This was evidently an “unwritten rule.” To the best of my knowledge, MBTA has not released documentation of a (previous) written rule. Nor has MBTA explained why, when and under what authority the previous “unwritten rule” banning photography was adopted.

In 1970, an MBTA starter at Lechmere loop told a friend and I that we could not take movies or photos. Asked to explain, he said “Because it’s a civilian defense installation.”

About 1972, I was walking down Huntington Avenue between Heath St. and Arborway (Forest Hills), taking movies and photos of passing Green Line trains. A man wearing a T uniform, walking the opposite direction, began threatening me with arrest. I yelled right back, said (among other things) that I was from California, “where we sue for less,” and demanded that he leave me alone. He stalked off, visibly angry, but no one else bothered me.

In 1974, as I was exiting Andrew station (Red Line), I walked past the driver’s cab, carrying a small camera on small tripod on one hand. The driver stuck his head out of the cab window and threatened to “report” me.

MBTA’s “unwritten rule” photography was evidently part of Boston life for decades – or generations.

http://wikixmldb.dyndns.org/

Wikipedia is loaded into native XML database Sedna and can be queried using XQuery.

Maria

I was also confused. It turns out you slide the glass upward then you reach in to turn the page.