Girard Avenue Line

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tram
Girard Avenue Line
image
Two PCC II trams on the Girard Avenue Line
Basic information
Country United States
city Philadelphia
opening July 1859
electrification 1895
operator SEPTA
Infrastructure
Route length 13.5 km
Gauge 1581 mm
Power system 600 V DC overhead line
Operating mode Furnishing operation
Stops 51
Depots Callowhill Depot
business
Lines SEPTA route 15
vehicles SEPTA PCC II

The Girard Avenue Line is a streetcar route in the city of Philadelphia in the US state of Pennsylvania , on which the streetcar line SEPTA Route 15 operates. It is the oldest line in Philadelphia that is still in operation, developed from a horse-drawn tram opened in 1859 and operated over the years by a wide variety of railway companies. After the line was shut down in 1992, operations were resumed in 2005. Although it is now used by historic streetcars, it is not a tourist route, but a full-fledged part of the rail traffic in Philadelphia.

route

On the Girard Avenue Line, the pair of tracks is in the middle of the street
The junction near Girard College
Stop islands were installed on the multi-lane road sections

The Girard Avenue Line is a classic tram route. Almost the entire course of the route runs on a roadway flush with the road or is only separated from individual traffic in a few places by lane markings . In contrast to many similar lines, however, there are no stops at which passengers have to cross lanes when traffic is flowing, since there are stop islands on multi-lane road sections and otherwise they get off via the parking lane . At numerous intersections there are still branches to abandoned tram lines and also some now unused turning loops, which are not used in regular services.

The route begins in the western Haddington district in the spacious Haddington Loop bypass along Haverford Avenue, 63rd Street and Girard Avenue, on which the route continues to the city center. From the loop, through 63rd Street and 60th Street, double-track links lead to tram line 10 , which runs parallel to the north, and the latter can no longer be used due to the lack of necessary siding. There is also a double-track connection via 60th Street to the Callow Hill Depot located south of the route, but here too there is no siding, which would be essential for the trams coming from the depot. A single-track line through 59th Street serves as a replacement.

It then follows the single-lane Girard Avenue, with the pair of tracks between the parking strips. After the junction with 59th, the route is flanked by Carroll Park and after the junction with 52nd Street by Durham Park. At its north-eastern edge, the route is directed to a very short section with tram line 10, which intersects the Girard Avenue Line here and allows you to change trains. At the junction with Belmont Avenue, the Paoli / Thorndale Line crosses to 30th Street Station . At 40th Street there is again a connection to a tram line, which has been closed. This also includes a turning loop, which can also be used by trains on line 15 from the city center.

The Schuylkill River is crossed on Girard Avenue Bridge to enter the Brewery Town district. As Girard Avenue is interrupted at Girard College, a short section of the tram changes to College Avenue. Since there are two single-track routes for this purpose, this changeover can also serve as a turning loop for trams from both directions. Behind Girard College, the route continues on Girard Avenue, which is still single-lane, to the intersection with Broad Street, where you can change to the Broad Street Line .

After this intersection, the route changes massively as Girard Avenue widens sharply and widens to two lanes in each direction. Therefore, there are narrow island stops on the following section. There is an elevated train stop for the Market-Frankford Subway-Elevated Line across the intersection with Front Street . On Frankford Avenue there is a branch to Delaware Avenue, where the Sugarhouse Loop reversing loop for trains that cannot use the following section of the route due to construction work as part of the renovation of Interstate 95. However, this turning loop should also be used in regular operation for amplifier drives. As Girard Avenue joins Interstate 95 for a few hundred yards, the tram route leads onto Richmond Street to end at the Westmoreland Loop , which is currently out of order due to construction. Until this loop was opened, the line continued to the Richmond Depot and previously even to the Arsenal Gate .

history

A 1970 PCC tram on the line

In 1859 the first section of the route was built by the Richmond and Schuylkill River Passenger Railway . This railway company and the line were rented on March 26 of the same year by the Pennsylvania General Assembly to enable a tram line from Richmond in the eastern part of the city to the Girard Avenue Bridge over the Schuylkill River, for which an extension to Lancester Avenue west of the river was already possible was decided. In July 1859, operations began between Second Street and 31st Street. In 1864 the line was resold and integrated into the Germantown Passenger Railway in 1866 .

The first extensions to the east were to Palmer Street in 1866 and Norris Street in 1875. In 1894 the line was leased by the People's Passenger Railway, which extended it west to 60th Street in 1900. That company in turn was leased in 1896 by the Union Traction Company , which gave them control of almost all streetcar lines in Philadelphia. The Girard Avenue Line was expanded in 1903 on existing streetcar routes west to 63rd Street and east to Allegheny Avenue.

