SEPTA’s Number 15 Streetcar

PCC’s on Girard Avenue, July 3, 2013.

In 2005, SEPTA re-introduced regular streetcar service to its number 15 route along Philadelphia’s Girard Avenue using historic President Conference Committee (PCC) trolley cars. These are painted in the old Philadelphia Transportation Company’s livery, which ads class to the service.

SEPTA 15 streetcar. — SEPTA’s number 15 Streetcar makes the corner at 26th and Poplar Streets in Philadelphia. Lumix LX3 photo.

My brother Sean lives just a few blocks from Girard Avenue, and on the afternoon of July 3, 2013, we made a project of photographing the cars in service. While on previous trips we’ve gone for a spin, this time we drove, allowing me to make the maximum number of photos in just a limited time. We’ll take another spin on another day soon!

While SEPTA’s Route 15 seems to run on 10-15 minute intervals, not every service has a PCC. At least one of the runs was provided by a bus. I made an image of this as well because I’ve learned from my study of railways, that it is best to photograph everything and sort out the wheat from the chaff at a later date. (In other words don’t judge your subject).

SEPTA Bus on 15 Route. — While anticipating a PCC I was surprise to see that SEPTA was providing some the 15 services with buses. Yet, this is part of the story, so I made an image of the bus too. A streetcar was not far behind. Lumix LX3 photo.

PCC car in Philadelphia. — This is the PCC that followed the bus. Patience paid off. Lumix LX3 photo.

PCC cars in Philadelphia. — SEPTA PCC cars on Girard Avenue cross Broad Street on July 3, 2013. Lumix LX3 photo.

This trip, I made digital images with my Lumix LX3 and Canon EOS 7D. On previous trips I’ve photographed the Route 15 in black & white using a Leica M4, and made color slides using my Nikons and Canon EOS 3.