Route 15 Girard Avenue Trolley |
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SEPTA PCC II |
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| Overview | |
| Type | Streetcar line |
| Locale | Philadelphia, PA |
| Termini | 63rd Street and Girard Avenue Richmond and Westmoreland Streets |
| Daily ridership | 10,511 (average weekday FY 2010)[1] |
| Operation | |
| Opened | 1859; 2005 (resumed) |
| Operator(s) | SEPTA |
| Depot(s) | Callowhill Depot |
| Technical | |
| Line length | 8.5 mi[2] (13.7 km) |
| Track gauge | Pennsylvania Trolley Gauge: 5 ft 2 1⁄2 in (1,588 mm) |
| Electrification | 600 V Direct current, overhead lines |
SEPTA's Trolley Route 15, the Girard Avenue Line is a streetcar line, operated by the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA), along Girard Avenue through North and West Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. As of 2007[update], it is the only surface trolley line in the City Transit Division that is not part of the Subway–Surface Trolley Lines(although it is designated as such on SEPTA's rail maps). PCC streetcars are used on the line.
The line was first opened in 1859 as a horse car line operated by the Richmond and Schuylkill River Passenger Railway, and electrified in 1895.[3] Service was suspended (replaced with buses) in 1992, along with Route 23 (Germantown Avenue-11th and 12th Streets) and Route 56 (Torresdale-Erie Avenues). On September 4, 2005, trolley service was restored.
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The tracks for 8.5-mile (13.7 km) Route 15 run along Girard Avenue and Richmond Street. The western terminus is at the intersection of Girard Avenue and 63rd Street, at the Haddington Loop, and instantly passes by Carroll Park. The next landmark is Cathedral Cemetery, which is on the corner of US 30 (Lancaster Avenue), which both Girard Avenue and Route 15 briefly overlap, along with the SEPTA Route 10 trolley. The line and US 30 leaves Lancaster Avenue and resumes its way along Girard Avenue. After crossing over the Paoli/Thorndale Line at the intersection with Belmont Avenue, the line passes by the Philadelphia Zoo near Exit 342 on the Schuylkill Expressway before crossing the Schuylkill River.
After entering Francisville, Route 15 loops partially around the south side of Girard College, but rejoins Girard Avenue again, and passes by St. Joseph's Hospital. The first mass transit crossing the line encounters is the Broad Street Line's Girard Station, and two blocks from there crosses the SEPTA Route 23 bus line which was originally a trolley line that may be restored between 2014 and 2021. Directly east of the SEPTA Main Line, Route 15 passes by the Girard Medical Center. At Front Street Route 15 runs beneath the Market-Frankford Line's Girard Station, and then crosses Frankford Avenue, one of the two streets the line is named after.
Girard Avenue ends at Exit 23 on Interstate 95, so Route 15 moves beneath the highway onto Richmond Street, parallel to I-95 until it crosses over the street from the north side to the south side before Exit 25, the interchange with Allegheny Avenue, where it connects to the SEPTA Route 60 bus, another former trolley line. The road runs along the Richmond Playground before Route 15's eastern terminus at the Westmoreland Loop, on the northwest corner of the intersection of Richmond Street and Westmoreland Street.
Short-turn loops exist at 41st & Parkside, just west of the Philadelphia Zoo; 26th & Girard (a universal "in-line" cutback utilizing 26th and Poplar Streets and Girard and College Avenues); and Richmond Street & Cumberland Avenue. No scheduled runs use these loops, but Richmond & Cumberland is frequently used when Richmond Street is blocked by trucks which failed to heed warning signs and flashing lights for a low bridge underneath the former Reading Port Richmond Yard of Conrail Shared Assets Operations. Cars returning to Callowhill Depot turn off Girard at 60th Street.
The Richmond and Schuylkill River Passenger Railway was chartered by the Pennsylvania General Assembly on March 26, 1859 to operate along Girard Avenue between the Girard Avenue Bridge over the Schuylkill River in Fairmount Park and Norris Street in Richmond, with an extension authorized west over the bridge to Lancaster Avenue.[4] The line opened from Second Street to 31st Street[5] in July 1859. The company was sold at foreclosure and reorganized as the Fairmount Park and Delaware River Passenger Railway on June 14, 1864, and was merged into the Germantown Passenger Railway (Route 23 Germantown Avenue) on February 15, 1866.[6]
Extensions were opened east to Palmer Street in 1866 (looping via Palmer, Beach, and Shackamaxon Streets[7]) and to Norris Street in 1875.[5] The People's Passenger Railway leased the line on October 1, 1881, and leased the Girard Avenue Railway (chartered May 17, 1894) on June 22, 1896,[6] extending the line west to 60th Street in 1900.[5] The Union Traction Company leased the People's Passenger Railway on July 1, 1896, giving it control over almost all the street railways in Philadelphia.[6] Girard Avenue cars were extended west to 63rd Street and east to Allegheny Avenue – the latter extension along the ex-Electric Traction Company Bridesburg Line on Richmond Street – in 1903,[5] and eventually replaced the Bridesburg Line entirely to Bridesburg. In 1992, SEPTA replaced trolley service along Routes 15, 23, and 56 with buses.
The 15 line returned to trolley service in September 2005 after having been served by buses for thirteen years. To prepare for the resumption of trolley service, SEPTA spent a total of $100 million, including rehabilitating the tracks and repairs to the overhead wires. The rolling stock for Route 15 consists of PCC II cars, which are 1947 PCC streetcars that had been completely rebuilt by the Brookville Equipment Company as a cost of $1.3 million per trolley. The rebuilt trolley includes the addition of air conditioning and regenerative braking, as well as a widened center door with a wheelchair lift for ADA compliance.[8]
The restoration of trolley service was delayed because of a long fight with local residents on 59th Street, which the trolleys needed to travel down in order to access the Callowhill Depot, over parking on the street.[9] During the reconstruction of the line the surrounding neighborhoods, through grassroots coalitions, worked to improve the Girard Avenue streetscape through beautification and marketing projects. Since service returned in 2005, the 15 line has spurred various development projects as well as renewed investment along the corridor.[10]
Although SEPTA has committed itself to restoring its suspended trolley lines, suburban communities have argued that available funds be used instead for the expansion of interurban rail lines over urban trolley lines, citing the imperfect implementation of the 15 line and the cost of maintaining the trolley infrastructure. Shuttle busses have at times replaced trolley service on sections of the line due to track, roadwork, and other maintenance work.[11][12] In addition, the trolley has not generated new ridership since its reopening, a point of contention for supporters of a resumed Media/Elwyn Line to Wawa and an extended Fox Chase Line to Newtown to serve suburban areas lacking alternate public transport. The question of proper usage of public funds has been brought to SEPTA's attention during the summer of 2009.[13]
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