Category: Fundraising

FPT’s 2026 Father’s Day Charter set for June 20

Posted onAuthorRoger DuPuis II

Roger DuPuis photo

The Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys invites you to ride and photograph SEPTA rebuilt PCC-III.

THIS TRIP WILL BE ON SATURDAY. There will be plenty of quality photo stops.

Proceeds from the trip will support restoration of Philadelphia Transportation Company “Peter Witt” 8042 (Brill, 1923) at the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum. Safety vests are mandatory.

DATE: Saturday, June 20, 2026

TIME: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

LOCATION: SEPTA’s Elmwood Depot, 7311 Elmwood Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19142

EQUIPMENT: SEPTA PCC-III car

ROUTING: Subway-surface lines where PCCs do not operate in revenue service.

FARE: $65 per person. PayPal Link for payments https://py.pl/23EDZ7

NOTES: Routing and equipment subject to change. Need More Information? Contact Bill Monaghan at FPT2799@COMCAST.NET Please respond as soon as possible but no later than June 15, 2026. No refunds after June 18, 2026.

Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys “Super Bowl Excursion II” set for 2/7/26

Posted onAuthorRoger DuPuis II

Bill Monaghan Jr. photo

The Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys invite you to celebrate SEPTA’s restoration of a Kawasaki LRV to its historic 1980 original paint scheme. There will be plenty of quality photo stops.

This trip will cover Route 15 (G1) where LRVs do not operate. Proceeds from this event will be used to help in the restoration of Philadelphia trolley cars at various museums. Safety vests are mandatory.

DATE: Saturday, February 7, 2026

TIME: 9:45 A.M. until 2:00 P.M.

LOCATION: SEPTA’s Callowhill Depot at 350 N 58th St, Philadelphia, PA 19131 (On-street parking)

EQUIPMENT: Kawasaki LRV 9100

ROUTING:  Route 15

FARE: $65.00 per person

PayPal Link for payments https://py.pl/18T9m6

Routing and equipment subject to change

Help Support PTM’s Parts for the Future!

Posted onAuthorRoger DuPuis II

The Pennsylvania Trolley Museum has been fortunate to acquire many spare parts for its fleet of historic streetcars over the years and provide inside storage for these parts.

Thanks to the help of the Middletown & Hummelstown Railroad (M&H RR), the Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys, other trolley museums, CicKo Transportation, and Alex Paris Contracting, FPT also has acquired Red Arrow “80 car” 83, as well as many rare spare parts that will be a great help in restoring and maintaining its fleet of historic Philadelphia streetcars.

The museum also recently acquired many parts from PTC/SEPTA sweeper C-121 and PTC/SEPTA PCCs 2095 and 2725. These parts will help the museum eventually restore and operate Red Arrow Car 83, PRT Standard Car 2282, PTC 8042, and SEPTA PCC 2723.

The M&H RR is almost 200 miles away from PTM and hundreds of hours of volunteer and paid staff time have been devoted to this project over the past year.

All of the allocated parts have been relocated to PTM and are safely stored indoors. Most of the museum’s costs have been met, but $4,000 still needs to be raised to cover all of its costs.

Please consider donating to this important project that will help to keep PTM’s trolleys running! Please see the attached flyer if you are interested in donating.

PRT 5326 needs your help

Posted onAuthorRoger DuPuis II

Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company’s 5326 is one of a group of 135 such cars built in 1923 by the J.G. Brill Company for the PRT.

Just as Pittsburgh Railways had favored one car design for many years, so too had Philadelphia’s PRT favored the general design of cars like 5326, to the point where they had over 2,000 cars representing several variations of the same basic design.

Car 5326 saw its last day of service on August 11, 1957. In April 1958, 5326 had the distinction of being the first trolley car to ever travel the Pennsylvania Turnpike (even if it was on a trailer truck), as it moved to its new home at the Arden Trolley Museum, now the Pennsylvania Trolley Museum (PTM), in Washington, Pennsylvania. While many of the cars at the museum are the lone survivors of their type, this is not true of #5326. Sister car #5205 has been preserved by the Electric City Trolley Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Car 5326 was restored to its original 1923 livery in 1976 for America’s Bicentennial, having required some 3,000 hours of volunteer labor. Since its restoration, the car has been a real workhorse for the PTM. After some 46 years of service at PTM, 5326 could use your help. Both the car’s air tanks are in need of replacement soon to ensure that it will run for years to come. The total cost of this project is expected to be $3,200. Won’t you please consider making a donation? Thank you in advance for helping preserve yet another part of Philadelphia’s trolley history. Please make your check payable to FPT.  You may also use PayPal. Please be sure to mark on your check that your donation is for PRT 5326’s air tanks.

Mail to:

FRIENDS OF PHILADELPHIA TROLLEYS, INC.

P.O. BOX 33397

PHILADELPHIA, PA 19142-0397

A banner day for C-145 restoration

Posted onAuthorRoger DuPuis II

On March 2, 2019, Baltimore Streetcar Museum and Friends of Philadelphia Trolleys members started working on Matthew E. Nawn’s Eagle Scout project to renovate 1923 Philadelphia Rapid Transit sweeper car C-145.

On July 11, 2020, we installed the last piece of the tongue and groove on the sides of the car, a major milestone in the effort. Members of the group are seen here celebrating the occasion.

The project is not yet finished, however. If anyone would like to make a donation, please click on the donation button here on our website.

Thanks to everyone who has donated and participated in this worthwhile effort!