The MBTA still isn't sure when full service on the Red Line will be restored after the derailment Tuesday that has caused travel nightmares not only for T riders (especially during the evening rush hour), but for some commuter rail passengers and drivers coming in from the South Shore.

I don't know about you, but I was surprised to learn that the Red Line car that went off the tracks went into service in 1969. Yes, as in the Summer of '69. Woodstock and the first moon landing. Richard Nixon's first year as president and Kevin White's second as mayor of Boston. And Bill Russell's last year with the Celtics. The Braintree line wasn’t finished for another 11 years. There are 70 cars from that era still in service. (New cars are being built in Springfield by a Chinese company. Let’s hope our trade war with Beijing doesn’t delay them.)