The 1200s are arguably the best looking trains in my opinion. They’re also the most nostalgic for me

As a native New Yorker, I felt this exact pain being born in 2006 so I basically grew up with a lot of the old-school cars in New York. The IRT was the same since the 80s, but the BMT was still going through. It changed to the modern 80s and a lot of old cars retired and I late teens when I moved out to, Angeles and Vegas so I started to research a lot of the subway systems in America and found out they were still running the legacy cars. We have lost so many into the grays and I knew this day would come because everything must come to an end so seeing a lot of these cars go to service it’s just sad, but we will always have a digital footprint of them what hurts the most is that these cars were designed with the grill American image in mind and we lost that completely

I am gonna miss riding the 1200's but all things must come to end; I always anticipated my annual doctor's appointments and riding the Orange Line in. It is also wonderful to see the railfan community come together to show support in the digital preservation of the 1200 series!

Really sad about them retiring, was a kid in the 2010s but theyve been there always when i used to live around the south end area, but hey dont mind the new 14s. They really grew on me. Made me realize that there the closest modern new car they can make similar to the 1200s. But right now it seems the red line (where i live near of) is experiencing the same problems as the orange line, us railfans need to consider the safety, the reliability, the upgrades to the system rather than care about our own personal bias. Nice video nick, havent watched the channel in a very long time but ive watched these documentarys from you before and there top notch!

This might be the best video I've ever seen of yours. I'm a Canadian, nearby to Toronto, but you perfectly summed up the 01200s and their life. They were the last generation of Hawkers produced before UTDC took over, and these survived the longest out of any train Hawker Siddeley Canada produced. I've even been trying to make wooden versions of the 01200s to use for my own videos on KZfaq, and they're by no means complete. I am wanting to make sure I can capture as much detail as I can, even if it's just a small wooden toy. I always wanted to come to Boston to see two things; The 01200s and the Neoplan AN440LF buses. Now that both are gone, I may never be able to go to Boston. But seriously, my love for the T started because of that first documentary you made, on what else... than the Orange Line documentary. The 01200s are my #2 favourite trains OF ALL TIME, with all of the TTC (Toronto Transit Comission)'s Hawker fleet (H1 - H6), and the current oldest trains in the system, the Bombardier T1s, being first. I am so glad that you spent all this time documenting these trains, so we could all remember them. Thank you Nick, Thank you.

Cant wait! only 15 days left

Wonderful video, rode them from beginning to end, great rapid transit cars!

Thanks for all your hard work Nick! I moved to Boston just after the 1200s were retired so never got to know them, but thanks to your videos I almost feel like I did ride them. I found your channel because I wanted to learn about and appreciate MBTA history, and I have not been disappointed!

Golden train. Golden documentary. Golden archive. Enough said.

This is fascinating, I feel like every city has a community like this. I live in Portland Oregon and while our funding problems aren't nearly as bad, in our light rail system we have Bombardier type 1s from 1983-85 that are currently retiring and I really relate with your feelings about the type 12s. I guess the horrible underfunding problems that allowed those trains to last long enough to get caught on fire like 5 times (?) also gave you the opportunity to experience the cars and build a relationship with them. Though there are huge downsides to that, I've done other research on the MBTA and its incredible how bad the subway has gotten, so I guess I'm glad that while the light rail here in Portland is slow, in the middle of the street, and gets hit by cars at least they won't burst into flames. Anyways, I've met many people here and again its great to see whole other communities interested in the local topic of a public transit agency and transit as a whole in the country.

A good excuse to look like a Bostonian subway geek that day. Orange Line love forever! 🟠

Good job on the video. I watched the whole thing. These served their purpose and were really pushed further than they should have been. They were tired and getting rid of them, was a wise choice, not only for the safety of the people driving them, but for the passengers, as well. The CRRC'S are much better and have completely taken over. They are the new sheriff, in town. Most everyone is happy with them, including myself. They are the right replacement for the Hawker Siddeley's. It's almost the same exact car, the Siddeley's to the CRRC'S. It was a seamless transition. There are still some of the older cars that are used for training. They go out on Friday's, lately. And it's strictly for training the newbies.

Childhood train right here, the 12’s are what started my obsession with trains and transit that still last to this day. Shame I wasn’t in Boston when the 12’s retired in ‘22 though. But I’m glad to see many of us continue the 12’s legacy even after retirement. Great job on the documentary!

Thank you nick just finished watching great work

Excellent documentary. It was very well detailed and organized. I was really impressed. Keep up the good work!

Miss the 12s... even as a light rail fanner who spends all my time filming the type 7/8s which will be wiped out when the newer type "10" super trolleys come out. Going to be depressed when the Red Line 15/16/17s get obliterated too : (

Can you watch the art of the Boston elevated Subway? Podcast. You told a story about a man who was. About the story of the elevator. And talk to his connections and old history.

I used to ride the 1200s to preschool but than I moved and it’s now to late for just one more ride

Well done Nick! Amazing documentary. You did a hell of a job covering the Hawkers history. I grew up with these trains also and they were huge part of my childhood. Its unfortunate that they won’t be persevered physically, but fortunately you and the Boston transit community have done an incredible amount in effort in digitally persevering the orange blossoms. so that future generations will have a better understanding on what made them so special to us and something to look back on as we grow older.

