December 25-31, 2003
cityspace
Renovations along Girard Avenue are nearing completion, just in time for a remodeled fleet of 1950s trolleys.
The Route 15 trolley, a $56.2 million project scheduled to replace the current Route 15 bus, will run between Port Richmond and Haddington and should be online during the first half of 2004.
"We're now just waiting for the trolley cars to be shipped," says Gary Fairfax, spokesperson for SEPTA. "We're really excited about this line."
The Route 15 began service in 1929 as one of the city's bustling electric rail lines and used cars imprinted with the PCC (Presidents Conference Committee) logo. At the time, 25 presidents of the country's electric light rail companies held frequent meetings with the goal of creating a uniform car standard. The trolley cars got a makeover in the late 1940s and continued running on Girard Avenue until the early 1990s, when service was replaced by a bus line.
SEPTA has decided to bring 18 of the original vintage 1947 cars back into service. "They're going to look like classic 1950s trolley cars on the outside with a 21st-century interior," Fairfax says. Each car has a silver top and a green and light-beige base with a red stripe running down the side. The main headlight, centered below the windshield, is flanked by silver wings.
The cars will be equipped with air conditioning and heating, wheelchair lifts and larger seats than those on other public transportation services, such as the regional rail and city buses. Cars are designed for a total capacity of 70 and can accommodate 40 seated passengers and two wheelchairs.
The trolley will operate more frequently than buses. Fares will follow the pricing structure of other trolleys in the city.
Fairfax also says that the trolleys will cause far less noise and contribute less pollution than the SEPTA buses. "This is a very historic line, and as with many trolley lines, people hate to see them go," Fairfax says. "The Route 15 trolleys will be a boon to Girard Avenue. They'll also help the environment -- one less bus on the road means less exhaust."
The project to restore the Girard Avenue line began in 2000, and involved repairing and replacing the existing track, fixing the wiring and building new poles and installing a better traffic-signaling system. As of last week, most of the pedestrian islands were finished with new yellow and green guardrails.
For more information on the Route 15 trolleys, see www.septa.org/news/lightrail.html.
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