A Streetcar City Reborn: The Rise, Fall and Rise Again of Philadelphia's Trolleys

westphilly4life1992
Published on Jul 8, 2024
On June 16th, 2024, after four years of waiting and wondering if they would ever be seen again, the SEPTA's Route 15 service on Girard Avenue in North Philadelphia were met with a long loved sight: A fleet of green and cream colored 1940s Streetcars began serving passengers again for the first time in four years. In revenue service. With cars that are nearing 80 years old. While a fantastic story in of itself, it's merely beginning of the latest chapter of the story of the trolleys and streetcars of Philadelphia. From the 1850s until now, it has been seen as a story of triumph and downfall, but now can be one of revival and hope for the future of transportation here.

They may be old, but they are the harbinger of the future, and this is but the tip of the iceberg of the push to revive the once mighty passenger rail services of the City of Brotherly Love, and it's a tale that deserves to be told as a new age of Philly transit begins.

Links to the sites about SEPTA Forward and the Trolley Modernization plan
https://wwww.septa.org/trolley-modernization/
https://iseptaphilly.com/blog/newtrolleyfleet
https://wwww.septa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SEPTA-Trolley-Station-Design-Summary.pdf
https://wwww.septa.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/SEPTA-TrolleyMod_ProgramGoals.pdf

Credit to Philadelphia Trolley Tracks, a website that chronicles the history of Philly's trolleys and was instrumental in making this video.
http://www.phillytrolley.org/index.html

Keywords: Trolley, Tram, Streetcar, Bus, Transit, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, Urban Planning, Public Transport, Trains, Light Rail, Trolleybus, History, SEPTA, Rise, Fall, Revival, City, PCC Streetcar

Chapters
0:00 Intro
1:59 The Beginning of Philly's Trolleys
5:18 Route 15 and its Importance
8:55 From Glory to Collapse
13:38 Arrival of SEPTA
15:29 A System Going Down in Flames
19:52 The Unlikely Rebirth of Route 15
23:18 Turning Around 80 Years of decline in Four Years?
29:04 Restoring the Lost Lines
34:39 A Golden Opportunity
37:58 Conclusion