Great video, thanks for making this. I was lucky enough to travel to Boston for a concert in May of 2022. I knew the 1200s were on their last legs and thankfully got to ride them. They were probably the rustiest trains I have ever seen in service but I did very much enjoy the short ride I had on them, 01270 from Downtown Crossing to Chinatown. If you ever get a chance, you should try riding the M3s on the Long Island Railroad, they're my most nostalgic trains that I rode as a kid that are somehow still around. Also they have woodgrain walls like the 1200s.

Nice job bro 🔥🔥this is probably the best historical video you have made. Im praying for a 1200s preservation.

Time snapped fast. It’s tomorrow I can’t wait.

Missthose Trains Long Service 35 Years Winter Summer 🌞🌞🌞🌞🌞❤❤❤❤

This is a super amazing documentary! I will watch this again! It’s just too amazing to watch!

Cheers to ya lad. Awesome work

😅 I cannot wait

Fantastic documentary, its clear a lot of research and passion went into it

this was a fascinating watch. great job documenting this history

Thoroughly enjoyed this video Nick. Can't recall seeing a more passionate transit video. Although more of a blue/green line rider back in the day, old enough to remember the elevated stations at Sullivan Sq and North Station. Was there any pushback on taking the Orange line el down? Was it really that bad? Thanks for a great video!

Ah yes it’s great to come back on the main channel

Nicely done

The documentary was very good. Although the NE transit photos and some clip texts were a bit blury but everything is good. Maybe Pullman 01500s & 01600s documentary next.

Yes, I can not wait. Hopefully there is no video editing mistake.

I have an interesting relationship with the old cars. I prefer to ride on the cleaner, smoother 1400s but there's a special feeling about them. I don't miss those atrocious seats though.

I recently went to Boston, and passed through Wellington yard many times; I saw 8 cars remaining, and the day I left a flatbed trailer pulled up to presumably take a pair away. This leaves 6 as of July 8th, 2024. Is there any update on the rumor of their preservation? I'm doubtful, the cars look incredibly dilapidated and abandoned, but I still thought I'd ask.

Rest In Peace The 1200s

I am gonna watch the hole thing later

58:20 that’s me lol

Nick do you have any 3d models of the 12s available?

Seashore trolley museum seeing this in 2026 regretting not preserving any:

RIP Hawker siddeley 12s 1200-1319

You think the retirement of the 600s back in ‘09 was hard, the 1200s retirement is even harder because they were the last subway cars to run on the Washington Street El, Boston’s first elevated mass-transit line in all of U.S. history. Just think about that for a second, all of U.S. history. These cars played an important role in transit history in Boston. The legacy of the MBTA Orange Line Type 12 cars’ legacy will live on forever and they have tons of history behind them. The rail fans who rode them since they were little back in the 80s when they were brand new absolutely live them and the cars were just beloved by everybody over the years of their service career. While it’s sad to see them go, nothing lasts forever, all good things must come to an end eventually. The train that caught fire on the Mystic River bridge on July 15, 2022 was their final straw, which meant they needed to go because of being unsafe, old and unreliable as well as tons of corrosion and rust on the exterior from heavy passenger use from more than 40 years of service carrying passengers on the line between Oak Grove and Forest Hills. The Orange Line is the line which had gone through one of the most biggest changes in U.S. history, it feels like, switching from the Washington Street Elevated to the Southwest Corridor in the spring of 1987 and the month-long shutdown in August-September 2022 for track work which would’ve taken 5 years, bring more of the new CRRC fleet into service and replace third rails, tracks and signals. It’s hard to think that these cars are being taken out of service and they were on an elevated Orange Line 40 years ago, just think about that for a minute. Nick Dalton, you did an amazing job on the documentary video of the Type 12s more like a movie because it was an hour and nine minutes long, you talked about the timeline first from creation and awarding of the contract in the mid-1970s all the way to end of the line and scrapping of the fleet in mid to late 2022. Farewell MBTA Hawker Siddeley Type 12 cars, thanks for serving Boston’s residents over the years and bringing back great memories and doing 42 years of hard work making daily trips on the line between Oak Grove and Forest Hills for over 40 years. R.I.P 1980 - 2022, even though they’re gone, they’ll never be forgotten as being one of the most iconic cars on the MBTA system. The 12s had a nice long 42-year-long career for the MBTA and they’ll be missed by everyone, me included as a young train rail fan. 😭😢 Only 33 12s remain at stored at Wellington now, with another married pair being loaded onto a flatbed trailer truck and shipped off property to be scrapped at Costello Dismantling in Wareham, MA. The 12s are the cars that I have great memories of riding on since I started riding trains back in 2009 and are my fuckin childhood bro, big time. 😃 I’m also quite surprised that the 12s were able to hold up for that long, given how old the design and the technology was by the late 2000s. Reliability problems were present during the early to late 2000s due to them being from the late 1970s and were not a good fit for the modern 21st Century technology. The T had to think of something more up-to-date and more modern to bring reliability, safety and comfort up and I think the 1400s were a good choice to improve all of those things. They have a 1970s rec room look to them on the inside and the overall design looks like it was fresh out of the early 1980s. I love looking at videos of back when the 12s were brand new and fresh off the Hawker Siddeley assembly line in photos and they were nice and new in those videos from back during the El days. The Orange Line sure has a lot of history behind it as do the 12s.

Amazing video! Congratulations!! By the way, what ever happened to new Red Line trains? I rarely see them. How long do you think until they replace the old ones?

9:44 that looks a lot like what we got on the 1400s

Great video, but do you think Boston will ever adopt open gangways?

I heard that 1294/1295 may become a maintenance car, they are inside the Wellington car house.