[PRCo] Fwd: Re: Rte 45 Trollley--Do you have any information?

[James B. Holland]

"Edward B. Havens" <edhavens at ...> wrote:

"joe3l1rk" joe3l1rk@ wrote:
>
> Do you have any information on the route#45 trolley, which as I
> understand it during WWI ran from the Hog Island Naval Shipyard
> to the old El station at 40th and Market.
>
> I also would like to know when the route #41 began as only a streetcar
> on 63rd street. And why did the PRT stop running the route#67 "Zoo
> Trolley" that went from 33rd&Spruce to the zoo?
>
Route 45 to the Hog Island shipyard was opened for service July 14, 1918
by Philadelphia Rapid Transit Co. Its northern terminal was 40-Market,
where shipyard workers could connect with the Market Street El station.
There was a junction at approximately what now is the southwestern
terminal of SEPTA Route 36 at Penrose Plaza, Eastwick. Route 45's double
track continued southwest along the Island alignment, then turned in a
southwesterly direction over private right of way to the shipyard. After
World War I hostilities ceased, there was little need for Route 45 and
it was cut back Feb. 13, 1921 to Island & Eastwick (the junction with
Route 37, the Chester Short Line). From Aug. 23, 1923, only rush hour
service was provided between those two points. According to traction
historian Dr. Harold E. Cox, the last day of the Hog Island shuttle
route was Nov. 2, 1925 and there was no replacement. Route 45 was
operated with 1918 Brill-built 4000 series four-motored cars which could
"train" as multiple units since they were equipped with Tomlinson
traction couplers. After WWI, the Hog Island shuttle was a single
4-wheel Birney car from the group bought secondhand from
Pennsylvania-New Jersey Railway based at Trenton. Mike Szilagyi's Web
site has a brochure showing a photo of a Hog Island car signed for Route
45:
http://www.phillytrolley.org/1974history/4-5.html
The Birneys used were from this series:
http://tinyurl.com/2293sd
Photos of the Hog Island line along with a track map can be found in
"Trolleys of Lower Delaware Valley Pennsylvania," published by Cox in
1970. While out of print, it shows up every so often on eBay.  Sharing
the Hog Island shipyard terminal were the trolleys of Philadelphia
Railways, an independent line that operated into south Philadelphia. It
was its Fort Mifflin branch that was rebuilt by the government to
connect the shipyard and the PRT Route 45 alignment along what was
Island Rd. A photo in the book shows a secondhand deck roof car from
Third Avenue Railway [TARS], New York, side by side with a PRT 4000 at
Hog Island shipyard terminal.
Other questions:
Route 41 was operated by PRT from Jan. 16, 1911 to Sept. 20, 1920 from
the Delaware River (Market-Delaware loop, then Front-Market loop) along
Market Street to 69th Street Terminal, Upper Darby. When the lease with
Philadelphia & West Chester Traction was canceled for use of the 63rd to
69th Sts. track, the line was abandoned and replaced in part with Route
31. On Oct. 9, 1921, use of the route number 41 returned with trolley
service by PRT on 63rd St., shuttling back and forth from the Market St.
El station at 63rd to 63-Lancaster loop. With some variations in
terminals, the line continued until the final day of PCC service by PTC
Aug. 10, 1957. PTC discontinued Route 41 without direct bus replacement.
Route 67: Zoo Line. According to Cox, this service -- a belt line on
33rd and 36th Sts. bounded by Wallace on the north (near Spring Garden)
and Spruce on the south -- ran from June 9, 1895 to Sept. 7, 1918. No
replacement service was offered when PRT discontinued it. The reason for
abandoning the line was not given but presumably the traffic on this
shuttle did not justify the expense.
Edward B. Havens
Tucson, Ariz.

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