PHILADELPHIA — Fans of the Presidents’ Conference Committee trolley car, we direct your attention to Route 15 on the SEPTA system. This fall six refurbished PCC cars will return to the route occupied by buses since 2020, according to an AXIOS Philadelphia story.
The PCC cars were to begin operating this week, however, SEPTA is delaying the launch so that operators will have more time to familiarize themselves with the updates, says a story in the Philly Voice.
“There is going to be a slight delay with the trolleys returning to service, mainly to allow time for more operators to get training on them,” SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch says in an email. “We expect they will be in service this fall; we don’t know the specific date yet.”
SEPTA has a fleet of 18 PCC cars, which were pulled from this route in January 2020, when 78% failed to pass safety inspections [see “End of the line for Philadelphia’s PCCs? Not so fast, says SEPTA,” News Wire, Jan. 20, 2020]. Since that time, the PCC cars, which date to 1947, have been moving through a restoration program costing around $250,000 per unit. The cars were stripped to a bare shell. New frames, side sheet metal, flooring, windows, heating and cooling, and wheels were installed, putting the cars in a condition that is better than when first delivered. Additionally, the PCC cars were brought up to current ADA accessibility standards.
Finishing the restoration is a fresh coat of the classic cream and green with maroon stripe paint scheme that helps make the cars popular. How popular is the paint scheme? Not only is it talked about on trolley fan pages, but the SEPTA gift shop offers a PCC car plush character resembling one of the classic trolleys. (It is sold out at the moment.)
“They’re definitely … unique,” Sabrina Eisl, a SEPTA senior project engineer, who leads the restoration’s design team, says. “I think that’s one thing that people really like, and one of the reasons why we’re keeping them around.”
The plan is to have 10 to 12 of the restored PCC cars on Route 15, which runs along Girard Ave. through North and West Philadelphia, by the end of September. Buses will continue to supplement the trolleys to offer more frequent service and increased capacity.
In the long-term, SEPTA’s Trolley Modernization program calls for larger units to replace the PCC cars. The $1.8 billion project will support station renovations, new platforms, and handi-cap accessible upgrades across the system. Implementing the program could take decades, meaning that an investment in the old PCC cars is wise. It also presents more opportunities to ride aboard a piece of history.
(Updated Friday, Sept. 15, 2023 with information about the delay in PCC car operation.)
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