SEPTA’s Media Trolley, June 30, 2013

Contemporary views of a Traditional Streetcar Route.

On the afternoon of Sunday June 30, 2013, Pat Yough and I visited Media, Pennsylvania to photograph SEPTA’s Route 101 Streetcar.

Streetcar at Media, PA. — SEPTA’s Route 101 car on East State Street in Media, Pennsylvania. Canon EOS 7D with 28-135mm lens (set at 135mm).

A century ago, single-track streetcar lines graced many American towns. The era of the electric trolley car faded decades ago. Today, Media is virtually in class by itself. Historic re-creations aside, where else in the USA does a single-track streetcar route serve “Main Street”?

The 101 Route is one of two SEPTA (former Red Arrow) streetcar lines radiating from its 69^th Street Terminus in Upper Darby in suburban Philadelphia. The other trolley line is the 102 route to Sharon Hill. 69^th Street is also served by the Route 100 high-speed interurban line to Norristown (the old Philadelphia & Western line) and the Market-Frankford elevated.