Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys

PHILADELPHIA  — Fans of urban transit history can photograph a unique tribute to the city’s rich trolley heritage and support efforts to preserve relics of that heritage on a special charter trip next month.

Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys (FPT) is sponsoring a Father’s Day Charter over parts of SEPTA’s trolley system on Sunday, June 17 using Kawasaki-built trolley #9043, which is wearing a special decal to commemorate 125 years of electric trolley operation in the City of Philadelphia.

The first electric trolleys in Philadelphia ran on the Catharine-Bainbridge Line beginning Dec. 15, 1892.

FPT’s charter trip will depart from SEPTA’s Elmwood Depot, 7311 Elmwood Ave., Philadelphia at 11 a.m. and continue until 3 p.m. It will cover SEPTA’s entire route 15 trolley line, as well as some of the system’s subway-surface lines in West Philadelphia. Snacks and drinks will be available for purchase on the car.

All proceeds from this year’s Father’s Day charter, one of several annual events hosted by nonprofit FPT, will benefit the restoration of former Philadelphia Transportation Company car #8042, a 1923 streetcar built by the J.G. Brill Company of Philadelphia, then the world’s largest manufacturer of trolleys and electric railway equipment. Car 8042 ran in the city until 1957. It now resides at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum in Washington County, Pa., where the car is undergoing restoration.

Tickets for the charter will be $45 per seat. To reserve a seat, mail a check or money order, payable to “FPT, Inc.”, to Harry Donahue, 103 Mulberry Court, Morgantown, PA 19543. For a flyer or more information, e-mail Bill Monaghan at FPT2799@Comcast.Net or download a flyer below.

Founded by a group of Philadelphia-area preservationists, historians and transit professionals, FPT is a non-profit organization which raises money to support the restoration and upkeep of Philadelphia-area trolley cars preserved in operating condition at museums around the country, including facilities in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Connecticut.

Its members, many of whom have lengthy experience in the transit industry, offer not just funding but technical advice to museums, and frequently travel around the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast to participate in restoration work.

WHAT: Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys Father’s Day Charter using 125th anniversary commemorative car

WHEN: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, June 17, 2018

WHERE: Trip starts from SEPTA’s Elmwood Depot, 7311 Elmwood Ave., Philadelphia

COST: $45 per person; mail a check or money order, payable to “FPT, Inc.”, to Harry Donahue, 103 Mulberry Court, Morgantown, PA 19543.

CONTACT: Bill Monaghan at FPT2799@Comcast.Net

DOWNLOAD THE FATHER’S DAY FLYER BY CLICKING THIS PHOTO:

 

 

 

Friends, we have great news — sort of: Our April 28 charter in Scranton is sold out.

Thanks to all who purchased tickets. As a reminder, here is what you need to know about the trip:

DETAILS: Join the Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys and the Electric City Trolley Museum (ECTM) for their first-ever photo charter on Electric City’s trolley line. The trip will meet at 235 Montage Mountain Road, Moosic PA 18507 (adjacent to PNC Field) promptly at 9:00 A.M. for a safety orientation and shop tour. The trip will leave at 9:30 A.M. with Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company’s #80 and return at 12 Noon for a lunch stop. The second part of the day we will leave at 1 P.M. with Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company’s Strafford Car #164 from Moosic to ECTM in Scranton for a one-hour self-guided tour. We will have photo stops along the line in the morning and in the afternoon. All proceeds will go to ECTM for upkeep and restoration of Philadelphia trolleys in their collection.

We look forward to seeing you there!

The Winter 2018 issue of The Streamliner has arrived! Features include:

• Car 5205 to benefit from FPT excursion
• 80th Anniversary of PCC Cars in Philadelphia
• Progress report on PTC #8042
• The Easter Bunny visits two trolley museums
• Philly PCC Car news from San Francisco
• Remembering Jerry D. Kelly, FPT Member #2

Click here to download.

We are pleased to share another image showing how work is really getting underway on Philadelphia car 8042 at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum.

Built by J.G. Brill in 1923, car 8042 has been on display at PTM, in Washington County, Pa., since 2005.

The museum’s Board of Trustees last year approved moving ahead with front platform work, which is intended to be phase I of a larger project. Your donations are helping FPT support this very worthy endeavor.

If you or anyone you know might be interested in helping the cause, please click on this link to download and print our donation form.

Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys will host a first-ever photo charter this spring at the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton, Pa.

All proceeds from will go to ECTM for upkeep and restoration of Philadelphia trolleys in their collection. Here is what you need to know, and how to sign up:

WHEN: Saturday, April 28, 2018; 9:00 A.M to 4:00 P.M.

WHERE: Electric City Trolley Museum shops, 235 Montage Mountain Road, Moosic, PA 18507. The shops are off Montage Mountain Road, beside the local Triple-A baseball stadium, PNC Field.

FARE: $40.00 per person.

DETAILS: The trip will meet at 235 Montage Mountain Road, Moosic PA 18507 (adjacent to PNC Field) promptly at 9:00 A.M. for a safety orientation and shop tour. The trip will leave at 9:30 A.M. with Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company’s #80 and return at 12 Noon for a lunch stop. The second part of the day we will leave at 1 P.M. with Philadelphia Suburban Transportation Company’s Strafford Car #164 from Moosic to ECTM in Scranton for a one-hour self-guided tour. We will have photo stops along the line in the morning and in the afternoon.

