"Radio the control center. Tell them you're making a test run down Center Street."

Donna's plan was to take a surprise route to the Arboretum.

E Line trains once ran proudly from Lechmere stop in Cambridge through downtown and Jamaica Plain to the Arboretum. But in recent years, the line ended at Heath.

Yielding to public pressure, the MBTA was preparing to reopen the full line. Tracks were repaired and trains took test runs, but only at night.

After a couple of radio exchanges--it seemed like an eternity--the driver got clearance for his odd request.