Waiting for a Trolley in Philly

Overhead wires still flow through the streets of Germantown, an early Philadelphia suburb, and tracks still divide the cobblestones in the streets lined with Victorian homes. But it's been a while since the residents of this now ethnically diverse community could take a street car downtown.

Former Philadelphia streetcar in original colors, in use today in San Francisco

Philadelphian Joel Spivak looks at tourists flocking to ride the colorfully-painted streetcars in San Francisco with some sense of loss. After all, most of them once ran on the streets of his historic Pennsylvania home.

"San Francisco set the example," Spivak says, hopeful about running streetcars again in a place where they are part of the mental fabric of the city as much as the cobblestone streets and revolutionary-era buildings. "Like generations of other kids in Philadelphia, I grew up with street cars," Spivak says. "It's mind boggling how some other city could see the advantage we couldn't see."

Currently, Philadelphia has some working streetcar lines and a dozen or so old street cars, but none runs in regular service; they're reserved for special charters and events.

"I go into neighborhoods in other cities that have begun using streetcars again, and every store is filled with business. The neighborhoods are revitalized," Spivak observes.

If it were to embrace street cars again, Philadelphia would have an advantage. Many of the tracks and overhead wires are still there, and many of the cars are still in working condition, though in need of restoration. Plus, its a city visited by many tourists, and there are many historic sites that could be linked by streetcars.

Spivak says Philadelphia residents are coming to realize what they have lost, and the economic potential the city could realize by making the streetcars part of the city's future. The Philadelphia Trolley Coalition boasts of more than 400 members from Philadelphia and around the country.

At Walnut & 6th, 1955

"More and more over the last five years, the streetcar has become something people talk about," Spivak says. "A lot of the street art in Philadelphia depicts scenes with street cars, and the cars are symbolic of the city as a community. They're an icon representing the city of Philadelphia."

Spivak says most PTC members belong because they are in love with the streetcar. But nostalgia isn't going to be a motivation for city officials to bring the street car back.

"Streetcars have to be seen for their economic advantage," Spivak says. "The people at SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) are aware of how well the cars are working in San Francisco. They might put the streetcars back in as economic development, but they won't do it for railfans."

In the suburbs at Wayne & Arbutus, 1958

The vision the PTC has for Philadelphia's streetcars is not one limited to connecting tourist destinations, but one that would make an attraction of Philadelphia's many ethnic neighborhoods by connecting them, and also one that would make it easier for residents in those neighborhoods to get around. "Philadelphia should start promoting itself as the city you can live in without a car," Spivak says. "People in ethnic neighborhoods moved out of the center along the street car lines. It made it easier to visit family members still living in the older neighborhoods."

The streetcar line could also serve to make ethnic neighborhoods a tourist attraction in themselves by highlighting restaurants and businesses on the route.

"I go into neighborhoods in other cities that have begun using streetcars again, and every store is filled with business. The neighborhoods are revitalized," Spivak observes.

Despite the vision and energy of the members of the PTC, convincing the city and transit authority to invest in century-old technology requires more. "Any time there's an article published about a street car system opening somewhere, we send copies to city politicians," Spivak says, adding that the city has money to invest in public transit on one route, and there may be hope for restoring streetcar service there in the near future. "They haven't ordered new cars, and there's been some unofficial talk of restoring old street cars owned by the city."

But for that to happen, Spivak says there has to be support from the community. "If people from the neighborhoods start saying 'we want this,' we'll be more likely to get it."

To achieve this, the PTC has moved from being a newsletter-fan based organization to a political group promoting the re-establishement of streetcars in Philadelphia. "We had lots of members all over the country who enjoyed reading the newsletter, but people in other places can't help us get streetcars back in Philadelphia."

Broad & Erie, Germantown

Unlike the bus, streetcars, Spivak says, are a public transit that people want. Some other material supports this conclusion. "No matter how frequently they run, buses don't get people out of their cars. Public transit has to be clean and attractive. And they have to provide a service as much as a function," he says. "Streetcars are a much nicer way to get around than a bus. When they see a streetcar, people stop and stare and talk to the person next to them. It helps create community."

Streetcars, it seems, are a throwback to a time when public transit was more than just a last-resort way to get around. To be successful, Spivak says, it have to be the mode of choice.

"In the 1920s, people using public transit found restrooms in the terminals, comfortable, heated waiting rooms, and other amenities," Spivak says. "Today public transit is just the bare bones. If you don't provide the best service possible to the public, they say its just another waste of money. If you don't provide the best service you can, you're never going to get people out of their cars."

Text & color photo by Eric Miller
Black & white photos courtsey of C. S. Scholes