The PCC trams, which are still in service today, were initially only used on Sundays, as the new vehicles were available for all lines during off- peak hours . It was not until June 20, 1955, that PCC trams that had been bought second-hand from transportation companies in St. Louis and Kansas City were also put into service on the Grard Avenue Line . The current expansion of the line goes back to February 24, 1956, when the line was shortened from Richmond Depot to the newly built Westmoreland Loop . A year earlier, on September 11, 1955, the line had been withdrawn there from Arsenal Gate

In 1992 the tram service was stopped and replaced by a bus line. Between June 18 and September 9, 1995, the line was put back into operation and operated with LRV trams of line 10 from the Callowhill Depot, which at the time could not run to the inner city tunnel due to a project by the Philadelphia Water Department , replaced by buses and could therefore be used on the Girard Avenue Line. On September 30, 1997, the SEPTA announced that line 15 would be reopened as a tram line.

Tram operation since 2005

After the Girard Avenue Line had been used by buses for thirteen years, tram traffic on SEPTA Route 15 resumed in September 2005. In addition, an amount of $ 11 million was paid for the upgrading of the tracks and repairs of the overhead lines by the SEPTA. Further costs arose from the renewal of PCC cars built in 1947: These were completely refurbished for $ 1.3 million per vehicle, including the installation of air conditioning systems and new brakes with energy recovery, the middle doors were also widened and equipped with a ramp for wheelchair users were.

The reopening was delayed because of a legal dispute with residents of 59th Street over which the trams get to Callowhill Depot. During the construction work, measures to beautify the street space and marketing were taken by residents of the route . There has been great growth in the local economy and retail trade since the tram line reopened.

Renewals

In the area of ​​Interstate 95

All trams are currently turning around at the Sugarhouse Loop

To the east of the new Northern Liberties turning loop , the Girard Avenue Line will be replaced by a new building as part of the renovation of Interstate 95. The bridge on Girard Avenue will be rebuilt and Richmond Street will be widened. In the corresponding area, all rails will be replaced and the Westmoreland Loop reversing loop will be moved to another location. During the construction phase, the tram line will be replaced by shuttle buses on the affected section of the route . Completion is planned for the end of 2016. The reopening has been delayed since then, so that the route cannot yet be used in the timetable valid since September 2016.

Rehabilitation of the track systems

Between 3rd and 7th Street as well as Frankford and Susquehanna Avenue, the tracks, which had already been installed in the 1950s and were damaged by environmental influences including the surrounding road, are to be replaced from July to September 2015. This should also give the line an upgrade by adding new tracks to reduce rail traffic noise and installing vibration dampers. A replacement rail service will be set up on the affected sections of the route .

New rolling stock

The PCC II trams used were only prepared for a further 15-year service when they were renewed in 2003. Therefore, the planning for the use of modern rolling stock has already been pushed forward by SEPTA. These are said to be low-floor trams that will also be used on the subway surface trolley lines and will completely replace the old vehicles on line 15. The new trams will have a length of 25 meters (80 feet ) and, thanks to the level access, should be handicapped accessible on the one hand and enable faster boarding to reduce travel speed on the other . With a total of more than 100 vehicles, the cost per tram should be between $ 1.5 million and $ 2 million.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Public Laws 241 and 242 of 1859 and 1862 of 1861 in A Digest of Laws Relating to the City of Pennsylvania , 1865, pp. 111-113
  2. ↑ a b c d U.S. Urban Rail Transit Lines Opened From 1980 ( Memento of the original from November 4, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. from www.publictransit.us, pp. 37–40 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.publictransit.us
  3. ^ American Street Railway Investments from the Street Railway Journal, 1897, pp. 198, 200, 104
  4. ^ The Philadelphia Medical Register and Directory , 1875
  5. ^ Schneider, Fred W. III; Carlson, Stephen P. (1983). PCC From Coast to Coast: Interurbans Special 86. Glendale, California: Interurban Press. Pp. 144, 152. ISBN 0-916374-57-2
  6. ↑ a b Kenneth C. Springirth: Southeastern Pennsylvania trolleys . Arcadia Publishing, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7385-5692-5 .
  7. ^ Philadelphia City Council Trolley Hearing. www.phillytrolley.org, September 30, 1997, accessed July 28, 2015 .
  8. ^ "Philadelphia's PCCs Return to Service." Railway Age. Vol. 205, No. 10, p. 30. October 1, 2005.
  9. ↑ Communication Breakdown. (No longer available online.) Philadelphia City Paper, September 30, 2004, archived from the original October 1, 2015 ; accessed on July 20, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / citypaper.net
  10. ^ "Changing Skyline: Welcome Back Girard Avenue A Street Reborn," Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 9, 2004
  11. ^ Girard Avenue Interchange: Overview. (No longer available online.) PennDOT District 6, February 15, 2012, archived from the original on February 26, 2014 ; accessed on July 20, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.95revive.com
  12. ↑ SEPTA Work on Route 15 Trolley. aboveavgjane.blogspot.de, May 27, 2015, accessed on July 27, 2015 (English).
  13. ↑ 15 Trolley: Improvements, Plans, Route Changes And, Yes, Delays. Hidden City Philadelphia, February 2, 2012, accessed July 27, 2015 .
  14. ^ Sleek, Modern Trolleys Coming to Philly. Philadelphia (www.phillymag.com), March 18, 2015, accessed July 27, 2015 .