Final preparations are
underway for the return of streetcars early next year to SEPTA Route 15
along Girard Avenue from Overbrook to Fishtown in North Philadelphia. A
Kawasaki light rail vehicle is being used to check out the refurbished
tracks and traction power system pending receipt of 18 PCC cars being
rebuilt and upgraded by the Brookville Equipment Co. in central
Pennsylvania. The first completed unit was scheduled for delivery in May
but delays in the refurbishing program have moved the schedule back. “At
his point we are still rebuilding them,” SEPTA spokesman Jim Whitaker told
Star Publications in early August. We expected that the first one will be
ready early this fall.” The PCCs will be very different from their original
configuration, with wheelchair lifts and air conditioning added along with
other passenger amenities. The first car should be on the street for
testing in late fall or early winter after some additional track and street
work is completed. PCC service on Route 15 ended in 1992 because, according
to Whitaker, the rolling stock and right-of-way was in poor condition. “We
did not have the funding at that point to purchase the new cars or change
the infrastructure,” he told Star Publications. “We said we would not take
down the infrastructure and we would look to restore trolley service at some
point in the future.
