Philadelphia Trolley Tracks:

Scrapped at Midvale

 
(above) The remains of 1947 PCC 2748 at Midvale Depot.
January 21, 2006 photo by Mike Szilagyi


January 21, 2006. Click on the photos for larger views.

SEPTA Trolleys Destroyed

Aside from the small fleet of PCCs rebuilt for service on Girard Avenue, SEPTA has disposed of almost one hundred electric streetcars in recent years.

Museums, other transit authorities, and private owners have purchased SEPTA's PCC cars for next to nothing: less than scrap value in some cases.

This scattering of the trolley fleet was done, despite SEPTA's 1992 promise to restore trolleys to Routes 23 and 56. Instead of making good on its promise, SEPTA continues to pave over portions of the Route 23 and 56 tracks and rid itself of the trolley fleet. We're expected to believe that diesel-burning buses are "green."

In January of 2006, four PCC cars that had been stored at Midvale Depot were shredded where they stood, the remains loaded into dumpsters. The four were 1947-built car no. 2748 and 1948-built cars no. 2098, 2117 and 2150. SEPTA claimed that these streetcars were beyond repair. Visual inspection of them, before they were destroyed, makes this claim doubtful. Certainly two of the four could have been salvaged. If they were in less than pristine condition, SEPTA's negligent storage of these trolleys outdoors for an extended period of time did not help.

The wasteful destruction captured in these photos, says a lot about the current management at SEPTA.

 




Return to Philadelphia Trolley Tracks main page.