HOW TO PAY: Please mail your check or money order, payable to FPT, Inc., to: HARRY DONAHUE, 103 MULBERRY COURT, MORGANTOWN, PA 19543.  You can print out a flyer and order form below.

ALSO, SAVE THIS DATE:  On Sunday, June 17, 2018, FPT will host a Father’s Day charter in Philadelphia, using Kawasaki Car 9043, to celebrate 125 years of electric traction in Philly.  Watch for further details.

DOWNLOAD THE SCRANTON FLYER BY CLICKING THIS PHOTO:

 

Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys’ annual $20 Day for 2017 was a success, drawing a crowd to the Baltimore Streetcar Museum on Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017. It helped raise money for both organizations and offered a chance to recognize two volunteers.

As always, the event also offered visitors a chance to operate preserved equipment at the museum, including Philadelphia PCC 2168, which was restored in 1973 colors and has been kept running in large part thanks to FPT volunteers and donors.

In separate ceremonies during the day, Mike Lawson and George Rich were honored.

Mike, you may recall, offered invaluable help with the interior restoration of PCC 2743, which operates at the Rockhill Trolley Museum in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania. Mike’s efforts included professional quality refurbishment of several fittings inside the car, including the operator’s heater grid, transfer cutter and more. Mike was presented with an HO scale model of 2743.

George, a volunteer who has been part of many FPT maintenance visits to museums far and wide, also is a friend to many. He recently retired from SEPTA, a watershed moment that was celebrated with a homemade cake during Saturday’s festivities at BSM.

We are happy to report, meanwhile, that $20 Day raised $870 to support the respective missions of FPT and BSM. For more photos from the day, check out FPT’s official Facebook page.

NOT ONLY THAT
Just in case you hadn’t heard, FPT will again be hosting a New Year’s Eve trolley charter in Philadelphia this December 21. More information can be found on the FPT 2017 New Years Trip Flyer.

 

We have great news for those who like to ride Philadelphia trolleys and those who like to help preserve them.

Philadelphia Transportation Co. car 8042 has been moved into the shop at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum, in preparation for the next phase of its restoration — a project FPT is helping support. You can help that cause, too, while partaking in one of Philly’s great transit traditions.

First held in 1966, the annual New Year’s Eve Philadelphia trolley charter will again be hosted this year by FPT, with proceeds to benefit the 8042 project.

The car will leave SEPTA’s 63rd & Malvern Loop (Route 10) at 10 p.m. sharp on Sunday, Dec. 31, 2017, returning at approximately 2 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 1, 2018.

Fare is $45.00. Checks — including phone number — should be made out to FPT, Inc. and mailed to Harry Donahue, 103 Mulberry Court, Morgantown, PA 19543. Snacks and drinks will be available on the car.

What type of car will we use? That’s up to you! Riders can vote by writing PCC II or Kawasaki LRV on their checks.  For more information, contact Bill Monaghan at FPT2799@comcast.net.

The Summer 2017 issue of The Streamliner has arrived! Features include:

• Restoration of PTC 8042 to begin
• Philly trolleys in the news
• Pennsylvania Trolley Museum fair report
• Remembering the Red Arrow ’80 cars’
• SEPTA 2168 returns to service at BSM
• Update on the Liberty Liner

Click here to download.

Philadelphia Transportation Co. PCC 2743, one of FPT’s recent restoration projects, is expected to take part in a living history event this weekend at the Rockhill Trolley Museum in Central Pennsylvania.

On Sept. 9, the museum will host a new World War II living history event to put trolley passengers in the middle of the sights, sounds, and tension of homefront America in 1944. Enjoy the sounds and get up and dance to great 1940s swing music played live by The Big Band Sound, Inc. Experience exciting moments Pennsylvania trolley history, such as when trolleys served the war effort, when women first ran the trolleys, and even when fully armed soldiers guarded city transit vehicles.

The first trolley departs at 11:15 a.m., and the band will play from noon to 3 p.m. The last trolley rides will be at 4:15 p.m.

Admission to event is $8 per adult, $5 for children 12 or under, and infants are free. Admission includes live swing dance music performance, trolley rides, a chance to interact with history re-enactors, and more.

In addition to regular trolley rides, there will be limited seating on three special trolley rides throughout the day, at 11:15 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. These rides will have combat-equipped Allied soldiers guarding the cars, so passengers should be advised that they may hear gunfire nearby on these special trips. Not recommended for young children, and some walking over gravel and stepping on and off of trolleys is required. Keep an eye out for enemy activity as you ride, and meet the trolley museum’s collection of military veteran rail equipment.

You can reserve a seat for the special ride on the museum’s website, www.rockhilltrolley.org. Note that there is a fee for online reservations.

After being sidelined for several weeks due to concerns with the performance of the braking system, SEPTA 2168 — the car that “started it all” for FPT — has been repaired and returned to operating condition at its home at the Baltimore Streetcar Museum.

After several tedious work days, Mike Lawson, Mike Barron, and Matt Nawn spent Sept. 3 cleaning and adjusting the shaft brake mechanisms to ensure proper operation. The hard work paid off as the car successfully passed its braking tests late in the day, enabling the car to return to active status; including for operation during BSM’s Members Day on Sept. 16.

An interesting fact: Mike, Mike, and Matt are all mechanical engineers who also enjoy working on vintage trolley cars.