Our first of many rides on the Green Line branches will be on the "E" branch. We will be on the unique portion of the line first, before it joins the other three branches just before Copley Square. The ride on the surface, before entering the subway, is about four miles.

The "E" branch contains a little bit of street running on South Huntington Avenue at the start of our trip, and then some reserved median right-of-way on Huntington later on. The line serves educational, medical, and entertainment destinations en route, and also stops next to Boston's tallest building, the Prudential Building.

Along Huntington, we will pass such landmarks as the Brigham & Women's Hospital, the Longwood Medical Area, the Musuum of Fine Arts, and Northeastern University.

The line then enters the subway tunnel, and there are two more stops specific to the "E" line at Symphony (Boston Symphony Hall), and Prudential.

Then the "E" joins the "B", "C", and "D" lines at an underground intersection, and proceeds into the Copley Square station. The intersection is not grade-separated, so that outbound "E" cars must cross over the inbound trunk line.

Copley Square does not have a passageway within the fare paid area to transfer to the opposite direction. It is much easier to make the transfer at the next station, Arlington, which has an overhead walkway between the two platforms. We shall change at Arlington to the next outbound "D" trolley towards Riverside.

We start out at Arlington on the trunk line portion of the Green Line shared by all four branches. After Copley Square, the "E" goes off to the left. The trunk line continues to Kenmore Square, after which the "B", "C", and "D" lines diverge onto three different surface lines.

The "D" line to Riverside is the longest, but it's also the youngest. It follows the right-of-way of an old Boston & Albany RR branch line, and uses some of the railroad's old stations. Because the stations are further apart than on the "B", "C", and "E" lines (which mostly run in reserved median rights-of-way), the "D" trolleys can attain speeds of 50 mph between stations.

From the portal out of the trunk subway, we will travel about ten miles, making eleven stops. We will pass through the communities of Brookline and Newton, mostly through residential areas.

One station of note is Reservoir. To the right approaching the station you will see a large yard with other Green Line trolleys. This yard actually serves the "B", "C", and "D" lines. Very close to the "D" line's Reservoir station is Cleveland Circle, the endpoint of the Green Line's "C" route. And just up a hill two blocks north on Chestnut Hill Avenue is the "B" route that goes to Boston College. Non-revenue tracks branch from the "D" line into the yard, interface with the loop used by "C" cars at Cleveland Circle, and run up Chestnut Hill Avenue to merge with the "B" line on Commonwealth Avenue.

The Riverside station in Newton is the end of the line. We are not far from the Route 128/I-95 beltway, so many suburbanites park here and ride into the city. The facility contains a very large loop that encircles a yard. A repair shop and storage tracks are on the site. We may or may not be able to run around the loop; if not then we can return on the next car towards Boston.