muted for the duration of the meeting
- Attendees are asked to use the chat feature in Zoom to raise any questions, rather than speaking, to allow the meeting to run efficiently and minimize cross-talk
- Anyone wishing to raise any items of New or Old Business, or any Current Events items, should also post them using the Chat feature when prompted during the meeting
Note: You do not need to install the Zoom software to join the meeting, though it does provide a better experience. Instead, you can click “join in your browser” after clicking the meeting link, or you can dial in by phone. Note: dialing in by phone will only provide meeting audio, and does not allow for viewing slides, voting in polls, or participating in the meeting chat.